Camphor

Max Avery Lichtenstein, a New York resident who works as a producer, composer, and songwriter while also belonging to the indie rock group Timesbold, anchors the atmospheric chamber pop of Camphor. His earlier film scoring efforts for titles such as Jesus' Son, Tarnation, and The King prompted a shift toward material disconnected from visual media. Beginning a separate venture in 2006, he merged live elements including horns, harp, and woodwinds with electronic and keyboard textures from the Mellotron to shape the tracks that formed Camphor's initial collection. Input arrived from musicians tied to Mercury Rev, Beirut, Bright Eyes, and Timesbold, yielding the joint album Drawn to Dust, which revealed the ensemble's intricate textures early in 2008.