Movie

Published: Monday, June 29, 2026 at 4:01 am

Lifted's latest release, "Movie," aims to immerse listeners in the creative process, offering a studio experience akin to being a fly on the wall. The duo, comprised of Andrew Field-Pickering and Matt Papich, collaborates with a rotating ensemble of instrumentalists to explore and develop musical ideas. Their approach often results in a blend of relaxed grooves and expansive ambient soundscapes, further refined through digital processing.

The album challenges listeners to engage with multiple layers of sound simultaneously. While analog improvisers find common ground in the performance space, Field-Pickering and Papich utilize digital tools to structure the music, manage the musicians, and forge new sonic territories. This intricate process demands a balance of focused attention and spontaneous creativity to achieve the desired mellow atmosphere.

The musicians involved, along with their peers in the D.C. area, have a history of diverse projects. Their consistent goal is to capture those intimate, in-the-moment recordings. This can be achieved through studio techniques, drawing inspiration from ambient dub artists like those on Chain Reaction and Vladislav Delay, or through the energy of communal improvisation. Field-Pickering's previous work has also highlighted the D.C. go-go funk tradition, where live session recordings are highly valued.

"Movie," named for its deliberate pacing, deviates from a traditional song structure, yet remains deeply engaging. Both members of Lifted are equipped with CDJs loaded with instrumental fragments and found sounds. Together with their collaborators, they document the fluid, transitional spaces where their varied interests converge.

The album's core lies in its four extended mid-section tracks, which explore the ambiguous territory between field recordings and studio manipulation. These pieces feature subdued dialogue and snippets of environmental narrative interwoven with instrumental ambience, evoking a sense of calm, perhaps reminiscent of ECM records or incidental jazz scores. One track, "Melt's Very Nasty," constructs a dense drone using bagpipes and digital effects. Another, "Other Delights," revisits the bagpipes before moving through various sonic environments, from intimate dub spaces to more open, atmospheric vistas. The extensive use of Foley sound creates an expansive sonic canvas. While Lifted acknowledges influences from filmmakers like Robert Altman and Apichatpong Weerasethakul, "Movie" prioritizes sonic coherence over deep narrative. A notable moment of imaginative world-building occurs in "Repossessed," featuring a dryly sung, fictional country song about a repo man reclaiming stereo equipment.

Upon listening to "Movie," the most striking impression is not of specific visual scenes, but of Field-Pickering and Papich themselves actively shaping the sound. One can envision them manipulating their CDJs and electronic modules, defining the boundaries of their collaborative collage and using effects to enhance immersion. Unlike artists who build narrative worlds from source material, Lifted focuses on how the dreamlike arrangement of sonic space fosters new interactions among the musicians. The album is bookended by beat-driven pieces, similar to highlights from a previous release, demonstrating Lifted's ability to broaden an ensemble's expressive range. "More eaze" features prominently on "The Ice Chewers," with its pedal steel guitar, manipulated to sound akin to a DJ controller, contributing fragmented melodies over a grounding groove. Ultimately, "Movie" presents itself as a skilled improvisational record, with even abstract pieces like "Paranoids" maintaining a sense of grounded interplay.

BNN's Perspective: "Movie" by Lifted offers a compelling exploration of sonic collaboration, successfully blending analog improvisation with digital refinement. The album's strength lies in its ability to create immersive soundscapes that invite deep listening, even if its abstract nature may not appeal to all audiences. The duo's commitment to capturing the essence of the creative process is evident throughout, making it a noteworthy addition to the experimental music landscape.

Tags: Lifted, Movie, Andrew Field-Pickering, Matt Papich, improvisation, ambient, studio, digital, analog, field recordings, soundscapes, experimental music, D.C. music, go-go funk, Chain Reaction, Vladislav Delay, Robert Altman, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Foley sound, drone, bagpipes, CDJs, electronic music

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