Listen: Who Blinks First (Electric Version) — Wooden Peak

Ahead of their forthcoming fifth album, Electric Vesions, Leipzig-based indie/electronica duo Wooden Peak have unveiled Who Blinks First. Originally released on their 2013 album Polar, here Who Blinks First appears in a slightly more minimal form. Trading off the earthy, folkiness of the song’s original version, here synthesisers mingle with brass and woodwind instruments.

The resulting song has a wintery, Scandinavian atmosphere — the warmth of your favourite coat, gloved hand-in-hand, a touching embrace. It will be interesting to hear the remaining versions when the album comes out. Describing the album, the duo say:

“The idea in the new album has been simplicity and reduction. Interpreting the original tracks sensitively and reinventing them with gentle beats, to play them live in a small ensemble. In the studio we decided to record synthesiser melodies as well as unison parts using real instruments. Our favourite orchestration has always been clarinet and trombone, as it was already evident on our polygon EP in 2015. Therefore, we reached out to Antonia and Wencke again. When we started arranging and recording we immediately realised we wanted to come together as an ensemble again.”

Check out Who Blinks First below, and look out for Electric Versions, due on 26 February 2021.

The Leipzig based Indie/Electronica Duo Wooden Peak is back, having grown into a quartet. Their fifth album "Electric Versions" will be released 26th February 2021 and the second glance into the material is named “Who Blinks First” (22.01.2021). “Electric Versions” combines newly arranged pieces in special realization with live electronics, guitar, bass clarinet, trombone and vocals. Wencke Wollny (Karl Die Große, Fatoni) and Antonia Hausmann (Karl Die Große, Suntje, Clueso) blend with Wooden Peak as if they were always meant to. Interweaving clever rhythms and minimalist electronics, they draw eccentric pictures with catchy shapes. “The idea in the new album has been simplicity and reduction. Interpreting the original tracks sensitively and reinventing them with gentle beats, to play them live in a small ensemble. In the studio we decided to record synthesizer melodies as well as unisono parts using real instruments. Our favourite orchestration has always been clarinet and trombone, as it was already evident on our polygon EP in 2015. Therefore, we reached out to Antonia and Wencke again. When we started arranging and recording we immediately realized we wanted to come together as an ensemble again.” The second single "Who Blinks First" was first released on Wooden Peak 's third album “Polar” (2013) and happens to be a slow burner between broken beats, minimalist arrangements and the quiet exuberance, that is so typical for Wooden Peak. The one who ́s lost the game, is the one who blinks first.