domingo, 24 de julho de 2016

Supermoon with Tonemirror - An Interview


Quando uma nova banda estreia geralmente cria-se uma série de expectativas sobre seu futuro ou, simplesmente deixa claro que nada irá acontecer, certo? Sim, basicamente é isso.

Acontece o seguinte, Jake e Robby, canadenses de Toronto, estrearam no mês passado simplesmente com um estupendo single de estreia, chamado "Supermoon". Ah sim, o nome do duo é Tonemirror, e a faixa título é um massacrante exercício de ruído branco com seus alicerces todos direcionados em duas vertentes bem explícitas, o barulho de bandas noventistas como Dinosaur Jr. e Swervedriver fazendo claras conexões com a nova safra de barulheira densa e melancólica, leia-se Nothing.

O Tonemirror, em seu cartão de visitas, simplesmente deixou explicitado que os caras prometem destroçar tímpanos e corações lenta e dolorosamente.

Ah sim, o lado B do single é uma bela balada que atende pelo óbvio título de "B-Side.

Começo melhor impossível.

***** Interview with Tonemirror *****


Q. When did Tonemirror start? Tell us about the history...
Jake: We were in a band together in high school. We played punk and alt rock stuff, we were just kids then, still learning. But Robby and I gelled musically almost instantaneously. When university started we all kinda parted ways (but we were still close friends). Later on, we were in another musical project that fell apart very quickly, but this time we decided to stick together afterward and we formed Tonemirror in April of 2015.

Robby: Just want to start with a huge THANK YOU to Renato for interviewing us! Tonemirror as it is, started April 2015, however Jake and I were in a highschool band, which fell apart when we parted ways continuing education. I then joined another band (The Bloody Five) which ran for about 6 years. Just before Tonemirror came to be, we also both came from another startup band which did not last too long. We decided to continue ourselves with a different sound and style.

Q: Who are your influences?
Robby: As far as influential drummers, there are many as I like to listen to all styles and genres of music. However some key drummers who had the most influence on me are Neil Peart, Chris Adler, Benny Greb, Jay Postones, Jaska Raatikainen, and Danny Carey to name a few. As far as influential bands, I would have to say Lamb of God, Band of Horses, Pink Floyd, ASG, Tesseract, Rush, Blink 182, Tool, Warmachine, Big Wreck, The Cult, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Mutemath, and Tragically Hip.

Jake: The Smashing Pumpkins, Dinosaur Jr., Slowdive, Nothing, Whirr, Nirvana, Swervedriver, Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, Pixies, The Cure

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
Jake:
1. The Smashing Pumpkins, "Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness"
2. Dinosaur Jr. "You're Living All Over Me"
3. Slowdive, "Souvlaki"
4. Nothing, "Guilty of Everything"
5. Pavement, "Brighten the Corners"

Robby:
Tesseract - Altered State,
ASG - Blood Drive,
Pink Floyd - The Division Bell,
Rush - Caress of Steel,
Persefone - Spiritual Migration

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Jake: Playing live is honestly my favourite thing to do with the band. It feels amazing when you put yourself out there and get a response from the crowd. No matter how good or bad a show goes, I always feel energized after.

Robby: I have been playing live shows fairly regularly since 2009 and I still get nervous before shows, but once we get going I just love it. I tend to try to focus a lot, but as we go on, and with fairly regular practices I can relax and enjoy more and more and let muscle memory take over. It is such a rush and elating feeling when people cheer and enjoy your songs.

Q. How do you describe Tonemirror sounds?
Jake: Loud and spacey dream/noise.

Robby: Proggy alt. rock Noise


Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Robby: We write a song and play the crap outta it so recording takes less time. In the case of our EP we picked out tempos before hand, got to the studio, Jake lays Guitar ghost track, I get the drums recorded, and Jake finishes off with guitars over the drums, and lyrics over everything.

Jake: "Supermoon" took a day to record because of all the guitar tracks on it (Robby is really quick on drums, and it was my first time recording haha). I think we ultimately did something like 10 takes, with 2 mics on each take, so there's somewhere between 16-20 guitar tracks on there, all pushed together. The rest of the songs on our upcoming EP we were able to do in a weekend but we worked our asses off to accomplish that. "B-Side" I recorded in my room, I did it in secret because I wanted it to be a surprise for the release of our first single.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Jake: There's this awesome band called Weed, they're from Vancouver, B.C. They play this really raw, aggressive shoegaze. Also, Toronto has a tonne of amazing bands; Elsa, Beliefs, Dilly Dally and Weaves just to name a few!

Robby: King Beez, Autopilot, War Balm, Blackdog Ballroom

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Robby: Lou Reed - Take a Walk on the Wild Side

Jake: I'd love to do a cover of "When the Sun Hits" by Slowdive, or "Sometimes" by My Bloody Valentine. Oh, or "Needle In The Hay" by Elliot Smith! We like doing covers haha

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Jake: We have an EP coming out this fall, we're excited to release that and just keep playing shows in Toronto and surrounding cities. Hopefully we can reach some other cities in Canada and maybe the States if we're lucky.

Robby: EP album is coming soon, so very excited about that. Then play more shows to help promote it, release a full length album, get various merch for shows.

Q: Any parting words?
Jake: Thank you for taking the time to interview us! And thank you to anyone who listens to our music, it means so much to us that we're reaching people out there!

Robby: ...legs
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/tonemirror
https://tonemirror.bandcamp.com/