About

Native America is the name of a creative outlet for Ross Farbe, a 20 year old songwriter from New Orleans. Ross is a multi-instrumentalist with a tendency to both create and commit songs and words to tape during the recording process. The results are both honest and cerebral, not to mention pretty damn trippy. Ross spends countless hours in his bedroom, surrounded by an array of thrift-store keyboards, craigslist-ed tape recorders, and random (usually cheap) instruments he’s picked up over the years. Dancing About Architecture is inevitably what was created through this process, it’s patchwork craft and budget genius somehow make sense. Beautiful, reverberated, and springy, yet at times dissonant and exploratory; threatening to veer off the edge, this collection of songs is the first Native America release to find it’s way to Park The Van.

Beginning as a drummer, Ross has taught himself every other instrument (guitar, keys, banjo, bass) performed on Dancing About Architecture. On his debut release, Mr. Farbe experiments in the role of Producer/Engineer, recording and mixing the entire album by himself. His studio chops would make King Tubby or Mad Professor proud, as drums, guitars, and various sounds cascade off the walls, while creative mic placement adds depth that some folks spend thousands for. His infatuation with physical space and natural reverb would lead him to breaking into warehouses, campus parking garages, and abandoned spaces around the wilds of New Orleans, risking his spotless criminal record solely to lay down a few songs.

The results are impressive. Reminding us of our favorite parts of Olivia Tremor Control as much as Animal Collective and Sonic Youth. Ross’s practice of risk and patience have given us a debut that we’re proud to deliver. Keep an eye on what comes next.