With “We’re All Dead,” Kramies Windt has devised a dichotomous Halloween Eve ditty that celebrates both mortality and the best parts of being alive. At least that’s the thinking behind the title track from his forthcoming three-song EP, We’re All Dead (VanGerrett)—even if it did take him a while to figure it out.
“I struggle to know the meaning behind what I’m creating until it’s been done for a bit,” says the Ohio-raised, Denver-based Windt, who oversees his multi-textured dream-folk operation under his first name. “This one went from having no meaning to having the biggest theme. It’s a happy reminder that the only thing that matters and that people remember is the kindness you gave and the kindness you received. Other than that, we’re all dead.”
The song itself came together in just two hours, a remarkably quick turnaround for an artist whose atmospheric, intricately layered music often seems to exist somewhere between waking life and a particularly vivid alternate reality. Kramies’ self-titled 2022 LP earned accolades, along with his “dreampop troubadour” designation. Three years later, he worked with Grammy-winning producer Mario J. McNulty (David Bowie, Prince, Nine Inch Nails) to (somewhat) dispel that notion on the aptly titled Goodbye Dreampop Troubadour, which ventured into more discomfiting, nocturnal territory.
Kramies brought the recording process closer to home for We’re All Dead, enlisting friend and producer Derek Lee LaJoie, who helped nudge the new material into focus over a few days. Kramies handled all the vocals and instruments except drums, which are provided by longtime collaborator John Panza (Arms & Armour). It’s a notably streamlined approach for someone whose previous recordings have involved musicians and producers associated with Grandaddy, Black Keys, Band Of Horses, Guided By Voices and Counting Crows.
We’re proud to premiere Kramies’ “We’re All Dead.” Look for the EP sometime next spring.
—Hobart Rowland
