The first time was in 2001, when Tamborello (who records under the name Dntel) assembled the album out of squelchy beats, lush synths and vocals from Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis and Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard (who later teamed up with Tamborello as the Postal Service). A glitch-pop touchstone, “Life” inspired a generation of bedroom auteurs to trade guitars for laptops, including Geotic and the One AM Radio — who are playing with Dntel at the Red Palace on Friday.
Ten years later, when Tamborello began preparing a nationwide tour and a 10th-anniversary reissue of “Life Is Full of Possibilities” (out in October), he discovered that many of the computer files containing the original sound elements were either missing or deleted — victims of technological upgrades or his own disorganization. “Back then, I had different computers,” Tamborello says. “I didn’t keep track of archiving the files, so I don’t have the separate parts of a lot of the songs anymore. I had to completely rebuild them.”
Slavish devotion to the original wasn’t a priority; instead, he took liberties with his most famous songs, such as “(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan.”
“I didn’t want to remake them completely the same, because that would be just tedious and painful,” Tamborello says.
But he says the songs will retain their gauzy flow as well as their delicate blend of beats and vocals. “With this kind of music, you can’t do everything live,” he says. “A lot of it is going to be pre-recorded. I like to treat it almost like a DJ set. You have to pay attention to the set as a whole and make it something you wouldn’t get just by listening to the music at home.”
Having spent so much time examining the past, Tamborello is currently working on new songs, which may result in an EP or even a new album in 2012. “After the tour, I think I’m done with the old songs,” he says. “I’m more excited to play all-new stuff.”
» Red Palace, 1210 H St. NE; with Geotic and the One AM Radio; Fri., 9:30 p.m., $10-$12; 202-399-3201.
Written by Express contributor Stephen M. Deusner
Photo by Katie Byron
