Shins’ Mercer, Modest Mouse’s Brock Team Up for ‘180 South’ Soundtrack
In the upcoming documentary 180? South, director Chris Malloy captures a journey around Patagonia, Chile, with a travelogue inspired by environmentalist Yvon Chouinard. The filmmaker has also rounded up a few top artists to contribute songs to the soundtrack, including the Shins’ James Mercer, Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock, Jack Johnson, Love as Laughter and singer-songwriter Mason Jennings. The soundtrack was compiled by Emmett Malloy (who recently helmed the White Stripes’ Under Great White Northern Lights and Johnson’s Jack Johnson en Concert docs) and will be released by Johnson’s Brushfire imprint on June 22nd.
“It’s real soundtrack stuff and [Brock and I] spent three days in his studio messing around with different instruments and having a lot of fun,” Mercer told Rolling Stone last year. Some of their experiments involved a squeezebox and more exotic instruments from Brock’s extensive collection. Mercer added that he held on to a few of the more proper songs he’d written and may use them for an upcoming Shins record. “There are actually more pop songs than there ought to be, so there’s two of those that I think I’ll keep. I realized that working with Malloy, he wanted more soundtrack-y sort of landscape stuff.”
Mercer, Johnson and Jennings contribute a few songs apiece to the 14-track disc, and Brock dominates the rest. Interestingly, Brock recorded his contributions under the name Ugly Casanova, a folksy side-project that released an album on Sub Pop in 2002 and has remained largely inactive since then.
180? South is currently screening across the country for limited engagements, starting April 24th at the Newport Beach Film Festival, with more showings to be announced. More info is available at the film’s official website .
Screenings:
May 7 – San Diego, CA @ University of San Diego
May 20 – Atlanta, GA @ High Country Outfitters
May 21-27 – Seattle, WA @ Landmark Varsity
May 21-27 – Minneapolis, MN @ Landmark Lagoon
May 22-27 – San Diego, CA @ La Paloma Theater
May 22 – Ojai, CA @ Ojai Theater
May 26-June 1 – Portland, OR @ Hollywood Theater
May 28 – San Francisco, CA @ Victoria Theater
May 28-June 3 – Denver, CO @ Landmark Chez Artiste
May 28-31 – Telluride, CO @ Mt. Telluride Film Festival
May 31 – College Place, WA @ Walla Walla Valley Academy
June 3 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ Fremont Theater
June 4 – Jackson, WY @ Center for the Arts
June 25 – Key Biscayne, FL @ Key Biscayne Beach Club