Somehow Cloud People surfaced in my mind in 2001 as the name of the source of our music. To me, it is music that felt intrinsically connected to the Pine Barrens and the skies above it. In many ways the music is often meant to be a celebration and interpretation of such experiences. The name "Cloud People" seemed to embody all of this.
Where did the name surface from? I do not know. I did not listen to or know of a popular band called Sweetback that had a song called "Cloud People". I was not aware of the Chachapoyas, who were, according to Wikipedia, "a culture of Andean people living in the cloud forests of the Amazonas Region of present-day Peru".
Maybe I subconsciously heard it somewhere and when it resurfaced I fell into the foul error of cultural appropriation or maybe my imagination was on the right path in invoking some kind of archetypal phenomenon of beings above. I'd like to think the later.
However, I identified the power of the music with that name. And according to what I could find across the cloud there are other people who feel drawn to the name also. It is curious to find music of certain levity (to varying degrees) that also found its way unto this identity.
Below are more artists carrying out work under this name, or variations of it.
- Evan Wilder, July 2024.
Cloud People
(Vermont, United States)
This description is taken from: http://liveatnectars.com/event/cloud-people/
"Cloud People was originally founded in Burlington, Vermont in 1994 by Guitarists Curtis Kile and John Creech, and Drummer Marcus Beninson. The band, known for the originality of their music and the energy and gravity of their sound, met an untimely end with the death of drummer Beninson in 1999. Recently reunited in early 2012, Curtis and John are picking up where they left off with new music as well as their earlier songs. Joined by Violinist Jess Zehngut, they deliver a powerful evening of acoustic music."
Unfortunately for them the bio is confused on which Cloud People and links up to our page. There are some electronic parts in this music which resonate to varying degrees with things I thought I was reaching for musically. Listen below to "Time To Come Back" at 1:15 onward to that airy flute or synth section. Feels like home.
So these three are the first known music outfit under the name Cloud People. At least to me, so far. Somehow, it makes sense that it would begin in 1994. Something in the air back then.
Their song tags describe their music as Psychedelic, Vermont, Revolution.
The Cloud People
(Europe, possibly)
Judging from this they only have one song to listen to on their Bandcamp, and no other links appear. It is one very well produced and performed song.
They use these tags to describe the music: pop, alternative, cold wave, and electropop.
I remember them from MySpace, since at least 2007. My memory is fuzzy so don't trust it but I think they were either from Minnesota or maybe Arizona ... or France? The MySpace music player doesn't always work like it did, but I recall liking their music and imagery. Give the link a try and see if you can hear their sound.
The uncapitlized 'P' in "people" does not appear consistent in their album art. This might be the one from France I was thinking of. Or is it the same one from MySpace above? It might be. Good sounds.
(Cleveland, Ohio, United States)
They describe themselves as: "Amish Speed Metal that blends with ABBA & Starland Vocal Band. The AUDIENCE makes it happen ! Sure we're serious ;)". It looks like they get the audience involved in making live music with them, which I think can be a really great thing. It is interesting to me that they regionalized their name by adding the Cleveland reference. Perhaps it is out of necessity to differentiate from other bands named Cloud People, or perhaps we could see it as a way to represent their region for Cloud People.
(Seattle, Washington, United States) http://www.cloudpersonmusic.com/
They use these tags to describe the music: indie rock, seattle, garage, garage rock, and psychedelic.
Cloud Cult
Cults are people, too. This band looks pretty serious about what they're doing. I can tell from their charm pricing. I just put on their last album and it is sounding very polished and grand so far. Epic ambient rock with group vocals.
(Bergen, Norway)
From their Bandcamp: Cloud People is a six-piece band from Bergen, Norway. Since its conception, the band’s mission has been to experiment and to find a new sound. Featuring members from Seven Impale.
Someone went on the internet, fell for some bad explanations, and used their music to spread it further. This makes me hate that I share the name Cloud People with them. If only they had gone online and googled their name before picking it. Maybe they would have found this page you're reading now.
One look at the titles and you know the bridge is washed out ahead. And to confirm the worst of your expectations, the album starts with this sample: buckle up because the rest of this information won't be easily digested for the sleeping sheeple.
Translation: only the gullible who lack any critical thinking skills will be able to swallow ideas this bad. These ways of paranoid, inflexible thinking are frustrating and pitiful to say the least. If you're confident, unwittingly wrong and into celebrating stubborn ignorance while thinking you're edgy and superior for being in on what's "really" going on, this might be the soundtrack for you.
Baudrillard might've likely barfed at the reference.
