The Young Tradition

The Young Tradition has a very traditional indie pop sound but arrives at it in an unusual way. The band is made up of Brent Kenji, who also sings in the Fairways and has played in the Guild League and Skypark, on vocals and Erik Hanspers on all instruments. The unusual part is that Kenji lives in San Francisco and Hanspers lives in Sweden and the two have never met. They recorded their excellent debut EP, California Morning, entirely through the mail. Matinee released the EP in the autumn of 2003. In the wake of the EP's release Kenji and Hanspers did eventually meet but their full length debut release 2005's Northern Drive was recorded in much the same way with the music recorded in Sweden by Hanspers and the vocals in San Francisco by Kenji.