Common Specimen/ Indoor Mold with Roda Lits - An Interview

photo: Jeroen Jacobs

A Antuérpia é a maior cidade da região de Flandres na Bélgica, e, é exatamente de lá que vem a garageira ensandecida dos caras do Roda Lits.

Jogue na receita, garageira sessentista, doses de Cramps e Gun Club, punk, circa 77, e você terá o resultado.

"Common Specimen/Indoor Mold", novo trabalho dos caras veio ao mundo a questão de horas e é daqueles discos necessários pra lembrar o porque o rock´n´roll ainda é altamente caótico, divertido e provocador.

O disco exala suor, bebida, diversão e maluquices diversas. Sem firulas, sem embaçamento, apenas rock nú e cru, áspero e grudento, como deve ser.

Escutar alto em todos os sentidos é necessário e fica melhor ainda.

***** Interview with Roda Lits *****

Q. When did the band begin? Tell us the history.
Early 2015, our drummer and bass player finished up with a previous band. They wanted to continue to play together but in a freer, democratic and fun group. Our vocalist Yannick had tried out with that old band the day it broke up. We loved the wild man and got him on board. Zeger, our guitarist, had recently left his psychobilly band Adios Pantalones. We dragged him down to our moldy basement and came up with a new song each rehearsal.

The band has since upscaled to a moldy lock-up garage. We've played around 50 to 60 shows together. Besides a demo and 7" we've recorded 2 EPs with Belly Button Records, a lo-fi punk/garage label in Antwerp that has a few of our local scene's releases on it.

Q. Who are your influences?
Hmm... very varied. We haven't really set out to work in the confines of a genre or style, we are too chaotic to be that organised. I guess our paths collectively cross with garage, proto punk, freakbeat / brit invasion, 70's punk and a bit of 50's rock 'n roll.

Q. List 5 albums of all time.
MC5 - High Time
Southern Culture On The Skids - Dirt Track Date
Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted
The 13th Floor Elevators - Easter Everywhere
The Clash - The Clash

Q. How do you feel playing live?
It's the best! If the mosh partly resembles a Soul Train line dance then we've done our job right! Having said that, we recently played our best show yet to a bunch of bikers staring at us from their bar stools. They made us play again, so it can't have been too bad, ha.

Q. How do you describe the Roda Lits sound?
Like some wasted guys thumping away on broken down old gear. Fat-bottomed garage rock.

Q. Tell us about the process of recording songs.
Our first recording on Belly Button was banging out a few of our songs to test a new 1/2 inch tape. It was played live with minimal mics. We released it in 2017 on cassette and it sold out.

For our new EP we raised the bar to lo-fi, staying overnight at the Belly Button house, 'Tooth Mountain', to record. It was again, recorded with minimal micing, live, direct and the least fuss possible.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend ?
MOAR, Ero Guro, Civic, Constant Mongrel

Q. Which band would you like to do a cover version of?
A song on our new record, 'Burnt By The Sunshine', whilst not a cover per se, has fun with parts of some The Lemon Drops and Jon Travolta / Olivia Newton John lyrics mashed up with ours. We used to play the Troggs' B-side 66 54321 a little.

Q. What are your plans for the future?
In short, nope.

We're busy with the work surrounding the upcoming release. We've all worked in visual arts of one sort or another, so we are very DIY with band art etc. I know next chance we get, everyone is hanging to write more songs.

Q. Any parting words?
Take a listen to our new record on bellybuttonrecords.bandcamp.com and you can find us on Facebook @RodaLits. It won't wreck your day!
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/RodaLits/
https://bellybuttonrecords.bandcamp.com/album/common-specimen-indoor-mold

The Joy of Painting with Sleepy Gonzales - An Interview

Quando nos deparamos com "Melting", canção de abertura de "The Joy of Painting", novo trabalho dos canadenses do Sleepy Gonzales, a pergunta que vem a mente é: Como uma música tão perfeita nunca chegou até nossos ouvidos?, ou, como a doçura de "Sinking" permanecerá escondida no submundo dos bons sons?

Poxa, o mundo precisaria "descobrir" a candura, a beleza do Sleepy Gonzales o quanto antes, talvez as coisas poderiam melhorar, afinal, a música sempre é a salvação, certo?

Bem, eu apenas aconselho a você, salve-se, salve-se imediatamente, o Sleepy Gonzales esta lhe estendendo a salvação, então, abrace-a.

***** Interview with Sleepy Gonzales *****

Q. When did Sleepy Gonzales begin? Tell us about the history...
Beni (drums) and Cristian (guitar) started playing music at a young age and have had a passion for it ever since. Later in high school, they met Allyson (vocals) who brought a sad, soothing voice to the whole mix. Together they pulled together their first album titled llover in late 2015. Two years later Sleepy G scored a set at The Roxy Cabaret. This is when Nick (bass) joined the band. Nick brings a new edge to the band dynamic. The four of them have now played shows and festivals all throughout 2018 and continue to grow together as a four-piece.

Q: Who are your influences?
We take influence from a wide range of bands and artists. Artists like The Sex Pistols, Conor Oberst, Phoebe Bridgers, Kings Of Leon, Tame Impala, to name a few.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Get This In Ya - The Chats
Stranger In The Alps - Phoebe Bridgers
Dog Boy - Late Night Takeaway
Don’t Give Up Skeleton - Cloud District
Lonerism - Tame Impala

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Playing live is a feeling like no other. Imagine you are in the ocean, weightless, surrounded by a large group of baby seahorses. Incredible right? Being on stage is something like that. Once the adrenaline starts rushing through your body and the loudspeakers make it so all you can hear is a wall of sound you know you’re in the zone. It’s incredible. Our favourite part is when everyone sings with us. Now that’s a cool feeling.

Q. How do you describe Sleepy Gonzales´ sounds?
Sleepy Gonzales’s sound ranges from sad, melodic, slow, dream-like melodies to thrashy, hard-hitting, punk-influenced sounds.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
We record all of our own music in Allyson’s basement. The process of recording requires many hours of too much coffee and arguments, but it all seems worth it in the end once we hear the final product that we created together. Cristian and Beni have watched endless YouTube videos and have now become the mixers and masters of all Sleepy G songs.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
We definitely recommend Blue J, and our pals Late Night Takeaway. Both are local Vancouver bands.

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
It would be really fun to do a cover by No Doubt. Another cover that would be cool would have to be “Hit Me Like That Snare” by Alt-J.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
In 2019 we plan to do some touring throughout Canada, starting with Vancouver Island and making our way over to Calgary. We will keep writing more music and continue to play live sets together. We look forward to whatever the next year will bring us and see how our sound changes and transforms with us.

Q: Any parting words?
Thank you, Brazil!!!!
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Thanks

https://sleepygonzales.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/sleepyg123/

Ozean with Voodoo Beach - An Interview

A psicodelia dos tempos modernos definitivamente não é, tampouco pode ser comparada com o que foi outrora foi tido como psicodelismo.

Muitas bandas caminham por lados opostos ao concebido pela geração flower power, caso dos alemães do Voodoo Beach.

Esqueça as cores, aqui a viagem é cinzenta e extremamente esfumaçada. Tons sombrios perpetuam a fórmula psicodélica da banda em seu debute, o fabuloso, para ficarmos apenas em um único adjetivo, EP intitulado "Ozean".

Em algumas passagens conexões com outro alemão, o The Blue Angel Lounge são sentidas, mas o Voodoo Beach é menos sangrento, em outras um certa ligação com a clássica Opal, da Paisley Underground Scene, porém com menos entonações blueseiras.

Enfim, o Voodoo Beach é o que a psicodelia moderna propõe, acidez e sombras em doses idênticas.

Boa viagem, mas cuidado com as bad trips.

***** Interview with Voodoo Beach *****

Q. When did Voodoo Beach begin? Tell us about the history...
A. Voodoo Beach has two birthdays. The first could be considered in 2014, where Phine, Vivi and me met through a musicians-finding-website to form a band. We still had a problem however - we couldn't find anyone to play bass. We wrote songs and searched for a bassist until we found John one year later, in 2015. We got his contact through my good friend Tim, who was at that time part of a great Berlin band called Suns of Thyme. After all this long time of searching we were very happy to finally have a bassist. On top, John is just an incredible human being. Finally in a full set, we joined forces and created what Voodoo Beach is today.

Q: Who are your influences?
A. This is a very tough question, which cannot be answered in unison. Each of us has a very different and individual taste of music, with just a few matching points. I don't really dare to describe the other's music taste to do it justice. I can tell you though, that John has a background of Ska music, while my spectrum varies from blues to electronic music. Although when I started playing guitar, my biggest influences at the time were Sonic Youth, The Horrors and shoegaze bands like Slowdive.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
A. I just texted the others to see what they say. Vivi's pick is 'Serial Girlfriend' by Holly Golightly. Phine picked Sonic Youth's 'Sister', while John decided for Tocotronic's 'Pure Vernunft Darf Niemals Siegen'. I would have to pick Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon'. To me they reached a level with this album, which cannot be reached since. We have one more album to go, but let's leave it at those four, a pick each.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
A. Playing live is an interesting experience. You reach a state of high focus, which makes time go by very slow and very fast at the same time. You pay attention to all the other band-members, but at the same time just to yourself. Playing live is a trippy experience, in a nutshell.

Q. How do you describe Voodoo Beach´s sounds?
A. Voodoo Beach's sound is difficult to describe vor a couple of reasons. First, it changes with time. In the beginning we were leaning more towards 60's psychedelia, while nowadays we flirt with 80's Neue Deutsche Welle. On top, at some point we switched from singing in English to German lyrics only. Without noticing it in the first place, this changed the sound of the whole band as well. In general I think our sound is unique because there do not seem to be much other bands doing what we do, especially in a way that works. We play American Music but mix it with German Music like NDW and Krautrock. You will also find a bit of shoegaze here and there. We used to call our music Psychedelic Blues back in the days, although it probably doesn't fit as well anymore. Recently we had a laugh jokingly calling our music 'Negative Rock'.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
A. We recorded all of our music so far in an all analogue studio called Kozmic Sound owned by our friend Mischkah. There is only one computer in the studio, which is there to convert the ready song to digital formats you can upload. Besides, it's all tube and tape like back in the days. This is the reason for the vintage sound of our recordings. If you record live to tape, as we did, you need to be spot on because mistakes cannot be corrected without repeating the whole take. Everyone is forced to give their best performance, which creates a certain magic.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
A. In this regard we have a couple of overlaps. Vivi and John like Goat Girl, Vivi and me enjoy Die Wilde Jagd and Exploded View. On top we have Klaus Johann Grobe, Juniore, Snail Mail.. Personally I would also mention a French duo called Agar Agar, a Russian solo project called Kedr Livanskiy and Boy Harsher from the US.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
A. Gwen Stefani. Or Kelis, we actually discussed covering 'Milkshake'. I am against covers of any sort though, so I guess this will not happen anytime soon.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
A. Our plans for the future are to stay healthy and to get rich. I want to drive a Lamborghini to rehearsals, you know. Maybe we will record an LP soon for that purpose, stay tuned!

Q: Any parting words?
A. Thank you for reaching out to us and for appreciating our music! We are very happy to be read about in Brasil, as we know you guys have a great scene for psychedelic music. See you at one of our gigs or for a cup of coffee when you happen to strand in Berlin! Love! Ignacy / VB
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Thanks

https://spaetipalace.bandcamp.com/album/sp018-voodoo-beach-ozean-ep
https://www.facebook.com/xxvbxx/

We're Losing The Light with Submotile - An Interview

O duo Submotile, formado pelo casal Daniela e Michael, convida explicitamente seus ouvintes a uma viagem sônica, repleta de sonhos, fritações e delírios.

Shoegaze em sua essência, a música do Submotile evoca os dois lados das experimentações estridentes, leia-se SY e MBV.

"We´re Losing The Light", novo trabalho deles não pende para nenhuma de suas extremidades, seja barulho gratuito ou, sonhos fritantes, o EP navega pela tênue linha entre o transpirante caos e a doçura delirante.

Iniciados vão delirar, críticos vão odiar, e leigos se apaixonarão....

***** Interview with Submotile *****

Q. When did Submotile begin? Tell us about the history...
We're a husband a wife from Dublin Ireland and Bari Italy.

We started by accident in March 2018. I had more or less stopped playing music over the last few years, but over the winter of 2017/18 I was gradually rediscovering the joys of recording again - and I was especially getting into recording 'in the box', something I had never really done before. One day, I was playing a few chords on an acoustic guitar, Daniela sang a counter-melody...I thought what she came up with was great, so we recorded it and went from there. That was the song "Signs of My Melody". We wrote five songs together after that and put our first EP out in August.

Q: Who are your influences?
Sonic Youth were the first band that really got me interested in playing the guitar. I'm massively influenced by them, My Bloody Valentine, Swans, Mogwai and lots of ambient stuff too, like Biosphere.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
Daniela
1) Explosions In the Sky - The Earth is not a Cold Dead Place
2) Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
3) The National - Boxer
4) Warpaint - Warpaint
5) Swans - Love of Life

Michael
1) Dinosaur Jr - Bug
2) Massive Attack - Mezzanine
3) Sonic Youth - Bad Moon Rising
4) My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything
5) Stars of the Lid - The Tired Sounds Of

Q. How do you feel playing live?
We haven't played live yet, but I always loved it when I was in previous bands. We can't wait to make our live debut.

There's always a feeling of terror that something will just go wrong - when you play with a load of effects and technology, the more you introduce, the greater the likelihood of things malfunctioning, but when things go well, there's no greater feeling.

Q. How do you describe Submotile´s sounds?
We're going for a massive, layered sound, with plenty of melody mixed with noise.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
The first EP was mostly done at home - well, everything except the drums, which were done in a studio in Dublin. We were on a steep learning curve with the mixing as we recorded so many layers, it ended up sounding a bit messy, but we're learning as we go and the newer material is sounding better.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Galants, Just Mustard, Palm Haze and pretty much anything on Midsummer Madness records.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Something not too obvious....I'd like to make a really noisey shoegaze version of Tears for Fears "Everybody wants to rule the world" for example. Or "The Cross" by Prince.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We're deep into recording our debut album. The plan is to put that out in February/March, with a number of videos too and then to play live.

Q: Any parting words?
Smell the flowers while you can.
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Thanks

https://submotile.com
https://www.facebook.com/submotile/

So Long / Earth with Happypills - An Interview

A música indie japonesa sempre despertou um certo interesse cult ao redor do planeta, conheço particularmente algumas devotos de basicamente tudo que é feito por lá, o motivo, bem, talvez seja a excentricidade, talvez seja a inocência das canções, ou apenas, então somente, o fato de que os japoneses sabem como criar uma canção pop perfeita e pegajosa, caso de Yuki Kondo ou Happypills, para os iniciados.

Uma penca de singles no currículo, alguns EPs e ainda desconhecido, o que é de certo uma grande injustiça, pois se estamos falando de canções pop ensolaradas e perfeitamente grudentas, o Happypills e hour concour no quesito.

Experimente, "So Long / Earth" o novo single, ou "In Childhood" o EP anterior e você verá seu dia/astral ganhar traços de felicidade, simples assim.

***** Interview with Happypills *****

Q. When did Happypills begin? Tell us about the history...
Happypills is the DIY bedroom project of Yuki Kondo. I released my first demo EP in March 2018, recording it entirely in my bedroom in Fukuoka, Japan.

I didn’t think of writing songs myself until then but it all started when I found DIY artists such as The Drums, Fazerdaze, Castlebeat, etc.I was attracted to their simple but jangly guitar riffs and I got into DIY bedroom pop so much that I tried to write songs myself.

In addition, I used to like Japanese artists such as BUMP OF CHICKEN, Galileo Galilei, PELICAN FANCLUB, and so on.So I attempted to make songs in between DIY dream pop and Japanese rock.Thus Happypills began.

Q: Who are your influences?
Many indie dream pop artists are my impetus for writing songs.For example, The Drums, The Pains of Being At Heart, Fazerdaze, Snail Mail, Beach Fossils, DIIV, Castlebeat, Surf Rock is Dead, Acid Ghost, and many more.As I said before, some Japanese artists and maybe many artists that I have liked for long time influence my songs.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
That is a difficult decision for me.
BUMP OF CHICKEN “Flame Vein”
Galileo Galilei "PORTAL"
The Drums "The Drums"
Fazerdaze "Morningside"
Acid Ghost "Warhol"

If anything, these albums are my favorite and inspired me to write my own songs.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
I've never played live before so I want to play my songs on the stage sometime.

Q. How do you describe Happypills´ sounds?
DIY bedroom dream pop with lyrics in Japanese.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Everything is recorded in my apartment. First I usually determine bpm and program drum patterns, then add guitars and bass, and then add vocals at the end.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
illuminati hotties(US), whenyoung(UK), Bird Bear Hare and Fish(Japan), Store Front(US)

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
If I try to cover songs with lyrics in English, I want to make a cover version of Blink-182.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
I wanna make songs at my own pace.I play the guitar what I want:)

Q: Any parting words?
My new EP『In Childhood』released on Bandcamp in October.Please try listening if you like.

Thank you all for finding and featuring me.

It was nice meeting you.Please take care of yourself:)
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/Happypillsjapan/

https://happypills1.bandcamp.com

V​.​Diasz | Luan Rodrigues​ | Filipe Fela Montparnasse​ | Pedro Nes​ | Wicca Surf, "Coach Para O Fracasso" - Track by Track

Hoje nasce um projeto indigesto para a maciça maioria, certamente não recomendado a indie kids, falo de "Coach Para O Fracasso" um disco/manifesto composto por V​.​Diasz | Luan Rodrigues​ | Filipe Fela Montparnasse​ | Pedro Nes​ e  Wicca Surf.

Sinteticamente poderíamos resumir a obra como um trip hop psych com roupagem de baixa qualidade, mas existe um requinte inserido nas nove canções (sic), talvez fritações, ou seria delírios musicados? A resposta pode ser a reunião destas supostas afirmações, mas o entendimento de "Coach Para O Fracasso" é altamente subjetivo e interpretativo, variando conforme estado psíquico do receptor.

Mas, para melhor entendimento, o TBTCI recrutou os criadores da obra para revelarem segredos e a interpretação mais fiel a concepção de "Coach Para O Fracasso", mas veja, independentemente do que os emissores/criadores disseram, esta viagem é absolutamente pessoal e intransferível. 

Tenha uma boa viagem.....

***** V​.​Diasz | Luan Rodrigues​ | Filipe Fela Montparnasse​ | Pedro Nes​ | Wicca Surf   *****

"Coach Para O Fracasso" -  Track By Track

1 - V.Diasz - O protagonismo hoje em dia

Intro do disco. Andei escutando muito Tricky esses tempos e busquei flertar com o Trip Hop.

2 - V.Diasz - Tudo que você procurou 

Seguindo na mesma onda, nesse disco as emoções foram as principais influências no processo de criação. O vazio existente dentro de mim transparece nessas primeiras faixas.

3 - V.Diasz - Como gerar (des)interesse 04:36

Dedilhado simples em DADGAD. Folk deprê anunciando mudanças que nunca acontecem.

4 - V.Diasz | Luan Rodrigues | Fellapi - Noite Clara 

V.Diasz - Essa foi a primeira que eu comecei a mexer na intenção de criar o disco... A guitarra loopada do Luan me deixou à vontade para procurar um beat e sincar, depois disso foram gravadas algumas microfonias (devidamente molhadas em reverb) e a voz veio por último. O Felappi tinha me mandado a linha de Noite Clara e Arma Branda (do lowgain) juntas.. E mais uma vez rolou esse nu wave sem pé nem cabeça. Música Estranha Brasileira.

Luan Rodrigues (RN) - Eu curto como ele consegue quebrar e englobar tudo dentro de um conceito muito particular de música. As coisas sempre parecem desconexas mas funcionando dentro de um padrão esquizofrênico de batidas, muito rap, muito de muita coisa no meio.

Felappi (RJ) - É outra parada… Essa música o Pedrinho Junqueira gravou pro disco do Negro Léo, ai o guitarrista do Gilber T gravou o violão. Eu mudei a letra original, o que foi meio complicado pro Junqueira. Mas depois ele aceitou. Minha banda acabou, antes de eu lançar a música. Mudei a letra toda, cortei mil paradas. A minha é meio Antony and The Johnsons (heheh)

5 - Wiccasurf | V.Diasz - DARKWAVE (Sétimo Selo) 

V.Diasz - Esse som chegou em mim praticamente pronto! Só coloquei o sample do filme “Sétimo Selo” de 1959 - Um dialogo do Cavaleiro com a Morte e o refrão. No começo ia investir em algo mais spokenwords, até escrevi uma letra, mas optei pelo sample e o refrão mesmo.

WiccaSurf (MCZ) Eu acho muito interessante quando a música mesmo com poucos elementos consegue sugerir uma ideia, clima ou sensação. Darkwave pra mim soa como um desconforto familiar, uma ideia de que o pessoal mais gótico explorou bem de falar do espectro negativo da experiência humana com um certo destacamento, até ironia. Internet, atmosferas pesadas mas completamente dançante de um jeito confuso porque nada realmente é importante, acho que é por aí a ideia da música.

6 - Pedro Nes | V.Diasz - Softmasterpiece.wav 

V.DIASZ - Conheço o Pedro faz tempo, mas foi quando ele mudou para Portugal que começamos essa parceria. Ele tinha mandado uma batida e em seguida eu gravei um piano fuzz, e uma guitarra no reverse.

Pedro Nes (PO) O beat foi feito do jeito que eu costumo fazer tudo em música, cambaleando entre os sons, às vezes de uma maneira bem aleatória. Em vez da virtuose de instrumentista, vou tocando e montando as coisas devagarzinho, como uma colagem, até ficar legal. É difícil programar uma percussão pra soar natural, mas ao mesmo tempo o software abre muitas possibilidades pra criar detalhes e texturas inusitadas.

7 - Luan Rodrigues | V.Diasz - I'm a ghost
8 - Luan Rodrigues | V.Diasz - You are Ghost
V.Diasz - Logo que eu ouvi gostei de cara, elas vieram na vibe de “wanna be old” do Low Gain e marcam o lado mais distorcido da coisa. Só tive o trabalho e cantar e fazer as letras. São os sons mais diferentes da vibe do disco (que é bem diferente uma da outra hahaha)

Luan Rodrigues (RN) - Boa parte dos synths que usei com Vinícius são fragmentos de ideias que já havia gravado e nunca usado. São coisas soltas que ele foi montado dentro da estrutura do próprio som. Em uma das faixas tentei tirar algo mais industrial usando o som saturado de batidas em uma cadeira e uma guitarra com fuzz no talo. A suite do ghost começa lenta e vai encorpando pra terminar a progressão nesse explosão desengonçada de fuzz gloriosamente fora de tempo

9 - V.Diasz - NOISYDARKNESS

Folk psych gravado no meio do quintal que conta a história de um andarilho um pouco descompensado das ideias.
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/vv.diasz/

Le même discours with B LE U N U IT - An Interview

O quarteto canadense B LE U N U IT, segue de certa maneira outros canadenses mais famosos, o Preoccupations, no sentindo caos e sombras. Neste caso, fica óbvio, que estamos lidando com pós punk torto e quebradiço.

Os caras estão com um novo single chamado "Le même discours", algo como se Serge Gainsbourg resolvesse adentrar ao mundo cinzento e fantasmagórico do pós punk.

A diferença é que o B LE U N U IT possui um certo sarcasmo que dá um tom altamente particular em sua música.

Um EP e dois singles, por hora é isso, infelizmente, porque o que temos aqui é algo poderoso....aguardemos os próximos passos dos caras.

***** Interview with B LE U N U IT *****

Q. When did B LE U N U IT begin? Tell us about the history
It all started after the separation of my other band, Pandacide. I wanted to do something else. So I contacted my actual bassist Maxime and my good friend Nicolas to build demos that I recorded at home. After came the desire to do shows and so on. The welcome was very positive and we did a lot of shows in less than a year! Then came the signature with Michel Records (Corridor, Halo Maud, Victim).

Q: Who are your influences?
We love Preoccupations and everything they have done before. Personally, I am a very big fan of Joy Division. Ian Curtis is one of my idols. In high school, I listened to a lot of Malajube! Besides, it's Julien (the singer) who produces and mixes our album. I think our influences come from different styles as each member listens to different artists. Whether it's hip-hop or alternative, we love good music that we can identify with, sing, feel and sometimes dance when we've drunk ... hehe.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time
Melody’s Echo Chamber - Melody’s Echo Chamber
Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures
Viet Cong – Viet Cong
The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin – Gainsbourg Birkin

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Better and better every time! We love doing shows. People are very receptive and their faces are priceless, haha. We like to move and take a lot of space on a stage and the dynamics between us is exceptional. It's even more special when you play in english-speaking cities where people sing our songs, even if sing in french.

Q. How do you describe B LE U N U IT´s sounds?
We delivers a post-punk that combines the ghostly sound of our slamming guitars with crisp tense lyrics for a truly disturbing experience. With a diffuse punk attitude that finds its signature, halfway between Joy Division's dark sonority and Malajube's poetry. Disguised guitars at the front, minimal voices at the back and catchy rhythmic give a wall of sound beefy and effective. We managed to swing powerful compositions while delivering a pop inflection to our compositions, giving us the freedom to improvise on stage.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
It's a very long process. I always arrive with quite advanced demos made at home. After what we make the arrangements together during our practices. Then, the Julien comes to put his signature and his ideas. So we get to have our sound. After all that, comes the mix. This is where everything takes shape and several versions of the songs are created. We often redo the structures. It really gets the best of the song. I have to redo the voices sometimes and other instruments...to be sure to catch the right grip! In short, it's a long, costly process. In the end, I fall in love when I listen to the songs.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Recently on tour last summer, we discovered Bodega and Lithics. Two excellent post-punk band that influences us now! There is also the Kommissars from Sudbury, Ontario. Very powerful and energetic on stage. Also! D.U.D.S. Huge band influenced by several currents that derives from post-punk.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Not at all interested in doing that, haha. But maybe Les pages anonymes from Julien Gasc. An artist with whom we will collaborate on our next album.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We are going to release our first album in April 2019 under Michel Records in Canada and Requiem Pour Un Twister in France. Probably a tour in May 2019 to promote this album. We would also like to go to France to play some dates! We also have another EP that will be release at the end of 2019...more to come!

Q: Any parting words?
Visit our Facebook for more details about our upcoming shows/music. Find our instagram to see beautiful pictures of us! We are very beautiful.
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Thanks

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

Endless Chase with Boundaries - An Interview

Partindo do pressuposto de que se o Joy Division tivesse um filho com o METZ, ele se chamaria Boundaries, esse exercício imaginário cabe perfeitamente para o quinteto dinamarquês, Boundaries.

Sombrios sem serem suicidas, barulhentos sem extremismos, os caras ficam em uma tênue linha entre as cinzas e o caos.

O EP homônimo veio ao mundo há três dias atrás, mas vem sido criado desde 2017, e segundo a banda, modificado e repaginado diversas vezes para não apenas soarem como mais um cover do Joy Division.

Bem, os caras tiveram pleno êxito na missão, o fantasma de Ian Curtis permeia o EP mas dá de cara com a paranoia dos novos tempos.

Escute alto, é claro.

***** Interview with Boundaries *****

Q. When did Boundaries begin? Tell us about the history…
We started out a couple years ago when I began to record some demos of my own just for fun. I have never considered myself a singer or anything, but after years of playing with other singers or backing other artists, it felt very liberating to do something completely on my own. After the first couple demos I played it to Emil (guitar player), and to my huge surprise he liked the songs and then we sort of created the band, just being the two of us in the beginning. Shortly after Jacob and Jonas joined the band, and we played with that constellation for a year. Recently during the recording of the EP, Morten joined us and has since been an integral part of the band

Q: Who are your influences?
I think it is safe to say that the influences vary quite a lot depending on who you ask in our band.

When I started the band I was very influenced by the usual suspects when it comes to post punk / Shoegaze acts such as New order, Joy Division and My Bloody Valentine. I think it is alright to be very honest about your influences when you start to write your own music, but then gradually move away from it after your first release. We are currently in the process of writing new music and lately I have felt very influenced by Death Grips, JPEGMAFIA and Skee Mask, which is something that is usually out of my comfort zone. That being said I have also felt very inspired by the latest records from acts such as METZ, Idles and Ought, which might not come as a huge surprise for people who listen to our music.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Not in any given order.

My Bloody Valentine - loveless
Women - Public Strain
Pixies - Doolittle
The Modern Lovers - The Modern Lovers
Scott Walker - Scott 3

Q. How do you feel playing live?
We enjoy it a lot. We are a group of really tight friends, so it is always fun to go out and play the songs. I also believe we enjoy the challenge of re structuring the songs for live use. Our recording process sometimes is quite comprehensive, and contains a lot of layers and details, so it’s usually a fun challenge to condense these recordings into a simple band context, with a only 5 sets of hands instead of a 30 track mixing desk.

Q. How do you describe Boundaries´ sounds?
I would place us on the edge between shoegaze and post punk.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
It’s been a fairly long process. We started with our first recordings in the spring of 2017, but we felt that it was important to work a lot with the songs to obtain a more personal sound, and not just sound like another Joy Division cover band. We write the songs very collaboratively, where someone brings a demo to the studio or rehearsal, and then we kind of take it from there.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Lately I have been really into this artist called Kraus, who sounds like if Death Grips decided to make a shoegaze album. It is almost impossible to find any info on this guy, but I would really recommend people to check out his music despite that. Apart from him there a lot of Danish bands I would recommend as well, such as The Entrepreneurs, Leizure, Spines, Blood Child, Eerie Glue, Gents, ATUSJI and Hoy La.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I am not entirely sure if we will ever play a cover, but if I had to choose I would pick I Cant Go for That (No Can Do) by Daryl Hall and John Oates. That would be quite a laugh.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
In the nearest future we are going to play some shows backing up the EP, but as mentioned prior, we are already starting to write new songs, and we will hopefully release new music again in 2019.

Q: Any parting words?
Thank you for the interview!

Hopefully it will get us closer to playing a show in Brazil some day.
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Thanks

https://soundcloud.com/boundariesdk
https://www.facebook.com/boundarieskefali/

Phantasms with The Strange Creatures - An Interview

Das Filipinas vem o sexteto, The Strange Creatures, um sopro de candura evocando o supra sumo do twee, jangle e dreampop.

Tudo feito de forma a cativar os corações apaixonados, melodias mais do que cantaroláveis, seria até desnecessário que as canções do debute, "Phantasms" literalmente grudam na mente, na pele e onde mais for possível.

O The Strange Creatures é daqueles clássicos exemplos dos quais o TBTCI pode reafirmar sempre, existe vida inteligente na música muito além do eixo USA/UK.

"Phantasms" poderá ser sua trilha do verão, é só deixar fluir....

***** Interview with The Strange Creatures *****

Q. When did The Strange Creatures begin? Tell us about the history...
A: The band was formed January 2013. My original plan was to form a boy-girl duo like The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger. We ended up as a full band because of musician friends volunteering to join me in this journey.

Q: Who are your influences?
Each member have different influences, but I think we’re all fans of The Beatles, so that’s something we all have in common. But before we started jamming, i had my bandmates listen to Camera Obscura, Belle & Sebastian, The Charade, Slowdive, The Radio Dept. and The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
Slowdive - Souvlaki
The Radio Dept - Lesser Matters
Blueboy - If Wishes Were Horses
The Cure - Disintegration
The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour

Q. How do you feel playing live?
We still feel nervous before we play. But once we started, it’s like we’re transported to another dimension. The natural high you get when playing music is just amazing.

Q. How do you describe The Strange Creatures´ sounds?
It’s a blend of twee, dream pop, the jangle of indie pop and shining synth of 80’s new wave music, riddled with boy-girl vocals.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
An acoustic demo was sent to each members so they can learn the song. Then we arrange it for several hours in the studio and play it on gigs so we can have our friends listen to it and ask for comments/suggestions. Once the song riped, we begin recording it.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
We’d like to recommend our fellow bands from the Philippines like We Are Imaginary, The Geeks, July XIV, Identikit, Populardays, Narcloudia, The Rave Tapes and Pastilan Dong!

Also, checkout Butterbeer, Atta Girl and The Sweetest Touch from Boring Productions.

And some new favorites like Say Sue Me, Forsaken Autumn, Alvvays, Night Flowers, Iris and Pictured Resort.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Any songs by The Beatles, The Cure, Belle & Sebastian, The Smiths, Camera Obscura and Blueboy will do.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We’re planning to release several music videos from our album, Phantasms.

It’s also a goal of ours to play outside the Philippines. Now that we have an album, we hope this will materialize. Any music festival from Southeast Asia will be a good start.

And more Singles, Albums in the future.

Q: Any parting words?
Our album, Phantasms is available on Terno Recordings and Boring Productions.

For the limited edition 12” + 7” Vinyl, you can purchased through the bandcamp link below:
https://boringproductions.bandcamp.com/album/phantasms

Thank you, Renato & The Blog That Celebrates Itself. Cheers!
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/TheStrangeCreatures/
https://boringproductions.bandcamp.com/album/phantasms

Tell Me How This Ends with Curtsy - An Interview

Indie pop com letras maiúsculas, é o melhor sintetiza a música do quinteto californiano, Curtsy.

O segundo álbum dos caras, "Tell Me How This Ends" lançado há pouco mais de um mês, é um exercício do que de melhor foi concebido na música pop dos 80´s até os dias atuais.

Dreampop agressivo, melódico, cantarolável e, altamente pegajoso, dosando influências de Tears for Fears a Radiohead, de Dandy Warhols a Cure, sem pender para nenhum dos lados citados, apenas servindo-se da base formulada para criar uma identidade própria.

Não se trata de algo revolucionário, experimental ou que vá mudar o mundo, muito pelo contrário, o lance do Curtsy é conceber música pop em sua essência, e os caras acertam bem no alvo.

Pura diversão.

***** Interview with Curtsy *****

Q. When did Curtsy begin? Tell us about the history...
We’ve all known each other for about five years, except for our drummer, Jonathan, whom we met in December of 2017 and fell in love with. Austin (vocals, guitar) and Crystal (vocals, keys) go the farthest back, having met when Austin auditioned as a lap steel player for Crystal’s country-folk band in 2012. We bonded over our mutual love of 80s pop and 90s shoegaze, and became friends, bandmates, and songwriting partners. The songs we wrote together started sounding more like rock and pop than country or folk. We began the project that evolved into the band we are today. Kai (bass) joined us along the way after attending a show in Ventura, CA. Austin met Tamara (guitar) in 2014 from being involved in the music scene in LA. She had heard of Curtsythrough the local-band grapevine, so when Austin invited her to jam with the band, she fully accepted his invitation. Tamara met Jonathan in 2016 through class mates in college, all of whom seemed to be in different bands with him at the same time. When the band needed a new drummer in 2017, he was first on her list.

Q: Who are your influences?
Beach House, Radiohead, The Cure, The Beatles, Tears for Fears, Fugazi, Paul Simon

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time:
1. The Cure - Disintegration
2. The Dandy Warhols - Thirteen Tales to Urban Bohemia
3. Paul Simon - Graceland
4. Radiohead - Kid A
5. Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See

Q. How do you feel playing live?
The love we have for playing live is indescribable. There’s nothing like having that kind of spontaneous conversation with people you trust. It's amazing.

Q. How do you describe Curtsy´s sounds?
Angry Indie Pop/Dream Pop

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
The process of recording songs begins just from a melody Austin or Crystal or both have been writing. They bring it in to practice, we then we take it apart and just jam and build on it until we feel it is complete. The band fully works together to create every element each member want in our songs. When we go to record them, we do the same process of adding certain things and sounds wed want to try out. We work as a team and to make sure everyones voice is heard.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
 The Purrs, A Beacon School, Tigercub, Cloud Nothings, Palm

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Making new music and touring!!! That’s definitely the next goal.

Q: Any parting words?
Thank you so much! Our new album Tell Me How This Ends is out now!
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Thanks

https://curtsy.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/curtsymusic/

Comfort In Concrete with Soot Sprite - An Interview

Da cidade de Exeter, sudoeste da Inglaterra, também conhecida por ser a cidade natal de Chris Martin, vocalista da banda Coldplay, vem o trio que nada tem em conexões sonoras com a banda citada, pelo contrário, o Soot Sprite navega por territórios subterrâneos por entre sonhos nostálgicos, hipnotizando literalmente quem se aventura pela audição.

"Comfort in Concrete" é o primeiro trabalho deles, que se destaca pela cativante voz de Elise. Pense em heroínas do indie rock, Cat Power, PJ, Karen O ou Dolores O'Riordan, todas elas juntas, são alimento para Elise os seus parceiros.

Uma belíssima e instigante estreia, que gera inevitavelmente aquele deliciosa sensação de querer mais ao final....torcemos para que o Soot Sprite não demore com o sucessor de "Comfort in Concrete".

***** Interview with Soot Sprite *****

Q. When did Soot Sprite begin? Tell us about the history...
I started writing for this project at the end of last year after separating from a long term relationship that had been very mentally exhausting and restrictive. I instinctively looked to music as an outlet for this weird feeling of sadness and liberation, and I haven’t looked back. I’d played in loads of projects before but felt like starting a solo project because I’d seen so many groups break down for one reason or another. But now I’ve got such a wonderful couple of people who play in my live band it doesn’t feel much like a solo project now, but that’s been a lovely natural thing.

Q: Who are your influences?
When I was writing I was listening to a lot of Phoebe Bridgers, Soccer Mommy & Hovvdy, but nearly everything I’ve written ever has been influenced by My Bloody Valentine. I’ve been compared to Cocteau Twins quite a lot but they’re actually a super recent discovery for me!

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
It’s Blitz - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
The Big Roar - The Joy Formidable
Mean Everything To Nothing - Manchester Orchestra
Stranger In The Alps - Phoebe Bridgers
Loveless - My Bloody Valentine

Q. How do you feel playing live?
I actually still get really nervous before we play, even though we’ve played loads of shows now! I suppose it comes with the nature of the vulnerability of this project. Once the set’s begun it feels totally natural and comfortable, but then for a little while after we’ve played I actually feel pretty overwhelmed and need to be outside and away from it for a little while. Despite that it’s all I ever really want to do.

Q. How do you describe Soot Sprite´s sounds?
Dreamy nostalgia, paired with guitars that ebb and flow between glittering and roaring, laced with ghostly vocals.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
I actually recorded everything in my room, I took music technology at college so kind of have a background there & love the whole recording & producing process. My partner helped record some bass parts and program the drums in, he plays bass in my live band as well.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
My partner also has a project called Fusea which I seriously recommend, FFO DIIV, Wild Nothing and Current Joys. Also really digging Sit Down and Lala Lala

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
Maybe The Cranberries? Or Catatonia!

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Fingers crossed in the new year we’ll start hopping on some cool tours, asides from that I’m gonna keep writing and keep working at it, go wherever this band takes me!

Q: Any parting words?
Just that if you’ve ever thought ‘I’ve always wanted to be in a band’ then just fucking do it, it doesn’t matter who you are or how old you are, I didn’t even play guitar until about a year ago. Everyone has a story to tell, and it’s never too late to start.
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/sootspritemusic/
https://sootsprite.bandcamp.com/

Homegrown Vandal with Valuemart - An Interview

Tory Knowles é a mente e o faz tudo por detrás do Valuemart.

O Valuemart é um apetitoso menu para amantes da new wave em todos seus desmembramentos, é dançante, é cerebral, por vezes sombrio também, conexões com Cure, Cars, Gary Numan entre outros baluartes são facilmente identificadas durante o desfile das canções do debute "Homegrown Vandal".

Os desavisados ao ouvirem, certamente se perguntarão, eu já ouvi isso em algum lugar? ou ainda, já dancei essa no clubinho.

Cheiro de nostalgia plena.

***** Interview with Valuemart *****

Q. When did Valuemart begin? Tell us about the history...
I came up with Valuemart in early 2018 after distancing myself from my last project, Blond Delirium, which never saw any success. Its failure pushed me to try a lot harder and experiment with my sounds, until I finally began to understand song structures better and master my digital workstation. This allowed me to express myself without any technical boundaries, making exactly what I had in mind, and letting my emotions free flow into my work. After returning from traveling abroad over the spring, I put in thousands of hours in my home studio, working every day to release an album before the end of 2018, which thankfully I was able to do, just a few weeks ago.

Q: Who are your influences?
My biggest influence is The Cure, which I hold to be the greatest band of all time. Their attention to and importance of melody, and overwhelmingly dark sounds inspire all of my work. After that, Ariel Pink. Pink is one of the reasons I started making music. His music showed me that I didn't have to have sign some major deal to make it in the music industry, or have inside connections. That I could record whatever I wanted, all by myself. And eventually, by doing his thing and making cool ass fucking music, he got signed to a label, with a huge catalog of weird and wonderful music behind him. I regard him as one of the greatest artists and songwriters of our time. Other than those two, I'm influenced by all of the amazing punk, post punk, goth, and alternative bands from the late 70's and 80's. In no particular order - Joy Division, New Order, The Cars, A Flock of Seagulls, Killing Joke, The Psychedelic Furs, Iggy Pop, The Cult, Gary Numan, and Bauhaus.

Also, I'm extremely influenced by David Lynch's films. They get me in a mood where I can write the lyrics, which in my opinion, are the best.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
The Cure - Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
The Cure - The Head On The Door
The Cars - The Cars
Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
New Order - Low-life

Q. How do you feel playing live?
I haven't found a band yet that can play my music as I'd like it to be played yet, but I'm working on that. Other than that, I like to go wild on stage and break shit. I'd like all my shows to have mosh pits, and things for me to destroy. The punk bands of the 70's really influence me on my live performances. A crowd gives me crazy energy, and time starts to slip while I'm playing, and I see red. I love it.

Q. How do you describe Valuemart´s sounds?
I'd describe it as a whirlwind of heavily layered sound, fusing post-punk and goth music and lyrics straight from the darkest corners of my mind. It's meant to be played very loud, while going fast.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
My recording process is very self destructive. When recording my songs, I'll be coming off a two or three day bender, no recollection of the night before. I wake up very early, around 7AM, knowing I'm going to create something. There's really dark shit rolling around in my head at this point, and I throw down a bass line and a drum beat. What happens next, I usually can't remember, as I'm still wasted. But I'll slam out a song in 5 or 6 hours, then nurse my hangover for a day or two. Over the next week I'll return to it, changing it completely, over and over, until it's barely recognizable from the original. I stay sober for (mostly) this whole week, mixing, mastering, and recording. Once my song is completely finished, I'll sing over it, using lyrics I've written when I'm in my darkest state of mind. That's basically how I made every song on the album.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
From around my hometown, I'd recommend Shameface. I played a show with them recently and thought they absolutely killed it. Other than them, I love Black Marble, Part Time, Boy Harsher, DIIV, John Maus, Velvet Condom, and Lebanon Hanover.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I'd like to cover a Gary Numan song, for sure. There's something about his song structures that I love, and I'd like to put my own unique style on it. Down In The Park, or M.E., or Metal.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
I'm going to be a rockstar. That's my only plan. And to release a massive amount of music over my career, so people never run out of things to listen to.

Q: Any parting words?
If there's any labels out there reading this, I'm still unsigned and I'd love to get on a label who really focuses on creative freedom.

Thanks for interviewing me,
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/valuemart666/
https://valuemart69.com

Echoes of a Tide with Swallow the Rat - An Interview

Fantasmas de SY e Bailterspace, permeiam os experimentos sônicos dos neozelandeses do Swallow The Rat.

Tudo estridentemente concebido para testar neurônios, o primeiro EP dos caras é uma afronta aos tímpanos, buscando em em obras como "Thermos" e "Evol" sua essência.

Art noise para apreciadores do mais puro exercício de barulho por excelência.

Escutar alto, é um conselho absolutamente desnecessário.

***** Interview with Swallow The Rat *****

Q. When did Swallow The Rat begin? Tell us about the history...
Brian (Our guitarist) had just moved to NZ from his home in Austin, TX with his Kiwi family and was looking to start a band. He'd met Sam (Vox, Guitar) on an earlier trip to NZ. Sam knew Hayden (Drums) and myself (Bass, synth) from various bands who he had shared stages with around Auckland, and the rest is history...

Q: Who are your influences?
3Ds, Bailterspace, Butthole Surfers, Dead Kennedys, Tim Hecker, Sonic Youth

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
The Beatles - Revolver
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
3Ds - Venus Trail
Caberet Voltaire - Red Mecca
Tim Hecker - Ravedeath 1972

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Like a lightening bolt down your spine

Q. How do you describe Swallow The Rat´s sounds?
Texas Psychedelia vs NZ Post Punk

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
We are working with engineer Nick Abbott at his studio NorthWestern in beautiful West Auckland. Typically we try and work out all our parts beforehand, so we can just go into the studio and record them live, in as few as takes as possible. A few overdubs later and we are done.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Repairs https://repairstheband.bandcamp.com/releases
Yves Tumour https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/yves-tumor-safe-in-the-hands-of-love/
Love Theme - https://lovetheme-alter.bandcamp.com/album/love-theme
Tooms - https://eugenetooms.bandcamp.com/album/tooms
ROPE - https://ropenz.bandcamp.com/releases

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
The Cleaners from Venus - Only a Shadow

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We have many...

We are finishing our album in a few weeks which we will look to put out next year. In the meantime we are putting out a 7", which will be going up for pre sale on pledgemusic.com very soon. You can hear the tracks on our bandcamp (https://swallowtherat.bandcamp.com/). In March next year we are heading the U.S. to play at SXSW in Austin, TX, which is really exciting. Beyond that we are looking to continue playing around NZ, and will head to Australia at some stage...

Q: Any parting words?
If you ever get to see us live, bring earplugs!
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Thanks

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

The Silence Kit, "Fall Protection" - Track by Track

Prediletos daqui do TBTCI, desde o primeiro contato, os phillies do The Silence Kit são audição obrigatória quando o assunto é pós punk para este que vos escreve.

Seguindo a tradição clássica, leia-se The Sound, The Chameleons, The Cure, os caras chegam a "Fall Protection" seu novo trabalho em seu melhor momento.

Melodicamente intenso, poeticamente certeiro, o The Silence Kit, sintetiza no novo disco seus melhores momentos.

Já na abertura sintética e metalizada de "Supermarket", lembrando o grande Bright Channel, os caras já dão todas as pistas do que é o álbum. Um mix de cinzento mas não doentio, angustiante mas não desesperador, um revitalização modernizada do pós punk clássico.

Um disco intenso na medida certeira para o milênio, facilmente um dos grandes trabalhos deste 2018 para o TBTCI, e é óbvio que para obras como "Fall Protection" é necessário ir a fundo, e para isso o TBTCI convidou seus criadores para decuparem faixa a faixa este pepita.

Corram para a escuridão...

***** The Silence Kit, "Fall Protection" - Track by Track *****

This is Patrick from The Silence Kit. We're very excited that "Fall Protection" is finally out in the world. I recorded us and mixed the songs in my studio over a three year period. Because of the length of time, I wound up remixing many of the songs quite a few times, in order to make sure everything sounded cohesive from a production standpoint. It was originally going to be a 13 song album but we made the decision to cut two of the tracks which made it a tighter album overall, but it still covers quite a bit of ground stylistically.
Supermarket
We embraced our inner-Sonic Youth on this one, walking the line between noise and melody. There aren't enough songs about supermarkets and it's a fun word to sing (as anyone who sings along to The Clash's "Lost in the Supermarket" can attest). Darren says it was the most challenging drum beat to come up with for him but that listening to XTC's "Drums and Wires" proved to be the rhythm inspiration he needed. The rest of the song came together pretty quickly: I was making up the lyrics on the spot as Justin, Kristin, Darren and I jammed on it and I scribbled down and refined the lyrics later. James came up with a really unique, twisting lead for the choruses and solo which added another dimension to the song. The lo-fi intro was taken from a rehearsal session I'd recorded and spliced in because the noise was "just right" and we knew we wouldn't be able to improve upon it. We didn't know it at the time but it ended up being just the right start for the album.

New Year's Eve
This was the last song we wrote for the album. We weren't going to record any more songs, but this one came together so quickly that it made sense to record it. I'd brought this to rehearsal and I was thinking it'd be a sparse, "surf-guitar" kind of song. we had the basic structure in place after 1 rehearsal and recorded it a couple of weeks later. The Cure does this thing on a lot of their songs where Simon will basically play the same bassline through the whole song, and everybody else plays around it, and Justin said he was aiming for something like that with his part. Bryan came up with some really nice synth parts that added color and some counter melodies throughout. After that, we decided the song needed a little more punch, so James and I added more guitars. James' part at the end in particular really takes the song to another level. Lastly, I'd known all along I wanted female backing vocals on the choruses and funny enough, I'd played a rehearsal version in the house and my 8 year old daughter was in the room and she immediate started singing along, and it sounded so great I had to try and record her singing backup. And she nailed the part in one take!

This Time
The earliest versions of this one had a more stripped down feel and I think we called it "krautrock song" as a working title early on. The final version sounded a lot different, but the drum & bass part in the verse has been there from the beginning, and everything else was built around that. We're definitely wearing our 70s and 80s post punk influences on our sleeve with "This Time." It was one of the first songs we wrote for the album and still one of our favorites to play live.

Can We Skip This?
This is the second-to-last song we recorded for the album and we first did it as a three piece, just Darren, Justin and I. For this one, I was going for an R.E.M.-meets-shoegaze song, which is a bit of a tall order, but I think we're in the ballpark. James stepped in later and recorded a guitar part which really helped add another dimension throughout. Because of the feel of this one, Justin mentioned he wasn't sure early on if this would fit into the album with the other songs, but once it was fully mixed and mastered, it quickly became one of his favorites.

Everything You Feel Good About
I'm pretty sure this was the first song we wrote together and recorded for the album. In terms of sound, the first half is decidedly upbeat sounding, infused with an early New Order vibe, and the second half is more downcast and defiant, but lyrically there's a lot in there, and the song could mean something different to me every night, which is something I like about it. I've always loved songs that can shift from one mood into another, too. It's not easy to do naturally, and I feel like we accomplished that with this one. I also included a not-so-sly lyrical reference to my favorite Seam album "Are You Driving Me Crazy."

Wound
I'd written this song and recorded a demo by myself of an early sketch of it way back in 2004 or so. Fast forward to 2017 and Kristin and I got together to work on new songs, and I brought this idea back out. We rearranged it with him playing new synth parts and I switched to Justin's bass VI, which I play throughout the song. There is definitely an homage to David Lynch/Angelo Badalamenti somewhere in there. The bass VI and synth combination gives the song a nice darkwave vibe, the piano part keeps things moving and the drums' driving beat and dramatic pauses really pull things together. Now that we're playing as a five piece we can finally start playing this one live regularly, which we're all excited about.

Worry
For a long time we weren't exactly sure what to do with "Worry." This and "Supermarket" were actually originally one really long song. Everybody who heard it seemed to like it, but they all commented that it sounded like 2 completely different songs. We resisted for a while but when we eventually took their advice and reworked this into it's own song, we realized it was definitely the right move, so that each song could grow into it's own properly. I love Justin's bassline in this one, as it really anchors the song and adds different shades here and there to keep things interesting, and the outro was a cool experiment that worked out nicely: I was going for an almost Portishead-like vibe and so I reversed some of the drums, cut up some other things we'd recorded and recorded a synth part to tie the part together as the song gradually fell apart.

Never Say Goodbye
We were exploring our synth pop side of our post punk influences with this one. I had my Fender Jaguar, Kristin had a board full of synth modules, and he and I sat down and came up with the verses and choruses in one go. In only a few rehearsals, Justin and Darren had their parts written and the song's structure was solidified. In the mixing stage, I spent a lot of time on the drum sounds for this album and for this song in particular we wanted a big reverb-heavy snare sound and it took a little while for me to get it just right, but once it was there, the rest of the song really wrapped around the drums and things fell into place.

How Does It Feel?
We arranged and recorded this one really quickly. It's the densest rock song on the album and it took me a bit to wrap my head around mixing it. Once James came in and recorded his parts, it really helped me focus on what we should accentuate with the song, since his part really helps push the song forward and I feel like the dynamics that were always there got much more distinct, which made for a nice, dramatic shift between the louder sections and the softer section.

Tablecloth
This is another one I had written and recorded a sketch of, way back in 2005 or so but it was totally, totally different - a sparse, slow, moody arrangement centered around a piano progression. I played it for Justin and Darren and we decided we'd just jam and rearrange it however felt natural. We started playing the progression but in a completely different way: Justin's energetic bassline and Darren's jagged beat drove the song forward in a way I'd never imagined and I switched to playing more of a lead guitar part and things kind of took off from there.

Discard
Sometimes inspiration can be as simple as getting a new guitar pedal. I got a new pedal for Christmas, and the first time I played with it, I sat down and wrote "Discard," and I think I sent the other guys a video of me playing the main progression on Christmas day. We recorded bass and drums together and Darren says although it might be the simplest song for him to play, it was the most difficult to record due to its slow tempo. He used mallets on the the verses and sticks in the louder sections to give it two different feels and for some unique textures, and I recorded the main guitar and synth tracks and then came back a few weeks later and added the leads. Songs like this are such a fun canvas to work with and experiment with, and the trick is always to make sure each part is serving the song and is there for a purpose. So, although I tried a lot of different things on the song, there aren't that many tracks, considering. Anytime we sent someone the rough mixes they'd say this was one of their favorites. It really only would work as the last song on the album, and I do think it provides a nice closure to the album.
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https://www.facebook.com/the.silence.kit/
https://thesilencekit.bandcamp.com/

Throbs with The Fog Ensemble - An Interview

Thessaloníki é a principal cidade da região grega da Macedônia, e é exatamente de terras tão exóticas e excêntricas que aterriza nas páginas do TBTCI neste momento o trio The Fog Ensemble.

Os caras se descrevem como "concrete shoehaze", um termo esquisito e deveras excêntrico tal qual a procedência dos caras, mas a sonoridade soa bem conhecida.

Nada de vozes por aqui, os caras centram-se em densas paisagens instrumentais, gerando atmosferas por vezes angustiantes, em outras pairam tranquilidade e caos sobrepondo-se aleatoriamente. 

Não é shoegaze, não é post rock, não é experimental, é tudo isso junto em doses cavalares.

Escute alto e boa fritação.

***** Interview with The Fog Ensemble

Q. When did The Fog Ensemble begin? Tell us about the history...
Actually we knew each other long before we decided to form a band!But after many years thinking about it, on Christmas eve of 2011 Antonis (Karakostas::guitars and programming) dropped the idea of forming a band while we were all out together with friends celebrating. So in early 2012 the band was formed and after a few months we went into a studio and started playing music together.

So far we have two albums out, our first called "The Fog Ensemble" (2015/Mellotron Recordings) and our second called "Throbs" which just came out on October the 19th on Inner Ear Records!

Q: Who are your influences?
Definitely early '90s shoegaze,the groove of the so called “Madchester” sound and a little bit of the trip-hop classics!

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
That’s difficult because it changes all the time but let’s say the following..

1 Loveless-My Bloody Valentine
2 Mezzanine-Massive Attack
3 Goo-Sonic Youth
4 Pills Thrills and Bellyaches-Happy Mondays
5 Revolver-The Beatles

Q. How do you feel playing live?
We don't play live very often,but when we do, we give our very best and we do enjoy it to the maximum!

Q. How do you describe The Fog Ensemble´s sounds?
"Concrete Shoehaze"

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Usually Antonis comes up with the main idea for a track, works on it for a little while mainly on his laptop and guitar and then brings it to the studio where Nicholas (Kondylis:bass) and George (Nanopoulos:drums) add their stuff so as to become completed.Sometimes this takes a lot of time because we all throw ideas to each other about the instrumentation but sometimes it comes to us so naturally that we finish it pretty quickly and we move on to the next track.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
The are not new but Sleaford Mods are a band that we do enjoy a lot!

Also Echo Ladies "Pink Noise" and Mark Peters "Innerland" are both great records that we listened to lately.

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
The Smiths "How soon is now" but we'll have to find someone to do the vocals because we are playing instrumental music and none of us can sing!

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Well, we’ll see how things will turn out with our second album and concentrate on promoting it by playing live as much as we can. Other than that, we’ve already started writing music for album number 3!

Q: Any parting words?
Thank you very much for your invitation to this interview,we are big fans of the “blog that celebrates itself” for years now! Have a great time and always listen to music and try to find new music as well.

There’s so much cool stuff out there!
https://www.facebook.com/thefogensemble/
https://thefogensemble-innerear.bandcamp.com/album/throbs 
https://thefogensemble1.bandcamp.com/album/the-fog-ensemble
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