Des Fleurs Magiques Bourdonnaient with Rev Rev Rev - An Interview

Não é de hoje que o TBTCI simplesmente idolatra os italianos sônicos do Rev Rev Rev, e eles aterrizam pela segunda vez aqui nestas páginas, a primeira você pode relembrar aqui, mas desta vez iremos tratar único e exclusivamente do recém lançado “Des Fleurs Magiques Bourdonnaient”.

Toda a alquimia da bandas elevada a máxima potência pode ser notadamente conferida nas doze destruições sonoras do álbum.

O TBTCI aproveitou a oportunidade para conversar com os Rev Rev Rev sobre detalhes dessa obra prima de ruído branco chamada “Des Fleurs Magiques Bourdonnaient”.

Eu não ficaria abismado se lá no final deste ano, “Des Fleurs Magiques Bourdonnaient” estiver na lista de melhores discos de 2016.

Grandiosamente magnífico. 

***** Interview with Rev Rev Rev *****

Q.Hello friends, first congratulations on the new album, it's really brilliant, what is your analysis after conclusion of album? Are you happy with the result?
Hello Renato, many thanks! We are extremely happy about it, the sound has come out exactly how we wanted it to be. This is largely thanks to Alessio Pindinelli (La Casa al mare) and Fabio Galeone at the mixer, who have been able to catch the sound we were looking for.

Q. How was the process of creating “Des Fleurs Magiques Bourdonnaient”?
The songs were originally written by Sebastian, then we arranged them all together.

Q. What are the main differences between “Des Fleurs Magiques Bourdonnaient” and “Rev Rev Rev”?
DFMB has a more psychedelic attitude, that comes out in tanpura drones and in the use of brainwave entrainment layers. We explored more the hypnotic dimension, trying to get the listener in an altered state of mind.

Q. What were the influences for creating “Des Fleurs Magiques Bourdonnaient”?
Hard to say, because we tried to make it – and we feel it so – more personal. Of course our influences will emerge (MBV, JaMC, Loop, Spacemen 3, APTBS...), but in the songwriting process we felt totally free, like if we could do anything we liked with song structure and drones and sounds.

Q. What are your plans for 2016?
In the next weeks we are playing a bunch of shows between Italy, Switzerland and UK – on 12th March we're playing Cosmosis Festival and we're extremely excited about it. Then we'll tour Italy.
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Thanks

https://revrevrev.bandcamp.com/album/des-fleurs-magiques-bourdonnaient
https://www.facebook.com/revrevrev.band/

Same Old / Lo​-​Fi Shit with The Dirty Coal Train - An Interview

Para os amantes do garage/surf/lo fi punk psicótico, os portugueses do The Dirty Coal Train são basicamente discoteca básica. 

"Same Old / Lo-Fi" o último esporro deles data de Setembro do ano passado, mas se você acha pouco, fique tranquilo porque logo, mas muito logo mesmo chega a nossas mãos e ouvidos "Super Scum" e ainda tem mais. Mr. Marky Wildstone sim ele mesmo (The Dead Rocks/Song and Dance Men/Wildstone Productions e mais uma penca de coisa), além de ter gravado algumas sessions com os caras, esta de malas prontas pra embarcar junto com o The Dirty Coal Train para uma turnê na Europa, ou seja, se você estiver em alguma cidade e cruzar os caras, nem pense duas vezes e se entregue de corpo e alma a garageira psicótica dessa rapaziada.

Isso é rock´n´roll, tá bom né??

***** Interview with The Dirty Coal Train *****

Q. When did The Dirty Coal Train start? Tell us about the history...
Rev. Jesse: Well, it's been 5 years since the project started but there's already some history, i'll try to make it short: when the band where I was playing (indie rock band named Puny) ended, i wanted to make a new project open to collaborations where I was the main driving force (mostly to avoid the band ending with internal disputes), I recorded lots of demos of garage punk, surf and rock inspired tunes. The 1st line up was a duo with Rodrigo Paulino, we both played drums and guitar. Then a trio with Shelley Barradas and then a trio with me , Rodrigo on bass and Helena from São Paulo (from the bands Bionica, Lava,...) on drums.

Beatriz (aka Conchita Coltrane) then joined on guitar (she played with me on a duo: Tiger Picnic) and later Rodrigo left to become full-time parent. After that most shows were a trio with drums and 2 guitars. Shelley still joined on bass for a brief period and left, then Helena left the drums and we were joined by friends / collaborators on drums. Most of the time drums were filled with Carlos Mendes (of the bands Tedio Boys, The Parkinsons and The Twist Connection) and Marky (from the Dead Rocks).

Q: Who are your influences?
Rev. Jesse: Sure you want to ask this? Ok, right now i'm listening to Lalo Schifrin but here's the list of guys that we hold dear: Stooges, Oblivians, Gories, Man or Astro-Man, Half Japanese, Birthday Party, Captain Beefheart, Pussy Galore, Cramps, Blues Explosion, Chrome Cranks, The Scientists, the Sonics, Jonathan Richman & Modern Lovers, Billy Childish / Headcoats, Mc5, NoBunny, Tokyo Electron, The Monks, Strandells, Os Ekos, Conjunto Mistério, Os Tartaros, Howlin Wolf, Kinks, Animals, The neandethals, Gun Club, Ramones, Hasil Adkins, R. L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Doo Rag / Bob log III, T-Model Ford, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Bo Diddley, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Bantam Rooster, Cheater Slicks, Country Teasers, Lyres, Guitar Wolf, Coachwhips, Dick Dale, Link Wray, Velvet Underground, Them, the Troggs, New york Dolls, Black Flag, Germs, Babes in Toyland, L7, The Make-up, Roy Orbison, Tom Waits, Os Mutantes, 13th floor elevators, Crime & the City Solution, Mudhoney, Dead Moon / Pierced Arrows, Muddy Waters, Skip James, Blind Willie Johnson, Dara Puspita, Crimson Shadows, The Routes, Workdogs / Rob K, latin playboys, the music machine, downliners sect, ? & the mysterians, Trashmen, Gibson Bros, the ventures, flesh eaters, we the people, the A-bones, electric eels, ace of cups, wilson pickett, Paul Revere & the raiders, andre williams, beat happening, the frantics, santo & johnny, Don & Dewey, Shock! (the band from spain), Dave Clark Five, The parkinsons, Tédio Boys, D3o, the act-ups, tracy lee summer, subway riders, Os Steamers, Os Jets, The Ballyhoos, Conjunto Universitário Hi-Fi, Nicotine's Orchestra, Serge Gainsbourg, Jacques Dutronc, France Gall, Arthur Lyman, 60 Second Swingers, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Lollipop Shoppe, Evariste, Davie Allan & the arrows, Count Five, Fang, Dead Boys, Rocket from the Tombs / Pere Ubu, Dead Kennedys, Crass, Richard Hell, the clean, damned, demolition doll rods, Eskorbuto, Reverend Charlie Jackson, Big Joe Williams, Memphis Minnie, Jimmy Reed, Jaybird Coleman, fast eddie nelson, furry lewis, frank stokes, hound dog taylor, Sleepy John Estes, Son House, Jay Reatard / Reatards / Bad Times, Clone Defects, Limes (the band from Goner records), kim fowley, other half, Los Salvajes, los Yorks, Quintron, richard & the young lions, supercharger, Takeshi Terauchi, Tav falco, The Beguiled, The Bobby Fuller Four, The Chesterfield Kings,The Missing Links,The Gruesomes, the Wongs, Loli & the Chones, Swamp Rats, tall boys, wau y los arrrghs, The eyes, The Deviants, yardbirds, the Crawdaddys, the Seeds, the Dovers, The Pagans, Lee Hazlewood, Pixies, Neil Young, James Chance, Misfits, Aus Rotten, I Spy (the ones from Canada), Red Transister / Von LMO, X-Ray Spex, DNA, Mars, The Fall, Red Crayola / Red Krayola, These Immortal Souls, Scratch Acid, velvet monkeys, gumball, the clash, jesus & mary chain, devo, blue magoos, chimney sweeps, The Human Expression, the masters apprentice, figures of light, Studd Cole, T. Valentine, Urinals, the novas, les Baxter, the Wailers (the band from Tacoma, Washington), sonny vincent/the testors, Chants R&B, Zakary Thaks, joe meek, len bright combo, The Del-Aires, Benny Joy, Fireworks, Johnny kidd & the Pirates, unrelated segments, golden pelicans, arch hall Jr, Coneheads (the band from Canada), Strawberry Alarm Clock, The Gizmos, Subsonics, Swingin' Medallions, Gravedigger V, Jelly Roll Kings, The Bizarros, Yays & Nays, Sonny Boy Williamson II, The Squires, Robert Johnson, Ronnie Self, Kris Jensen, Ersel Hickey, The Phantom Raiders, the jujus, impala, wall of voodoo, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, Don Fardon, the strangeloves,...

Conchita: ... guess it's enough!

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Rev. Jesse: That's always changing! Today they'd be:
Birthday Party ‎– "Hee-Haw"
Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band ‎– "Ice Cream For Crow"
Stooges ‎– "Funhouse"
Oblivians ‎– "Soul Food"
The Parkinsons ‎– "Back To Life"

Conchita: ehhhhh... not the top 5, but 5 great ones that jump in my mind right now
pj harvey - "Rid of me"
velvet underground & Nico - "velvet underground & Nico"
The Urinals - "Negative capability... Check it Out!"
Bill Callahan - "Sometimes I wish we were an eagle"
Rowland S. Howard - "Teenage Snuff Film"

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Rev. Jesse: Like i'm saving tons of Money on psychiatric help and drugs!

Conchita: I feel like it is the last day on earth, having fun and giving it all with my sweetheart by my side!

Q. How do you describe The Dirty Coal Train sounds?
Rev. Jesse: 1st thing : we love raw lo-fi sounds. We listen to tons of blues, surf, 60's garage, 70's psych but love the real rock and roll feel of Punk! So I think when you mix all those things you get the Dirty Coal Train sound.

Conchita: Energy blast with sprinkles of weird stuff! hehe

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Rev. Jesse: most of the tracks we take from my personal demos and work them out. then, Bea (Conchita) brings some of her songs and we do the same. In the early formations we had some songs from Rodrigo, one by Shelley and a few made together out of improvisation, but most today are born from me or Beatriz and then worked as a band or in studio where I sometimes play the drums and we had overdubs like bass and other stuff. Most of the time is just the usual trio even on record: 2 guitars + drums.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Rev. Jesse: I feel like a real old guy because i try to listen to lots of new stuff but the records i discover that really grab my attention are old records. But from stuff released recently I would recommend the Coneheads (the band from Canada), Fat White Family, Golden Pelicans,... and some Portuguese new bands like Thee O.B.s, Planeta Quadrado, Conan Castro & The Moonshine Piñatas, The Brooms, Volcano Skin,... along with old bands like the essential Parkinsons and The Act Ups that just can't make one bad record and weird iluminaires from the band Subway Riders!

Conchita: hummm, I would just add the Portuguese band PUMA.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Rev. Jesse: I'm always afraid of fucking up a song I really like, but i'd love to have a farfisa player so I could play some tracks from the Seeds with Bea on vocals!

Conchita: ahah!... yeah, that is true about the part of fucking up... but we already did a few covers that I am proud of! Let's see... maybe one from The Animals or Johnny Cash some day.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Rev. Jesse: well.. "Super Scum" LP is coming out so.. tour for that LP and maybe in summer release a 7" with tracks we recorded in São Paulo Brasil with Marky on drums and gor for a small Brazilian tour again! Hope to make new friends and see old friend out there while touring! That's the most fun we get on the road!

Conchita: Continue to play and meet new people and new places. Also have some bees, move to the country and maybe expand the family!

Q: Any parting words?
Rev. Jesse: Sure: write us, let us know what you think of the songs even if you hate them! Make bands, record stuff at home, buy records from independent labels, go see shows at you local venue, sport your local scene!

Conchita: Yes. Fuck Monsanto.
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/thedirtycoaltrain
https://dirtycoaltrain.bandcamp.com/

This Sea Is Killing Me with Autodrone - An Interview

Katherine Kennedy, Jeremy Alisauskas, Angel Lorelei, Terrance Taylor e Ugh Markus também conhecidos como Autodrone voltaram no final do ano passado com o sucessor do espetacular Strike a Match de 2008, The Sea Is Killing Me é o nome da obra.

Menos barulhento e mais dark, mais denso e em tons épicos, o novo álbum dos nova iorquinhos é um forte exercício de tensão que não dá trégua durante as dez canções do disco.

Pós punk, shoegaze, ou chame como quiser, não há como classificar a sonoridade do Autodrone, a tensão sonora entre os caras é mais intensa do que simples rótulos.

***** Interview with Autodrone *****

Q. When did Autodrone start? Tell us about the history...
Jeremy - Autodrone began in 2001 when Angel and I received a mix tape from a psychopathic gentleman who Angel was working with legally. The mix cassette began with the song "One More by the band Medicine. Neither of us had heard it before and we found the the song to be so crushingly beautiful that we needed to incorporate it into our other influences and bring something new to life musically.

Angel- Yes, originally it was our goal to create music that sounded like the first 30 seconds of "One More". Like if the first 30 seconds of "One More" went on eternally.

Q: Who are your influences?
Jeremy - This is something that changes from LP to LP with us. For the new one "This Sea Is Killing Me," we took influences from 60s and 70s psychedelic rock, 80s post punk, and 90s shoegaze and British pop. Our mission was to take our favorite parts of those styles and genres and combine them in ways which beat served the songs.

Angel- Phil Spector, Motown, Harry Belafonte, 50's top 40, current top 40.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Angel:
1. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here.
2. Tori Amos - Under the Pink.
3. Zombies - Odyssey and Oracle.
4. PIL - The Flowers of Romance.
5. Madonna- Like A Prayer.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Jeremy- Each show is its own production really. So that depends. What we strive for is the produce things perfectly and furnish the audience with an interesting and unique experience.

Angel - Like on fire, but nice.

Q. How do you describe Autodrone sounds?
Epic and Hysterical. Occasionally "fun?".

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Angel - I'd rather not think about that again, it brings up too many painful memories. We recorded at Desert Park Studios though, and they did an immaculate job.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Jeremy - I like Dead Leaf Echo and the Vandelles.

Angel- really?

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Angel - Heart - Alone.

Jeremy - I would to do something with an Einsturzende Neubauten song, it would be a lot of fun and an interesting challenge.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Jeremy - Most likely we will all die doing this.

Angel - Hopefully nothing, plans stress me out.

Q: Any parting words?
Jeremy - keep the dream alive.

Angel- Don't vote Republican. Don't text and drive. Don't forget to bring an umbrella. Keep away from the media. Go outside. We love you all.
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Thanks

Next Show
30th March @The Grand Victory - NY
https://www.facebook.com/autodrone/posts/10153639476757885

https://soundcloud.com/autodrone/sets/this-sea-is-killing-me-lp-2015
https://www.facebook.com/autodrone

Behavior: Holds with New Speedway - An Interview

Rocco Renzetti já é conhecido por aqui no TBTCI, se por algum desvio de memória você não lembra dele, certamente o nome New Speedway vai refrescar sua cabeça.

Fuzz, peso, barulho por todo canto, psicodelismo selvagem, noise grudento, esse é o cartão de visitas do New Speedway que solta agora junto a esta entrevista, Behaivor: Holds, novíssimo petardo de Rocco e Cia. O TBTCI tem escutado a exaustão o disco, e apesar de ser um pouco mais melódico do que os dois álbuns anteriores continua dilacerando o rock bunda mole que é feito por aí.

Barulheira para iniciados.

***** Interview with New Speedway *****

Hello Rocco, first congratulations on the new album, it's really brilliant, What is your analysis after conclusion Behavior: Holds? 

 I'm very happy to be finished my first album in four years. I took a lot of time off from making music. Kinda felt as though I didn't really have much to say. This album is by far my favourite thing I've done yet.  Behavior: Holds is actually the first of two records that belong to one another. The next one will be called Behavior: Ceremony. The second one will be out later this year.

Are you happy with the result?
I'm incredibly happy with it. This is the first album that my sister (Giulianna Renzetti Wood) and I have done together. It was a great decision to have her sing on the record. Makes a huge difference and really lends itself to this particular set of songs. She'll be part of the live band as well. Although this record was incredibly difficult to make, I think it stands as my best album yet.

 How was the process of creating Behavior: Holds?
The process was not traditional at all. I made this record by myself at home. Which I usually do. But this one has no real drums. I spent a long time learning to program old drum machines to get exactly the sounds I wanted. The process was also pretty intense. This album has the most intimate of subject matters and it really got to me very deeply. My whole life sorta turned upside down and my heart and brain just sorta shattered. I tried to write and record honestly and make sure that all of my thoughts were there. I also spent most of this recording pretty fucked up on substance. It was really quite a dark time. But again, the addition of my sister coming in at the end and laying down those great vocals was a nice way to break up the darkness.

What are the main differences between Behavior: Holds and Supercrushesdiehard?
Behavior: Holds is most certainly a shift in direction. The goal for the album was to have minimalism and repetition. To have these stark ideas with tons of small filtering synthesizer lines and blistering fuzz guitar. It's similar to supercrushes in how it tells a story from beginning to end. But supercrushes was meant to sound more like a band in a room. Very raw. Very much like the bands I saw play when I was a kid and I really liked to watch live, like Dinosaur, Sonic Youth and Nirvana.
Behavior: Holds is much more of a focused album with more intimacy and an overall more psychedelic/drugged out vibe.

What were the influences for creating the Holds?
 Um...probably Suicide, Sonic Boom, JAMC, Spacemen 3, and even bands like Lilys and The Wedding Present in some ways. I guess those are the musical influences. But I think that "Holds" has maybe more melody than any of those bands really ever put forth.

What are your plans for 2016?
Behavior: Holds is released on March 1st via bandcamp and then limited physical media to come.
Behavior: Ceremony will be released late summer 2016. There will also be a "solo" album released closer to the end of 2016. I'm still working on that title. Searching for a new record label to put the material out on vinyl and stuff.

We'll be playing shows and touring in a few months as well. Hopefully we can get to Europe in the next year. Live shows should be pretty interesting. Haven't done them in a long time. Hopefully I'm still ok on stage. Haha! Happy to say that my new band: Adam Barone (guitar) Craig Blankenship (bass guitar) and Giulianna Renzetti Wood (keyboards/vocals) and Boss SP 303 (samples and drums) are all really amazing people and I look forward to being on the road with them.
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/newspeedwayfuzz
http://newspeedway.bandcamp.com/

Tú with Elora - An Interview

Krautsurfgaze é a definição dada pela própria banda a sonoridade deles mesmo, e basicamente é isso, a junção de Kraut, surf music e shoegaze retratam os elementos do trio espanhol Elora que tem em sua formação um brasileiro, o baterista Daniel Setti. 

O primeiro álbum cheio deles que saiu em Outubro passado atende pelo nome de "Tú" é condensa todos os ótimos momentos já previamente anunciando nos EPs e joga em nossos tímpanos um ataque sonoro nervoso e que além das referências citadas mostra claramente uma pegada pós punk bem forte.

Ouça alto.

***** Interview with Elora *****

Q. When did Elora start? Tell us about the history...
A. The band was founded in 2013 by Marco Morgione, a Naples, Italy born musician and producer based in Barcelona since the end of the 90’s. Marco has been in important bands in the Spanish scene, such as Glissando and Linn Youki, and as a sound engineer and producer he has collaborated with some Spanish bands with international reputation, such as Delorean and El Guincho. The first Elora line-up had Morgione on vocals and guitar and Spanish musicians Dani del Sol on drums and Ernesto de Bastian on bass. After some changes, the line-up since 2015 has Morgione, me, Daniel Setti (drummer from São Paulo, Brazil, based in Barcelona; played with Brazilian indie bands such Jumbo Elektro, Danish singer and songwriter Miss Q and collaborated with well-known artists such Elza Soares and Sérgio Dias, from Os Mutantes) and Dani Cano Alarcón (bass player from Murcia, Spain, who has also his solo works and projects such as Errecinco and Dúo Guasón). In just two years, Elora released five EPs, one album (“Tú”) and a compilation for the American market (“Cada Día es Así”). We are planning to release a new album on April.

Q: Who are your influences?
A. We love shoegaze, noise, dream pop and krautrock bands, of course – Sonic Youth, Cocteau Twins, Neu! and Sebadoh can be used as examples –, but we also dig loads of other stuff, from soul music to Tropicália, from the softpop of Alan Parson’s Project to death metal. But the most important thing is that we insist in not sounding like no one else. We really try to have our own identity, and I think some keys to achieve that are Marco’s guitar tunings, the way we try to put the vocals in the arrangements and the rhythms we try to create.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
A. Here is a quick list made between us three:
Macha – “Macha”
Nick Drake – “Pink Moon”
Magnetic Fields – “69 Love Songs”
The Cure – “Disintegration”
John Coltrane – “A Love Supreme”

Q. How do you feel playing live?
A. Playing live is the best thing. I think we realized that when we started our 22 concert gig in the US last October. The new line-up was still very fresh and until then we had basically got together the three of us only to record the album. So after some rehearsals, going on tour and releasing the energy and playing as a trio was just great. We sounded tighter every night and the response of the crowd was great. Also is interesting to notice that Elora grows louder live because of the guitar walls and all the textures we try to emulate.

Q.How do you describe Elora sounds?
A. Recently one Catalan interviewer called us “surfgaze” and we thought it was funny. He was probably thinking about “Tú”, the first single of the album with the same name. So if we still are playing the “brand” game, I would add the “kraut” element. So what do you think about “krautsurfgaze”?

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
A. Marco comes up with lots of riffs and melodies and we try some grooves with that material. After we reach some base for an arrangement, he comes with the vocals, and we add some ideas to that. With “Tú” that ethos worked perfectly and we made the album in one month. Marco is a very quick producer. I think for the new album we are planning to release it will be a little bit different, with more impros between the three of us to try to reach the final versions of the songs.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
A. We would like to recommend some bands that played with us during the USA tour: Purple Six, A Deer a Horse, Lady and Heron and Crane.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
A. During our American tour we kept dreaming of doing a version of “Say Say Say”, that Paul McCartney/Michael Jackson song. OK, we actually do one cover sometimes. The shortest and fastest song in the world, Napalm Death’s “You Suffer”. But we don’t do any “regular” covers really, and we loved the fact that in some US places there was a clear policy of “no versions” in some of the venues.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
A. We are doing the new album now and the idea is to release it on April, as I mentioned above. We have some gigs booked in Spain for the next few months, but we would love also to come back to the States, as much as we would love to tour all around Europe and the rest of the world. Including Brazil and Japan.

Q: Any parting words?
A. Thanks for your interest in our band and keep following our steps, because soon we will playing and releasing new material.
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Thanks

https://elorafuzz.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/eloramusica/

New Dirt with No Kill - An Interview

O duo de NY, No Kill é um verdadeiro colírio sonoro para corpo e mente, um mix certeiro entre Blondie, Vaselines e girl groups.

Canções especialmente viciantes, vocais deliciosamente apaixonantes, concebidas para dias ensolarados em busca de um novo amor.

Apaixone-se.

***** Interview with No Kill *****

Q. When did No Kill start? Tell us about the history...
We've been friends for a long time, so we’ve been working on music together in some capacity or another for a number of years. We recorded our first single as No Kill in 2011 and are releasing our third EP this spring.

Q: Who are your influences?
We’re both interested in a pretty diverse range of music. For this particular project, we were thinking a lot about music with really strong melodic foundations; 1960’s girl groups, really pop kind of stuff. We also love harmonies, and groups that use boy-girl vocal parts in interesting ways, whether it's Fleetwood Mac or Low or the Vaselines. As a guitarist, I like really textural dreampop kinds of sounds, when you can use noise and distortion and reverb and end up with something really pretty. And players like Neil Young or J Mascis who aren't afraid to get a little messy and leave things technically imperfect if it serves the song.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
It’s definitely always changing for me. I don't think I necessarily have a ranked top 5, but I do have some favorites. The Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream has pretty much been at or near the top for me for as long as I can remember. Rumours and Tusk by Fleetwood Mac. Loveless by My Bloody Valentine. Goo and Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere by Neil Young. The Velvet Underground's self titled album.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
We’ve been focusing on writing and recording for the last year or so, so it’s cool to get out and perform when we have the chance.

Q. How do you describe No Kill sounds?
Sort of noisy and kind of pretty.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Right now, the band is just the two of us, so for the most part we’re playing all the instruments ourselves. It's nice, because it allows us to play around with different arrangements and sounds, and not feel like we need to replicate a particular live version of the songs in the studio. We record everything in our band space in Brooklyn. We’ll usually start with Jamie playing drums and me playing guitar, and then we’ll both add more guitars, bass, percussion, vocals, and whatever else we want to put on the track. And we do have a couple friends joining us to play drums and bass on a couple songs for our upcoming EP. Neither of us have any real training in audio production, but I know just enough to make everything sound good, but not so much that we’re stuck feeling like we need to do things “the right way.”

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
A: Hop Along put out a pretty great record last year. Angel Olsen.

J: I’m looking forward to Cate Le Bon’s new record.

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
J: Anyway, here’s Wonderwall.

A: Yeah, I don't think anyone's done that one.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We’re working on a video concept to accompany this EP and have a run of cassettes in the works.

Q: Any parting words?
Tip your bartender.
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Thanks

nokill.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/nokillmusic
https://twitter.com/nokillmusic
http://instagram.com/nokillmusic

Midlife Catharsis with Blurring Agent - An Interview

O trio de Minneapolis, Blurring Agent é daquelas preciosidades escondidas que quando aparecem em nossa frente é motivo de comemoração e delírio.

Um incisivo mix de art noise e shoegaze em níveis elevados de decibéis, algo como o elo perdido entre MBV e Slint, assim é o "Blurring Agent" EP de estreia deles que esta disponível primeiramente em formato digital e que brevemente se expandira em formatos físicos.

Barulho em grande escala e alto nível.

***** Interview with Blurring Agent *****

Q. When did Blurring Agent start? Tell us about the history…
In a lot of ways Blurring Agent started about 5 years ago, after Mark finished his masters degree. He picked up playing guitar again after years off, and some of the songs on our EP started to get written in solo form. There were a few aborted attempts to turn those songs into a band. The people never clicked. Last summer, Conor moved to Minnesota, and posted something on Craigslist about being a drummer wanting to start a band. A quick response, and they started to hammer together some more solid versions of the songs. Conor and Mark posted something to Craigslist looking for a bass player with the influences below. Played with a couple people, but Kyle was just the perfect fit. Knew exactly the vibe we wanted. Honestly, we all feel pretty lucky to have found each other through such a sketchy hit-or-miss site.

Q: Who are your influences?
We started the band with the idea of mixing the dreamy shoegaze sound of bands like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive with the dynamics and aggression of bands like Slint and Unwound. But the individual songs get influences from all over. One song we’ve written is ripping off Nirvana. Another was inspired by the emo band Jejune. One of the newer ones is riffing on a Terry Reilly composition. The key is to take inspiration from everywhere, and filter it through the band and our collective sensibilities. In the end, hopefully you get something that is us.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Conor:
cLOUDDEAD - cLOUDDEAD
Sweet Trip - Velocity : Design : Comfort
Have a Nice Life - Deathconsciousness
Swans - Soundtracks for the Blind
Women - Public Strain
But lately I’ve been listening to black metal and avant-pop stuff almost exclusively.

Kyle:
Isis - Oceanic
Radiohead - OK Computer
Boris - Pink
Swans - Children of God
Kowloon Walled City - Grievances

Mark:
Limiting this to 5 is soooo hard. Ask me again tomorrow, and you’ll get a different list. I think the best albums have to go beyond just having great songs, but have some sort of flow and structure between them, or have a distinct feel. There also needs to be an accessibility where I can throw it on no matter how I feel, but then still they can make an emotional connection. Finally, it needs a staying power where I’m still blown away after at least 5 years. These are going to sound like cop out answers:

MBV - Loveless: You almost lose yourself in the texture of the album. The individual songs are good, but the whole album has to be listened to.

Slint - Spiderland: It starts with this beautiful, simmering energy, slows down to a plodding pace, then builds back up to this great climax.

Built to Spill - Keep it Like a Secret: This was a part of my introduction to indie rock, and it remains a true classic. Again, everything just seems to tie together with this jangly, poppy but epic mood.
Sleater Kinney - Dig Me Out: This is a sentimental choice as much as anything, but this for me was the perfect culmination of the early Sleater Kinney (and the riot girl stuff in general) and the later rock sensibilities and songwriting prowess.

Low - Drums and Guns: This is one of those local-ish Minnesota bands that I just never get to see enough. The album ambles along with a brooding forcefulness. By the time Murderer rolls around, I have to have the lights out, eyes closed and volume up.

Unwound - Leaves Turn Inside You: I liked Unwound in the late 90’s. They were in the list of great math/noise rock bands that I enjoyed listening to. But Leaves just blew my mind. Somehow I had missed the post rock stuff (did not discover that until the mid 2000’s), but this filled a similar void.
So 6, I think I did good. Im sure I forgot a bunch too.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
The three of us, naturally, are all pretty introverted. Naturally, none of us seem likely to want to make a public spectacle of ourselves. So it’s not like the “look at me” showmanship that you get out of some music acts. Rather, there’s something edifying about creating an expression of yourself publicly. Sometimes we hit that zone in the practice space, but it’s not the same as sharing that with other people. There’s a connection when things are just fitting together and the audience gets it.

Q. How do you describe Blurring Agent sounds?
It’s tough to describe how we sound, outside of wanting to sound something in the vein of our influences. We were described as sounding a lot like Sonic Youth after our last show. Crunchy and glimmering shoegaze. The hope is to have blurry, melodic, mathy noise.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
For us, the process was pretty straight forward. We recorded with Ali Jafaar at Ecstattic studios. We knew he had an ear for similar sounds. There’s a pretty decent shoegazer scene in Minneapolis, and he’s recorded a bunch of those. Knowing that, we just put in a lot of practice to make sure we could nail the base performance, then bashed out each song in two or three takes. There's really not that much overdubbing or special studio tricks. Ali just did an awesome job of bringing out a solid performance, then making sure that it sounded right.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
How new? Cult of Lip is a great local band that just renamed from Vats. Strange Relations is another Minneapolis band that we think is awesome. The singing drummer is always special.

I think in our practices, we have someone say “have you heard ?” at least a couple times each. To quote….something, “There’s a lot of good music out there, and sometimes you want to hear it”

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
We might do a cover of a Wire song for live sets. There’s something about covers of songs in a different genre too that are appealing. It lets the band take a song and really transform it into something their own. Mark also has this idea of doing a live, punk rock cover of 4’33” by John Cage. Lots of dancing around for that one.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Release our EP on cassette, and play some more shows while we’re writing our first LP. Keep making more music. This is just the start.

Q: Any parting words?
Support your local scene. Get out and see a live band. Damnit, start a band, or a blog. Art is meant to be experienced, not just appreciated.
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Thanks

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

Connect The Dots with Playground Theory - An Interview

Connect The Dots é o mais novo trabalho dos gregos do Playground Theory, seguindo o raciocínio lógico dos trabalhos anteriores, temos aquela aura 4AD que permeia muitos momentos do álbum, afinal é inevitável não fazer as devidas conexões com Dead Can Dance e Cocteau Twins, mas existem outros elementos, alguns mais, digamos pop mesmo com peculiaridades sonoras a´la Kate Bush, já em outros momentos temos um lado mais atual e experimental, com nítidas referências ao Radiohead.

Um sofisticado e eloquente disco que agrada não somente aos saudosistas mais aos novos entusiastas.

***** Interview with Playground Theory *****

Q. When did Playground Theory start? Tell us about the history…
Playground Theory started as a 3-piece (vocals, keys & drums) in 2009. Shortly after the release of our debut album “Speaking Of Secrets”, we added a fourth permanent member on guitar completing the current roster. While the core of the band still remains the same, a variety of musicians and friends surround us in concerts and in the studio.

Q: Who are your influences?
Regarding bands and in random order: Orbital, Massive Attack, New Order, Joy Division, Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Add N to X, Radiohead, The Cure, Death in Vegas, Sigur Ros, Garbage, Queens Of The Stone Age, Paul Oakenfold, The Beatles, Unkle, Dead Can Dance, Cocteau Twins.

Regarding musical genres, also in random order: synth/dream-pop, cinematic, post-rock/punk, indie, progressive rock, drum n’ bass, fusion.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Vagelis:
Miles Davis -“Kind of Blue”, The Who - “Who’s next”, Black Sabbath - “Black Sabbath”, Joy Division - “Closer”, The Stone Roses - “The Stone Roses”

Costas:
Turbonegro - “Apocalypse Dudes”, Garbage - “Garbage”, Queens Of The Stone Age - “Rated R”, Blur - “The Great Escape”, The Offspring - “Smash”

Dimitris:
Orbital - “Snivilisation”, Portishead - “Third”, Faith No More - “Angel Dust”, Chemical Brothers - “Dig Your Own Hole”, Smashing Pumpkins - “Siamese Dream”

Marcia:
Radiohead - “OK Computer”, Cocteau Twins -“Victorialand”, NIN - “Fragile”, Moderat - “II”, Underworld - “Second Toughest in the Infants”

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Playing live in front of an audience is what almost every band comes from and can relate to. We always enjoy the experience, sharing our sounds with different audiences.

Q. How do you describe Playground Theory sounds?
What characterizes our sound in all our songs is the nexus of tense-release. In fact, the core of our music is the combination of contradictory elements. What we mainly attempt is to adapt this antithesis to our own dreamlike worlds, full of long journeys through stellar nebulae, constellations and sea diving, ending up sometimes in nightmares and sometimes (usually) to our destination, our personal Ithaca!

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Drafts of the songs are conceived at home and may (or may not) have a specific structure and orchestration. Usually music comes first and lyrics follow (sometimes archived lyrics or poems of our own are used). Most songs are then being tested on rehearsals and jams. This stage is crucial, as it enriches each song with new elements from every instrument and various styles. By the time of the recording, the songs have reached their final stage, but still there have been instances when we added extra elements right at the last minute.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
YAK, Dead Weather, Pixx, Samaris, Jamie xx
Within our country: Ghost Note Project, Whereswilder, Sofia Sarri, VIC

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Slowdive, Electric Six, Cocteau Twins, Faith No More, NIN

Q: What are your plans for the future?
For the near future we intend to promote our album as far as we can. Αfterwards maybe rehearsals for a new album, but it's too early to define when and how.

Q: Any parting words?
Thank you so much!

We would love to come and play in Brazil sometime… a música nos conecta

(Playground Theory are: Dimitris Negkas (synths), Marcia Israilides (vocals- synths), Vagelis Katsoulakis (drums, percussion), Costas Epitropoulos (guitars)

https://www.facebook.com/PlaygroundTheoryBand
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqoXLX-97e8
https://soundcloud.com/puzzlemusik/playground-theory-little-things
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abPhzF1ljfk
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Thanks

Chudesa with Your Friends Polymers - An Interview

Simplesmente é assim, nos primeiros acordes de Kevin, música de abertura do primeiro EP dos russos do Your Friends Polymers a sensação de estar diretamente ligado a um verdadeiro discípulo do Lush é inevitável, e o negócio fica mais sério no decorrer das outras três músicas de Chudesa, título do EP.

Apesar da forte ligação sonora com o Lush, o Your Friends Polymers traz um delicioso frescor que de certa maneira havia ficado escondido e com eles renasce novamente.

Não deixe passar despercebido.

***** Interview with Your Friends Polymers *****

Q. When did Your Friends Polymers start? Tell us about the history...
So, here is the story in few words. It started in 2013, when Vadim and Andrey decided to start playing guitars. Before this Vadim played synths and Andrey was a bass player, so it was such kind of an experiment for both of musicians. The main idea was just to make some noise and see what happen. And that was really exciting. It was just staying with guitars and playing random things until getting tired of it or something close to music appear. At last about 10 things appeared which were far from to be finished as a composition. 5 of them were chosen for further research, for some reasons they seemed to be much more successful than the others.

About one year later Your Friends Polymers performed for the first time. It looked rather strange: two guys with guitars appeared on the stage and played loud with drum machine and a recorded bass guitar line. It included just 3 instrumentals, so everything came to an end about 10 minutes after the beginning. Still, it was pretty cool.

Sasha and Slava joined the band in 2015. From that moment the band got another kind of sound with live bass and vocal, it became stronger and much better in all senses. So, that’s how Your Friends Polymers began to make noise all together. As a result of this exciting cooperation EP “Chudesa” appeared at the end of 2015.

Q: Who are your influences?
Well, it seems to be a very long list, which should include movies, books, albums and songs, friends and relatives, hundreds of moments in our lives. It will be impossible to pick out something special.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
“Revolver” by The Beatles,
“Treasure” by Cocteau Twins,
“Isn’t Anything” by My Bloody Valentine
“Strange days” by The Doors
“The Great Escape” by Blur

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Generally, much better than day job. And also you always feel thirsty on the stage. I don’t know why and have nothing to do with this. I like this feeling, anyway. Also, during the concert there is such a feeling as you can touch the sound. That’s really cool. Everything sounds different from the records. Sometimes it seems like we are just staying on the stage while some other guys are playing our things in their own way with some quantity of false notes. That’s how we feel.

Q. How do you describe Your Friends Polymers sounds?
Well, in few words.. it sounds like someone is frying a steak in the presence of thousands of bees and all this happens under the deep water of Pacific Ocean.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
There is nothing really special about that. We rent a room where we keep all our staff and where we can come in the evening to play music or just see each other. Here we have everything to play, create or record. All records are made by ourselves. Vadim is the main person in record process, that’s for sure. He makes all the sound settings, puts microphones in the right places, push the “rec.” button and kick asses to inspire us to play in the right way. Also Vadim makes all after-record processing, such as choosing the best of our attempts, put them all together, mastering etc. So other guys in a band including me just have to give the right note in a right moment during the record and step away. That’s the way our EP was recorded.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
We are not sure if these bands are new enough, but anyway, here they are:
* The Cherry Wave;
* Drape;
* Seasurfer;
* Tape Deck Mountain.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
We already have 2 cover versions: Allison by Pixies and De-Luxe by Lush. So we think it’s enough of covers for now.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We’ve realized our debut EP not long ago, so we're not sure that any record processes would start in the nearest future. Guess our plans will be to create news things and perform live. It would be awesome to visit maybe few or more festivals this year. Such kind of travelling around with our music in a bag. It would be cool to visit Brazil as an option, so maybe one day we’ll try to realize such an adventure, who knows.

Q: Any parting words?
Learn languages, don’t mix different types of alcohol, live in present and love each other.
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Thanks

https://yourfriendspolymers.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.facebook.com/Your-Friends-Polymers-161427764212791/

HELL O with My Dark House - An Interview

Lindsey baixo e vocais e Will, guitarras, programação e vocais formam o duo My Dark House. Darkwave em formato shoegaze ou shoegaze em tons escuros, nublados e esfumaçados.

Guiados por um densa camada hipnótica de programações sintéticas, guitarras gélidas e andamentos sincopados, fazendo conexões com os prediletos Alcian Blue/Screen Vinyl Image, o My Dark House em seu EP de estreia cativa de forma melancólica e fria.

Hell O com data prevista para o lançamento oficial em primeiro de Março, é uma degustação obrigatória para fãs de muralhas sonoras e ambientações angustiantes.

***** Interview with My Dark House *****

Q. When did My Dark House start? Tell us about the history...
I had been recording solo material under a few different monikers over the past 6 years, and My Dark House was one of those projects I never pursued – However, it wasn’t until I met my wife, in 2011, that My Dark House started to very slowly take shape. She expressed interest in learning to play the bass guitar, and picked it up very quickly. I knew I wasn’t interested in playing with a live drummer, and started experimenting with programmed, repetitive drum loops. After finding the natural direction of the band, we knew being a duo would suite us best, and finally released our first material in early 2016.

Q: Who are your influences?
We pull a lot of our inspiration from early shoegaze bands; in particular, an American chamber pop band called Gem Club. The two of us are also huge fans of visual art – German artist, Gerhard Richter and San Francisco artist, Trevor Young are both hugely influential on our sound. The blurred, multi-layered work of Richter and the dark urban scenery of Young set an atmosphere that is very exciting to pull ideas from.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Gem Club – Acid and Everything
Colour Revolt – Colour Revolt EP
My Bloody Valentine – Loveless
The National – High Violet
DIIV – Oshin

Q. How do you feel playing live?
My Dark House is currently booking shows for spring 2016. We should have our debut show in a month or two. From my previous time spent in a very active band, I always enjoyed the experience from the time we loaded the trailer for a trip, to the time we made it back home. Being on stage, whether it’s a festival or a hole-in-the-wall bar is always exciting. The feelings range from a rush of adrenaline, to a very intimate and personal experience.

Q. How do you describe My Dark House sounds?
Our sound is hybrid of shoegaze style guitar and vocals, with trip hop inspired beats and bass lines. It’s a very straightforward sound, yet one that I feel has the added advantage of not being too tied down to a specific genre.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
The process of recording a My Dark House song is initially demanding when the song is being written, but rather easy when the amps are mic’d-up and the record button is pressed. After having every part of a song worked out, I set up our bedroom as a makeshift recording studio, and get to work. I always do each take in one pass, because I feel like the programmed drums are so exact that a little human error is critical to achieving a nice balance. If the take was off, I just reset from the beginning and do it again until it’s right. After it’s recorded, my wife critiques the song, and we adjust if needed. It’s usually a solid afternoon worth of recording.

Q. Which new bands do you recommended?
Though not absolutely brand new, I would have to say Gem Club’s entire discography is a very strong collection of work. I really enjoy the aesthetic quality of what DIIV is doing, as well. Both groups have a nice equilibrium between tasteful minimalism, and a very interesting approach to their respective compositions and instruments.

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
We would love to be in a My Bloody Valentine cover band!

Q: What are your plans for the future?
In our immediate future, we are releasing an album called “HELL O” in March 2016 – “HELL O” has an initial release date of March 1st, but we plan to expand the album from an EP to a full length and release the second half at the end of the month. We will also be playing shows, and spending time enjoying what My Dark House has to offer us. Ultimately, we’d like to play a SXSW showcase and go from there!

Q: Any parting words?
Thank you for the interview, it was an absolute honor. To the readers: we enjoy hearing from you – feel free to say “hey” sometime!
-Will Thornton

My Dark House is:
Lindsey // Bass
Will // Guitars, Programming, Vocals

https://www.facebook.com/mydarkhouse/
https://mydarkhouse.bandcamp.com/
Music Video for “Tamsie”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XrR2L3h6DE
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Thanks

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

Ceremonial Prayers with Wall/Eyed - An Interview

Psicodelia moderna é o que chega até nós diretamente do quarteto parisiense Wall/Eyed.

Aqui não há dúvida, Anton Newcombe fez escola, porém a fase mais recente do BJM é a que realmente fez a cabeça do Wall/Eyed, psicodelismo viajante, experimental com um pé na kraut music e o outro quase prog, o Wall/Eyed basicamente capta todo e qualquer elemento que seja brisante e o transforma em acorde.

Não deixe passar desapercebido, mesmo porque Constantinople, o novo trabalho deles esta por vir. Boa viagem.

***** Interview with Wall/Eyed *****

Q. When did Wall/Eyed started, tell us about the history...
Wall/Eyed ‘s history started back in 2013, small gigs in Paris began but at this time the band was playing with 2 keyboards The current Formation was established after a show at Paris Psych Fest 2014 right before the recording of our debut EP “A quest”, Alexandre (ex keyboardist) had other projects, so he left the band . He has never been replaced since but we can tell you that the band will soon be composed of 5 people again.

Q: Who are your influences?
Each member of the project has very particular influences, as we all had a very different musical eductation . For instance, antony (drums) is a huge fan of Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, ACDC or Motorhead, he was born in 1974 and used to played in Hard Rock bands while the rest of the band was born in 1990, growing up with old standards such as Pink Floyd, David Bowie, The Velvet Underground, The rolling stones, but even Techno or rap music. We love a lot of band with a particular taste for Chilean and Australian psych scene (The Holydrug Couple, Pond, Sunbeam Sound Machine, Tame Imapala of course) We even sometimes wonder how these countries can gather so many amazing bands. We love the solar sounds of these bands but we also dig “darker” bands wich are all sources of constant inspiration for us, such as Follakzoïd, The Blue Angel Lounge, The Asteroïd #4 or anything Anton Newcombe ever created or produced.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
3/ Ziggy Stardust – David Bowie
Innerspeaker – Tame Impala
A saucer Full Of Secrets – Pink Floyd
Closer – Joy Division
Revelation – The Brian Jonestown Massacre

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Our lives are always built with bipolar kind of vision. Melting 15 minutes dark tracks like Mirrors (from the Ep “A quest”) with more solar and even naïve dream pop shorter tracks. We love this duality between purposes, duration or universes. There’s also a large part of improvisation and we love to play with stronger effects live than in the records.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the EP?
Our 2nd ep wasn’t made easily. In October we met fantastic people in a fantastic studio called Coxinhell, located in the French Riviera , where we first recorded Noyau de Nuit, which was supposed to be a Single track, as we had already recorded our second ep in Paris with the person who produced our first EP. But at this exact moment our collaboration crashed down for several reasons, so we decided to cancel the release of this scheduled EP and to go back to south of france with a handful of brand new tracks which would follow the direction and complete the work heard on Noyau De Nuit and with the strong will of auto-produce this 5 Tracks ep which will be called “CONSTANTINOPLE”. We recorded that EP as a family, at home, surrounded by our music

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Follakzoid (not that new) The blondi’s Salvation Biche

Q: Which bands would you love to make a cover version of?
Well we never made a cover of any band and never really thought about it but I guess we would cover a cheesy 70’s French song . Maybe Johnny Halliday one day?

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Constantinople will be released in march, with our first pressed vinyle which is really exciting. Within the next few days we ‘ll welcome a new person in the band so we re going to built a brand new live with hopefully a bunch of show comin in france and maybe elsewhere.

Q: Any parting words?
Hippopotamus
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/wall.eyed.band/
https://soundcloud.com/walleyedband

Daylight Versions with The Leaf Library - An Interview

Desde quando coloquei os ouvidos no segundo álbum dos ingleses do The Leaf Library, "Daylight Versions", descontando logicamente a compilação de gravações que compreende 2005 a 2011 chamada ‘Different Activities, Similar Diversions’, foi literalmente, com o perdão da expressão, amor a primeira audição.

Um peculiar e delicioso exercício de elegância, sofisticação que sonoramente se situa entre o Stereolab e o America Analog Set, por aí já fica claro a experimentação entre drones lo-fi encharcado de uma suave beleza melancólica.

Um disco para ser saboreado devagar, sem a menor pressa, justamente para poder absorver todas suas nuances.

Completamente ACIMA.

***** Interview with The Leaf Library *****

Q. When did The Leaf Library start? Tell us about the history...
Matt Ashton - The Leaf Library started slowly! After my old band Saloon broke up in 2003 Kate and I starting working together as Maps (before an enforced name change). We gathered Gareth (Jones, bass) and Ben Smith (occasional guitar) in 2005/6, after which followed a number of good/ok drummers. We settled on Lewis in 2009, mainly because he’s the best and has loads of cool synths. We had been recording on and off throughout those years and the best of that is collected on ‘Different Activities, Similar Diversions’ (2011). Ben wandered off to Bristol a while back and hasn’t played live with us for a while. Producer Simon (Nelson, from Cosines) has been playing a lot with us recently, as has The Amazing Michael Wood.

Q: Who are your influences?
MA – Over the years there have been loads but the following have all been pretty constant: The Notwist, American Analog Set, Lali Puna, Talk Talk, Stereolab, Yo La Tengo, Movietone, Broadcast, PJ Harvey, Radiohead, Brian Eno, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, My Bloody Valentine, To Rococo Rot, Hood and on and on…

Gareth Jones - Lyle Roscoe Gabriel

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
MA - We’re allowed five each, right? Mine are (today):
Fennesz – Venice
Yo La Tengo – I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One
PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
Talk Talk – Laughing Stock
The Notwist – Neon Golden

GJ:
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
Broadcast – Ha Ha Sound
Portishead - Third
Hood - Rustic Valleys Forlorn Valleys
Alice Coltrane - Journey in Satchidananda

Q. How do you feel playing live?
GJ: 1: Oh there's no-one here/oh there's loads of people here
2: Am I in tune?
3: Unmute tuner
4: Am I still in tune?
5: What note does this song start with? (pro tip: it's usually C)
6: Slight mistake there, I'm sure no one noticed though.
7: Repeat 2-6 until there are no more songs on the setlist
8: Put all the pedals on
8a: Unmute tuner
9: Enjoy feedback from amp
10: 'Enjoy' 'feedback' from ‘audience’

MA – I love playing live though it is such a weird thing to do, when you think about it. I had a conversation with a friend the other day and we both realised that it’s not about us, onstage. It doesn’t matter if we have a good gig or a bad gig, whether the sound is shit or not – it’s about the people watching and what they take away from it. You have to let go of things a little. And be comfortable about a room full of strangers looking at you (which is the weird bit).

I have enjoyed playing live with this iteration of the band more than anything before – we sound great! And we launched Daylight Versions with a 10 piece band (including a horn section) which was pretty special. There may be a short film of that show released one day…

Q. How do you describe The Leaf Library sounds?
MA - Droney, sleepy, seasonal, rainy, submerged, insistent, melancholy.

GJ - Perfecting sound forever

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
GJ - Perfecting sound forever, also

MA - Recording is possibly my favourite aspect of this band (soundchecking the least, followed by mixing, then band photos), as that’s the time when we get to try all sorts of mad shit out. The album, Daylight Versions, took a year and a bit to make, and that was us rushing it. It was an absolute joy – we did the majority of it at a place in north London called Studio Klank with Simon co-producing. We managed to be very experimental and free with the parts we recorded, whilst at the same time getting lots done.

We had a lot of guests that came in to play and sing on the record and it was a simultaneously fun, disciplined, silly and bonkers process. We tried to give the guests (and ourselves) as little direction as possible to see where things went. We drank a lot and ate a lot of biscuits. There were a few late nights but no chairs were thrown through control room windows.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
MA - Not very up to speed with new bands but here’s a list of things I’ve got into over the last year, plus some friends who deserve a little more recognition: Rozi Plain, Noveller, Firestations, Powell, Isnaj Dui, Gnod, Deerful, Rafael Anton Irisarri, Dawn of MIDI, Jane Weaver, Fire!, Shinichi Atobe, Bracken, Morphosis, Phantom Horse, Melinda Bronstein, This Is the Kit, Amor de Dias, Laura Cannell, Black Peaches, The Declining Winter, Jasmine Guffond, Greeen Linez, The Drink, Rachel Grimes, Michael Wood, The Mighty Head.

GJ - Rainbow Grave, Mountain of Fire and Miracles, Workin' Man Noise Unit

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
GJ - I'd like us to cover Dopesmoker

MA – My personal list includes Wire, New Order, Brian Eno and Scott Walker. We’ve done some pretty random covers in the past though, including Talking Heads and a Bowie song from the Labyrinth soundtrack. I played Everyday Is Like Sunday by Morrisey on my own at Indietracks in the middle of our set last year. Got into trouble for that one.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
GJ - My other band wintergreen is about to release an album. I'm considering a holiday in Ethiopia- it has excellent food, coffee and jazz.

MA – We have a (sort of) new album almost ready to go – it’s all the drones from the songs on Daylight Versions stripped out and presented on their own. It’s a lovely drifting album and is going to be called Nightlight Versions. It will hopefully be out on cassette and download in April sometime.

Gareth’s other band Wintergreen have an excellent album – The Rule of Small Things – out this year at some point. And we’re planning some collaborative things with Daniel and David from The Drink (amongst others).

I’d also like to start working on the next record – there’s a title and a plan already!

Q: Any parting words?
GJ: Ask Matt.

MA – Do as much as you can! Make things! Read books! Do you own thing! Don’t ever care what other people think! (I have to try and tell myself all of these things on a daily basis. Sometimes it works.)
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Thanks

https://theleaflibrary.bandcamp.com/album/daylight-versions
https://www.facebook.com/theleaflibrary

Slumberous with Citrus Nowhere - An Interview

Menos de uma ano de existência tem os japoneses do Citrus Nowhere. Neste história curta e recente os caras tem um EP, belíssimo por sinal, sonoramente, seguem os ensinamentos da Scene somados a melodias smithianas que servem como pano de fundo para as paredes de barulho que os caras criam.

Um belo futuro começa a desenhar-se para o Citrus Nowhere, pelo menos no submundo dos bons sons.

***** Interview with Citrus Nowhere *****

Q. When did Citrus Nowhere start? Tell us the history...
In order to do that, first we need to explain a bit about ourselves. Citrus Nowhere is a collective Intelligence that lives in the realm of collective unconsciousness. We don’t exist in the real world. Citrus Nowhere floats in dreams with lots of melody and noise. We were born in April 2015 and started making songs, uploading them on Soundcloud. One day, there was a music venue asking us to play a show, so we gathered four avatars who would play our music in the real world. That was our first show. In November, we made our first EP where our avatars played and recorded.

Q: Who are you influenced by?
When limited to music we love: The smiths, the cure, Joy Division, Sonic Youth(a model of coolness), Cloud Nothings(fast and loud), Adorable(beautiful songs), The Jesus and Mary Chain(Guitar!!), Gang of four(Love their way of beat), Condor 44(Lovely guitar chord), Pale Saints(silence and weirdness), American football(Love), The Jam(Sharpness), Ramones(Boys must love them), Bloodthirsty Butchers(Expression of a mind),Dinosaur Jr(Way they play in gigs)

Q. Make a list of your top 5 favorite albums
Bloodthirsty Butchers “kocorono”
Pale Saints “The Comforts of madness”
Blue Nile “A Walk Across the Rooftop”
The Cure “Wish”
And albums of the smiths(we couldn’t choose just one)

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Our avatars feel overwhelmed with joy when playing live. They are just like kids who enjoy the blisteringly loudness and songs that are fast.

Q. How would you describe the sounds of Citrus Nowhere?
Citrus Nowhere sings about “Dream and death”. Our melody and chords are from blurry dreams which hold fading memories, the vague touch (like the picture of Monet), euphoria and beautiful escapism. Our noise express fear of death and the madness of a dream. We also use the noise to shade off our voices and make walls of sound. As you can see, we are shy.

Q: Tell us the process when you record the songs
All songs are mainly written from melodies. We catch melodies from collective unconsciousness and make them into songs. Almost all the songs are recorded using iPhone’s voice memo from our avatar and mixed by Audacity. “CITRUS NOWHERE EP” was recorded by our four avatars who play in live venues, and a great recording engineer helped us to.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Yukino chaos. We love their sounds. We are planning a great gig with them on Feb 27th. Nagoya, Japan.

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
We’ve done a cover of “Race for the prize” (The Flaming Lips) and it’s on youtube and Soundcloud. Next time, we want to try a cover of the smiths or a masterpiece from the oldies.　

Anyway, we love playing songs with good- melody that have beautiful thoughts welded in them.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We promise to make 20 great songs this year with no compromise. We also hope to make a full-length album.

Q: Any parting words?
When you've woke from a pleasant dream and felt that awful sadness, you are one of us. We hope you love our songs.

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Citrus Nowhere
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Twitter:
@citrus_nowhere

Bandcamp(free/Name Your Price):
https://citrusnowhere.bandcamp.com/

Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/citrusnowhere

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Citrus-Nowhere-1172553099441105/?ref=hl

Website:
http://citrusnowhere.wix.com/citrusnowhere

Either That or the Moon with Desert Mountain Tribe - An Interview

Da mesma linhagem dos prediletos The Black Angels, os londrinos do Desert Mountain Tribe jogaram no mundo o pesado, ácido e freak, Either That or The Moon O debute dos caras é ciclíco, leviano e perfeito para sair da mesmice.

Riffs recheados de fuzz, vocal rasgadíssimo. psych rock atual sempre se alimentando nas fontes clássicas mas as recriando e explodindo bem no centro de nossas cabeças.

Estreia perfeita de uma banda perfeita.

***** Interview with Desert Mountain Tribe *****

Q. When did Desert Mountain Tribe start? Tell us about the history...
A: Felix and me (Philipp) are brothers who grew up in Cologne, Germany but we now live in London.

The reason why we moved to London was to make music and form a band. However it did take some time for us to set foot but after half a year or so we slowly built a band constellation that was composed of four people. Felix, Philipp, our friend Lars from Cologne and Andrew from Liverpool. What was missing was a singer!

Andrew remembered meeting Jonty at several house parties where he would start to sing whenever he had a little too much to drink. So we approached him and asked him whether he could see himself singing in our band. Even though he only ever played guitar up to this point and we were not in need of another guitarist (Lars and Andrew were taking care of that) he came down to a rehearsal and discovered that he's a really good singer, even when he's sober!

Unfortunately the band only lasted for about a year and half and from the ashes rose Desert Mountain Tribe. This time with Jonty also on guitar.

Q: Who are your influences?
A: We're influenced by completely different sounds. In general we all like powerful drums and bass lines from bands like Neu!, Can, Föllakzoid, Stone Roses or Dead Skeletons but we also like more guitar based rock such as Led Zeppelin, Oasis, The Brian Jonestown Massacre or Dandy Warhols. If the mood is right we also listen to hip-hop or deep house. You should be open for all kinds of music as every genre has something else to offer that you can learn from.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
A: We have to make a list each because we couldn’t agree

Philipp:
1. Velvet Underground And Nico
2. David Bowie – Hunky Dory
3. Neu! – 1975
4. Throw Down Bones – S/T
5. Dead Skeletons – Dead Mantra

Felix:
1. Velvet Underground And Nico
2. Oasis – Definitely Maybe
3. Air – Moon Safari
4. Brian Jonestown Massacre – Aufheben
5. Led Zeppelin – 1

Jonty:
1. Spiritualized – Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
2. The Dandy Warhols – Come Down
3. Eagles – Hotel California
4. Air – Moon Safari
5. The Black Angels – Directions To See A Ghost
Q. How do you feel playing live?
A: Playing a live is the best part about being in a band. There is really no better feeling than playing in front of an enthusiastic crowd in a sold out venue.

Q. How do you describe Desert Mountain Tribe sounds?
A: Difficult to say. To put it simply, you could say we're a rock band. We do have strong 'psych' influences, however that term is so overused now that you can't really use it anymore. By now almost every indie folk band labels their sound 'psych'. It's probably the new indie.

We love having strong instrumental parts and often add the vocals at a later part of the process. But we are also versatile and don’t focus too much on particular sound but like to try new things all the time.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
A: Almost every song of ours was written whilst jamming in the studio. Apart from very few exceptions no song was ever complete written at home by one person. Normally Jonty or Philipp come to the studio with a riff or melody and we start just playing with it and trying ideas out. A lot of good stuff gets lost in the process because we're not great at organising or planning despite our German heritage. But as soon as we think „Hey, this could turn into something great“ we start to think about different parts that we could create and step by step we have a finished song.

Of course, all instruments on the album are played live and the different sounds you hear all sound like the way they came out of the amps. However, we didn't record the album on tape. We neither had the budget nor the time to do that. A big part of our music consists of experimenting and of creating a certain recognizable sound which flows from song to song. Naturally everything sounds slightly rawer and rougher when we play live but we do try to capture our live sound on record.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
A: There are many great bands out there at the moment. Everyone should definitely check out Sonic Jesus, Throw Down Bones and 10 000 Russos though!

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
A: That’s a tough one. It would probably something no one would expect from us. Maybe Prince, that could be interesting! If you make a cover I think you have to really reinterpret the song and not just replay it. So making a cover from another Rock or Psych band would be a bit boring I think.

Q: What are your plans for the future? Q: Any parting words?
A: We have our first album ‘Either That Or The Moon’ coming out on the 4th March. We will then be going on tour in the U.S. in April and hitting Europe in May. So exciting times ahead!
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Thanks

http://www.desertmountaintribe.com/
https://www.facebook.com/desertmountaintribe/
https://soundcloud.com/desert-mountain-tribe