Same Old Sky with Northwest - An Interview

Imagens são lentamente transpostas como em um slide em slow motion, a partir do primeiro momento que se inicia a audição do duo Northwest.

Hipnoticamente envolvemente, a música do duo vai penetrando mente adentro, como um medicamento poderoso, mas com um efeito lento e sensível. 

Com alguns singles no currículo, o a música do Northwest é misteriosa e sedutora, algo como se o Portishead se juntasse a Julee Cruise e compusessem novos temas para algum novo filme de David Lynch.

A imersão é inevitável, e os delírios idem.

***** Interview with Northwest *****

Q. When did Northwest begin? Tell us about the history...
First of all, I want to say hello to all TBTCI readers and thanks so much for inviting me to this great blog. I'm Ignacio Simón, producer and one half of the duo Northwest.

The seed of it all was "Reflection", a song we produced in 2015 as an exceptional collaboration between Mariuca Garcia-Lomas, singer and composer, and I. By the time we did that, I was full-time devoted to my band Al Berkowitz and Mariuca was focused on her illustration and video projects. We loved both the experience and the output and received some possitive feedback on it. Shortly after, we both moved to London to work and develop this project and then Northwest was oficially born.

Once in England, we started recording and shaping our sound, with no boundaries and aiming to create something unique, out of our particular experiences and pouring all our influences, inspiration and ideas on it, no matter where they came from. We incorporated different instruments and styles, from classical music to experimental and electronic sounds. We also started experimenting with different tecniques for composition. Besides, we manage to record at inspiring spots such as cottages and churchs and that definitely became part of the music.

All in all, Northwest is changing (and hopefully evolving) all the time, which is something really exciting for us.

Q: Who are your influences?
We are influenced not just from music and arts but from places, landscapes and people. We are specially inspired by Northern landscapes, hence our name.

We have a wide range of musical influences, from classical and contemporary music to modern pop, but we are also higly influenced by films, photography, paintings and literature. Thats why we want Northwest to be a 360º project, where images, video, dance and words are as important as music itself. To name a few: Shostakovich, Alban Berg, Goya, Turner, Kaspar Davd Friedrich, Terrence Malick, Kubrick, Dostoievski, Robert Wyatt, Scott Walker, Pina Bausch, Fritz Lang...

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Ignacio's list:
- Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom
- Miles Davis - BitchesBrew
- Mark Hollis - Mark Hollis
- Pink Floyd - The Piper at The Gates of Dawn
- Beach Boys - Smiley Smile - Smile

Mariuca's list:
- The The - Soul Mining
- The Beatles - (all)
- Radiohead - Kid A
- Grimes - Visions
- Syd Barrett - Madcap Laughs

Q. How do you feel playing live?
We started performing as Northwest less than one year ago. We wanted to be sure that our live show was at the level of our studio work. This was a turning point for us and affected our work drastically.

We really enjoy playing live and we try to do it as much as I can. Being a duo onstage makes it simple for us to travel and tour around.

Q. How do you describe Northwest sounds?
I would say they are "hipnotic", but I reckon it's up to any listener to find the right words

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Writing, producing, recording and mixing are part of the same proccess for us and we don't differentiate between any of them; we work on our music as a whole, where every sound is part of the composition.

We produce and mix everything we release and we usually record at home and we've tried different ways of producing and recording new material. . Besides, as I said formerly, we recorded some other instruments on spot, like pianos and church organs. However, last year we had the chance to work at City University studios in London, so we recorded the bulk of our upcoming release, a double album which will be out this year: vocals, piano, drums, vibes and some strings. On top of that, we added different layers, like vocals, guitars, percussion, electronic sounds...

Consequently, recording-mixing-producing is an ongoing (and sometimes neverending) proccess.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
I recommend Tom O.C. Wilson (check his new album!)

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
We can't decide between "Emily Plays", by Pink Floyd, and "Willow's Song", from The Wicker Man's soundtrack. What would you choose?

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We are going to tour all around Europe this Winter and we're pretty excited about playing in many cities such as Paris, Asmterdam Moscow or Prague(check thisisnorthwest.com for tour dates!). After this, we are releasing the first part of this double album in June and organizing a presentation in a beautiful church in London. Finally, we will release the second half and vinyl edition of the album.

For the long run, we would love to tour around North and South America and Japan, and, who knows, maybe producing a film...

Q: Any parting words?
Thanks you Renato for inviting us to share our work here and thanks so much to and all the TBTCI readers for reading this! After all these pretentious words and ideas, we just hope you like our work and, if you are around and want to drop by at any of our shows, we would be very pleased to meet you!
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Thanks

https://soundcloud.com/thisisnorthwest
https://www.facebook.com/thisisnorthwest

Remember, Forget with Fever Blush - An Interview

Vamos fazer um exercício, dê play antes de qualquer coisa no primeiro single do quarteto de Nashville, Fever Blush, "Remember, Forget", e daí volte aqui.

Ok, agora podemos seguir adiante, absolutamente viciante não? Não tem como não começar a marcar o passo com os pés, não tem como mentalmente começar a cantarolar, tanto "Remember" como "Forget", não há como não se lembrar de gente como Belly, Madder Rose, e outras bandas heroínas dos 90´s.

Sabe aquele tesão, aquele frescor juvenil, ele volta com força total ouvindo o Fever Blush, agora, escute em looping, faz mais sentido, afinal, você já deve ter feito isso, assim como eu, porque é viciante, simples assim.

***** Interview with Fever Blush *****

Q. When did Fever Blush begin? Tell us about the history...
Our first show was February 6th, 2016 with our long time friends in Choir Vandals. In the months before that, we wrote enough songs to fill a set, most of which we don't play anymore. We've all known each other for a while through playing shows in other bands within the Nashville DIY scene.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Going Blank Again - Ride
Heartbreaker - Ryan Adams
Sheryl Crow - Sheryl Crow
Their Satanic Majesties Second Request - Brian Jonestown Massacre
What's the Story Morning Glory - Oasis

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Our live show is a great release for us. We invest a lot of hours every week into practicing because playing well at shows is super important to this band.

 Q. How would you describe Fever Blush´s sounds?
We are the culmination of our interests and environments. Living in Nashville for so long definitely has helped teach us the importance of the song itself, and playing in DIY environments over the past so many years has also shaped the band. We play loud in our live shows and love indulging certain parts of the set musically, but the most important thing to us is the songs, not necessarily our sound. Our sound must always support our song. Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?

We self produced our EP, "Remember, Forget." We did it ourselves at our drummer Chase's house.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
We recently have all collectively dug into Wolf Alice, and they have been consistently blowing us away, even though we may be a little late to the party. As mentioned before, our friends in Choir Vandals put out one of the best records of last year called Dark Glow and the self titled Smidley record is another favorite from 2017. Blank Range, Idle Bloom and Reality Something are some of our favorite Nashville bands.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
We do a couple covers including If It Makes You Happy by Sheryl Crow as well as Simple Kind of Life by No Doubt, but we're always open to suggestions!

Q: What are your plans for the future?
In the future, we will continue to release music and tour the US. Coming up on the near horizon, we will be out with Tiny Moving Parts in February and more tours this year will be announced.

Q: Any parting words?
2017 was very good to us and we are really looking forward to 2018. Be on the lookout for new music in the US and internationally.
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Thanks

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

Rite Of Passage with Lebend - An Interview

Não é de hoje que o TBTCI acompanha o que vem acontecendo no submundo dos bons sons espanhóis, vide prediletos da casa como Linda Guilala, Apartamentos Acapulco, Galaxina, Monte Terror entre outros, e é de lá, mais precisamente da cidade de Granada que aporta agora nestas páginas o quarteto Lebend.

Pairando por entre psicodelismos viajantes e um shoegaze hipnótico, os caras em suas primeiras demos demonstram que mais parecem uma banda com anos de estrada do que pouco menos de um ano de existência.

Para ficar de olhos e ouvidos alertas.

***** Interview with Lebend *****

Q. When did Lebend begin? Tell us about the history...
Lebend is a musical project formed in Granada (Spain) in the summer of 2017. The band is integrated by four components with an extensive background in other local bands.

Members: Jose Pardo, Juan Melchor, Ignacio Nievas y Pablo Bachs.

Q: Who are your influences?
We have always listened to a great variety of musical styles. We try to learn the most from the bands that we usually hear.

We also like bands such as Slowdive, Cocteau Twins, The Cure, Ride, Spiritualized, The Stone Roses, My Bloody Valentine, Radiohead, Portishead, Sigur Rós, Yo La Tengo… the list could never end.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Nacho: The Stone Roses – “The Stone Roses”, My Bloody Valentine – “Loveless”, The Jesus and Mary Chain – “Darklands”, Slowdive – “Souvlaki”, Galaxie 500 – “On Fire”.

Juan: Catherine Wheel – “Ferment”, Slowdive – “Just For A Day”, Sianspheric – “Somnium”, Ride – “OX4”, Mazzy Star – “So Tonight That I Might See”.

Pablo: Radiohead – “In Rainbows”, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – “Belong”, The Postal Service – “Give Up”, Portishead – “Third”, Brad Mehldau – “Largo”.

Jose: Piano Magic – “The Troubled Sleep Of Piano Magic”, Slowdive – “Just For A Day”, The Cure – “Disintegration”, Ride – “Nowhere”, Sigur Rós – “Ágætis Byrjun”

Q. How do you describe Lebend sounds?
Our songs are based on Avant Garde Pop-Rock style but we love adding Shoegaze and Dreampop elements or sequences to our sound.

We try to make songs that can excite the listener, that manage to transport their mind to another place, getting the same effect that exerts on us when they are composed and executed.

We really enjoy while we are playing our music because it is not premeditated and it flows in a very natural state. We don’t inspire ourselves in a specific style when we are writing songs, but it is inevitable that our experience as listeners will not give us away. According to this, we have clear musical influences with which we converge in this project but at the same time we will try to have the maximum possible personality. We are looking for our sound in order to be easily recognizable, so we feel comfortable in a constant search habit.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
First of all, we don’t want to give a huge prominence to the sound in our compositions. Secondly, we are concerned that there is a good song and a melody that hooks us behind all this sound.

Furthermore, we always dedicate a lot of effort trying to connect the melodies, the harmonies, the progression of the chords, the rhythm, the correct tempo ... We especially care that this process gives precision to the songs. Finally, we record a song when all this work is done. Then, the recording session follows standard stages, the rhythm base (drums and bass) - guitars - keyboards and vocals afterwards, the mixing and mastering conclude the tape.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
We discover new bands every day. Currently, the music system based on streaming allows it. We could highlight very interesting bands like the Japanese band "Fluffytails", “Umbrage” from Dallas, “Vast Asteroid”, “Plant Cell”…

There are great bands in Brazil such as “Terraplana”.

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
Of course, we would love to have at least one cover for the live performances. But, we have still agreed with the band or the song that we will cover, although we are clear that there are some ideas that we are going to try in the next rehearsals.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
In the near future we want to finish publishing the songs of "Rite Of Passage" and present this work with live performances. Our plan is to continue writing songs to record again as soon as possible.

Q: Any parting words?
Thank you so much for this interview. We are very happy for your interest and we hope that our music will please the Brazilian public.
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Thanks

https://lebend.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.facebook.com/Lebendgr/

Semblance with Relay Tapes - An Interview

Brisbane, Austrália, sim, novamente a Austrália aporta nas páginas do TBTCI, desa vez representada pela estonteantemente bela música de Jade Tyers, ou Relay Tapes, como esta sendo conhecida, desde o lançamento de seu primeiro single, "By Now", nos primeiros dias de Janeiro.

Mas, ainda estava por nascer o primeiro EP, e esta nossa conversa, contempla justamente o que a moça recém lançou. "Semblance", seu primeiro EP, que conta com "By Now" entre as canções, mas é exatamente na abertura com "Jellyfish" que a sedução toma contornos de paixão. Um clima mybloodyvalentiano vai tomando conta de tudo, mas não a parte experimental, imagine "Blown a Wish" de outra forma, aliás, as canções de Jade, me soam como deliciosas variações de "Blown a Wish".

Então meu amigo, se você precisava de algo para se apaixonar, sugiro Jade e o Relay Tapes.

***** Interview with Relay Tapes *****

Q. When did Relay Tapes begin? Tell us about the history...
I spent a lot of time between 2011 and 2015 learning how to record. I played around in different music making programs and experimented with recording techniques that I'd pick up from videos/blogs/tutorials online. Most of what I recorded during this time was a reflection of what I was also listening to. I'd try to cover/replicate songs that I like, which taught me a lot about layering sounds/arrangement. When I felt confident enough to share my own music with other people, I realised that I would need a name to upload under, and "Relay Tapes" was the only name that didn't make me cringe.

Q: Who are your influences?
I'm a big fan of Bradford Cox, especially his solo projects. Liz Harris, too. I take a lot of cues from bands like Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine for certain qualities that I like to include in my own music.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
1. Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill - Grouper
2. Loveless - My Bloody Valentine
3. Devotion - Beach House
4. The Doors - The Doors
5. Halcyon Digest - Deerhunter

Q. How do you feel playing live?
I haven't performed live before. I've always been primarily interested in recording music over performing. I'm open to the idea, though.

Q. How do you describe Relay Tapes sounds?
Experidreampogaze.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
I usually start on guitar or keyboard and if something comes out that I think is worth committing to, I'll move to the computer and start recording. Once I arrange the structure of the song, I try out different vocal melodies, which is usually the most frustrating part for me. I usually work on 2-3 songs at the same time and they often overlap so I usually end up finishing the one I like the most.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Jordan Ireland with Purple Orchestra. Jordan has been around for a while (The Middle East, Stolen Violin) but he released a new album under this project in 2017 and it's fantastic.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
MBV in the style of Daft Punk would be interesting.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
I need to get a haircut and buy more cereal. And I'll be releasing an EP within the next month, too.

Q: Any parting words?
This is a first for me so thanks for your interest, I appreciate it.
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Thanks

https://relaytapes.bandcamp.com

Camomile with Swirlpool - An Interview

Seguindo o lema do TBTCI, uma viagem ao submundo dos bons sons, e permanecendo sempre a dar voz a bandas que certamente não teriam o devido espaço, mesmo porque muitas delas, estão em início de carreira, com apenas demos, ou singles, seguimos nessa trilha sem haver preocupações com "likes" ou afins, e é de Regensburg, Alemanha, que o quarteto  com pouco mais de um ano de vida aparece por aqui, o Swirpool, com apenas um single no currículo.

"Camomile" é shoegaze moderno, com olhos e coração no passado, mas já se envolvendo com os tempos modernos, culpa de gente como Ringo Deathstarr por exemplo. Não a toa os caras do Swirlpool os citam como referência.

Um belo cartão de visitas que nos deixa sedentos por mais, e que o Swirlpool não demore.

***** Interview with Swirlpool *****

Q. When did Swirlpool begin? Tell us about the history...
A. Markus who has come late to Dress (Markus’ & Tom’s old band) and I (Tom) started to write new songs right after Dress called it quits in early 2016. We needed a bass player and a drummer. So we called up our good friends Chris and Christian who both also play in other local befriended bands. That’s kinda the point were Swirlpool got started.

Q: Who are your influences?
A. (In non-particular order) The obvious ones like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive besides that Ringo Deathstarr, Deafcult, Flyying Colours, Nothing, DIIV, Froth, Miami Nights 1984, Soft Kill as well as Radiohead, TOY, The Cure, Sonic Youth… And probably another 1.000 good other bands.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
A. Slowdive - Souvlaki
Michael Jackson - Bad
The Cure - Disintegration
The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
… and a lot more than these.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
A. Thrilled and excited. The whole experience of going to new places and meeting new people is always a lot of fun.

Q. How do you describe Swirlpool sounds?
A. A wall of sound full of atmosphere and depth brought to life in the suspension of consciousness, the mirroring of a lucid dream.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
A: As we weren’t in a hurry we took our time to write the EP. Most of the time we were experimenting with sound-scaping and song structures and tried to create something different. After we spent a few months playing together at our rehearsal room we started to put all fragments together to record our four-song debut EP.


Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
A. Deafcult, Bloody Knees, Gus Dapperton, Day Wave, Jaguwar, Death Of Lovers, Eagulls, Mount Kimbie, Shun, Oso Oso, Wolf Alice, White Reaper

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
A: We haven‘t really thought about covering as we‘re focused on writing songs. That doesn‘t mean we‘re not going to cover anything in the future though. We initially thought of covering Don Henley’s The Boys of Summer or some soundtrack from Hans Zimmer but for now we’re concentrating on our own songs.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
A: Playing live as much as we can and then recording an album. There’s also another video release planned for the EP. Watch out for it!

Q: Any parting words?
Check out Swirlpool and share the word. See you around in Brazil sometime. :)
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/swirlpoolmusic/

Sunshine Kiss with Radium Dials - An Interview

Class of 86, twee, jangle, chame como quiser, o fato é que, aqui no TBTCI, sabe-se que tudo que é basicamente originário dessas vertentes tem alto poder de ser adorado.

E, foi assim que aconteceu quando escutei pela primeira Sunshine Kiss do Radium Dials, uma peça absolutamente viciante. Um perfect noise pop da melhor qualidade, daqueles de se apaixonar antes do 1 minuto da música chegar. Dúvida? Dê play imediatamente e tente, caso consiga, acho que o TBTCI certamente não é o seu lugar....

A única coisa triste sobre o Radium Dials, é que infelizmente desde o dia 31 de Maio do ano passado nada mais foi lançado.

Então aqui fica o pedido formal do TBTCI, precisamos de mais!!

***** Interview with Radium Dials *****

Q. When did Radium Dials begin? Tell us about the history...
I play the drums in my other band called The Old Firm Casuals, I started writing songs in 2012 or 2013 in between Casuals tours. I recorded demos at home for about 6 or 7 songs and tried to pull people together for a band. I got busy with my day job and with the Casuals so the Radium Dials stuff got shelved for a bit. In 2014, I broke my arm while on was on tour in Europe and I was unable to play drums or work for almost a year. After about 6 months of being off, I decided to finish the songs and get in the studio to record them. I played all of the instruments myself and completed most of the song "Sunshine Kiss". My arm healed in 2015 and I had to go back to work so it got shelved again. I got back in the studio in 2016 and finished Sunshine Kiss and recorded everything for "Failure" and got the artwork together and was finally able to release it in 2017.

Q: Who are your influences?
I have so many bands that I love, but my main influences for Radium Dials are Ride, Chapterhouse, Adorable, Nirvana and Oasis. I tend to lean to the catchier/poppier side of shoegaze bands, you just can't get catchier songs than some of Ride's stuff. I love bands like My Bloody Valentine and Ringo Deathstarr, but I'm just not talented enough with gear and pedals to make music like they do - I really appreciate their ability to manipulate sounds like that. Maybe someday I can do that too!

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
I love most types of music but for the Shoegaze/Britpop type genres, here's what I would have to go with:

1 )Ride - Going Blank Again
Top songwriting mixed with catchy melodies and noise, it doesn't get better than this. They're even better live.

2) Ringo Deathstarr - God's Dream
Fuzzed out dreamy songs that can also be so heavy, I love it.

3) Lush - Lovelife
My favorite of their albums, they left shoegaze behind but the songwriting can't be beat. My favorite song on this record is Tralala, so good!

4) My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
Come on, I don't see anyone ever topping this. Never gets old. Again, these songs have to be experienced live to be believed.

5) Nirvana - Nevermind
I know this is an obvious one and not shoegaze but this record showed me that something so simple can be so powerful. Taught me a lot about songwriting.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Right now I'm the only member of Radium Dials so I haven't been able to play these songs live. I'd love to see a live version of Radium Dials someday. What I can say from my experience playing live with my other bands is that there is nothing better than the feeling of when you're playing music live with other people and it all comes together how it should and the audience is enjoying it. Being creative and seeing your hard work come to fruition is what it's all about.

Q. How do you describe Radium Dials sounds?
I would say alternative rock? In the late 80's in the US we called it modern rock or college rock. The song Sunshine Kiss is a really bright, jangly, poppy song while Failure is heavy and noisy. I tend to write both kinds of songs so I'm sure we'll see more of both variety. Even though they sound a little different from each other, they should both be played LOUD.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Recording all of the instruments yourself is pretty complicated. You have to know how the song will go in your mind before you start and basically create it from nothing. I started with drums, then rhythm guitar, bass guitar, guitar leads and then vocals. Even my engineer wasn't sure what I was going for until the songs were almost finished! The worst part of recording alone is carrying all of the gear yourself! For guitars I used a combination of a G&L ASAT Classic (telecaster style guitar) and a Gibson L6-S from the 70's (which belonged to my engineer that I've been trying to buy from him for years). I used a Fender Chorus amp and a Marshall tube head and various effects pedals. I like to make sure that the effects don't overpower the guitar sound or the song itself, I like to just tweak the guitar sound a little bit to get the vibe I'm looking for.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
My favorite artists of the last few years would be The Orielles (first album coming out in January 2018 I believe), The Courtneys (first album had me hooked), and even though she's been making music a long time - Grimes. Her latest album "Art Angels" blew my mind - such a talented person and really inspired me to push myself with my songwriting and musicianship. Definitely someone I look up to as an artist. (By the way, if Grimes is reading this, I will quit my job at a moment's notice to play drums in your touring band. Just saying haha.)

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I have an idea for a cover that I'd like to do live but I'm not going to say who it is just in case I'm able to do it in the future. I would love to cover Radiohead's song "Polyethylene" but I don't see Radium Dials having 3 guitarists at any point!

Q: What are your plans for the future?
My friend Sam has been helping me with this project recently by playing the drums in rehearsal so I'd like to record more songs and put a band together to start playing shows. And, keep writing more music!

Q: Any parting words?
Thank you for listening to my music and I hope you and your readers enjoy it. The Sunshine Kiss single is available on all the digital stores and streaming sites but you can download it for free at radiumdials.bandcamp.com. Thanks again for the interview!
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Thanks

https://radiumdials.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.facebook.com/radiumdials/

Like A Dog with Scarp - An Interview

Eu confesso, que desconheço bandas que saiam da Nova Zelândia e sejam ruins, ao menos, nunca chegou ao meu conhecimento.

Não é de hoje que por lá, sempre surgem simplesmente preciosidades, desde clássicos como The Bats, The Clean, The Chills, Jean Paul Sartre Experience, até bandas mais recentes como Ghost Wave, só pra citar alguns.

E novamente é de lá, que um novo frescor aterriza nas páginas do TBTCI. Scarp é o nome do quarteto de Auckland, que acabou de debutar com um precioso EP, "Like a Dog", com suas quatro belíssimas canções, passeia por algo entre o sonhador/encantador, pairando quase sempre um certo desespero inserido de alguma forma misteriosa.

Hipnoticamente o Scarp vai te sugando, principalmente pela deliciosa voz de Pia, deixe-se seduzir.

***** Interview with Scarp *****

Q. When did Scarp begin? Tell us about the history...
Scarp started with Pia (vocalist) and Howl (drummer) working in stores next to each other. Playing musical trumps seeing who was the most emo for about two weeks before actually talking. Eventually there was friendship and then came a jam.

The original lineup was a bit different and we wanted to be an emo band at first- somehow the current lineup came together and we all kind of agreed that shoegaze and washed out sounds are cool so maybe we should do that? There was honestly almost a year of band practices and hanging out before we played a show or ever really did anything public. It’s always been something we do for love and was more about the friendship than any sort of recognition.

Q: Who are your influences?
Pity Sex, Tigers Jaw, Nothing, Cap'n Jazz, My Bloody Valentine, Carissas Weird, Total Control, poetry, movies, art, our friends' music

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Elliot Smith – Elliot Smith (Howl)
Salvia Palth – Melancole (Pia)
Snowing – I could do whatever I wanted if I wanted (Everyone)
Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream (Andrew)
Mount Eerie – Clear Moon (Adam)

Q. How do you feel playing live?
In the studio you can control every aspect of the song but live as soon as the sound leaves the speaker it's out of your control. It's terrifying and thrilling but playing a set and knowing people enjoyed and connected with the music is exhilarating and emotional.

Also, we turn everything up and double the length of all our wall-of-sound parts so it feels very visceral.

Q. How do you describe Scarp´s sounds?
Our songs are about the experience of coming to adulthood, finding comfort in yourself and some kind of serenity despite experiencing loss and pain - we try to reflect that so it's soft and dreamy music (we joke that we're a Dreamo band) with occasional melancholy and lots of explosive pretty noisy parts.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
We all come into rehearsal sessions with pieces and ideas, and we've been lucky so far in that they organically come together without much trouble. We have a really good chemistry musically so it seems natural to play a part longer or change a chord so it resolves in a cathartic way (we love catharsis through song!!). Recording the EP with our friend Fluffy was a dream, once we had everything tight we tracked everything in an afternoon. Luckily our songs aren't too technical yet!

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Carb on Carb, The Beths, Gingerlys, Shame, Deafcult, No Sky, Floral Sheets, Polyester

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
We come up with a new idea for a cover nearly every day and have already covered DJ Sammy & Elvis but probably All Saints or Slowdive if we could cover anyone. Oh, and Snoopy and the Red Baron, we would do a christmas album if we had the time and resources

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We are writing for our first full album and hopefully will get to play some shows with our friends.

Q: Any parting words?
Make art even if you don't believe in it yet; tell your friends how much you care about them even if it's hard; resist hate, bigotry and oppression if you have the means; and most of all if you have a local music scene try and be a part of it!! We need you!!!
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Thanks

https://scarp.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/scarpnz

Sometimes Summertime with Crystal Canyon - An Interview

Ainda é muito cedo para dizer sobre discos de 2018, afinal o ano esta apenas começando, mas um dos discos que mais tenho escutado até o momento é o debute do quarteto de Portland, Crystal Canyon.

O disco homônimo veio ao mundo há exatos vinte dias, e permanece em alta rotação por aqui. Uma viciante combinação de psicodelia e shoegaze, evocando prediletos como Fleeting Joys, Medicine E Swervedriver, sem se parecer com nenhum deles em momento algum, apenas conexões.

O disco é uma fritação lenta e deliciosa, vai sugando teus neurônios pra dentro da massa de distorções, com detalhe sedutor pra voz de Lynda.

O Crystal Canyon, banda e disco, devem obrigatoriamente serem degustados em alto e bom som, ah sim, repetidas vezes, essa é a receita.

***** Interview with Crystal Canyon *****

Q. When did Crystal Canyon begin? Tell us about the history...
L: About three years ago now. I went into Todd's studio to record my other band. We hit it off and he heard me sing harmonies.

It was then that he asked me to form a band with him. He sent me some ideas and we started collaborating. He had already known

Jeremey and Hayes (rhythm section) so we all got together and started playing! We rehearsed and wrote one full year before we played live.

Q: Who are your influences?
L: 90's girl rock, The Smiths, A.C. Marias, Beth Thompson,Joni Mitchell, Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Black Metal, Morton Subotnick, Astrud Gilberto

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
L: That's impossible! Here are a few we like currently:
Goat by The Jesus Lizard,
The Buried Life, by Medicine,
Tender Prey by Nick Cave,
The Cardigans, Gran Turismo,
Pink Flag by Wire

Q. How do you feel playing live?
L: We love it but we're pretty picky about shows because we have so much equipment that we have to bring. Especially Todd, our pedal boards will rival anybody else's, haha!

Q. How do you describe Crystal Canyon sounds?
L: A dream, within a dream, within a dream. Layers, sounds, lullabies.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
L: One of us will bring an idea in. I have brought in full songs and lyrics, Todd brings in the music, we all collaborate on it to make it unique.Todd has a studio here in Portland called Acadia. We record all songs there. It is a long and tedious process but the outcome has been amazing and really rewarding for all of us.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
L: Carla dal Forno, Julianna Barwick

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
L: The Monkees: Porpoise Song or anything off Head.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
L: Record a new record, maybe some touring, we'd love to play festivals and ATP shows. Bring us to Brazil! :)

Q: Any parting words?
L: Check us out here: www.crystalcanyonband.com Thanks Renato!
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/crystalcanyonband/
https://crystalcanyonband.com/
https://crystalcanyon.bandcamp.com

Idol Hands with The Malady of Sevendials - An Interview

Uma gigantesca intensidade hipnótica surge quando a experiência em ouvir o The Malady of Sevendials inicia....

De Seattle e formada pelos irmãos, Mia Natas, voz e guitarras, Darius Natas, baixo guitarra e piano e Damien Natas: bateria, guitarras e piano, a força da banda vem de sua maneira de gerar sensações tão dispares como dor e desilusão e ao mesmo tempo felicidade e esperança, um elo onde eles chegam num patamar sonoro que parece unificar Sigur Ros e Cocteau Twins em uma única banda.

"Children of A Lesser God", canção que esta no primeiro álbum da banda, é algo de fazer um aperto monstruoso no coração e no minuto seguinte gerar uma quietude repleta de paz.

Poucas vezes a perfeição esteve tão perto de você, aproveite a oportunidade única de conversar com anjos através da música do The Malady of Sevendials.

Soberbo é pouco.

***** Interview with The Malady of Sevendials *****

Q. When did The Malady of Sevendials start? Tell us about the history...
Mia: As you may already know, we're siblings, and we started young. In 2010. That summer we decided to try and write songs with the instruments we had just for fun. I didn't work, but we became interested in the idea of writing music. Our parents took notice and offered to get us some proper instruments.

We never learned how to read music. We figured it would take too long and make things too technical and unfun. We still do everything purely based on what sounds good to us and learned our instruments as we wrote our songs. It didn't take us long to find our sound. We're all pretty much on the same page as to what it is we want to hear. Our first show was at the Vera Project in Seattle in 2011. I was 14, Darius was 13, and Damien was 8. It was nerve racking! We had only played for one or two friends outside our family before then, so we really had no idea how people were going to respond. But it went well. Mind you, we had absolutely no stage presence, didn't really know how to engage the audience, had no poise, and didn't know how to do a soundcheck. So it only went as good as a first performance can go. Hands down, Damien did the best out of the three of us during that show.  But you know, you learn as you go. Through all our performances, we hold onto the things that work for us and we learn from the mistakes we make. I think the three of us learn best when we're allowed to make mistakes.

Q: Who are your influences?
Thinking about it honestly, we draw influences from everything around us really. Exciting things, to funny and scary things, to the most mundane. Who specifically? How much time do you have, haha!

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
1. Sigur Ros----- () The Untitled album
2. Radiohead---- OK Computer
3. Oasis-----What's the Story Morning Glory
4. Prince and the Revolution---- Purple Rain
5. Mobb Deep -----The Infamous

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Mia: I know I'm always nervous before any performance. It's not until I get on stage do I feel adrenaline shoot through me which calms me down a bit. I've gotten better with it. Darius and Damien seem to have better nerves than I do. It helps to pretend that no one else is there and we're performing to ourselves. We stop overthinking our music and the mistakes we make. We just play. When we do that, we can perform for anyone.

Darius: I don't talk a lot before a show, mostly because of my nerves. Like Mia, it gets better once I'm on stage because I focus only on the three of us. It's why I don't look at the audience much during the performance.
We set ourselves up on stage so that we can focus on each other and get lost in the music. We have a great time when we're able to do so.

Damien: Yeah, I can't look at the audience at all. I just focus on my drums, the music and these two. But I love being on stage and playing live for people. Just as long as I can't see them.

Q. How do you describe The Malady of Sevendials sounds?
Vulnerable, for sure.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
We've always wanted to make sure our recordings capture our live sound as much as possible. We admire that honesty when a band's live performance sounds like their album or better. Nowadays, people get caught up in auto tune and they clean up their tracks too much, it ends up sounding like a computer produced the music. As you know it's not easy trying to capture a live sound. We sometimes like to record with all of us playing together at once. We have a lot more fun when we record like that. But we're still experimenting for the best way to record our music and get that live sound that we want, which is the main reason why we haven't released an album yet. It can get frustrating, but we want to make sure we're happy with whatever it is we put out there. And most importantly that it's honest.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Sister Crystals
He Whose Ox is Gored
The Tennis System

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
As far as covering a song, we would like to cover Garth Brooks: The Dance. We don't really listen to country music, but this song in particular has great lyrics and is something that we can give a more gaze-y sound.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Well, since we moved to Cincinnati, we would love to go on tour and perform in cities like Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Nashville, Louisville, New York. All are less than a day's trip from here. Until then, we're gonna keep writing and experimenting with new songs and sounds and just try to make sure we're always growing as a band.

Q: Any parting words?
We hope people enjoy our music as we enjoy making it. And thanks so much for listening and keep in touch.
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Thanks

http://www.sevendialsmusic.com/
https://sevendials.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TheMaladyofSevendials/

Anxious Dreams with Away Forward - An Interview

Quando sofisticação, elegância, beleza e intensidade juntam-se no mesmo lugar, é basicamente impossível não se render ao resultado.

Cruelmente, tomei conhecimento do debute dos canadenses do Away Forward, basicamente um mês após o dia que ele veio ao mundo, ou seja, no início de 2018, pois a obra homônimo conheceu a luz deste mundo nos primeiros dias de Dezembro passado.

O Away Forward, banda e disco, são genuinamente um tesouro dentre outros tantos no submundo dos bons sons, mas existe algo de especial com eles, um toque de beleza profunda vai penetrando lentamente conforme as oito pérolas constantes no álbum vão se perfilando. Obviamente que a essência esta no shoegaze clássico, leia-se MBV e Slowdive, mas toque eloquentes fazem-se presentes dão um ar de pairar sob as nuvens no paraíso.

Muito acima, simplesmente o Away Forward é muito acima.

***** Interview with Away Forward *****

Q. When did Away Forward begin? Tell us about the history…
Andrew: We have all known one another for more than 20 years, but we’ve always played in different bands together despite playing, touring, helping one another and hosting parties for all that time. Greg and Lisa were the primary vocal, guitar and songwriting engine in the Mean Red Spiders and then played in psych-art rock improv group Ghostlight. Paul and I had rhythm section duties in Neck and Christiana and then formed Soft Copy.

On July 14, 2015, Paul, Greg, Lisa and I were attending the Swirlies / Cryptorips show in Toronto at the Drake Underground. We had all descended on the show because the Swirlies are an incredibly underrated Shoegaze-cum-Sonic Youth band from Boston, Massachusetts who we loved since hearing Blonder Tongue Audio Baton (1993) and all of us had opened for the Swirlies in various bands together. The opening band, the Cryptorips are a kind of Nova Scotia indie rock supergroup, and we knew Mark Mullane from playing in North of America. It was a fantastic night. Over the course of the night Paul and I were standing at the front of the stage and after the set, Paul turned to us and said “Why isn’t there a Toronto shoegaze super group?” There were enough Toronto shoegaze bands, and certainly Greg and Lisa had played in the Mean Red Spiders. Thus the idea was born.

Paul: Andrew and I had folded our former (post-punk) band Soft Copy, we kinda hit a wall and were at a crossroads of keep playing the same old or shake things up with a new direction. I was out of commission for years due to injury so my drumming abilities were limited to slower beats, sadly that crossed fast post punk off the list. At the Swirlies reunion show Andrew and our friend Dave/former band mate who are both massive shoe gazers were chatting and in the back of my mind I wanted to nudge them to start up a dream pop/shoegaze band so I jokingly provoked them saying "I'm not sure the great 'Canadian' shoe gaze album has ever been made, has it?" and anyone interested in putting together a one off project. If I said supergroup it was tongue in cheek, since I find the label "supergroup" cringe worthy. Fast forward, we played Greg new rough tracks, and Lisa was interested in getting back to playing after a hiatus and to our delight they were excited to join and explore our shared love of all things reverb.

Q: Who are your influences?
Andrew: In the 90s it was always UK shoegaze/dream pop versus US post-punk. I was always into Sonic Youth, Mission of Burma, Gang of Four, Pavement, Dinosaur Jr and but then I also loved My Bloody Valentine and of course Slowdive. Of the shoegaze bands, my favourites were the the Cocteau Twins, Pale Saints and Moose. I remember seeing Ride and Slowdive in the 90s and being completely blown away. I think I still have my concert ticket somewhere with Rachel Goswell’s signature on it.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
Andrew: “To Here Knows When” was the My Bloody Valentine record that really did it for me. I recall buying it on my friend Dave's recommendation and simultaneously thinking that I had wasted my money and also being completely compelled by it. It was only after repeat listenings that it really sunk in. Back then, paying $20 or more for a CD or record was done with caution because money was tight, and all of this music was typically imported. We traded a lot of tapes, as that’s what we could listen to in the care on the way to a show. After that, Sonic Youth’s "Daydream Nation", Cocteau Twins "Heaven or Las Vegas”, Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon” and finally Steve Reich’s “Variations for Winds, Strings and Keyboards”. I’m a huge Steve Reich fan. If I could have a sixth record, I would simply add the Yo La Tengo catalogue.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Andrew: I’ve always been partial to the songwriting and recording process, because I’m probably too control conscious. Playing live is an exhilarating way to connect with people, which is the best part. However, it’s extremely chaotic, and all kinds of variables can get away from you and it’s a craft I’m always trying to improve.

Q. How do you describe Away Forward sounds?
Andrew: I’m more interested in how it sounds to other people. I’m like a pickle in brine, so I don’t have your perspective on what it sounds like or means to you.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Andrew: It was a DIY project. We recorded the bed tracks at a secret studio location in Toronto that had very high ceilings, largely to live track the drums. Greg and I then did overdubs as needed at our rehearsal studio that we’ve been at for decades and at home. I’m a competent engineer, but we relied on Greg to give the album a sound: he mixed the entire record, and I mastered it. Toronto has some excellent studios but the stars did not align this time around, and we like the flexibility of DIY.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Andrew: The new Alvvays record is amazing. Beliefs are a great shoegaze/noise rock unit from Toronto. DIIV’s last 2016 album was great: I think the drummer is the star of the band, and this KEXP video proves it. I’ve also been listening to ambient electronic things like Benoit Pioulard,Colleen and Bing & Ruth who are all beautiful.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I don’t think you could necessarily top the dramatic, epic character of Codeine, but giving them a blissed out treatment might add something. In the same vein, a very slow, noisy version of Slint’s “Washer” off of “Spiderland” would be interesting.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Andrew: I’m currently writing new material for our next release, in a new altered tuning. I would love to have a new release out for the Fall. All of us in the band are very creative people with multiple projects.

Q: Any parting words?
You folks run a great blog. Thanks for asking us to participate. Watch https://awayforward.bandcamp.com/releases for new releases!
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/awayforwardband/

Neighbourhood with Sweam - An Interview

Definitivamente virou uma tendência sonora dos novos tempos, pegar o shoegaze e mistura-locom doses profundas de melancolia, adicione também guitarreira noventista, naipe, Dinosaur Jr e Smashing Pumpkins, e uma profunda dose de Sunny Day Real Estate, e esta feito a escola post shoegaze, se podemos assim defini-la.

Seguindo os passos de gente como Nothing, Whirr entre outros, os noruegueses do Sweam, seguem essa linhagem de barulho desacelerado e encharcado de melancolias.

Os chatos de plantão vão dizer que é derivativo, e aquele blá blá blá todo, mas o ponto é que o Sweam é bom pra cacete, e fica melhor ainda ouvindo em volume máximo com fones de ouvido preferencialmente.

***** Interview with Sweam *****

Q. When did Sweam begin? Tell us about the history...
1. Sweam formed in spring 2016 when Jørgen (guitar) and Jan (bass) who were friends in college started jamming now and then. after an LSD and the Search for God concert Jørgen randomly met Jonas (vocals and guitar) after he yelled “You love J Mascis!” at Jørgen. They’ve been best mates ever since. Siri who plays keyboard and sings, and drummer Gulliver joined shortly after through Jørgen who went to college with them.

Q: Who are your influences?
2. Slowdive, Smashing Pumpkins and Sonic Youth, to name a few. Oh, and how could we forget... My bloody Valentine!

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
3. Well, since there’s five of us and it’s almost impossible for us to come to a unanimous decision, we’ve chosen an album each.

Siri: Opeth - Heritage
Jørgen: Swirlies - they spent their wild youthful days in the glittering world of the salons
Jan: Van Morrison - Into the music
Jonas: Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
Gulliver: Sun kil moon - Benji.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
4. We love to play live, and want to do it as much as possible, all of us get a kick out of it. Hopefully we will be able to go on a bigger tour soon, thats the goal!

Q. How do you describe Sweam sounds
5. Massive guitars drowned in reverb layered with bright synthesizers, nostalgic lyrics and dynamic drums to glue it all together.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
6. Siri works as a sound engineer at an independent recording studio in Oslo called Rich Tone Audio, where we recorded the singles. Since we’re a relatively new band we wanted to experiment and take our time to test out different recording techniques to develop our sound accordingly. We’re really happy with the results, but we always like to try new things musically so who knows what we’ll do in the process of our next release!

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
7. We’re really into Oslo bands like FOAMMM, Amber Clouds and Outer Limit Lotus, so many cool bands from Norway at the moment. Oslo-gaze lives on! Iris and Jaguwar will send shivers down your spine as well. Definitely worth checking out.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
8. We like the idea of mixing genres that in theory wouldn’t make sense. Like Shoegaze and 70’s Disco. So maybe like Bee gees? Yeah, Bee gees. That would be awesome. It could also be really shit though...

Q: What are your plans for the future?
9. Keep writing songs, record an EP or maybe another couple of singles and then hopefully tour abroad in the near future.

Q: Any parting words?
 10. We really appreciate being in the blog, we’re big fans! And thanks for listening!
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Thanks


Bandcamp: https://sweam.bandcamp.com/album/gilbert-neighbourhood
Spotify: https://play.spotify.com/album/2hYvOgLuC6nixfZIC0tFMU
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sweamband/

Funny Old Life with Beautyness - An Interview

Toques de melancolia envoltos a uma velha, e, sempre precisa combinação de indie rock e sonhos, é a direção sonora que Alex Guderian em companhia de seus amigos, deu ao seu novato projeto, Beautyness.

O debute veio nos primeiros dias do ano, com o homônimo EP. Ecos de Elliot Smith e The Smiths misturados com um certo ar lo fi, muito pela conexão com o Grandaddy, dão o charme exato para o trabalho.

Canções ensolaradas e tristes para passeios ao entardecer são a especialidade do Beautyness.

***** Interview with Beautyness *****

Q. When did Beautyness begin? Tell us about the history...
Beautyness started about a year ago. I had a bunch of guitar parts floating around that I had not used for any projects so I decided to put them to use. My friend David Martini started coming around once the songs were a little more finished and he would play drums. This most often would occur in the middle of the day in my basement. It was winter then.

Q: Who are your influences?
Johnny Marr of The Smiths was big for me. The Smiths in general. Another huge influence for me was a band called Sigliosi from Wisconsin. Also, a slew of indie bands from the 90’s to the 00’s. A lot of guitar forward music.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
If I were to give a rough estimate it would be:

Modest Mouse – “Lonesome Crowded West”
Grandaddy – “Sumday”
John Maus – "We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves"
The Radio Dept. – “Clinging To A Scheme”
The Smiths – “Self-Titled”

Q. How do you feel playing live?
I love playing live! It’s one of my favorite part’s about being in a band.

Q. How do you describe Beautyness sounds?
Kinda melancholy. My preferred guitar tone is pretty bright and clean. I like having some shimmery guitar over a moody base of a song. Somebody said it sounds like sad surf rock… I’ll take that.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
My friend Eric Skogen recorded 3 of the 4 tracks on the EP. Usually would just head over to his place when our schedules synced up. We would drink some La Croix, we would drink some martini’s. David would play the drums and I would do guitar live. Once we had the base of the song done I would record 2nd guitars, bass and vocals. We also did one track (Lull) with Ali Jaafar at Ecstattic Studios in Minneapolis.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
I’m not great at keeping tabs on new music but there is some really rad stuff from Minneapolis coming out, here’s some bands I like:

No Kim, Observer Drift, Another Heaven, Finesse, Double Grave

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
Fugazi. But I would try and play as closely to sounding like Fugazi as possible, don’t need any of that jangle guitar crap ruining it. And our drummer would need a giant bell.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Gonna play some shows starting in the Spring. Hopefully get the EP out on Cassette. Already working on new music for a full album release. With the addition of some pals, Beautyness will be a full band. Down the line the music will be more of a collaborative effort.

Q: Any parting words?
Have fun, stay safe.
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Thanks

https://beautyness.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.facebook.com/beautynessmpls/

Pictures of Your Mind with Low Valley Hearts - An Interview

O quarteto com raízes estadunidenses e russas, Low Valley Hearts, tem data marcada para seu debute, dia 15 de Fevereiro. O álbum "Pictures Of Your Mind", já em alta rotação aqui no TBTCI, é um delirante exercício que passeia por entre a new wave, recheada de synths dançantes, o pós punk, com leve toques soturnos, mas sem assustar ninguém, e um doce e viciante apelo pop.

Os aperitivos do disco vão sendo revelados paulatinamente, "Highlands", "Talking Us Down" e "Lulu", estão a serventia do ouvinte na página do Soundcloud deles, e só reforçam minhas palavras, o disco é saboroso, excitante e sim, viciante.

Se houvesse um máquina do tempo e voltássemos para os clubinhos dos 80´s o Low Valley Hearts estaria completamente estourando, tocando em tudo que é canto, mas como vivemos em outra época, somente poucos iniciados vão saborear esta delícia, seja um deles.

***** Interview with Low Valley Hearts *****

Q. When did Low Valley Hearts begin? Tell us about the history...
Rossellini: Low Valley began with Evgenia working as a pet caretaker in the winter of 2017. The solitude of large houses filed with the energy of small animals served as the basis for many of our first songs. "Lulu" was the cat who would never come home to the "Highland House". The house had no curtains on the windows and is on a busy street where there are frequent car accidents on outside corner. The band seemed to stem from the series of events that happened around us at that time and the need to reflect on those subjects. I remember Trump :( was elected as president on my birthday and we finished our most nihilistic song "Pictures of your Mind" that night. The song is our own analysis of the devolving of the human brain and its loss of abilities that it may have once had. When a handful of songs were written we started to rehearse them as a full band with Sean and Zalika.

Zalika: I heard it came from Rossellini's garden. Then they invited me over and I was shy so I played Tchaikovsky and was less shy?

Q: Who are your influences?
Evgenia's influences range from classical composers such as Chopin and Rachmaninoff to European new wavers such as KNHO (Kino) and Air. Sean's drumming comes from the lineage of bands like Wire, Can, and Beefheart. Zalika gets deep into electronic experimentation I.E. Yello Magic Orchestra and Sakamoto.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Zalika's list:
Vespertine, bjork
good kid, m.A.A.d city, Kendrick Lamar
Cilvia Demo, Isaiah Rashad
Skyrim soundtrack, Jeremy Soule
the blind hole, dead in the dirt.

Rossellini's list:
I can't push the agenda that these are the best albums ever but I definitely find myself listening to them a lot.
Zhanna Aguzarova's 1991 s/t album
Straitjacket Fits - Melt
Cristina - Sleep it off
The Cure - Head on the Door
Iggy Pop - The Idiot

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Zalika: It's pretty cool, I don't get nervous, but I'm too shy for it.

Evgenia: I often feel neurotic but maybe that's only a half truth. Sometimes I write parts that are too complicated for myself and it's hard to sing and play synth at the same time. Each of us in the band has our own character that we perform as and sometimes our character will change with our mood and evolution. For recent shows I've performed as "Space Owl". But I believe that your who you perform as can open a door to an alternative reality and you can be whoever you choose to be. "Space Owl", "Galactic Traveler" etc.

Sean is the drum "Drum Zebra" and Zalika was imported from the "Mystical Forest" as the "Wild Hair Fairy". Zalika told Rossellini he's the "Glam Lord".

Q. How do you describe Lox Valley Hearts sounds?
Rossellini/Evgenia: Russian synth competing with loud drums and guitar of dissonant nature, all painted purple, gold, and silver.

Zalika: Post punk glam with immaculate Siberian conservatory composition and some space stuff on the side.

Q. Tell us the process of recording songs?
Zalika: We go in Ross's garden and whisper into his plants and then they send us an email with raw files that need mastering.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Local Atlanta has good acts:
Loner
Shouldies
Material Girls
AGYN
Sherrill 3
Suffer Dragon
Sequoyah Murray.
A Drug Called Tradition
etc etc etc :)

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
Rossellini: We were talking about covering a specific Black Sabbath song soon. Also we had covered a song by the great Israeli band "Minimal Compact" and may cover another of their songs in the future.

Zalika: Cocteau twins would be pretty dreamy.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Rossellini: more songs about pets, space travel, creepy stuff, food, and dysfunctional inventions. To travel where no band has traveled before and maybe do some shows at a UFO or Science convention.

Zalika: Continue investing in bitcoin, make less ironic Sims references, adopt a dog.

Q: Any parting words?
Evgenia: Peace Soup, Cute Tips, and Statistic Noise.

Zalika: Before you sleep, don't forget to take out your contacts or else your eyes will feel like gluey suckballs.
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/lowvalleyhearts/
https://soundcloud.com/lowvalleyhearts

Reverberation with The Kundalini Genie - An Interview

Há um ano atrás começava a jornada garage lisérgica dos escoceses do The Kundalini Genie.

Alguns singles durante o decorrer do ano passado e a redenção em Dezembro com o primeiro álbum, "Reverberation". Aqui não há o que dizer, temos psicodelismo rasgado sessentista aos montes, garageira 60´s, fuzz, e o cheiro da nova cena psych da atualidade.

Um disco pra ser degustado em alto e bom som, sem interrupções, porque no final, vai ser inevitável não dar play novamente.

Viciante é pouco.

***** Interview with The Kundalini Genie *****

Q. When did The Kundalini Genie begin? Tell us about the history...
A: The Kundalini Genie was formed as a concept almost exactly one year ago. It started as an outlet that Julia and I created for our music and artwork, and quickly evolved. We had our first gig in march so there's an argument to be made that we also technically formed then as that's when we first cut our teeth.

Q: Who are your influences?
A: I'm influenced heavily by a lot of bands, if I was to make a comprehensive list I'd forget so many bands and regret it. I'm mainly influenced by 60's psychedelia, indian classical music and modern psych, however I love funk, jazz, the blues, hip-hop, ambient and experimental music too.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
A: In no particular order:
The 13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - Deja Vu
Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow
Rodriguez - Coming From Reality
Donovan - Sunshine Superman

Q. How do you feel playing live?
A: It's hard to describe. I feel shitty, worried, excited, ecstatic, sad, overjoyed, I feel like I'm the most powerful person in the room and I feel like I'm just kidding myself on. Sometimes my mind wanders and I think about silly stuff. It all changes quickly, depending on how good the crowd are, how good I feel and am playing, how good the band are playing, etc. Mostly I just feel like it was over pretty quick. Feels like I spend so long building up to a gig that's over in the blink of an eye before I've really processed any of those emotions I mentioned.

Q. How do you describe The Kundalini Genie sounds?
Well the current album has been described as heavily 60's sounding and I agree, we were definitely going for that with this album but that definitely doesn't describe our sound. By the end of our career we will have albums of experimental backwards sitar weirdness, heavy grunge psych, acoustic blues and funk and jazz, etc. I hope to eventually not be considered a band that is tied to one genre, or sound.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Not enough time, arguments, strokes of genius, evolution, improvisation, irritation and the worlds best feeling of accomplishment at the end.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Ghost Dance Collective, Filth Spector, Black Cat Revue, The Valkarys, The Durty Wurks, Triptides, Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Timothy Eerie, The Vibe, Ghost Dance Collective again.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
We have covered a few great bands already, Reverberation by the elevators, pictures of matchstick men, cortez the killer by young, I really want to do Mr. Soul next.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
In the same position but marginally more successful and with more albums.

Q: Any parting words?
If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all.
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Thanks

https://the-kundalini-genie.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TheKundaliniGenie/

Building Santa Fe with Mount Ivy - An Interview

Nada de barulho ou experimentalismos extremos, ou, climas densos e soturnos, apenas melodias cantaroláveis, o pop feito feito com sensibilidade e inteligência, assim é o Mount Ivy, pop, com pitadas espaciais, sem exageros, apenas servindo de fio condutor para canções que fogem de rótulos.

"Building Santa Fe", último trabalho dos caras passeia exatamente por caminhos iluminadamente pops, com um delicioso frescor levemente psicodélico.

Quer espantar, ou ao menos, deixar problemas de lado, fiquem com o Mount Ivy por alguns momentos e relaxe.

***** Interview with Mount Ivy *****

Q. When did Mount Ivy begin? Tell us about the history...
Mount Ivy is Broderick Adams (Singer, Rhythm Guitar), John Ruben (Drums), Star Child (Keys, Vocals), Topher Petsch (Bass), and Juan Duran (Lead Guitar, Vocals). The band was conceptualized by Broderick in Austin in 2012. At the time Topher and Broderick were living together and Broderick was sharing bedroom demos with Topher. Topher agreed to join the project as a side endeavor to post-hardcore project Vaudeville Cinema. Topher and Broderick moved back to Amarillo, a city in the Texas panhandle, to be joined by Juan on lead guitar. This formed the core unit of the band and the original line-up featured drummer Sidney Busbee. This lineup was in effect for a little over a year and a half before adding Star Child as the key player and about 6 months later John Ruben took the helm on drums to replace Sidney, thus creating the lineup that we currently have.

Q: Who are your influences?
I would like to say that we have an eclectic list of influences due to be from different backgrounds musically. To name a few (or a handful haha):

Radiohead
Tears for Fears
The Delfonics
Fleetwood Mac
Prince
Rush
The Beatles
David Bowie

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
These are in no particular order due to this being one of the hardest questions to answer haha
1. Illinois - Sufjan Stevens
2. Songs from the Big Chair - Tears for Fears
3. Violent Waves - Circa Survive
4. Alive and Kicking - The Delfonics
5. Purple Rain - Prince

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Playing live together is such a wonderful experience. You can see on our faces that we receive a large depth of joy from playing together. I could say over and over that it is just a blast to play with these guys but the best way to summarize the feeling is to say that music is the truest form of magic. When you play music with kindred spirits you all enter the same otherworldly plane and experience a healing and indescribable happiness.

Q. How do you describe Mount Ivy sounds?
We usually sort of describe ourselves as space rock. To go into more detail there are several flavors going into the musical pot. We love delay, reverb and classic synth sounds. I see it as a blending of the world of classic rock music and modern ambient rock music. There are moments in the set that are large like towering land forms with huge spacious guitars and we also have some more 60's sounding surfy riffs and chamber pop influence bleeds through.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
We take a few different approaches to recording. The main approach we take is to lay trash rhythm guitar, get drums tracked and record the other other instruments one at a time to ensure the cleanest takes. After the tracks are recorded we like to experiment with different vocal textures to add our flare onto the recording. We have also been known to record the whole stringed and keyed ensemble together to get a more fluid sounding track.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Hikes
Mondoshawan
Little Tybee
Tremble Out
Cut Worms

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
We have toyed with the idea of a Cher or The Cure cover. Nothing has came to fruition yet but I have a feeling that one will happen.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We are in the process of regrouping and looking at where we fit in the music industry this year. Likely there will be some more video content and strange interactive experiences to be had into this blooming year.

Q: Any parting words?
We just want to thank Renato for having us and congratulate him on a decade of promoting, discovering and giving new acts a platform to express themselves. We feel blessed to be a part of TBTCI and we hope to go to Brazil to perform in the near future!
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Thanks

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