Catch the Breeze with Whirr - An Interview

Diretamente do norte da California um petardo classicamente shoegazer, antes conhecido como Whirl mas que por motivos legais foi obrigado a alterar o nome para Whirr, o fato é que o 12" Distressor do ao passado, ainda sob a alcunha de Whirl foi um dos mais elogiados lançamentos shoegazers do ano, Slowdive, The Cure em doses cavalares para fazer a alegria dos saudosistas de plantão e xiitas aficionados por muralhas de guitarras mescladas com andamento pos punk e aquele ar etereo digno de virar obra prima para qualquer fã do genero. Agora o Whirr devidamente adotado pela Tee Pee joga no mercado um 7" absolutamente fantastico, June é o nome da maravilha Junebounvier e Sundae são verdadeiras perolas ainda mais grandiosas do que as canções de do Distressor, principalmente Junebounvier algo soberbo ecos de Ride, Slowdive, Moose estilhaçados por dentre a canção de pouco menos de 4 minutos, Sundae representa o lado etereo do Whirr, e novamente o TBTCI atraves de contatos imediatos, através de Nick, apresenta em primeira mão a história dessa pequena maravilhosa escondida no universo dos bons.

***** Interview with Whirr *****

Q. When did Whirr starts, tell us about the history...

A. Whirr began under the name Whirl and we had our first practice on Halloween of 2009. The band came together after I wrote demo versions of a few of the songs from the Distressor EP through a MIDI program called Tab It. I showed them to my friends (who all jammed and hung out regularly) and we decided to start a band. We recorded and put out a DIY demo cassette in January of 2010 with our friend Byanca Munoz on vocals.

After the positive response to the cassette, we took a more serious approach toward the band and began writing more songs together. In March 2010, we went into the studio with Jack Shirley at the Atomic Garden in Palo Alto, California and recorded seven songs, which would become the Distressor EP. Following the release of the Distressor EP, Byanca departed from the band, and in January of 2011 we found Alexandra Morte, who is our singer/keyboard player now. In February, we again went into the studio with Jack Shirley to record two songs which would be released as the June 7". Unfortunately, not long after we recieved an Email from an attorney representing another artist named "Whirl" who had trademarked the name, so we changed it to "Whirr". In the midst of the name change we received an offer from Tee Pee records and signed with them. They put out the June 7" in September and will be releasing our debut LP in early 2012.

Q. Make a list of your favorite 5 albums of all time…

A. In no particular order :

The Smiths - Self Titled

The Cure - Disintegration

Slowdive - Just for a day

Smashing Pumpklins - Siamese Dream

Dinosaur Jr - Green Mind

Q. How do you describe Whirr sounds?

A. I'm not sure how to describe our sound, early on we aimed for sort of Slowdive/MBV worship but with more of a pop song structure. However, now it's much more of all of our influences combined, while still adding our own touch to things.

Q. About Distressor ep, many many people consider one of the best records from last year, what´s your opinion?

A. We're all proud of the record and very thankful that people enjoy it.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the new 7"?

A. There really wasn't much to it, ha ha. We wrote/jammed the songs together for a few weeks, then headed into the studio and live recorded the songs in a day.

Q. Which new bands do you recommended?

A. Yuck, Tears Run Rings, Nostalgist, Anne, Young Prisms, Broken Water, Weekend.

Q: Which bands you love to made a cover version?

A. I would love to cover : The Cure - A forest, Husker Du - Don't want to know if you're lonely and Foo Fighters - Everlong.

Q: What´s the plans for future....

A. Put out our debut LP on Tee Pee records in early 2012, hopefully do a full US tour and continue playing shows and writing songs.

Q: Any parting words?

A. Thanks so much for for the interview opportunity Renato, thanks to anyone who listens to/supports our band.

Shout outs :

Nostalgist, Anne, Deafheaven, DNF, Lycus, FDBVK, American Gods, Moonbeams, Traif Lip, Broken Water, Wife

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Thanks Nick

www.facebook.com/whirrband
http://whirrband.tumblr.com/
http://whirrband.bandcamp.com/album/june

Psychotic Reaction with Teenage Mary - An Interview

Psicodelismo garageiro daqueles que só quem é iniciado sabe, essa é a maxima para a novidade encharcada de fuzz chamada Teenage Mary que ainda não lançou nada oficialmente mas já causa frisson por onde passou e obviamente o TBTCI sempre ligado nas grandes barulheiras nos quatro cantos do mundo, descolou através de contatos imediatos, este feito por Steven, guitarrista do combo. Srs, aprofundem-se no universo psicotico e freak do Teenage Mary.

***** Interview with Teenage Mary *****

Q. When did Teenage Mary start, tell us about the history...

A. We started out about 7 months ago, we always fancied starting a band up so we got together and started jamming. We are all into the same sort of music so it was easy to find our sound and we just started writing tunes and getting great feedback on them. We played our first gig in June and it went really well, we have recently played more gigs supporting the likes of the Lucid Dream and Dead Sons.

Q: Who are your influences?

A. Our main influences include bands like The Beatles, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Black Angles, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Verve, Jesus and Mary Chain, Spiritualized, Spacemen 3, The Velvet Underground and many more.

Q. Made a list of 5 albuns of all time.

A. This can change every week, but as a collective of the whole band:

The Beatles: Rubber Soul

Brian Jonestown Massacre: Strung Out In Heaven

Jesus and Mary Chain: Psychocandy

The Verve: A Northern Soul

Oasis: Definitely Maybe

Q. How do you feel playing live?

A. We love playing live, there isn't a better buzz for us than getting up on stage and playing our songs to an audience.

Q. How do you describe Teenage Mary sounds?

A: Our sound is dirty 'rock and roll' with a lot of fuzz and drones. There are a couple of new songs in the process of being completed at the moment that have dialed back the fuzz quite a lot.

Q: When is the first official release due?

A: We are looking at releasing our first EP in February/March time next year but we don't have an official date as of yet.

Q. Which new bands do you recommended?

A. The Lucid Dream, Wild Eyes, Toba Caldera and Minaret are all great bands and friends of ours.

Q: Which bands you love to made a cover version?

A: We currently do a cover of The La's: I Can't Sleep

Q: What´s the plans for future

A. Our plan is to release our EP and just keep playing as many gigs as we can and spread the word about us, hopefully get on some festivals next year also.

Q: Any parting words?

A: Thank you for taking the time to ask us these questions. You can find us and listen to our recordings on www.soundcloud.com and www.facebook.com/teenagemary

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Thanks Steve and Teenage Mary

Krautpsychdrone with Eat Lights Become Lights - An Interview

Ouvir o debut Autopia do combo Eat Lights Become Lights é uma viagem sem precedentes ao mundo imaginario do kraut rock alemão clássico dos 70´s mais precisamente NEU!, Can e Faust passando pelas dissonantes trips de Spacemen 3 com pinceladas de shoegazer tudo isso atualizado e transportado para os dias de hoje. A trinca de abertura com Test Driver, Dark Matter e Machine Language deixa altamente ilustrado e clarissimo que estamos diante de uma pequena obra prima que poucos terão acesso, mas certamente quem estiver frente a frente com Autopia sera presenteado com uma audição riquissima, Dark Matter é a alma do album, um kraut noise em altissima rotação, torna-se predileta desde o inico, ainda tem Stargazer e White Horse para fazer de Autopia uns dos albuns do anos.

Como sou aficcionado pela sonoridade não houve como não fazer contato com Neil Rudd, guitarras, sintetizadores, loops, programming e outros barulhinhos mais e descolar essa entrevista exclusiva do já predileto Eat Lights Become Lights, entre e boa viagem.

***** Interview with Eat Lights Become Lights *****

Q. When did ELBL starts, tell us about the history...
A. ELBL started in around 2007/2008. I used to be in a band that did the standard post rock thing, quiet/loud, Explosions in the sky/Mogwai kinda thing. I've always been a massive fan of the German 70's bands that become know and grouped under the Krautrock banner. I'd always really loved the motorik beat and that fast forward kinda sound and interesting use of repetition.
So ELBL started out as side project but it quickly became evident that it was way more enjoyable doing the ELBL thing so I focused all my energies in this direction.

I'm a massive believer in getting the right people into a line up. Once you have them it makes the act of playing the music I write effortless as everyone is coming from the same influences and using the same musical language. You don't have to explain yourself with the right people, it becomes more an intuitive thing. I had a few line ups that really didn't work for one reason of another. But in the last few years I've been working with some people that really understand what is required and make the process fun.

Currently I'm putting together a new line up of ELB here in L.A and its really starting to come together. I've begun working with a really talented keys/synth player called Matt McMurray who has a fantastic analogue synth collection and is a great musician in his own right.


Q: Who are your influences?
A-I've a fairly broad range of influences, a lot of minimalist composers- Steve Reich, through to a lot of German 70's bands- Kraftwerk, Neu!, Can, Harmonia, Cluster, Popol Vuh as well as more contemporary bands such as Spacemen 3, Camera, Holy Fuck, Maserati, 12, K-X-P, Cave. I guess they all have a lot in common with each other as a lot of them explore the repetitive elements that I love.

Q. Make a list of your 5 albums of all time…
A-Impossible to limit it to 5 but I guess if I had to...
Brian Eno- Music for Airports
Steve Reich- Works !965-1995
Kraftwerk- Autobahn
Neu!- Neu!
Spacemen 3- Playing with Fire

Q. How do you feel playing live?
A. The live ELBL sound and the recorded sound are two very different things. When we play live we always try and make it that bit more immediate and heavier than the records. I've never been a fan of bands that just replicate what is on their records. I always like to see bands that are pushing their sounded further out there, improvising and experimenting on the fly. This for me is the most exciting time, when your not quite sure what is coming next- it si pure creativity.
I've played guitar quite a few times for Damo Suzuki, the sets are always 100% improvised and these for me are some of the most rewarding gigs I've ever done.

Q. How do you describe ELBL sounds?
A. Kraut-Psych-Drone

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the new album?
A. The new album sessions began earlier this year and its going pretty well right now. I've finished about 12 tracks and I've around another 10 to complete. Then I'll choose which will be going on the new record.

The process is always the same when I right. I generally start with a seed of an idea and build layers and layers of guitars and synths to the point where I've gone way to far. Then it become a reductive process of stripping back layers of sound till it reaches a point that I'm happy with.

Q. Which new bands do you recommended?
A. I'm a massive fan of a German band called Camera. I don't think there is any recorded output by them. They perform generally on the streets of Berlin. They are a 3 piece, guitar, keys, drums and its all, as far as I'm aware totally improvised. They have this incredible honesty in their music, it feels extremely pure. They really seem to get what it is to make this kind of music. There are loads of videos on Youtube of their street gigs. Its far to say I'm completely obsessed with them right now.

Q: Which bands you love to made a cover version?
A. Lou Reed- Metal Machine Music

Q: What´s the plans for future....
A. We are releasing a split 7" with a band called Cloudland Canyon on The Great Pop Supplement label early in 2012. They are an amazing band so I'm very excited to be a part of that. We did our last single with The Great Pop Supplement "Test Drive" which had a Silver Apples remix of the track on the flip side. It came out on square, green vinyl so I'm keen to see what we can do this time around. I've an idea about getting the needle to start at the centre and for the needle to travel out to the edge...We'll see.

After that the next album should be ready for release around March I think. This time around I've tried to strip back the ELBL sound. Less layers and a more direct approach to the sounds and rhythms. It currently feels like its a good follow up sonically to our last album AUTOPIA which came out earlier this year on Enraptured records.

Q: Any parting words?
A. Make music to make music, don't make music to become famous. Scenes come and go but the best music is timeless.
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Thanks Neil Lights....

http://eatlightsbecomelights.bandcamp.com/album/autopia

Heaven Sent An Angel with Deep Cut - An Interview

Inicio dos 90´s e uma das bandas mais amadas da classica era do shoegazer sem duvida foi o Revolver do grande Mat Flint, Mollases, Heaven Send An Angel, Crimson, Venice são classicos, depois do fim do Revolver em 1994, Mat aventurou-se no Death in Vegas tocando baixo, e historias a parte o fato é que agora Mat voltou as origens guitarras a mão reuniu-se junto a seu irmão Simon Flint no baixo, Ian Button na bateria, Ped Bailey guitarra e Emma Bailey nos vocais e formaram o delicioso Deeo Cut, prediletissimo deste que vos escreve e inumeros outros aficcionados no noisepop shoegazer que Mat & Cia promovem. Depois do debut My Thoughts Light Fires chegou a vez do novíssimo Disorientation que chega para alçar o Deep Cut a brigar pelos melhores albuns do ano se o debut tinha Time to Kill o novo album tem Something´s Got to Give, impossível a canção não grudar em sua mente, e o TBTCI através do amigo Robin Allport do grande selo Club AC30 gravadora do Deep Cut, descolou uma daquelas que tornam-se desde já clássicas entrevistas aqui no TBTCI, afinal não é todo dia que Mat Flint da as caras por terras brasilis, então chega né, vamos lá, Mr. Mat Flint e seu delicioso Deep Cut:

***** Interview with Mat Flint - Deep Cut/Revolver/Death in Vegas *****

Q. When did Deep Cut starts, tell us about the history...
A. I was playing bass for Death In Vegas, and when they stopped touring in 2005 I really fancied having a go at doing some of my own songs again, although I didn't want to be the singer. I had been the singer/songwriter in Revolver before DIV, but now I just wanted to play guitar and write songs. So I started doing some demos at home with my brother, and when we'd got some tracks nearly finished, we started looking for a singer. We couldn't find anyone that worked, and one day Emma - my girlfriend - said that she wanted to have a go. It worked out really well, and we made 3 demos which we put up on Myspace. Robin from AC30 heard the tracks and said that we should come down and play at one of his club nights - so we had to get a band together, which we did. Ian, who was also in the Death in Vegas live band on guitar, joined us on drums, and Emma's brother Pad came in on guitar. We played some gigs, then recorded a single that Tim Holmes from DIV engineered, which AC30 put out, and it went on from there really - although we completely engineer and produce ourselves now.

Q: Who are your influences?
A. Suicide, Neu, Harmonia, Beatles, Velvets, 90s hip hop, MBV, Sonic Youth, Marychain, Primal Scream, Smiths, Stooges, MC5, Syd Barrett, Pistols, PIL, acid house and techno, dub reggae, the Byrds , Big Star, Flying Burrito Brothers. I could go on forever!

Q. Made a list of 5 albuns of all time…

"Illmatic"- Nas
"The Notorious Byrd Brothers" - The Byrds
"Forever Changes" - Love
"Pet Sounds" - The Beach Boys
"Psychocandy" - the Jesus and Mary Chain

Q. How do you feel playing live?
A. We love it, although we don't get to do as many gigs as we would like to. Some of us have children, we all have full-time jobs, we don't all live near each other. So it's difficult to do long tours or anything like that. But we try to play as often as we can, and we get a really good buzz from it. We were rehearsing last night, actually, for our next gig on Wednesday. It's our album launch party.

Q. How do you describe Deep Cut´s sounds?
A. 21st century psychedelic pop music; alternative guitar music with a twist.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the new album?
A. Me and Si (my brother) did the demos for it at my house, with Emma adding vocals whenever each track was finished. Then, when we had enough tracks for the album, we went into our rehearsal studio and recording the backing tracks - drums, bass and guide guitars, over 3 separate sessions. We then did all the overdubs either in our rehearsal studio, or in my living room, over a few months. We are lucky that our drummer, Ian, is a recording wizard - he's a genius engineer who knows Logic inside out, and knows how to mike things up properly to get the best sounds, and so on. So we did most of the overdubs and the mixing in my living room, we didn't need to go into the studio.

Q. What´s represents the shoegazer classic era to the band?
A. It depends how you're defining "shoegazer" - and it's not a term I use myself. But if I go with what I think you mean, it would be the period in late 1988-early 1989 when My Bloody Valentine went from being a really good indie band, to an absolutely fucking phenomenal group, the best band on the planet. The "You Made Me Realise" and "Feed Me With Your Kiss" EPs, and then the "Isn't Anything" album. I was lucky enough to see them loads of times through this period, it was extraordinary - and had a massive influence on everything I did afterwards.

Q. Which new bands do you recommended?
A. Our best friends are in a band called the Real Sound, they will blow you away, if they ever get round to releasing anything! they've got songs that will blow your mind.

Q: Which bands you love to made a cover version?

Bands covering us? I only think you should cover something if you think can do a radicallly different interpretation of it. I can't see the point A. of doing a similar version, which will never be as good. So I don't know, really. I always wanted to hear some cheesy pop singer to cover "Heaven Sent An Angel" by Revolver, and make me loads of money by having a massive hit!

Q: What´s the plans for future....
A. Well, our new album "Disorientation" is out next week. More gigs, then me and Si are doing some remixes, maybe some producing/mixing, then might do another single - an EP or something. Then start writing the next album. I might also play on a few people's records.

Q: Any parting words?
A. Check us out if you haven't heard us. You'll like it.
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Thanks Mat, thanks Robin!!!

http://www.clubac30.com
http://www.myspace.com/thedeepcut
http://www.facebook.com/deepcutband

Hey Alchemist / Neuralgia by One Unique Signal - Guest Nick Keech

É fato que o TBTCI é fã incondicional da desconstrução sonora movida a wall of sound em decibeis altissimos que o One Unique Signal pratica, veja algumas passagens do OUS por aqui 1, 2, 3 e a entrevista, e chegou a hora do retorno do eletrochoque dos ingleses que pegam NEU!, PIL, Loop, Telescopes e adicionam querosene em estado bruto, o novissimo single Hey Alchemist / Neuralgia é puro incêndio em altas dimensões, wall of sound a niveis que poucas vezes foi-se notado e para melhor ilustrar o single, Nick Keech do OUS faz a vez no TBTCI:

Hey Alchemist / Neuralgia

Recording process:
We worked with the same people who have recorded all but one of our releases, our friends Dan Horn and Wayne Pennell. They run a superb recording space in Isleworth, west London called the Sound Bunker. It's always our first choice of studio as we have people there who understand our sound and have been with us as our music has evolved. There is an argument for seeing what kind of record we would get by using someone else. The work we did recently at Anton's (BJM) place in Berlin and with Richard Formby on the new Telescopes material offered us an insight into the way other studios work which was really interesting. The effect it had on me was to focus less on a live sounding recording and move more into a layered studio sound. It therefore seemed to make sense to stick with the people we are comfortable with and focus on taking a more active role in producing a massive sounding recording. Whilst there is a lot to be said for capturing the band live on a recording, I'm currently more into the idea of treating it as another aspect of the band. OUS don't offer any political messages, nor do we expect to change anyone's life with our lyrics and so the way I see it there are three main areas left for us to get our vibe across: Live sound, recorded sound and our artwork. Previously we have tried to make our recordings sound similar to our live performances but it struck me as a wasted opportunity. It's a real chance to build a beast and enjoy a creative experience that isn't doable in a live setup. The two tracks on the new record, Neuralgia especially, have plenty going on in there. It's great headphone music! We have only scratched the surface and I'm really looking forward to getting better at constructing our sound in the studio.

The influence:
This record is just two songs, side A 'Alchemist' that came out of a demo written by Byron and side B 'Neuralgia' from a demo of mine. I can't speak for Byron's initial influence when writing but it's fair to say that a large part of it came out of a mutual love of minimal chord progressions and repetition. The whole band sing from the same hymn sheet when it comes to sound, and any one of us bringing a demo into the practice room can be sure that the band will evolve it in a way that compliments the initial idea. My track Neuralgia was born out of an ongoing desire to take the repetition gospel and run with it. It's pretty obvious where my influences come from and all I'm trying to do is express my interpretation of the music I love. I'm at home immersed in volume coupled with a riff that is repeatedly droning on, suspending you in it's vibration. Two minutes of the same riff is boring...Five minutes and it starts to come alive...seven minutes plus and it begins to become your world! At this point you can drop in a single note through a wah pedal and it turns the music on it's head. The simplest addition can be epic.

New album:
We actually recorded four songs when doing this single. The remaining two will be held back for possible inclusion in the new album but this is a way off at the moment. Maybe if the single does well enough we'll have a good argument to take to the label and ask for another release We have an idea (in the very early stages at the moment) to self record and release a collection of mellow stuff. Dan, Jim and Mess are especially good at this sort of stuff and have a large collection of songs already waiting in the wings. Byron and me also have a bunch of ideas and so it seems like a possibility. There is also a new Telescopes record due in the not too distant future which is Stephen Lawrie and us.
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Thanks Nick

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/hey-alchemist!-neuralgia-single/id462795740

Victorialand with Spell 336 - An Interview

Paul Lopez e Martin Huerta são os responsáveis pela ternura magica contida sob a alcunha de Spell 336, que conta em seu currículo com o magistral debut homonimo e o ep Reverse, ambos, recheados de trejeitos shoegazer clássicos, texturas absurdamente dreampop com um apelo denso e soturno, tudo equalizado de forma atual e altamente instigante.

Convidei Paul Lopez para conceder uma entrevista ao TBTCI o que de fato acontece e ilustra bem o quão necessário se faz a qualquer amante de Cocteau Twins e shoegazer a audição para enfim tornar-se o mais novo refém desde mundo pessoal do Spell 336.

***** An Interview with Paul Lopez from Spell 336 *****

Q. When did Spell 336 starts, tell us about the history...

Spell 336 began in 1991. Myself and my band mate Martin Huerta became friends in high school right around 1984. At that time we formed our first band. Martin had just started to play the guitar and I was the drummer. I started playing the drums when I was 10. This was in 1979. When me and Martin started to play music he was not singing at the time. A couple of years later I quit the group and it was then when Martin began to sing vocals and his musicianship on the guitar started to flow. After we graduated from high school in 1986 and 1987 respectively I lost contact with Martin. He had moved to Los Angeles and I stayed in our hometown. During this period I became close friends with Martin's younger brother. This was around late 1990. Martin was coming for a family visit and came by my home and we re-established our friendship. Martin was working in Los Angeles at the old Tower Records store. During his visit he brought some promotional CD's of Lush, Cocteau Twins, Tones On Tail to give to me. We had been fans of 4ad and of the various bands on their roster for quite some time. Martin stated that he was still playing the guitar and I had just started to play the guitar as well in addition to the drums and I had began to write lyrics. I remember telling Martin that I had some lyrics in a notebook that I kept with me. Martin had some songs as well and it was then that we decided to take this seriously and do something with what we had. I have old practice cassettes of our first rehearsals and I was amazed how easy it was to play with Martin. During those rehearsals I wrote 'Silence.'

Q: Who are your influences?

That really is a tough question. I really like all forms of music. Pop, Soul, Jazz. The list goes on. Martin's influences are all over the place as well. If it is a piece of music that I like no matter what the genre is that can be an influence for me. I think my band mate shares the same thoughts. Earlier I was listening to some 10cc, The Cars, and some Astrud Gilbreto. See what I mean??

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…

These choices will not be in any particular order. So here goes...

1. What's Going On-Marvin Gaye
2. Pink Moon-Nick Drake
3. #1 Record-Big Star
4. Kind Of Blue-Miles Davis
5. White Album-The Beatles
All of these albums are on my all time list. But on any given day I may change my mind. Every one of those records deals with loss,protest, isolation,etc..These are things that everyone at some time has experienced. But the main thing is the music and these recordings are pure art!


Q. How do you fell playing live?

In a live situation I always get nervous. A little stage fright but it disappears the moment that we play. Over the years I am not quite as bad as I used to be. I consider that a personal best for me. As a band we really enjoy our shows. The songs that we have recorded in the past always takes on a different feel live. We always try to duplicate the studio in a live setting. But the majority of the time we do the opposite and we have always felt that we sounded better. We have shows coming very soon and I get excited at the fact that most of our new material has not been performed before an audience. We may improvise to some extent but to finally hear those songs in a live show is something that we look forward to.

Q. How do you describe Spell 336 sounds?

Someone once told us that we sounded 'Atmospheric.' I guess that can be up for interpretation? Our sound ranges from Shoegaze to Dreampop. We tend to use every available gadget when it comes to the sounds that we create. We try not to use so much but it can't be helped. Most of the time we come up with the sounds that are constantly in our brains and we have been very successful in translating that either in a live setting or recording. Maybe 'Atmospheric' is a good term for us after all?

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the new album?

We are always writing lyrics and music and everything that we bring to the table is never discarded. We use everything. The last couple of songs that we have put out in the past few weeks shows what we are doing now but we still enjoy the Shoegaze sound. There really is a fair amount of recordings in the can. The cool thing is that these tracks sound as if it was recorded yesterday. But the truth is that we have come back to these songs to add new parts, lyrics, etc...Our process is somewhat simple. I come up with lyrics and music and Martin does the same thing. Then we work on it non-stop and if it feels good we record. One thing that we are proud of is we have a lot of material to play with and it gives us a fair amount of comfort knowing that we always upgrade and improve on what we have. When we record we always do it late at night. I always feel that our best work is recorded in the dead of night. 'Silence' was one of those tracks that we recorded late at night. I think when you hear 'Silence' you will feel the same vibe that we had when it was being recorded. I used to keep a notebook near me when I slept so I could write things down that could be used for a song. But the last few years when I write it feels like Automatic Writing. I can't force anything to come out. I could be anywhere and a lyric or a riff will pop in my head and I scramble to write it down before it disappears. It is all collected then put together and recorded.


Q. What´s represents the Shoegazer classic era to the band?

Classic Shoegaze era? I would have to go with the Cocteau Twins. Their music is so important to me and during that specific time frame is when I began to take my music to a different place. 'Victorialand' by the Cocteau Twins was a record that I was always listening to and it helped me when I needed it the most in terms of my songwriting. 'Silence' was written during that time frame. You can always list MBV, Slowdive, etc.. But the Cocteau Twins defined that era for me and gave me the inspiration that I needed. I hope I was successful??


Q. Which new bands do you recommended?

There are so many bands out there. But on a personal level I really love, Bliss City East, Drowner, Morpheme, Spc Eco, Data Unit, Music For Headphones,Stellarscope, Folie Adieu, Lightfoils, Deepfieldview, Brief Candles, Arafura, Ghost Box Orchestra, The Thief and The Architect, Her Vanished Grace, Starfire Connective Sound, Herod Layne. The list could go on forever!! Check back soon for a new update.

Q: Which bands you love to make a cover version?

I am lost on that one? We did a cover of 'Hypnotized' by Fleetwood Mac recently. But I am sure down the road we may do another. But we are very picky about who to cover next. But I am sure it will happen in the future.

Q: What´s the plans for future....

We just want to get our music out there and we will continue to record and write. We also plan to start playing live very soon. Hopefully before the end of the new year we will start doing some shows in California. But we plan to do this as long as we can. We enjoy what we do and as long as the inspiration is there we will never stop.

Q: Any parting words?

A big thank you to everyone who has supported Spell 336. The list of names are endless but you all know who you are. Thanks for taking the time to listen to us and it is always appreciated and never forgotten. Cheers!!!!!!!!
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Thanks Paul!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/SPELL-336/188201040964
http://www.myspace.com/spell336

Catch the Breeze with A Shoreline Dream - An Interview

Denver, Colorado é o lar do cultuado A Shoreline Dream mesmo refutando a ideia do shoegazer os americanos Ryan, vocais, guitarras e teclados, Erik, guitarras, Enoc baixo e Jennifer bateria, evocam as as mais classicas caracteristicas do shoegazer com albuns absolutamente intrigantes e densos, Avoiding the Consequences e Recolletctions of Memory fora o soberdo EP Coastal, por vezes cristalinas e viajantes camadas de guitarras e drones repetitidos, por outras tensas e densas sequencias em crescendo em altos decibeis fazem do mundo dos sonhos do A Shoreline Dream tornar-se extremamente peculiar e atrativo. Aproveitando o lançamento de Losing Them All To this Time o novissimo album dos caras o TBTCI mais do que depressa apresenta a todos o mundo particular dos sonhos deste prediletissimo da casa.

***** Interview with A Shoreline Dream *****

Q. When did A Shorilne Dream starts, tell us about the history...

A. A Shoreline Dream began back in 2005, with the first album being released in 2005. It started with a member of my previous band, Drop The Fear, and was quite literally a sound we had been striving to try out for many years. Something lush, something dark, and something that had an endless space to fill. We began with a remix we were working on titled "motherly advice". At the time it was just the two of us, but as we found the tone we were hoping to achieve, we realized something was missing. That being more instrumentation, and a live feel, since it originated as an electronic oriented project. I got ahold of a member of another project I was in for many years called Pure Drama, and soon we found ourselves working with Erik Jeffries, and Enoc Torraca, who was a fan of Drop the Fear. This began a summer of live experimentation in my home studio, and after some stoney sessions, we realized we had all stumbled upon a sound we all loved. Something bigger than we ever imagined. The production really brought it all to life, and soon thereafter we felt so confident in what we had, that I took a loan out, and we started our own label, latenight weeknight records. We figured it wasn't really worth shopping our disc around to countless labels, only to become aggravated in a market that was struggling to survive. We just wanted people to hear what we had created, and we wanted to remove the step of finding an investor. We invested in ourselves, and still do to this day. We've made some amazing alliances through it all, and we've released nine discs thus far through the label, with this new album "losing them all to this time" being the third full length album for a shoreline dream.

Q: Who are your influences?

A. This is a great question, as to be totally honest, when we first started this up, my biggest influence, and one which probably influenced our whole production style more than any other was Dead Can Dance. Not all of their work has appealed to me, but their first disc is still to this day one of my all time favorites. The spacial qualities, and the overall tonality revolutionized the goth genre, while not being goth. It was something entirely new. It was something that still hasn't been recreated to this day, and I love it. That along with The Smashing Pumpkins, Tori Amos, Depeche Mode and even bands as obscure and different as Morgoth and Cynic, all lead to the influences that you hear in our music.

Q. Made a list of 5 albuns of all time…
A. Wow, this one is difficult, but I'll try. This list could change tomorrow ;)

5. Depeche Mode - Violator
4. Type O Negative - October Rust
3. Engineers - Engineers
2. Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden
1. Dead Can Dance - Dead Can Dance

Q. How do you feel playing alive?

A. Playing live is something I can't explain. Everytime it happens I can't remember. It goes by so fast. It's such a huge release of emotion and of frustrations. It's amazing. I couldn't live without it. It's a life force all within itself. When we played with Chapterhouse last fall I had a somehwat holy experience, and I'm not even religious. I don't know how I could ever do another gig as amazing as that one. I found myself falling on the floor with my guitar in hand on numerous occasions.

Q. How do you describe A Shoreline Dream sounds?
A. Our sounds are strange. I always like the melodipsych term. Someone called us that once and we always go by it. Obscure enough without sounding pretentious. I personally think we sound like a band playing at the bottom of a well. The vocals are layered, and the tones all play out handing off to one another. We're like a train passing by at 100 miles per hour.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the albuns, What´s the difference between them?A. All of our material has primarily happened in a similar way. We have a permanent setup at my studio where we literally just jam away in, recording everything that happens. Sometimes we'll come back after one session and realize we have a song done. Other times we might find parts that we dig, and we'll expand on them. It totally depends on our moods, the time of year, and the sound quality of the room at the time. Ona few occassions, such as last year, songs have come together outside of the studio. I travelled to London and wrote a track with Ulrich Schnauss in his studio. It's good to mix it up. Sometimes the vibe of the city comes through in the power of the song. On this new album we literally had songs that happened in one take, and some which we worked on for months and months.

Q. What´s represents the shoegazer classic era to the band?
A. I still don't entirely understand what shoegazer really means, or what the sound really is when someone says it. I've never really considered ourselves a shoegazer band. I don't know what the hell we are really. But if someone says we are playing classic shoegaze, and they like that way of describing us, I'm all for it. I think all music is really up to interpretation. Some might say we're progressive. Some might say we're goth, while many might consider us shoegaze. It doesn't really matter what you call us, as long as you're listening ;)

Q. Which new bands do you recommended?
A. So many great acts out there. I'd say Engineers for sure if you haven't heard of them already. Digging Serena-Maneesh as well. Jaga Jazzist is outstanding. A few bands from our hometown also shine quite brightly, such as Moonspeed and Hearts in Space. Of course, as a self plug I must also mention Brim Liski. It's a side project of mine with another artist in the Denver area named Cacheflowe. Even though it's self produced, I've been listening to it quite often.... Hope others do as well!

Q: Which bands you love to made a cover version?
A. We recently did our first cover, that being "the chain" by Fleetwood Mac. Had a great time with that one. Love taking older songs and giving the beef in production value.

Q: What´s the plans for future....
A. We're looking to play out again once the dust settles, and do a US West Coast tour, or possibly hit up the East Coast as well. We'd love to get out of our country and do some gigs around the world as well. One step at a time...

Q: Any parting words?
A. Please people, keep buying music. I know it's easy to steal, and it doesn't seem wrong, but it is. Lotsa hungry, talented musicians out there, and they depend on you to help keep them going. It's damn near impossible to survive off of music these days, and I blame it all on the internet.
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Thanks Ryan!!

http://www.ashorelinedream.com/RECOLLECTIONS_SITE/index.html

Fait Accompli with Blindness - An Interview

Novidade absoluta, cortesia de meu queridissimo amigo desde os tempo do Club AC30 Matt Wyatt e seu gravadora White Label Music e é o seguinte primeiro ep da ex Curve/SPC Eco Debbie com sua novissima banda, Blindness, o som, well o som é um thriller eletronico e noise como nos bons tempos do Curve, mais pesado e caotico, dá para sacar pelas influencias das meninas, que voce pega na exclusivissima entrevista com essas garotas que perpetuaram os desejos da galera, sem mais conversa, Blindness.

***** Interview with Blindness *****

Q. When did Blindness starts, tell us about the history...

A: At the end of 2007 when I left my previous band I started learning to use software. I knew Debbie from Curve and Kendra from her previous band Flame On and knew I'd like to work with both of them. Debbie was playing with Dean Garcia's band SPC-ECO and I went to see them a few times and eventually approached Debbie about playing on some tracks of mine. She agreed to have a listen and after that agree to do some recording, so I took a the tracks on my laptop to her flat and we did loads of recording in an afternoon.

I asked Kendra about playing but she was tied up with Flame On at the time. A few months later she came back to me as Flame On was starting to wind down and said she'd be up for playing so we got practicing and booked our first gig as an all-girl three-piece in May 2009.

Later on that year, Debbie ran into Alex, who she had played with years previously in Night Nurse, and he said that he was looking for a band so we got him down to practice and rest is a very noisy history!

Q: Who are your influences?

A: Kate Bush, Nine Inch Nails, Curve, PJ Harvey, The Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Garbage, The Fall.

Q. Made a list of 5 albums of all time…

A: Hounds Of Love - Kate Bush

VU - The Velvet Underground

Pixies – Doolittle

MBV – Loveless

NIN – The Fragile

Q. How do you fell playing alive?

A: Alive. And sweaty

Q. How do you describe Blindness´ sounds?

A: Electro filth, walls of guitar, girly lushness vocals, pounding rhythm section.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the debut ep?

A: Guitars were mostly recorded in my living room. The neighbours are very understanding.

A: The programmed drums, synths and vocals were recorded in my living room and then I took them to Debbie's living room where we recorded guitars. Bass was recorded in Kendra's living room and then it was mixed by Jim "Ping" King and myself in Finsbury Park.

Q. What´s represents the shoegazer classic era to Blindness?

A: Floppy fringes, long-sleeved T-Shirts and Home Counties accents, mainly.

Q. Which new bands do you recommended?

A: The Koolaid Electric Company, Pope Joan, Teeth Of The Sea

A: Blindness. Oh, apart from us? Hold Kiss Kill.

Q: Which bands you love to made a cover version?

A: We've done a few - Pet Shop Boys, Slits, Beyonce.

What´s the plans for future....

A: To have a good time. All of the time. That's my ambition, Marty.

Q: Any parting words?
A: WALLOP!

A: "Everyday, once a day, give yourself a present."
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Thanks Blindness....and thanks Matt!!

http://wlmshoponline.co.uk/

Never Lose That Feeling with The Ludvico Treatment - An Interview

Ludvico Treatment, soa desconhecido para você?! Pode até soar, mas não deveria, ainda mais se estamos falando de shoegazer clássico, layers e mais layers de guitarras, muito Ride e Swervedriver condensados e expurgados diretamente para 2011, vinte anos após a era clássica a profecia continua, e vem em grandioso estilo o segundo album do Ludvico Treatment é literalmente uma obra de arte, a começar pela concepção uma luxuosa embalagem em limitadissima tiragem de 100 copias que é melhor colocar uma foto para ter a real noção do capricho e bom gosto, sem contar a sonoridade que pelo inicio do texto já dá para ilustrar bem a vertente dos canadenses, se o primeiro album Romanticism já deixava clarissimo que além dos shoegazer classicos citados a crueza de um Smashing Pumpinks fica elucidade definitivamente nessa epopeia chamada Politeia, um daqueles albuns que poucos irão ouvir, mas quem ouvir certamente vibrara exaustivamente tamanho a grandeza das canções, e aproveitando o ensejo o TBTCI rapidamente publica a todos mais uma das classicas entrevistas, desssa vez com o grande, mais muito grande Ludvico Treatment.

***** Interview with Ludvico Treatment *****

Q. When did Luvico Treatment e starts, tell us about the history...
Alex: Adam & I met in 2000 through mutual friends. He had formed a makeshift band and when it turned out that the bassist wasn't going to work out, those mutual friends pointed out that I could play guitar. After a year or so of creating strange glam punk / metal fusions of obnoxious noise the band broke up. However, Adam & I had suddenly found a style and method of working that fit us rather well. All this happened in Calgary, Alberta, but after years of writing and recording material, our unsuccessful struggles to find musicians for a live band resulted in Adam leaving to find fresher pastures while I stayed behind to finish my English degree. We maintained a writing relationship and Adam formed various excellent line ups to play the songs in Vancouver. The live band really was excellent, and did things with our work that I wouldn't have believed possible. And now we're here. Adam is living in Montreal and I am just about to move to Toronto. The writing and recording continues.

Q: Who are your influences?
Adam: When we first started writing Ludvico material in 2003 we wanted to make loud rock music with a bit of electronics on the side. Turns out The Cooper Temple Clause beat us to it and definitely influenced us. Aside from the big names in shoegaze (My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and the like), we’ve taken a lot of influence from The Smiths & Manic Street Preachers, and our mixing tendencies of loud drums & guitars comes from Nirvana.

Q. Made a list of 5 albuns of all time…
Adam: David Sandström – Om Det Inte Händer Nåt Innan Imorgon Så Kommer Jag (a big influence on how our album Politeia turned out), Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Let Love In, The Magnetic Fields – The Charm of the Highway Strip, Spiritualized – Pure Phase, Slowdive – Souvlaki.

Alex: Manic Street Preachers - The Holy Bible, Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come, Mansun - Six, My Bloody Valentine - Loveless, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads.

Q. How do you fell playing alive?
Adam: Well, I’ve always been in charge of the live band (though Alex joined us for our final show in Vancouver) and nothing beats the feeling of a successful gig. I have to say that some of my best experiences with the live band were in the practice space though; there have been some great feedback-laden jams over the years, particularly when we had new guitar pedals to play with. Makes me wish we recorded our practices!

Q. How do you describe Ludvico Treatment sounds?

Alex: I think the simple answer here is that Adam and I share a passion for trying to put the ugly and the beautiful together. I did this with the lyrics of our latest release, Politeia, by telling what is quite an ugly allegory in a form that I tried to make as beautiful as possible. As for our sound, we try to couple loud, abrasive noise with beautiful melodies. I like to think of the noises that Adam creates as glacial, both beautiful and terrible, in the sense of terror-inducing, at the same time.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the new album?
Adam: This new album (Politeia) is a bit odd as we started recording it back in 2004 and I added bits and pieces to it over a very long period of time, usually recording in basements & home studios with borrowed equipment. The songs were basically written and mostly complete by the time our first album was released but I felt that the production wasn’t perfect. It started to feel like what Brian Wilson must have felt with the Beach Boys’ album “Smile” and I started feeling like the album mixes would never match the sounds in my head. Then in 2010 we opened for Adam Franklin from Swervedriver- that gave me the inspiration to just finish Politeia and just put it out, perfect or not. His band had this amazing rawness to it. After that show I plugged in my old Echoplex tape delay, added some new guitar parts, remixed a few songs and released it.

Q. What´s represents the shoegazer classic era to the band?
Adam: 1991-1993 is the ‘classic’ period for us. The press backlash against shoegaze was at its peak in the UK which might explain how so many great albums came out in those years... perhaps the backlash spurred those bands on to greatness! Loveless, Just for a Day, Raise, Lazer Guided Melodies, Going Blank Again, Souvlaki, Mezcal Head, Ferment- not to mention all the 12” EPs that came out in that period. Wow.

Q. Which new bands do you recommended?
Adam: The Hope Slide is the new electro-gaze project by the singer and lead guitarist from Hinterland who were a great Canadian shoegaze band. Cruyff in the Bedroom from Japan have been around a while but they still amaze me. The drumming on the first two albums is unbelievable.

Alex: I've been finding my head turned by quieter electronica-laden work at the moment. The band Guerre is going to become something quite lovely, I think. I've also been listening to the album by Spider and the Flies a lot. They're made up by two of the guys from the Horrors using sounds inspired by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in the 60s. Really interesting.

Q: Which bands you love to made a cover version?
Adam: Our live sets often started with Angel by Massive Attack and we recorded Reptile Smile by Th’ Faith Healers for our Myspace page, both are great songs. Right now we’re recording our interpretation of a David Bowie LP (Earthling) just for fun. I love that album but the production feels a bit mismatched with the songs in some places. We’re hoping to finish it & post it online by the end of the summer… it should be interesting to say the least!

Q: What´s the plans for future....
Alex: We have a habit of working on our next project while finishing our current one. We did that with our first release, Romanticism, and Politeia, and we've done it again. Work is already well underway on our third album, as well as our re-envisioning of Earthling and a couple of other projects. I'm incredibly excited about the directions Adam and I have gone recently. Look out for something (relatively) soon.

Q: Any parting words?
Adam: I’ve had the good fortune of getting production advice from Graham Lewis of Wire on a few occasions and it has always proven invaluable for us. Despite the recent trend of D.I.Y.-everything in the music industry (which we do as much as anyone), an unbiased perspective is still crucial when making an album. The wisdom of an experienced producer can transform a decent album into something truly excellent.
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Thanks guys!!!

http://theludvicotreatment.bandcamp.com/