Ken Negrete defines Familiar Trees as a recording project, more than a band, as live performances are rare and as the conception of their songs seems to be a long and complex process. Ken Negrete conceives the music with the contributions of a few other musicians for a rich variety between electronic sounds and more traditional instruments: guitars, cello, bass, clarinet, piano, brushed drums) and really it never sounds like a band, or like classical melodic pop songs. Besides Ken's music, the soul of Familiar Trees is the wonderful voice of Fabiola Sanchez who reminds me of Harriet Wheeler (The Sundays) with more ethereal tones recalling the best elements of the 4AD aesthetics and similar, from The Cocteau Twins to Stina Nordenstam, from Mum to Azure Ray, from Piano Magic to His name is Alive. -derives.net
While Familiar Trees create music that has immediate appeal, there is something much deeper happening within the chords, flourishes, and atmospheres. -The Black And White Magazine
Familiar Trees is the breezy monicker for Californian duo Fabiola Sanchez and Ken Negrete, who make the kind of subtle drifting music that you would find stashed under "lullabies" and "ambient" at the back of the record store. It's a heady concoction of keys and strings, instrumentation and ethereal vocals, that you'll probably reserve for especially sunny midsummer days, when you decide to take a drive out to the forest and start exploring; and it's a sound which first came to light when the pair released their self-titled debut EP on alternative label Time Release in 2005.-Earz Magazine
Familiar Trees are an outfit that sit firmly between the work of artists such as RF and Stereolab and labels such as Plop and 4AD. You can hear the influences in there and the way they've captured a sunny, warm and lively sound is marvelous. Lovely song structures and gorgeous vocals are the key and the instrumentation, be it lightly shoegazey, piano led or gently electronic is delightful ... recommended for fans of chilled out and beautiful music. - Smallfish Records
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