Sometimes it really pays off to be an early bird. Fans who arrived at Union Park in Chicago for Day 2 of the Pitchfork Music Festival on July 20 in time to catch L’Rain’s Red Stage opening set were treated to an experimental delicacy that set the tone for a day filled with incredible artistry.
Taja Cheek, the multi-instrumentalist mastermind behind L’Rain, invited everyone in attendance to get lost in the music as she, joined by her incredible band, served as a guide into the beautiful unknown. I Killed Your Dog, the latest album by L’Rain which was released in 2023 via Mexican Summer, provided daring material for the artist to sprinkle into the early-afternoon set.
Following the performance, Cheek and her band stopped by the shaded lounge area to engage in a wide-ranging interview – hosted by a pair of students from Yolocalli Arts Reach – about a variety of topics concerning the musical milieu, including the events that led to L’Rain’s song “Green” being featured on the soundtrack for I Saw the TV Glow.
“Jane Schoenbrun got in touch about us contributing something, a song, to this really incredible film, I Saw the TV Glow,” said Cheek encouraging everyone to “give it up for Jane” with a round of applause. “They really love music and they gave me this prompt, ‘Imagine that your making a song that is built out of electricity.’ Which I thought was a really amazing prompt to start with.”
Cheek went on to explain that after seeing a work-in-progress version of the film, she and Schoenbrun sent ideas back and forth before “it just clicked” that she should revisit a song that she had first started composing over 10 years ago.
“This is the one. This is what we should do. We were in Gainesville, Florida of all places – we had a residency there that was really great. And Ben [Chapoteau-Katz ] and Andrew [Lappin] and I worked on that and I’m really happy that it made it into the film.
The rest of the Saturday schedule was equally as delightful as the Red Stage also hosted sets from feeble little horse, De La Soul, and Pitchfork Festival favorite Carly Rae Jepsen. Kara Jackson and the evening’s headliner, Jamie xx, also delivered stand-out sets.
Check out photos from L’Rain’s Pitchfork performance below and click here to pick-up tickets to the final day of the fest. More information about L’Rain can be found at Lrain.info.
(Photos by Laurie Fanelli)
