Phish bassist Mike Gordon is back with details of his sixth studio album, Flying Games. Out on May 12th via ATO Records/Megaplum, the album announcement arrives alongside the lead single “Tilting” as well as a new batch of summer tour dates.
“Tilting” is quintessentially solo Mike Gordon. The track forgets the acoustic foray from his 2020 collaboration with acclaimed acoustic guitarist Leo Kottke, Noon, and returns to the punchy funk-pop of 2017’s OGOGO. In a press release, Gordon explains that “Tilting” embodies the feeling of uncertain footing in a relationship, a feeling he’s able to replicate both rhythmically and lyrically in the song.
“For me ‘Tilting’ is about being in a situation or a relationship where you don’t know if your footing is solid,” Gordon said, “but then accepting that and realizing you enjoy the feeling of disorientation. Whether it’s playing music or driving or experiencing something new, I’ve always felt more present when I don’t know where I’m going next.”
A product of the pandemic, Gordon put Flying Games together largely by himself at his makeshift Megaplum home studio. Eschewing his historical approach of forming an album with a band in-studio, Gordon took his time crafting the album as he conducted sonic experiments. These auditory inquiries ranged from playfully childish, like banging wrenches against farm equipment, to scientifically calculated, like “programming a keyboard with chords sampled from ’50s-era Hawaiian guitar records.”
When Flying Games began to take shape, Gordo opened up to contributions from his bandmates Robert Walter (keyboards), Scott Murawski (guitar/pedal steel), John Kimock (drums), and Craig Myers (percussion). All of the musicians submitted their parts from afar, with Gordon producing and his longtime collaborator Jared Slomoff recording the initial tracks, which were mixed by Grammy-winning engineer Shawn Everett (Alabama Shakes, The War on Drugs). The resulting album arrives as the latest artistic evolution of Gordon’s four-decade career.
“As someone who comes from a world of telepathic improvisation, the idea of one person layering sounds alone in a room might seem a bit against the mythos,” Gordon said of the recording process. “But with this record I didn’t want to work in that traditional way of going into a studio with a band and recording for two weeks; I wanted to take my time and explore, and really go deep into the fabric of the music to see what we could find.”
In addition to the new music, Gordon has also tacked additional dates onto his summer schedule. Along with previously announced sets at Northlands Music Festival, Blue Ox, and The Peach, Gordon and his band will play headlining shows throughout the Midwest and Northeast in June, wrapping at Burlington, VT’s Higher Ground Ballroom on July 2nd. These dates will precede Phish’s 23-date summer tour, set to begin in Huntsville, AL on July 11th.
Check out the animated music video for “Tilting” from the new Mike Gordon album Flying Games, available here for pre-order. Pre-sales for Gordon’s new tour dates are open now.
This news comes just days after Gordon’s Phish bandmates Trey Anastasio and Page McConnell released a new duo album of original music, January.
Mike Gordon – “Tilting” (Official Video)
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