Animal Collective Release New EP Bridge to Quiet and Change Title of Here Comes the Indian And Cover Art of People

On July 2, American experimental pop band Animal Collective released the new EP Bridge to Quiet on the British-based Domino Recording label. The band also changed the name of its Here Comes the Indian album to Ark and removed the “mammy” from its People EP.

The band explains on its twitter account “With utmost respect to Indigenous people we feel that having the word Indian in our record title sends the wrong message by objectifying the American Indian people which is not what we were intending with the music. Because we have drawn countless inspiration from Indigenous people in America and around the world, moving forward, we will be changing the title to its original working title, Ark.” Regarding the People EP, the band states “There is no way to excuse using a ‘mammy’ on our artwork, and so we have decided to remove it. We understand now that using a racist stereotype at all causes more damage than an explanation can repair, and we apologize.”

In addition to these changes, the band uploaded a majority of its discography to Bandcamp including some never released material. The releases were meant to coincide with Bandcamp’s May, June and July first Friday Fundraiser in which Bandcamp donates its profits to musicians whose tours were canceled during the coronavirus pandemic.

Regarding the Bridge to Quiet EP the band states “During April and May, we took a look at some of our improvisations from 2019 and early 2020. We remixed them, collaged them, and built them into songs, finding our way to Bridge to Quiet.” The EP is a mix of experimental samples, rich vocals, steady beats and synthesizers. It contains four songs and is a little over 30 minutes in length with the longest song “Bridge to Quite” lasting almost eleven minutes. The EP’s tempo ranges from approximately 80 BPM on “Sux-Bier Passage” to approximately 115 BPM on “Rain in Cups.”

The band has been in quarantine but is aiming to create its 11th studio album, first since 2016. Prior to the Covid 19 outbreak, the band went on short tour in Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona and California in October 2019.

All proceeds from Bandcamp in addition to a $10,000 donation the band will be making will go to Cultural Survival, the Equal Justice Initiative, Seeding Sovereignty, Southerners on New Ground (SONG), and the Okra Project.

Photo Credit: Stephen Hoffmeister