The Fast Computers

The Fast Computers were born out of strife. Jennifer Fox assailed Peter Dean with mixed tapes of The Buzzcocks, ABBA, Serge Gainsbourg and Morrissey; Peter volleyed back with cds of Pulp, ELO, Spiritualized and a complete Queen anthology. After their incredulity with each other’s musical taste subsided, a begrudging truce evolved into an ambitious plot to merge their disparate musical pedigrees into a sound with a life all its own under the moniker Fast Computers. Read more on Last.fm …read full bio

The Fast Computers were born out of strife. Jennifer Fox assailed Peter Dean with mixed tapes of The Buzzcocks, ABBA, Serge Gainsbourg and Morrissey; Peter volleyed back with cds of Pulp, ELO, Spiritualized and a complete Queen anthology. After their incredulity with each other’s musical taste subsided, a begrudging truce evolved into an ambitious plot to merge their disparate musical pedigrees into a sound with a life all its own under the moniker Fast Computers. While Peter was always the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Fast Computers universe, he had yet to convince the rest of the world of his singular greatness. One hundred songs later, however, Jennifer was a convert and soon strangers would join suit. Held under self-confinement in a basement in Chicago, Jennifer intently studied cassette tapes of Keith Moon and Janet Weiss like they were some kind of lady pornography. Convinced she could absorb the ability to play drums through a sheer force of will, Jennifer’s savant-like determinism soon brought Peter into accord. When Jennifer’s drumming was mixed with Peter’s mastery of the electric piano, synthesizer and all things that go ‘beep’, magic happened. Like so many pioneers before them, the Fast Computers grew weary of the flatness of the Midwest and followed the Oregon Trail seeking their destiny. Upon arrival in Eugene, OR, Peter and Jennifer embarked upon their first recording project. The unprocessed hopefulness and unstained innocence conveyed on their first EP, entitled SP (2005), could have almost convinced the listener that their adolescent aesthetic was purposeful. Undaunted, the Computers’ somewhat awkward advances only seemed to make audiences fall more deeply in love with their ripening sound. Oregon’s legendary mists soon brought to flower the Fast Computers final member, seasoned Portland synthesist and guitarist Brenna Sheridan (Man of the Year). Now as evenly balanced as the Pythagorean theorem, the Fast Computers set out on a massive 16-month recording project spanning half a dozen west coast studios and twice as many engineers. Mixed by Tony Lash (Elliott Smith, Stars of Track and Field, The Dandy Warhols) and mastered by Jeff Stuart Saltzman (Death Cab for Cutie, Stephen Malkmus, Sleater-Kinney), Heart Geometry is the Fast Computer’s first full-length recording. Shimmering songwriting, beautiful yet bittersweet lyrics, lush layers of instrumentation, and a host of guest appearances provide proof that cold machines can truly give warmth to all who will listen. True to Dean & Fox’s early vision, Heart Geometry creates a space filled with cinematic scores and depictions of hopefulness within a time of commercialized monotony. Heart Geometry is set for release in mid 2007. "One of this year's best local releases is Heart Geometry... Balancing human warmth with icicle-cold keyboards is a tricky act, and Fast Computers pull it off with the greatest of ease. Heart Geometry props itself up not with the easy nostalgia of quaint new-wave revivalists, but instead by delicately spacing each song with tempered vocals and open-ended instrumentation. The result is an absolutely gorgeous record..." -The Portland Mercury “some of the most meaningful and earnest stuff on the soundtrack to your life... an off-kilter warmth that could only be found lurking in the deep forests of the indie underground” -Copper Press “futuristic electropop and modern idealism...feel the post apocalyptic glow of this chic venture” -PDX Magazine “sounds as if they actually curl up and sleep in a nest of vintage synths each night” -Splendid Magazine Peter’s singing “is just so reminiscent of the way Ric Ocasek sings on a song like, Tonight She Comes.” -Mammoth Press “the future of rock n roll” -Eugene Weekly “charming pop” -3hive.com Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.

…shrink me down again