Ariel Pink & Jorge Elbrecht - "Hang On to Life" / "No Real Friend"

On its seventh anniversary, we decided to revisit classic the collaborative Ariel Pink and Jorge Elbrecht “Hang On to Life” seven-inch, released by Mexican Summer on July 7, 2013. 2,000 copies (ours pictured here) were pressed, and included fold-out artwork. In July, 2020, Jorge Elbrecht shared the following memories with us:

“We wrote it really fast – like in a day. We both had demo ideas that seemed to immediately work together, and I think were even in the same key. Ariel thought of the ‘screwed the pooch’ chorus line on our walk to get coffee.”

A music video accompanied the single, and observant fans may notice an appearance by longtime Ariel Pink and Jorge Elbrecht collaborator Tim Koh.

Remembering the tracking, Jorge added that “Will Berman was invaluable as the drummer and drum sound doctor of that track – I think he also played the synths you hear on the song. We did it in Greenpoint at the Mexican Summer studio, and my apartment, which was literally across the street on Guernsey Street.”

Jorge Albrecht (left) and Ariel Pink (right). Photo: Geneva Jacuzzi

The 2013 seven-inch is also notable for its flip side, “No Real Friend”, which is anything but an afterthought or tacked-on track. On the contrary, the track is every bit as compelling as its counterpart, and deftly juxtaposes its evocative melodies and funky groove with unexpected sounds of subtle dissonance (bitonality?) to creative a rich, rewarding, and unexpected listening experience. With that in mind, we informally consider the seven-inch a double A-side, and one that has clearly stood the test of time.

The insert artwork for the “Hang On to Life” / “No Real Friend” seven-inch. Jorge confirmed for WMF in 2020 that the top (right-side-up) work is his, and is a self-portrait of the artist as a boy with a monster. The bottom (upside down) work is Ariel Pink’s.