Um dos melhores álbuns do resgate do pós punk sem dúvida alguma é o New Frontiers dos dinamarqueses do Foreign Resort.
Veio ao mundo em fevereiro desse ano e a sua audicão torna-se mais e mais obrigatória conforme vai se permeando suas músicas, uma viagem cinzenta e densa adentrando ao universo do pós punk europeu lá do já longínquo 80´s.
A fórmula baixo marcado, guitarras sombrias, vocalizacão dramática está contida do início ao fim do album, ecos de The Sound, Chameleons, Comsat Angels brotam aos montes, mas a grande sacada é o distanciamento do Joy Division, aqui o Foreign Resort busca muito mais nos menos estrelares daquela geracão e também é óbvio que tem muito de The Cure em sua áurea fase.
Um puta discaco esse New Frontiers.
***** Interview with The Foreign Resort *****
Q. When did Foreign Resort starts, tell us about the history.. .
We started out in the summer of 2006 jamming in a basement in Copenhagen. Besides being long time good friends, Henrik, Morten and I (Mikkel) share a past in metal bands and like the more dark music genres. So joining forces seemed like a very natural thing. We wanted to make shoegaze/noise rock but really didn’t have a clue how to produce that sound at first. After about two years of trying out different effect pedals and listening to tons of music for inspiration we had somewhat achieved our goal and recorded our first album Offshore that came out in the US in 2010. But it really wasn’t until our 2011 EP that we had the sound we were looking for – a blend between shoegaze and new wave.
Q: Who are your influences?
We all listen to different kinds of music but definitely share many bands. I think touring a lot and listening to music in the van does that to a band.
We are very fascinated by the cold sound of the 80s as well as the rawness of post punk combined with the ambience of shoegaze. Bands that influence us are Soft Moon, Depeche Mode, The Cure as well as many of the bands we play shows with like The Raveonettes, A Place To Bury Strangers, Nightmare Air, Ringo Deathstarr and New Canyons. It is always inspiring to see how other musicians produce their sound live.
Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Tough one!
Here’s Morten’s Top 4:
The Beatles: Revolver (1966)
The Cure: Disintegration (1989)
The Raveonettes: Raven In The Grave (2011)
DM: The Singles 86 > 89 (disk 1 & 2)
Q. How do you feel playing alive?
We really enjoy playing live! It is the encounter with our fans and other musicians that makes it all worth it! Setting up a tour can be frustrating but every time we hit the road, we know it was worth the struggle!
Before every show there’s this calmness to the band. One of my friends told me he thought it was us conserving energy for the show. Could be. Once we go on stage there’s definitely that purge of energy that’s kinda out of control. We work with stage presence and everything but really its all pretty random what happens once the show starts. And I think that’s what we all enjoy about playing live.
Q. How do you describe Foreign Resort sounds?
I’d say we have a pretty massive sound, in the studio as well as live. Becoming a trio we thought we would have a less thick sound, which wasn’t a bad thing. But people still tell us we sound huge, which I think is pretty cool!
I think it is the coming together of our super tight drummer and the back tracks with the more loose playing on both bass and guitar that results in this wall of sound.
Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
Every song starts as a demo. I record them at home, take them to the rehearsal studio where Morten and Henrik either approve and we start working on the song or they don’t approve and it goes in the trash. Every band member needs to love every song we play. That’s the only way we can get the right expression.
Once the arrangement is in place we try the song out live just to see how it works before an audience while also recording some live demos to get a more detailed impression of the song.
It is hard to say when the decision is made to enter the studio. I’d say it is the combination of timing and having the right songs to record. With New Frontiers we had a bunch of new songs. The our then bass player, Patrick, noticed that our friends Dead Leaf Echo had worked with John Fryer so I asked their frontman LG to put me in touch with John. He did and from then things moved pretty fast.
John flew in to Copenhagen and we spent 10 days recording the album, working 12 hours every day. A very productive but at the same time very relaxed process. That’s how John works. He was constantly recording drums, guitars, vocals or tweaking some sound or coming up with suggestions for improvements. All in all a very intense and cool experience!
Q. Which new bands do you recommended?
Here’s some of what we are currently listening to:
New Canyons - http://newcanyons.bandcamp.com/
VibraGun - http://vibragun.bandcamp.com/
Nightmare Air - http://saintmarierecords.bandcamp.com/album/high-in-the-lasers
Ghost Modern - http://ghostmodern.bandcamp.com/
Soft Shadows - http://softshadows.bandcamp.com/
Shades - https://soundcloud.com/shadesmusic
Avoxblue - http://avoxblue.bandcamp.com/
Teach Me Equals - https://teachmeequals.bandpage.com
Q: Which bands you love to made a cover version?
Morten would like to cover Kate Bush. I think her song “Hounds of Love” would be a good challenge.
Q: What´s the plans for future....
We’re currently setting up shows in the US in October and in Germany in November and December. We’re also playing our first UK show ever on August 8th at Hope & Anchor in London! So more touring coming up while we’re writing new material. It is interesting to see where our new songs will take us. Right now it looks like two directions: a more rough and post punk/industrial sound while we also have new wave pop sounding songs in the works. Could be two EPs in 2015. We’ll see…
Q: Any parting words?
Thanks for inviting us to do this interview! We appreciate everything you do to support underground and upcoming music worldwide at your blog! Let that be our message to everyone out there: Support the music and art you love! Go to shows and meet the people who create the music! We’d love to meet you!
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Thanks Mikkel
https://www.facebook.com/theforeignresort/
https://theforeignresort.bandcamp.com/
