Daydream Cathedral, "Every Drop a Different Color" - Track by Track

Shawn Michael ou Daydream Cathedral para os mais íntimos é figura conhecida aqui no TBTCI.

Desde "Ancestors" primeiro trabalho do cara em 2016, o TBTCI acompanha a trajetória do Daydream Cathedral, que além do EP tem no currículo uma série de singles e covers que por honra fizeram parte de alguns projetos do TBTCI,

Mas ainda faltava o primeiro disco cheio, e ele enfim chegou, no meio de Fevereiro, "Every Drop a Different Color" conheceu a luz do dia, e as tonalidades a partir daí tornaram-se mais coloridas.

Porque o Daydream Cathedral apesar que pairar por entre o dreampop e o shoegaze carrega doses generosas de uma psicodelia dançante misturada a tudo isso. Ecos de Madchester certamente.

No álbum é possível fazer comparações com The High, os Roses, entre outros, "Every Drop a Different Color é um doce psicodelicamente sonhador.

E para decifrar os significados ocultos desta pequena pérola, o TBTCI convidou o Shawn para dissecar sua própria obra, e o resultado é digamos, delicioso.

Boa viagem.

***** Daydream Cathedral, "Every Drop a Different Color" - Track by Track *****

First and foremost I am grateful and humbled to be presented with the opportunity to share a deeper glimpse of my debut album, ‘Every Drop a Different Color’.

This is an album that has always been and almost never was. Meaning, this is a collection of songs that have been circulating within my ears for years, but for various reasons, personal and professional, never saw the light of day.

The delay in revealing my music was due almost entirely to the introverted and perfectionist personality I was gifted with as a Virgo. This has always been a strange paradox for me as an artist. I thrive on the creative energy from crafting songs, melodies, lyrics and harmonies, and yet rarely feel comfortable enough to share them with others (including my closest friends and family). In some ways this album is also a bit therapeutic, it represents purging these self-imposed hurdles that have been weighing me down for so long. Enough was enough, I had to get this music out there, in my own voice, and in my own way.

The tools available to a solitary musician are unimaginable these days. I was able to produce this entire album with minimal gear in the privacy of my own home, free from the distractions and pressures of others. It’s not that I don’t enjoy or appreciate the input of others, but I needed at least this first album to be written, produced and performed in an entirely solitary fashion to give it a sustainable personal value -- it just needed to be that way.

For those interested in where these songs come from, their inspiration and what they could be attempting to convey, the following track-by-track breakdown is for you. - Shawn

. ...- . .-. -.-- / -.. .-. --- .--. / .- / -.. .. ..-. ..-. . .-. . -. - / -.-. --- .-.. --- .-.

‘Take Time’

The album begins with this short, intentionally incomplete piece of music bearing a simple message: “Take me far away, time drags today”.

This is dedicated to everyone who utilizes headphones as a means to escape -- which ended up being a appropriate mood-setter for the entire album.

The swirling sound effect over the intro and outro is taken directly from the cassette that contained the original demo of this song -- it’s the sound of the fast-forward button not being pressed all the way down causing a scrubbing sound upon the tape head.

‘Symbols and Candles’
Originally a much darker and morbid personal lyric about leaving flowers upon a grave, I decided to lighten it up a bit -- it was just too heavy a scene to revisit with each listen.

Goal was to rewrite the lyrics around something more uplifting and inspiring. I found it in the various encounters you can have with astrologers, fortune tellers, psychics, witches, occultists, and mystics at the Renaissance Faire.

‘Mesmerized’
There is a lot of imagery contained within this track. Kind of a blend between Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’ and legends of the Knights Templar is about as direct as I can be while remaining intentionally vague.

During pre-production for this track we lost the great Craig Gill, drummer for the Inspiral Carpets. This immediately transformed this song from it’s originally folky roots to a heavier bass and drums approach in tribute to the Inspirals’ rhythm section.

To round off the tribute, a few nods to the Carpets’ were inserted into the lyrics. The line, “Memories of you, delivering memories deep in the hues we drew.” is one of them.

‘I Live to Love with You’
Nothing over-complicated or mysterious, the theme is about realizing the beauty and benefits of love and commitment. I admit I had some fun tracking the California-inspired vocal harmonies.

‘Melt into the Blue’
I honestly never expected this tune to make the cut when picking through demos of songs to include. Second only to ‘Watch the Waves’ in being one of the earliest of tunes I had collected over the years in my do-something-with-someday pile.

Originally it began as an attempt to do something heavy with what I like to call chainsaw guitars. Since the early version contained such horribly goofy lyrics it was always avoided when considering tunes.

But then inspiration struck and an entirely new theme manifested itself. The song instantly went from its original teenage lament about being ‘As Cool as You’ (the original title), to a song seeking a return to those days as the remedy for the blues.

‘On the Way from the Earth Today’
I included this on the album as a sorta take-a-break or mood-resetting song. The original demos always featured vocals but I decided against tracking them with this version. I’m sure future versions of this will appear someday re-imagined with different approaches. There is a lot that can be done production-wise with drones like this.

‘Stuck in Between’Lyrically one of the more direct, say-what-you-really-mean, songs on the album. Musically it represents my attempts to create a push and pull between harmonic dissonance and beauty during repeated refrains, “Stuck in between you and the machine”.

The extended instrumental solos are some of the my favorite sections of the album. Originally what began as a two-chord back-and-forth outro-jam ended up becoming multiple journeys around the ‘Cycle of 4ths’ (familiar terminology for fans of music theory).

‘Got Hypnotized’
Written on ukulele during my years of life in Hawaii while a member of a the band Kanekoa (who have since resurrected several great versions of this song after my departure from the band).

I was hesitant about including it on the album for being ‘too catchy’. There seems to be an unspoken rule that indie music should avoid being too catchy, groovy, or commercial -- I never really quite wanted to acknowledge or understand these restrictions.

If seeking a meaning this song will likely come off as a bit unfocused -- which is intentional -- it’s more about word-association and word-play.

Honestly I’m not sure what I was thinking, I was just writing down came to me at the time -- which is in keeping with the whole ‘got hypnotized’ thing. The chords and melody just fell into my lap on a lonely rainy day in a matter of moments.

‘Gazing in Gratitude’
The most recently written, and most organic of all the songs that appear on this album. This song represents exploring new directions and revisiting past influences.

There were vocals that followed a traditional, almost stereotypical, 80s gothic approach that were accidentally left muted during one of the mixdowns. After a few listens I decided to keep the mistake and leave it as an instrumental.

‘Everything’s Round’This is the only track included from a marathon writing session I had which resulted in nearly a dozen songs written and rough tracked in about as many days -- none of which made the cut for this album, but will almost certainly appear in the future.

Lyrically it’s about when sparks fly between new lovers, or within our own minds.

One thing special about this track for the musicologists is that it has several changes in timing and progressive beat-counting cued by the syllable counts of the lyrics.

‘Watch the Waves’I remember the day I wrote this while wandering the beach dwelling on all the loves and lives I’ve lost in my life.

“Lost within the sand, lost without your hand”.

It’s one of the few moments where I felt I really accomplished everything I wanted to express in a song.

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And with that, I thank you for reading this extended novel I wrote while sipping coffee tonight. I remain humble and grateful for all the support, friends, and fans this music has made along the way. There is still so much music, so many ideas and projects ahead for Daydream Cathedral. I am excited to continue to share all of them with you.

I appreciate each and every one of you for taking this journey with me and energizing the scene with vitality and life -- the scene that celebrates itself, on the Blog the Celebrates Itself.
- Shawn
Daydream Cathedral
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-.. .- -.-- -.. .-. . .- -- / -.-. .- - .... . -.. .-. .- .-..
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Thanks

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

Spectroscope with Vymaanika - An Interview

Liberte sua mente e aperte bem os cintos, ou melhor, o senso, pois a partir desse momento, o TBTCI convida a todos a embarcar em uma viagem alucinógena, repleta de drones, repetições, alterações psíquicas, mesmo com ausência de psicotrópicos, neste caso, a música cumprirá todas as funções de delírios.

Em seu primeiro trabalho, o EP "Spectroscope", o Vymaanika, quarteto psych de Barcelona, Espanha, transcende, até mesmo o mundo psych atual, apenas duas canções, que somadas geram uma viagem de quase vinte minutos. Seguindo duas doutrinas, primeiramente o krau, principalmente, NEU! e Can, e por outro lado as experiências sônicas do Spacemen 3 e do do Bardo Pond, assim concebe-se a síntese do que o Vymaanika, criou.

O ticket desta viagem o TBTCI oferta gratuitamente, agora a volta, dependerá apenas do seu estado psíquico.

Boa viagem.

***** Interview with Vymaanika *****

Q. When did Vymaanika begin? Tell us about the history...
Vymaanika began as an Idea for a project between all of us. Through out the the last couple years of the2000's we all had been playing in bands around Barcelona. Some of us actually played together in other projects. Some Bands of the underground were really forward thinking and for Spain, a bit out side the typical status quo rock or electronica. Barcelona is a great place for finding a mix of international and Catalan musicians. So as some of the past projects broke up or fell into oblivion, the idea of Vymaanika (although it did not have a name yet) was only a seed around 2015. It was an idea to take our influences and the best elements of our past projects and bring it together into a band that continues the projection of all the ideas we really wanted to explore through sonic journeys. Basically using two guitars to weave together textures through minimal playing (no shredding) pushing the envelope of what guitars could sound like using lots of effects pedals and extended techniques. At the core of that was to have really primal drums that would, when you listen close are very complex but at a distance, would drive the songs into frantic rhythms or intricate waves of textures. Of course to bring all the elements together, we wanted the bass to lock down the beat and bring a groove to the clouds of sonic atmospheres and to be the pulsating heart.

Q: Who are your influences?
Spacemen 3 : Can : Velvet Underground

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Spacemen 3: Dreamweapon: An Evening of Contemporary Sitar Music (Ben)
Oneohtrix Point Never: The Fall Into Time (Jose)
Boredoms: Vision Creation Newsun (Carles)
Portishead: Third (Lander)
Can: Tago Mago (Vymaanika)

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Playing live is one of the best feelings ever. It is very addictive. It is like creating a Sonic trip for people to get lost in. Intentionally our songs are longer then conventional rock songs... So as we typically play 9 plus minute songs, we use repetition to kind of allow people to loose track of time and from that point it is a great point at which to create a sonic journey. We really like to use visuals and smoke machines to help enhance the atmosphere, allowing the audience and ourselves to get further adrift and outside oneself within a kind of communal trance.

Q. How do you describe Vymaanika sounds?
Space Mantra Drone Ritual Music :maybe a little Krauttrock from an ideological point but not much more, in the sense that we our trying to create new sounds from our instruments and create different ways of approaching rhythm and song structures. At the same time minimal and in moments drone sounding. Also I would mention loud, but not for the sake of being loud.... it is just a great state at which the guitar amps begin to feedback and all the instruments begin to morph into one giant multi-colored panorama.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs
In the pre-production stage we spent about 2 to 3 months choosing the songs and working out the structures and textures.

 We found ourselves really lucky because we had some friends studying at a sound engineer school called SAE and they wanted to record us for their final project for school. We’ve recorded in 2 days.
After that we had 4 long and enjoyable sessions of mixing at Jose’s Studio and finally Jose did the master.

The artwork from the Ep it’s made by the great Pablo Roman https://www.rographic.com/

It was a pleasant work to do, and we’re really happy about all the good things that came out from it.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
10.000 Russos , Follakzoid, Kikagaku Moyo, Minami Deutsch, Dreamweapon, Thurston Moore, Beak, Amsia, Rayo-60, June or July, Christina Vantzou, Camera.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
John Cage 4:33

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Right now we are in pre-production for our next LP. We really want to get back in the studio and record new songs. The other main goal we have right now is to find as many gigs as we can. We really want to set up as many shows as possible to play live and to Tour around Europe and the UK. After that we would love to go around the world to play live.

Q: Any parting words?
Check out our music at https://vymaanika.bandcamp.com/ and if you like it, support us and share it.
Thanks for the interview Renato and to the Readers of The Blog that Celebrates Itself.
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Thanks

https://vymaanika.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Vymanika/

Humdrum with OS NU

Para quem possa estranhar ao entrar na página dos britânicos/dinamarqueses radicados na Alemanha o trio, Astral Tide, e notar que agora os caras se chamam OS NU, não fique assim tão espantado, os caras deram uma repaginada sonora onde o último suspiro da antiga fase foi justamente a participação deles no Tribute ao Wire organizado pelo TBTCI no ano passado.

Agora, o OS NU, em seu primeiro single, "Humdrum" deixa a barulheira pós punk com menores traços em sua sonoridade dando enfase a uma proposta mais eletrônica, algo como eles próprios definem como "drumgaze".

E para melhor exemplificar toda a mudança o TBTCI convidou o trio para dissecar essa proposta em "Humdrum".

Escute alto e em noites escuras.

***** "Humdrum" by OS NU *****

Nona: Making “Humdrum” gave me/us the possibility to develop our production skills. I learned a lot from the process. It's good to have a new start and a fresh beginning.

Matt: It's about cycles of time passing by and progress. Whether we learn anything on a personal level, as communities or as a species, or if we just repeat all the same mistakes over and over again, or even regress in all kinds of ways. Like the concept of 'de-evolution'.

Mark: The challenge was trying to convey the sense of monotony that “Humdrum” encapsulates without the song becoming monotonous itself. New direction has brought new energy. Invigorated. So many possibilities no borders no boundaries. Next track trad sludge jazz!
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Thanks

https://soundcloud.com/osnu
https://www.facebook.com/osnuband/

Olympia II with Creams - An Interview

Uma nuvem cinzenta carregada de melancolia e angústia é o que exala do segundo trabalho dos alemães do Creams.

"Olympia II" combina perfeitamente com o habitat no qual foi criado, a cidade de Leipzig, gélido e denso, conduzido obrigatoriamente pelos ecos do pós punk, agregando por vezes guitarras mais intensas, mas o que se ouve no álbum é o frio, o frio emoldurando sentimentos dispares, seja de desespero, solidão, ou, apenas raiva.

Uma verdadeira colisão entre algo como o Sad Lovers And Giants e o mundo gazer.

Para noites intensas e sem luz.

***** Interview with Creams *****

Q. When did Creams begin? Tell us about the history...
We released our first single in 2014. Since then we worked together on two records, furthermore we all work on different music projects. For us it was a conscious decision to play with only three people, we see this as an opportunity to develop our own sound out of the possibilities of being a three piece band.

Q: Who are your influences?
We don't count any particular bands among our influences, but for sure there are many bands, artists and concerts that have an impact on how you hear, understand and also play music. Still we try to stick to our unique way of playing and still develop our sound.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Explosions in the Sky - All of a sudden i miss everyone
Nirvana - Bleach
Księżyc - Księżyc
Portishead - Third
Neil Young - Weld

Q. How do you feel playing live?
We see ourselves as a live band. Even when we work in a studio the live playing element still plays a certain role in our work. Its important for us to be able to play everything the same way as on the record.

Q. How do you describe Creams sounds?
Creams Sound develops from three different characteristics. We work with driving, up-tempo beats covered in cloudy, noisy guitar patterns and straight bass lines. Our vocals are considered as an extra instrument picking up different melodies of our songs.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
As we are composing our Songs live, we wrote the whole album before getting into the studio. In the End there were only a few changes in the sound or in some particular parts, but apart from that we recorded everything as we would play it live on stage.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Heroin in Tahiti, Accident du Travail, BNNT, Lovely Heroin, Dolphins

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
None. We don’t like covers at all. We tried Nicolas Jaar’s „Space is only noise if you can see“ once though. Still you can’t deny that great covers exist: Portishead’s version of Abba’s SOS is superb - to lay emphasis on the lyrics by creating a dark atmosphere with trembling vocals is a brilliant way to turnaround the mood of a song. Also the interpretation of ‚Where did you sleep last night‘ by Kurt Cobain ending In complete ecstasy is stunning too.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We are looking forward to play as many shows in as many different countries all over the world as possible. And of course we are all exited how our third record will sound like.

Q: Any parting words?
Thank you
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/creamscreams/
https://hiddenstructures.bandcamp.com/album/olympia-ii
http://creamscreams.net/

Joyful Hesitation with Syrup, Go On - An Interview

Umas das melhores coisas em se tratando de música, é acompanhar o nascimento e o crescimento de uma banda, simplesmente sentir aquele frescor que um dia também já foi parte integrante de todos nós.

É basicamente esse sentimento que guia o TBTCI, e lá vamos nós novamente apresentar mais um daquelas novas bandas que deveriam e poderiam, porque não, ter um reconhecimento imediato.

Novamente é da Austrália, que mais uma bela promessa aterriza nestas páginas, o quinteto, Syrup, Go On.

Depois de soltar algumas demos e o single "Adore", o Syrup, Go On, iniciou o ano com seu primeiro EP, "Joyful Hesitation", que infelizmente dentre tantos lançamentos que já ocorreram neste ano, me parece que ficou precocemente esquecido, como muitos belos trabalhos, sinal dos tempos cruéis em que vivemos.

Mas, o TBTCI presta a devida e merecida atenção ao guitar sound com nuances gazers, sonhadoras e indies, melodias em primeiro plano, barulho dosado sem agressividades ou experimentações extremas, apenas aquele doce e suave assovio para fazer o tímpano tremer e a cabeça levitar.

Experimente o Syrup, Go On, contra indicações não haverão de aparecer.

***** Interview with Syrup, Go On *****

Q) When did syrup, go on begin?
· Syrup, go on started around 2016 as a recording project. Our founding members include, Tom Briese, Kris Briese, Liz Dick and Ken Kimura. Since our formation, we have added new live members and instrumentalists.

Q) Who are your influences?
· Our influences include indie, dreampop, shoegaze and melodic pop outfits, including…
My Bloody Valentine / Beach boys / Tame Impala / Pond / Slowdive / Cymbals Eat Guitars / Number Girl

Q) 5 albums of all time
· Tame Impala – Currents
· Beach Boys – Pet sounds
· Flaming Lips – The Soft Bulletin
· My bloody valentine – Loveless
· Yo La Tengo – I can hear the heart beating as one

Q) How do you feel about playing live?
· We really enjoy playing live. We seem to have an awkward but lovable demeanour and stage presence.

Q) How do you describe syrup, go on’s sound?
· For our latest EP we are a mix of shoegaze, dreampop, and post-punk with a focus on melody and driving bass.

Q) The process of recording songs
· Tom Briese is the primary song writer in the band. He usually comes up with an idea for a song then, as a band, we work on the arrangement and add our own individual parts and sections.

Q) Which new bands do you recommend?
· Electric Zebra is a Gold Coast band that produce hooky and powerful alternative rock sounds that we really like.

· Cakes is a 2-piece Gold Coast outfit with a massive sound and catchy melodies – reminiscent of METZ.

· Leavings are another Gold Coast band with interesting and dynamic sounds that at times sound like Number Girl meets Modest Mouse meets Sonic Youth.

· For dreammpop/shoegaze fans, Cassette Cathedral from the Gold Coast is another band worth checking out.

Q) Which band would we love to cover?
· Kris - My bloody valentine
· Tom – beach boys
· Liz – The Smiths

Q) What are your plans for the future?
· Our immediate plan is to go back to recording. We are planning to start recording our first full length album in March and hopefully release it in early 2019. Apart from recording, we will keep playing shows and try to keep progressing onto bigger and better line-ups.
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Thanks

https://syrupgoon.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/syrupgoonband/

Strawberry Cough with Deceased Squirrel On The Phone - An Interview

Guitarra e bateria apenas, e uma gigantesca sensação de desordem.

Para o duo da República Tcheca, Deceased Squirrel On The Phome, Tomas aka Warren e Bubu, respectivamente  guitarra/voz e bateria, não se faz necessário absolutamente mais nada. Tudo pode ser devidamente atestado no debute "Strawberry Cough", lançado em Janeiro. 

Um exercício de minimalista noise freak, agressivo, experimental e caótico. Referências de kraut, no wave, art noise e brutalidade sonora são os predicados que guiam a obra.

Perfeitamente recomendado para curar melancolias agudas. Definitivamente não recomendado a indie kids.

***** Interview with Deceased Squirrel On The Phone *****

Q: When did Deceased Squirrel On the Phone begin? Tell us about the history...
Deceased Squirrel on the Phone begin in 2010. Inspired by squirrel corpse, which was fried in neon of erotic club Moulin Rouge. Our band has two members. I play the guitar and sing and Bubu play two toms and cymbal. I write poems and do paintings too. Bubu is a photographer. We use it in a band then. We love surrealism and dada.

Q: Who are your influences?
Musical influences: Roky Erickson, Syd Barrett, Damo Suzuki, Half Japanese, Baby Woodrose, Laraaji, Bobby Conn Other influences: Wilhelm Reich, Terence McKenna

Q: Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
Can - Monster Movie
Genesis - Foxtrot
Starship Beer – Nut Music As Free As The Squirrels
Daniel Johnston & Jad Fair - It's Spooky
Bobby Conn - The Homeland

Q: How do you feel playing live?
We like to play in small clubs, where people are close to us. We love to play for example in Fluff fest, where is Psychtent stage. It´s great place. Bubu is very serious before our show. It is not fun for her, she wants to change the world with playing. I enjoy it.

Q: How would you describe Deceased Squirrel On the Phone´s sounds?
Minimalist, lo-fi songs influenced by noise and psychedelia, with lyrics based on surreal humor, for example: Adrien Brody double gets hiccups at the shop with fishing equipment in Oslo. Or song Strawberry Cough is transcription of Michael Caine and Clive Owen dialogue from The Children of Men movie.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Most of songs we recorded in studio: guitar, vocal and drums together. Just Dead Holidays Heal Slowly was recorded lo-fi in rehearsal room with sounded little woods and guitar effect Pulsar. In I Stopped Smoking In The Mirror we recorded two guitars and cymbal in rehearsal room too.

Q: Which new bands do you recommend?
We recommend fOfY, project of our friend from Italy. His composition Dusk is amazing. Best listening is with Mango Sapphire. Next Octopoulpe. The best live concert experience. French drummer, which lives in South Korea. He plays in octopus disguise. We recommend Stoned to Death records too. It´s cassettes label. Everything, what stoned bear publishes, is cool.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
 Shake Sugaree by Elisabeth Cotten. We like this song so much. We would do it as sugar mantra.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We´ll go to London participate in Europan Poetry festival. We prepare literary-musical performance for this festival.

Q: Any parting words?
Thanks a lot to The Blog That Celebrates Itself for interest in DSOTP. We are happy! Music and all being is energy. We are part of everything. Things falling into the ground are not to be found if you call a deceased squirrel you might get back Things falling into the ground
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Thanks

https://stoned-to-death.bandcamp.com/album/strawberry-cough
https://deceasedsquirrelonthephone.bandcamp.com/

Bloody Knives, "White Light Black Moon" - Track by Track

Antes de qualquer coisa, eu devo dizer que se por um descuido, você desconhece o hoje, trio de Austin, Bloody Knives, você obrigatoriamente deve preparar seus tímpanos e principalmente seus instintos, apenas porque poucas bandas atualmente soam tão agressivas e terroristas sonoramente falando como os caras.

Então prepare-se, se você é virgem a obra dos caras, ok?

Bem, não é novidade para os que acompanham o TBTCI nestes anos, o que o maestro da desordem, Mr. Preston Maddox e sua gangue cometem desde o lançamento de "Bloody Knives" o primeiro EP de 2009. Uma verdadeira avalanche de agressividade e caos é o que os caras fazem.

Nem pense em tentar rotula-los, esse exercício seria absolutamente dispensável, visto que o Bloody Knives é apenas, então, somente, um perfeito expoente do verdadeiro caos em que vivemos, seja ele, sonoro, ou refletindo apenas o mundo moderno fodido em que vivemos.

Vou, me abster de situá-los neste ou aquele nicho musical, apenas gostaria de dizer, que se o apocalipse fosse agora, você estaria sendo submetido a perfeita trilha sonora do final dos tempos.

"White Light Black Moon", o novo trabalho dos caras virá ao mundo em 5 de Abril, todavia, o TBTCI antecipa todo o esporro através dos próprios criadores dessa catarse apocalíptica.

Desnecessário comentar que estamos falando de algo essencial, ok?

***** Bloody Knives, "White Light Black Moon" - Track by Track *****

DARKSTAR

PRESTON----Reminds me of AK1200’s “Prepare for Assault”

JAKE -------This song ended up being a great opener. It retains quite a bit of the heavy atmospheric elements that define our sound while introducing the jungle/drum and bass elements we wanted to add to this album. Preston and I used to go to drum and bass nights when we lived in Dallas in the early 2000's that a couple of my friends were dj'ing and they played some great records, ones that we always kind of wanted to incorporate somewhere, but never really could, and this song showcases that time of musical influence.

JACK--------The whole song is very fluid sounding. I think I was trying to rip off Rowland S Howard and the Dick Dale on this one.

DEMONISM

PRESTON-------I get to do the double downstroke crust punk thing on bass on this song and that kinda makes it for me.

JAKE--------This is one of my personal favorites. It's possibly the darkest song and those tend to be the ones I gravitate towards on albums. I like how the combination of the drum break on top of live drums turned out, similar to UGK's “Diamonds and Wood” where they stack two separate drum tracks with different tones on top of each other. I've been trying to do that for a while, but haven't been able to pull it off. It creates quite a big drum sound and Preston and Jack's guitars make everything so much heavier.

JACK--------This song is like 3 chords over and over again and its really fun to play live ‘cause I can pretty much do anything I want on stage at this point.

DIG THE HOLE

PRESTON-This track was one of the songs that got cut from the DEATH ep, came back and revisited it and it came together for this record.

JAKE--------Dig The Hole might be the catchiest one on the record. The intro keyboard riff is one of the highlights to me, and the minimal drums on the verses adds a dynamic element we've never really incorporated before. This is the one that usually gets stuck in my head after listening to the album.

JACK--------My guitar sounds like it was a synth sampled from an early nineties hip hop record, but its not. Its a Boss CH-1 and my fingers.

NEW MACHINES

PRESTON------------This song is about how evil people with machines are eventually going to win the tech war and take over humanity. Those fools at Boston Dynamics need to watch the TERMINATOR movies again. YOU ARE CREATING SKYNET.

JAKE--------Another personal favorite. This to me is a heavy one you can bob your head to, something to kind of amp you up. The screeching melody at the beginning is a sample of a chop saw and I thought it added a great grinding element to sort of throw you out of whack before the melodies settle you in to even you out. And then Jack's guitars at the end kind of make the song for me.

JACK---------Preston told me “No happy notes” and “Rip off the guitar solo at the end of Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits”. I improvised two leads and sent them to Preston from Florida.

MIDNIGHT HOUR

PRESTON---------gothgaze

JAKE----------This is the last song we recorded for the record. After we finished the rest of the songs Preston thought we needed one more to kind of bridge the gap from “I Will Cut Your Heart Out For This” to this one. It turned out great and not only did it end up making for a good segue from the old to the new, it makes a great intro to the second half of the record. It kind of settles you down after New Machines and brings back some airy atmospheric textures to the mix.

 JACK--------This song sounds like detoxing on a space station. The breakdown at the end sounds very witch house meets hardcore which is really fun to play.

UNDER THE BLACK MOON

PRESTON------This song is about a person who thought they got away with something finally getting caught and taken out and how beautiful that moment of vengeance is.

JAKE-------- This song to me is the most rock oriented one, an element I'm always glad we've been able to retain. I think a lot of the influence for this one comes from playing and seeing so many shows at Beerland in Austin over the last few years. A lot of the bands that play there regularly have an intensity you don't really see at most other venues. Hopefully we were able to capture the punk and noise elements from those bands properly.

JACK----This song gave me a cramp when I recorded it.

SLICER REPEATER

JAKE----------The hardest song to play live probably. Preston used an old drum beat of mine sped up for the foundation of the song and the fast hats sounded so good I wanted to keep them. It's also one of the most fun to play.

JACK----------I think this is the oldest or closest to the oldest song on the record that I’m aware of. It sounds like a ghost with a boombox in a well.

HKV

JAKE---------I always thought HKV had a sort of Downward Spiral vibe to it, one that I've always kind of wanted on an album. Jason did a great job arranging the intro on this one as well as mixing in the programmed hi hats. I love the driving nature and abrasiveness of everything, t's like an aggravation building up during the verses and then all out calculated chaos in the chorus.

JACK----------I don’t know what HKV stands for. This song also gave me a cramp when I recorded it. Its a fucking rager.

HALL OF MIRRORS

PRESTON-my favorite part of this track is the juno coming in near the end of the track. It was laying around in the studio we recorded the drums. I locked a sequence into the arpeggiator and twisted knobs.

JAKE-----------Another personal favorite, a great back and forth between Preston's musical influences and my own and then Jack adding his own voice and style to everything to round it all out. It has nice melodic verse to bring you back down from the harshness of HKV with a big, heavy chorus to keep you dancing.

JACK------------There’s a couple songs I used a baritone guitar on. Its a DC59 that I painted and slapped an after market baritone neck on. I play very little on this song. Its great to do live when we can.

DIAMOND LIVES

PRESTON---------This is about how the global elite need to wiped out in the entirety and replaced with no one, their money and wealth distributed among all of us so we can create a society that we want, and the degree to which they need to be exterminated.

JAKE------------This one is my favorite to play live, and another dark one for sure. If there is any kind of narrative or story this album is trying to tell, the ominous vocals on this song signify a complete transformation from a kind of hopefulness on Darkstar to being completely consumed by some form of malevolence.

JACK------------This is the other song I used the baritone on. Its heavy.

PRELUDE (REPRISE)

PRESTON---------this is the ouroboros of the record. The title is a tribute to Lonnie Liston Smith and my favorite work of his, the song “Prelude” from Lonnie Liston Smith Live (1977)

JACK------------Deceptively simple guitar work on this one.
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/thebloodyknives/
http://bloodyknives.bandcamp.com/

A Charcoal Night with Writ on Water - An Interview

A história da música por muitas vezes prega peças cruéis com muitos artistas, belas e promissoras bandas muitas vezes caem no limbo do submundo dos bons sons e o esquecimento torna-se seu único companheiro.

Em todas as décadas isso aconteceu e continuará acontecendo, agora, em alguns momentos, o feitiço veira contra o feiticeiro, já reza o ditado popular, este é o caso do Writ on Water.

Resumidamente, os caras iniciaram suas atividadas em 1991, lançaram um belíssimo álbum de estreia, "Sylph" e depois disso, somente com o advento da internet, já aquecendo o mercado de distribuição e sendo um facilitador os caras conseguiram enfim construir sua discografia, riquíssima diga-se de passagem.

Sonoramente, o Writ on Water passeia por entre o pós punk melódico com pitadas psicodélicas, para quem se lembrou do The Church, sim Church é uma bela referência para o Writ on Water, mas obviamente que pela época em que surgiram, elementos em alta naquela época são notadas, o dreampop, o shoegaze, o lirismo do The Chills, Go-Betweens, enfim, as conexões poderiam se estender por décadas de boa música.

O Writ on Water, durante os anos 00´s gravou belos trabalhos, "Pelléas", "Wunderzeit!" e "A Wingless King" são discos a serem descobertos, ou redescobertos, dependendo do seu envolvimento com os caras.

No final do ano passado o Writ on Water, soltou um lindíssimo EP, "A Charcoal Night", que soa como uma revisão de toda a discografia da banda mas olhando para um iluminado futuro.

Que assim seja, afinal, o Writ on Water, merece ter sua obra devidamente reconhecida, ou apenas, conhecida.

***** Interview with Writ on Water *****

Q. When did Writ on Water begin? Tell us about the history…
JEFF MacKEY: Dan and I started playing music together in Southern California in 1990, and Writ on Water began in 1991 when we added drummer Joel Hughes, and then guitarist Miles Williams soon after. We started off as more of a regular “band," practicing in a garage, looking for gigs. But after our first album (‘Sylph,’ 1992) came out, the record company we were signed to went belly-up and we found ourselves without a label. Joel and Miles went on to other pursuits around that time, and Dan and I have continued on since then as a recording project. Dan and I have both moved to the East Coast over the intervening years, and we’ve worked with drummer Matt Akery on our last couple of releases. I write music pretty regularly, and we periodically find ourselves with material that seems like it would work as an album. We’ve been independent, releasing albums and EPs ourselves online for almost 20 years now.

Q: Who are your influences?
DANIEL JOHNSON: The Church, the whole 4AD sound from the late 80s/early 90s, David Sylvian

JEFF: I feel like everything I hear is an influence to some extent. But I’ll mention a few things that kind of changed my ideas about music along the way. The classic 4AD sound of the late ‘80s was a big influence. I still remember the first time I ever heard Cocteau Twins, and I couldn’t believe my ears, just seemed like the most magical sound I’d ever heard. I was also fascinated by The Wolfgang Press’ unconventional, linear approach to song structure when I first started listening to them. David Sylvian’s ‘Gone to Earth’ really affected my thinking as well, with its mix of sparse and densely textured arrangements, instrumentation weaving in and out…still one of my favorite records. Dan and I both listen to a lot of orchestral music, which may also impact our approach to song arrangement as well.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
JEFF: Not necessarily my top 5, but the first five important (to me) albums that leap to mind:
• ‘Gone to Earth’ - David Sylvian
• ‘Loveless’ - My Bloody Valentine
• ’Spirit of Eden’ - Talk Talk
• ‘Unearthed’ - Steve Kilbey
• ’New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)’ - Simple Minds

DANIEL: Here are some favorites, in no particular order:
The Blue Nile - A Walk Across The Rooftops
Bowie - Low
Joy Division - Closer
Mark Hollis - (self titled)
Secret Chiefs 3 - Book of Horizons

I also listen to a lot of jazz and classical.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
DANIEL: I love playing live, but I haven't done so for many years. We thought about getting a live band together about ten years ago, but because we live several hours' drive apart, it never quite happened.

JEFF: That’s an especially tough question for us since we haven’t done a Writ show in more than 20 years. I did some acoustic sets of mostly Writ on Water material back around 2001, and that’s the last time any of our material has been performed live. I think my original idea was to be primarily a studio project as I found playing live very stressful and exhausting. Looking back, I regret that we weren’t more active in trying to do shows because I think we might have developed into a pretty good live act. I still occasionally get the crazy urge to get a lineup together, but it seems unlikely at this point.

Q. How do you describe Writ on Water sounds?
JEFF: I’m fond of “expansive minimalism” as a description. It obviously doesn’t apply to every song we’ve recorded, but I think one of our fundamental philosophies is experimentation and layering on top of a minimalist foundation. I’ve never really been sure in what category we belong—we’ve heard terms like space-rock, post-punk, post-rock, even Goth used over the years, but it was never really our intention to be any of those things.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
JEFF: Our recording process has evolved over the years. In the early days, we would do 4-track demos with the intention of going into a proper studio later to record them. Eventually, Dan and I wound up setting up home recording spaces, and we do our tracking independently since we live in different states now. I write/record pretty regularly at home, but most tracks never see the light of day. When I have a song idea, I’ll start putting down tracks and work it into shape over time, and then the file goes to Dan for additional tracking (or vice-versa). When we finally released 'The Greyest Day' in 2014, we had been tinkering with some of those tracks for a few years by the time it was finished. Digital recording in a home studio can be kind of a blessing and a curse—a blessing because it is so convenient to try things whenever you feel inspired but a curse because it removes the urgency and cohesiveness that comes with a limited amount of time in the studio.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
JEFF: I defer to Dan as I’m just about the worst possible person to ask—my recent rotation has been the first few Simple Minds records, The National, some Smiths. But in terms of current bands, I like The Radio Dept. and The Mary Onettes a lot, stuff coming out of Stockholm…neither band is exactly new, but wonderful.

DANIEL: I hear that Aidan Knight is coming out with a new album sometime soon — his first two records are fantastic. As far as jazz goes, you should listen to Yazz Ahmed, a British-Bahraini trumpeter based in London.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
JEFF: We’ve never released a cover before, but we played a couple of things live way back when.

DANIEL: We once covered the Virgin Prunes (“Pagan Lovesong”) and Jim Reeves (“He’ll Have to Go”) in the same concert.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
JEFF: We're not really sure at this point. I have been recording some new material lately, but I’m still trying to figure out what it is. I do expect that there will be more Writ on Water releases in the future, maybe some side projects.

Q: Any parting words?
Thank you for giving ‘A Charcoal Night’ EP a listen, and please stay in touch!
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Thanks

http://writonwater.com
https://www.facebook.com/writonwater/
https://writonwater.bandcamp.com

Double Life with Secret Crush - An Interview

Depois de alguns singles e do EP "Birth", o quarteto de NY, Secret Crush enfim chegou ao seu primeiro álbum. "Double Life" veio ao mundo em Novembro do ano passado e aprimora os passos que os caras vem dando desde 2014, um indie rock como nos velhos com jeitão moderno.

Guitarras sem experimentações extremas, curtas e econômicas servindo de alicerce pros caras praticarem um alternative rock sem fírulas.

Nada de novo, nada que irá mudar o universo, apenas música pra ser consumida em volume alto.

Simples assim.

***** Interview with Secret Crush *****

Q. When did Secret Crush begin? Tell us about the history...
Our first show was on Halloween in 2014. Matt, Nick, and Greg were playing in other bands in Brooklyn respectively and came together with the intent on starting a band that featured two songwriters and an amalgam of genres taking inspiration from our contemporaries as well as music from the past.

Q. How do you describe Secret Crush sounds?
Guitars, effects pedals, singing. We aim to be a well oiled machine. Sometimes there's a splash of shoegaze, sometimes alternative rock. There is little to no 'jamming.' It is premeditated.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
In the early days we recorded singles on a mix of digital and tape. The EP was recorded at Converse Rubber tracks and we did mixing and mastering at Gravesend Recordings.

For the album, Double Life, we tracked live back at Gravesend, recorded vocals and overdubs at our own practice space, did some mixing ourselves, and took it to Time Castle Recordings for the final mix and master. I'm overall content with the 'quality' of the record considering we were on a budget. Recording is expensive and time consuming. Given these restraints we worked within the system, worked with some great people and did the simpler, but more menial tasks ourselves to cut costs.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Russian Baths are doing interesting things and I enjoy the soundscape they are creating. They recently were signed by Good Eye Records - a label we were talking to about putting out our album. We ended up doing a self release. I respect their decision.

Prima is another example of a wonderful band with a distinct sound. Rose Blanshei is featured on our record and I really enjoyed working with her.

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
We have not done a cover song ever. Not that there's anything wrong with that. We've been joking about doing a cover of Johnny River's "Secret Agent Man" as a lark.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We stopped playing shows while we were working on the album and we feel that took us off the radar. We are just getting back into the swing of playing regularly with our new drummer, Ali Yildiz. Venues in Brooklyn are constantly closing and changing so that's something we and everyone else have been navigating. We love playing live and want to keep doing it regularly to promote this album.

Q: Any parting words?
Thank you for finding us and including us on your blog. It is comforting to know we have an audience outside of our local vicinity and for that we are truly grateful.
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Thanks

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

Just Had To Smile with The Finest Drops - An Interview

Infelizmente nos dias de hoje, muitos lançamentos acabam passando despercebidos por muitos, não que no passado não tenha sido igual, mas existe uma diferença brutal e fundamental, nos dias de hoje, muitos discos são lançados exclusivamente em ambiente digital, ao contrário do que acontecia no passado, onde mesmo que muitos discos tenham caído no limbo, eles tiveram um registro físico, coisa dos tempos modernos.

Enfim, cabe a nós nos adequarmos ao momento atual, e exatamente dentro deste contexto esta inserido o debute dos ingleses do The Finest Drops, no caso o EP, "Just Had To Smile". Sonoramente, o disco soa como um descendente direto dos momentos mais cândidos do Spacemen 3 e seus derivados, desnecessário citá-los certo?

A diferença entre os mestres e o descendente é na intensidade da viagem, visto que a proposta do The Finest Drop navega e flui muito mais suavemente, sem extremos, apenas sugerindo a imersão profunda para dentro do íntimo de cada ouvinte.

Retornando ao início desta introdução, pena que infelizmente poucos terão a oportunidade de desfrutar a experiência que o The Finest Drops proporciona, talvez em algum momento futuro, quem sabe...

***** Interview with The Finest Drops *****

Q. When did The Finest Drops begin? Tell us about the history...
The Finest Drops are Stu and Dave, with drums provided by local drummer-extraordinaire Ad

I’ve been playing Guitar in a band for over 15 years (Blackflower https://blackflower-music.bandcamp.com) playing shoegaze, melodic Indie, alt-country, & psychedelic music, which I love doing and continue to do. But I had been writing a bunch of songs that I thought didn’t suit the Blackflower sound for various reasons. I always wanted to do something with those songs and in July 2017 I asked Dave if he wanted to work on them and see how it went. We had no preconceptions of how it would go. We started off with 2 songs and a bunch of riffs and instrumentals, and spend a few sessions developing the songs. Over the next couple of months we started laying down the tracks, sharing the instruments rather than working in a fixed band set-up. I had already demoed 2 of the songs (‘just had to smile’ and ‘hefty’) so there was a basic structure there, but the other 2 have developed from a basic riff and ended up how they sound today. We posted the songs separately on Soundcloud as we finished them, and once we had the 4, released them as our first EP on Bandcamp.

Q: Who are your influences?
For song writing its Robert Pollard and Gene Clark, guitar playing its Johnny Marr and bands like Can and Neu

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Built to Spill - Perfect from now On
Galaxie 500 – on Fire
Slowdive - Pygmalion
The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
Loop - A gilded Eternity

Q. How do you describe The Finest Drops sounds?
Lo-fi alternative melodic guitar music with some epic shoegaze!

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Once we have an idea on the sequence and a general sound, we get Ad to record the drums as soon as possible, usually playing along to a demo. After that we see how it develops and record as many guitar ideas as we can. The songs always surprise us with a sound or style that we were not expecting. for example 'when you go' was a jangly guitar ballad, then one day I picked up the ebow and the riffs all came out in one go, and its ended up completely different, so all the jangly guitar tracks have gone in the bin! One of our goals is to make sure we don’t aim for perfection, and fall into the trap of tweaking the tracks over and over. We like happy accidents and will leave in things to add more character or to deliberately avoid sounding too polished. We don’t want the songs to sound like they have been through the corporate music industry processes, whether that's studios or whatever. We do everything, playing, recording, mixing etc. We want it to sound like The Finest Drops and nothing else.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Tchotchke, they have a great shoegazey-Pixies sound. check them out at - https://tchotchke-music.bandcamp.com/

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I think covers are only worth doing if you bring something new to the song, so its hard to cover a great song because its already great! Some bands have a really good feel for this, like Galaxie 500 who have recorded covers better than the originals (in my opinion). I would like to cover 'the 15th' by Wire, but how would i improve it?! I have an idea to cover a Nico song but I’m keeping that a secret for now!

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We’re already planning the recording of our second EP, and have been jamming the songs to begin working on ideas. We haven’t decided on all the songs yet but have 2 we will definitely do . I expect the next EP will be more up-tempo but who knows how it will turn out! Longer term we might try and perform the songs live, but that’s not our priority at the moment.

Q: Any parting words?
We’re really happy with the levels of interest were seeing, especially as we won’t compromise in any way to please others. It’s really satisfying to know that people like what we do.
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Thanks

Penance with Russian Baths - An Interview

Caos em formas dissonantes, tribais e doentias, pense numa colisão frontal entre Big Black, Pale Saints e Band of Susans.

Guitarras comandam o triturar do crânio nas quatro caóticas canções de "Penance", do primeiro EP do quarteto de NY, Russian Baths.

Brutal, como os tempos atuais pedem, a música do  Russian Baths, é como ser submetido a ininterruptas sessões de de marteladas na cabeça, sem a menor possibilidade de haver saída.

Steve Albini e Robert Poss se ouvissem, certamente abririam sorrisos de ponta a ponta.

Escute alto se puder.

***** Interview with Russian Baths *****

Q. When did Russian Baths begin? Tell us about the history ...

Jess Rees: Luke and I met a few years ago when we were working together. It was just after I had moved to New York. We had shared musical interests and wanted to play. I met Evan briefly while we were guests at Luke’s karaoke birthday party. The next time we were all together was in a rehearsal space in Brooklyn. We’ve evolved quite a bit since then.

Q: Who are your influences?
JR: Swirlies, Beach House, Women

Luke Koz: Pale Saints, Talk Talk, Mamaleek, Uniform, Band of Susans, too many

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time …
LK: This is impossible, but a few albums that never leave rotation are Talk Talk’s Laughing Stock, Mingus’ The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, Cocteau Twin’s Treasure, Boredom's Super æ, and Unwound’s Leaves Turn Inside You.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
JR: I used to get nervous. Now, I focus on playing the best I can and try to perform a little better than the show before. It’s very satisfying to play music with other people.

Q. How do you describe Russian Baths sound?
LK: I think that’s up to listeners.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
LK: We recorded in a basement. It’s called Time Castle and has unusual powers.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
JR: Bambara, Weeping Icon

LK: Parlor Walls, Big Bliss, Nilufer Yanya, Snail Mail

Q: Which band would you love to cover?
JR: We always talk about covering My Bloody Valentine. Maybe someday we’ll do it.

LK: When we first started, we used to practice Fugazi’s “Arpeggiator” to warm up. We covered “Two People in a Room” live for a while.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
JR: Shows, touring, releasing an LP after this EP.
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/russianbathsnyc/
https://soundcloud.com/good-eye-records/sets/russian-baths-penance

Psychoblue with Radiate Youth - An Interview

Repetições em looping, melancolia, tristeza, alucinações, tudo transportado para o espectro sonoro.

Muito de Sonic Boom, outro tanto de experimentações psicodélicas diversas, e um certo lirismo herdado de Elliot Smith. Assim Troy Medina conduz seu primeiro trabalho, o introspectivamente freak "Psychoblue". Canções cantaroláveis tomam contornos esquizofrênicos, que despretensiosamente vão se entrelaçando por entre vinhetas, e devaneios diversos.

O Radiate Youth é a música pop ao avesso.

***** Interview with Radiate Youth *****

Q. When did Radiated Youth begin?
I have been tampering with music since I was 13 just figuring out how to play and write songs. I’d say that’s when my obsession began. I started Radiated Youth in 2015 I used to go by a different name that was Charcoal. I used that name in high school.

Q: Who are your influences?
The Cure, Sonic Youth, The Beatles, Elliott Smith, My Bloody Valentine, Spacemen 3, Slowdive, Radiohead, A Place To Bury Strangers

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time.
1. The Cure - Disintegration
2. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
3. The Beatles - White Album
4. Elliott Smith - Figure 8
5. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless

Q. How do you feel playing live?
I feel like a different person like the world doesn’t faze or scare me.

Q. How do you describe Radiated Youth sounds?
I’d say they are pop songs drenched in noise and sadness.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
I usually start with a feeling that turns into an idea that turns into a melody. Once I have the melody or idea it’s easier to put the song together and figure out the emotion I’m trying to capture. I usually have lyrics or melody from there I add drums and synth. Then layer my guitar and vocals.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Innerwave, Thee Commons, The Buttertones, King Tuff, Franky Flowers, Car Seat Headrest, Angel Olsen, La Luz, Mild High Club, Pond

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
I’d love to make a cover of a spacemen 3 song called hey man. Been working on that for awhile.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
To keep growing as a musician and keep making music until the day I can’t create anymore.

Q: Any parting words?
Create art and share love with the world. No human is illegal or worthless. Thank you for interviewing me. Cheers and positivity to everyone that needs it.
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Thanks

https://radiatedyouth.bandcamp.com/

Soft Red Lights with Vyva Melinkolya - An Interview

Primeiramente, dê play no segundo álbum de Vyva Melinkolya e volte aqui para entender do que se trata. Ok, com o disco tocando vamos em frente....

Vyva Melinkolya é Alyc Dias, a mente criativa e fazedora de tudo que se ouvirá nesta pequena odisseia ao mundo dos sonhos. Alyc não é exatamente nova na cena, e o disco homônimo é seu segundo trabalho, sucessor do belo, "Ms.Menthol", lançado no ano passado, sem contar "Son of Eye" onde Alyc dividia a alcunha de Vyva Melinkolya com demais integrantes, mas sinceramente, deixe este disco de lado.

Apesar da beleza de "Ms.Menthol" é exatamente no novo álbum que Alyc demonstra todas as possibilidades sonoras por onde Vyva Melinkolya vive e respira. Por entre viagens gazers, suspiros melancólicos embalados por sonhos, e fritações psicodélicas, todo sob um espectro sombrio, onde a luz raramente penetra.

Um disco que resume Alyc, intenso, belo, sedutor e perigoso. Escute alto.

***** Interview with Vyva Melinkolya *****

Q. When did Vyva Melinkolya begin? Tell us about the history...
I came up with the name Vyva Melinkolya when i was 15 years old, and I’ve never had the heart to name it something else. When I was very young I had piano lessons and at 13 I started playing guitar, but it wasn't until high school that I felt confident enough to write and record my own music. At 16 I recorded an album and I've pretty much released one every year since then. My early music verged on experimental, punk, and folk— however psychedelia was the sound that came most natural to me. It was all a fucking mess and most of the songs were unlistenable until about the 3rd album. When I first heard Shoegaze, it kind of made everything fall into place, I knew what I wanted to sound like. It took me a few albums to actually get there though, most of the time I don't know what I'm doing and I’ve been really stubborn about seeking out others for guidance. With these last two releases thought, especially the self titled, I've really come into my own.

Q: Who are your influences?
Starflyer 59, Cocteau Twins, Grimes, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Slowdive, Grouper, MBV, Tamaryn, Slint, Chelsea Wolfe, The Residents, Cocorosie, Medicine, Sonic Youth, Spiritualized, Beach House, Deerhunter, Brian Eno. Theres a lot more but if i kept going it would take hours lol.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
A.”Souvlaki”, “MBV”, “Daydream Nation”, “Loves Easy Tears” (its an EP but its my favorite Cocteau Release) and “Spiderland”

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Playing live is difficult for me.Thus far I'm only a solo act so I run guitar and my voice through my interface, through Logic with all my back tracks, and through a PA system (i should really start using amps again). I’ve played two shows thus far and both have been wonderful. I use lights and fog machines, not to distract from the music but more so to build an aesthetic around it. In the future, i’d like to incorporate interactive projections into my live sets.I love playing loud and I love watching my music affect people. For people to enjoy it is one thing, but to see someone get emotional from my music, live or not, provides me with what I can only describe as “closure”. My music comes from a very intimate, sometimes dark place inside myself—I write a lot about mental illness, trauma and dysphoria. When people tell me how my music made them feel, what it reminded them of, it kind of brings things full circle for me. Admittedly I cry a lot, in general and also during the recording process. When someone says “that song made me cry”,I cant help but feel like my music served its purpose.

Q. How do you describe Vyva Melinkolya sounds?
A. I spend a lot of time thinking about this actually. Ive always been a fan of juxtaposing really harsh guitar with a brighter, cleaner one. Rather cliche, but my two favorite guitarists are Kevin Shields and Robin Guthrie.In that respect, the terms Shoegaze and Dreampop are fitting and I appreciate anyone that considers my music as those. I consider my music goth in some respects too, Dreampop is derivative of goth and I have a big appreciation for Darkwave—cold synth pads and sharp drum machines. In general, I'm always chasing an enormous, cerebral sound that i achieve with a lot of layering. As self indulgent as it sounds, I like to call my music “Goth Psychedelia” and “Dronepop”.Im not the kind of person who complains about the divisiveness of genre, the more kinds of music the better and it’s easier to find a scene and an audience that way. No one goes looking for Post-Black Metal by googling “Metal”, and it’s hard to find a good Shoegaze record by searching up ‘Indie/Alternative”.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
A. A song can take me anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months to record. Sometimes the lyrics come first, sometimes its the actual song. Usually the actual music is born out of a guitar riff or progression, sometimes a bass line. Most of my self titled contains songs with 3 guitars, a pad synth, midi drums and bass. I’m not content with minimalism,but sometimes too many layers at once can be abrasive so I've really had to find a happy medium. I’ve used Midi drums for a couple years now, I use regular drumsticks with the pads on my Akai Mini. For now I use the logic drum packs but I’m starting to play around with samples too. Most of my songs have 2-3 vocal layers. My voice doesn't have the best range, nor is it inherently dreamy, so I do a lot of takes until whats coming out of my mouth does the lyrics justice. I am a trans person and my voice has been referred to as “Androgynous” before, and thats pretty much what I'm shooting for. Behind the main vocal track theres usually a harmonic one, and a non lyrical one that I create with a loop pedal.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Theres a band out of Portand OR called Lazy Legs that’s my favorite “nugaze” act, Its only a three piece so I'm extremely impressed by how huge their sound is. The guitarist from that band has another project i really enjoy called Eyes Behind the Veil which explores Slowcore and Ambient guitar music.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
A. Theres so many covers i’d like to do, too many to be honest. One song that would be a challenge for me is Slint’s “Good morning Captain”. Me and Slint are from the same city and that song in itself is soul-crushing— id really like to give something that powerful a try.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
I’m working on some new stuff currently, I kind of record habitually at this point. My dream is for Vyva Melinkolya to become a formidable live act, to tour and see music scenes outside my own. Louisville has an ok music scene, but its mostly punk bands and id love to move somewhere with more of a goth culture. Im working hard to improve my production style, I've gotten to the point where i can do everything but the mastering but I still have a lot i can improve on.

Q: Any parting words?
A. A big thank you to TBTCI and to everyone who's supported my music. There’s even more to come!
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/vyvamelinkolya/
https://vyva-melinkolyaky.bandcamp.com

Suffocation As A Modern Pretext with Neurotic Friends - An Interview

Em 1991 duas obras seminais para a música alternativa vieram ao mundo, Nevermind e Loveless, respectivamente em 24 de Setembro e 4 de Novembro daquele ano, e ambas direcionaram de formas diretas e opostas basicamente todos os desmembramentos da cultura independente desde então.

Naquela época, um era o oposto do outro, o que é desnecessário explicar os motivos, sonoramente cada um fala por si só, o ponto crucial disto tudo, é que 27 anos depois, a junção das duas obras ocorre cada vez com mais frequência, uma infinidade de moleques que hoje em dia escutam e assimilam música como deve ser ou seja, sem preconceitos estéticos ou de nichos, ou coisa que o valha, o fato é que a massa sonora fritante do MBV unida a angústia e raiva do Nirvana, são combustíveis para toda essa juventude.

E assim, chegamos ao nosso objetivo, que é o debute dos suecos do Neurotic Friends, o EP homônimo lançado no fim do ano passado, é curto, direto e barulhento, fazendo a unificação do que foi citado acima e entrando na lista de bandas que ao lado de Nothing e outras, vão se especializando em criar barulhentas canções fritantes e melancólicas.

Pra escutar alto, bem alto.

***** Interview with Neurotic Friends *****

Q. When did Neurotic Friends begin? Tell us about the history...
We all knew each other, since we’re from a very small town, and just decided to start playing music together. We started out about a year ago and were goofing around with some ideas, which resulted in us recording a couple of songs in the summer of 2017.

Q: Who are your influences?
No particular bands, but we’ve had our eyes on the shoegaze-, noise-, and rock scene. Mostly, we’ve just made melodies that sounds good to us.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Loveless
Jane Doe
In Utero
Jazz på Svenska
Cruel Town

Q. How do you feel playing live?
We’ve never played live. They say it’s supposed to be fun.

Q. How do you describe Neurotic Friends sounds?
We want to play shoegaze but we don’t know how… On a serious note, it’s basically a lot of distortion and reverb and the vocals are mixed far back. We haven’t gone for a particular sound since all our songs sound quite different to each other.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
We put up all our equipment in Jonathan’s parents living room for a weekend and recorded, mixed and mastered all the songs in that time. When we got stuck in the recording process, Jonathan would get up on the trampoline in their backyard and do a couple of backflips, which made us break the deadlock.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Slow Crush
Agent blå
Newman

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Black Sabbath.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We usually don’t make plans. Hopefully we will get together and write new songs and play some shows.

Q: Any parting words?
Take care of each other.
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Thanks

https://neuroticfriends.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.facebook.com/Neurotic-Friends-815362185335844/

Burning House, "Tracer" - Track by Track

Um estridente ataque sônico emana-se do recém lançado, "Tracer", do trio inglês Burning House.

Em fritações que reverberam por entre as quatro canções do EP, ecos de MBV, Dinosaur Jr. e Ringo Deathstarr unem-se a toque psicodélicos dos caras. A cada uivo das guitarras a sensação que se tem é de uma dança alucinada de água vivas abrindo e fechando-se como em um balé nonsense.

Experimente ouvir "Tracer" com fones de ouvidos no volume máximo, e sinta o poder de um trabalho onde as guitarras comandam.

Além de tudo isso, entenda a fundo os mistérios de "Tracer", cortesia dos caras do Burning House.

***** Burning House, "Tracer" - Track by Track *****

Ripened.
Probably the most structurally simplistic of all the songs on the EP, this song evolved from a home demo - hence the mechanical nature of the rhythm. It’s intended to burrow into you, I was thinking it would be like some theme music, the opening credits to the EP. Hopefully what is achieved is an internal substance. With each cycle round the lyrics slightly alter, harmonies and counter-melodies are gradually introduced; so although the song relies on repetition, each time it’s slightly different. The overarching effect is a tremolo, with subtle E-bow embellishments throughout.

Mercurial.
I had the main riff kicking around for ages. One day while in the studio with our producer Ben Startup, I jammed it out and he turned round to me and said “what’s that.. that’s my favourite song of all time.”) So I thought I better get to work and build the tune. Me and Ash (drums) would often rehearse and jam very loud - part of the reason for this was being schooled by guitar orchestra maestro Glenn Branca. I remember seeing an interview with him and him saying that certain things can only happen at that extreme volume that wouldn’t otherwise occur at more modest levels. As a result the tune ended up being more visceral than it might otherwise have been. Again, this is a many-layered beast, subtle guitar inflections and sublimation are present, which often pose a challenge in reproducing live. The lyrics were inspired by The Peregrin by J.A Baker, and also a conversation I had about likening human nature - different archetypes - to variants of bird; some are great eagles with bold and brash wingspan, while others are content to be tinier birds that feel safer grounded.

I Am A Tree. The oldest tune on the EP. This was the first time we worked with our producer Ben Startup, who told us Fire records were producing a guided by voices cover record and offered us some free recording time. We tracked the drums reasonably quickly, next came the 50 or so arsenal of guitars. The freedom I was given to go wild was the first time I’ve ever been encouraged to experiment to my hearts content. There are so many layers, that before I even laid vocals down and listened back, it sounded as if the music was comprised of a million razorblades - it sounded like a corrupted file. My decision to sing baritone was less of a nod to the Mary chain than it was the fact I was getting over a nasty virus and my larynx was red raw!

Vague. My personal favourite on the EP. If you listen closely you will notice the song is in a sequence that keeps shortening on each rotation. While there is no chorus, where one might naturally find one are instead two unrelated but distinct bridges which eventually give way to a climax - one which is constantly teased throughout the song. The composition is all about tension and release - there is a pathological control which becomes unbearable to retain like the stimulation preceding orgasm. The squalling feedback at the end is from a beautiful arbiter amplifier cranked to maximum volume - I just love that sound, to me it is sensuous and disorientating. Lyrically I am trying as much as possible to detach myself so the words are just swimming in the music. They’re just ineffable phrases as vague as the title suggests, but at the same time I’m trying to reveal something to myself within the vanity of the music. There is something of a travelling up and down the stairwell of a Freudian apparatus.
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/BurningHouseMusic/
https://burninghouse.bandcamp.com/