Perhaps the way of the future for creating music has less to do with music and more to do with visuals. At least that’s the way of the future for Pete Lawrie Winfield, frontman of Until The Ribbon Breaks. Originally a film student, Lawrie Winfield’s path took a slight detour when he discovered his love of making music, but his career as a musician can’t move forward without acknowledgement of his original ambitions. When the band is recording at their studio, Lawrie Winfield has a tradition of bringing a movie projector and watching a movie silently as the group proceeds to produce new tracks. Lawrie Winfield’s explanation is that the muted films allow him to meander through his creative think-space further than he could normally, and the images give meaning to the music they create. With the amount of range Until The Ribbon Breaks provides in sound, it’s clear that Lawrie Winfield’s cinematic interests shine through.
Two other musicians join Lawrie Winfield in Until The Ribbon Breaks. Lawrie Winfield started out Until The Ribbon Breaks as a solo project, but fellow Cardiff, Wales residents James Gordon and Elliot Wall came along to help his electro-rock production. Gordon doubles as a keyboardist, percussionist and programmer, as well as backing vocals and bass guitar. Wall adds other percussion and backing vocals, which helped to fill out the lower register of the group’s tracks.
Lawrie Winfield’s filming experience allows them to create music as expansive and refreshing as the various sprawling landscapes and scenes captured on the movies they watch. Each song explores a new district of soundscapes, tapping as many genres as possible as they go along. From the political commentary of “Revolution Indifference,” featuring rap duo Run The Jewels, to bluesy pop-stomp “A Taste of Silver,” Until The Ribbon Breaks has a diverse portfolio of sounds, all with one thing in common—they’re uniquely catchy. Lawrie Winfield’s vocals float across each beat in a raspy whisper, its delivery soothing to the ear, but simultaneously packed with anguish, with an emotional impact as durable as if the lyrics were being shouted instead.
Until The Ribbon Break’s debut album, A Lesson Unlearnt, was released in January and embodied Lawrie Winfield’s hopes that listeners can find meaning in the world his music creates. Just as the films have inspired Winfield’s musical surroundings, he wants his listeners to be able to create their own world of images and significance from the sounds they hear.
Check back each Tuesday and Thursday as The Daily Cardinal previews featured acts for this year’s Revelry Music and Arts Festival.
