MARV, based in Carrboro, North Carolina, is Geoff Schilling (sythesiser) and Nathan Taylor (synthesizer). Our take: MARV is a two-piece instrumental synthesizer project from Carrboro, North Carolina. The members have a long track record in the local scene, including projects like Sponge Bath and Natural Causes, but MARV is more ethereal than what you might expect if you know these guys from hanging around North Carolina’s underground venues. I caught MARV live once, and they blew me away, but it was strange to take in their spacious, often gentle music in a club environment. The whole time I was watching them, I wished I could stretch out on a couch and listen to them while enjoying Jah’s blessed sacrament. Well, that day is here, and it’s all I’d hoped it would be! MARV’s debut vinyl sounds straight out of early 70s Germany… think Tangerine Dream, Cluster, Klaus Schulze… spacey analog synthesizer bliss. While it’s a cliche to invoke space when discussing this kind of music (one name for it is kosmiche musik, or “cosmic music” in German), you can’t help it with MARV. The arrangements are so open that you feel like you’re a tiny blip in a vast landscape, and the purity of the synth sounds is as precise and delicate as light itself. Whether you’re a scholar of 70s German experimental music or you just want something to play in the background while you stare at your lava lamp, this is awesome. Also, the LP is an edition of 250 with screen printed, textured covers and hand-stamped labels and looks beautiful.
