FUTURE BIBLE HEROES
Future Bible Heroes are a songwriting collaboration between Stephin Merritt (words and melodies) and Chris Ewen (instruments), with Magnetic Fields bandmate Claudia Gonson sharing vocal duties with Stephin Merritt.
Merritt and Ewen met in the Boston club music scene when they were in their 20’s, and formed a bond through their mutual love of chanteuse Yma Sumac, composer John Cage, and the collecting of exotic instruments and Tiki art. After many years of friendship and musical rapport, the band have released three albums, "Memories of Love," (1998) "Eternal Youth," (2002) and “Partygoing,” (2013). Also three EP's; "I'm Lonely (and I Love It)," "Lonely Days," and "The Lonely Robot".
Chris Ewen is the former keyboardist for the 80's alternative rock band Figures On a Beach, on Sire Records. He now composes incidental music for advertising and film scores, as well as for a solo project called The Hidden Variable. He is a popular DJ in Boston, Massachusetts, and an aficionado of all styles of music from 50's lounge to 90's synth-pop.
Future Bible Heroes is the fruitful product of Ewen's exotic electro-pop instrumentation, replete with samples ranging from Hawaiian birds to computer printers, overlaid with Merritt's exquisite pop melodies and humorous lyrical style.
The songs often follow filmic fantasies, such as a group of aliens who gather all their knowledge of human life through intercepting late night B-movies from outer space; or an oversexed vampire who raps about sexually dominating her victims; or an actor who wants to make the perfect film by committing suicide on camera.
For their first album, "Memories of Love," vocals were provided by both Merritt and Claudia Gonson, Magnetic Fields pianist-drummer. For the second Future Bible Heroes album, "Eternal Youth," Gonson took over as the lead vocalist on all songs. For “Partygoing,” the group’s latest release, the vocals were once again shared between Merritt and Gonson.
In 2013, Merge records released "Memories of Love, Eternal Youth, and Partygoing,” the complete FBH discography in a triple album/ four-CD boxed set. The vinyl collection contains the three LP’s and a digital collection of all the EP’s.
