"In June 2003, around the time that Hail to the Thief was released, Radiohead started an internet competition called The Loophole, where they provided samples for fans to create music and send it in. For this purpose the website www.digitallandfill.co.uk was created, and a link to this website was prominently featured on radiohead.com."

- Citizen Insane website, link: http://citizeninsane.eu/loophole.html


So about ten years ago I entered a competition that Radiohead organized called the Loophole, and the song I made got picked! 

A search for the contest on google points to the Citizen Insane site, which has all the previous Radiohead websites documented throughout each of their album releases. Each month the band (or mostly Johnny Greenwood) listened to hundreds and hundreds of entries and then picked their favorite 20. If you scroll down to the bottom, the winners for each month are listed, and you can find mine under September-October.

The project was called Airfoil, and the song was called 'Stowaway Luggage'. If you're interested in hearing the samples the band provided, they're all available as mp3s on the same site along with the rules and deadlines.

Airfoil (pre-Hello Caller) - RADIOHEAD Loophole Sept '03 competition winner - "Stowaway Luggage"

Hello Caller is:
Brian Ferguson - guitar, vocals, piano
Will Wolfe - drums, percussion
Brendan Bond - trumpet, glockenspiel, backup vocals
Tyler Dunnam - electric guitar
Sadie Wolfe - cello
Eric Scott - bass guitar
Caiti Coughlan - viola, violin
credits
released May 2, 2024

Written by Brian Ferguson
Produced by Bryan Ray
Engineered by Nick Joswick
Recorded at Fifth Street Studios
Mastered by Erik Wofford
Photography by Brian Ferguson
Art design by Josh Verduzco and Brian Ferguson
Released by Violent Films records
Copyright © 2024 by Hello Caller

Hello Caller - Shadows Maker

Hello Caller - Electric Skies

Fits the Crime (orchestral version)

Manhunt

Decent Sense

Well these things here are your clothes, put them on so we can go out in the rain. Come and see these people fight, it happens almost every night of the week. They're bleeding from their mouths, drinking water and spitting out into the drain. In this mellow streetlight gold, steady hands and broken souls, face to face.

Outside this rundown city bar, things just cannot seem to be harder to explain. But they're thinking with their mouths and drinking all of these things out into the day. "Please let me see all your cards," or so they'll say. "These pieces we have picked apart, just because."

Our old gloves left on the shelf, we'll put them on so we can box above the belt. Routine duty speaks for those of us who don't have anything to sell. Well you've been chasing all these hours, sitting up and standing down. Are you okay? Wearing out your skin and bones, you look just like you've seen a ghost. Are you looking at me?

You're speaking in a lonely tongue. What did you say? You said, "I curse myself for what I've done. Are we okay?" These reasons we have picked apart will hold their sway. They say what we have seen will now be lost, just because.

Box Above the Belt

hunting a fox (demo)

The songs on Austin quintet Hello Caller’s debut LP ‘Dark Twain’ are melodically stunning – “transcendent” (MTV Hive) harmonies woven with trumpet and cello, interspersed with jangly guitars, banjo and twinkling xylophones. But a closer listen reveals an unsettling feeling that deeper mysteries are veiled behind their outward beauty.

The band’s singular sound has earned them a loyal following in their hometown since they formed in 2010, resulting in SXSW gigs and packed shows with folky contemporaries like Shakey Graves, who contributes guest vocals on ‘Dark Twain,’ and Wild Child, whose cellist Sadie Wolfe previously played in the band. Their early demo recordings drew comparisons to Elliott Smith, Midlake, and Sufjan Stevens, as fans around the country discovered their sound through word of mouth and blog write-ups.

The Brooklyn-based tastemaker blog I Guess I’m Floating showed early support for ‘Dark Twain,’ comparing Hello Caller’s sound to the “earthy, emotional appeal” of the bands made famous by Saddle Creek Records in the late 90′s-early 00′s, updated with “the textured instrumentation and baroque pop sound you hear in acts today like Grizzly Bear and Beirut.”

As their music spreads around the country and their loyal fan base continues to grow, Hello Caller are quickly becoming an outstanding new force in Austin’s folk scene and beyond. http://hellocaller.bandcamp.com

Hello Caller

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