Pills with Daylily - An Interview

Noisepop com jeitão noventista e roupagem atual, esse é o Daylily, quarteto de Minnesota.

Pills, recente álbum dos caras, lançado em Março, é fuzz em alta rotação, tudo estourando e apitando, chegando a implorar pra que o ouvinte coloque seus fones de ouvido e aumente mais ainda, assim a experiência fica completa.

O TBTCI recomenda o seguinte, escute realmente em volume máximo no aconchego de seu lar, e depois pegue o disco coloque em qualquer dispositivo pra que você possa sair pra rua, e ouvir em loop, curtindo o dia.

Certeza de felicidade plena, vai por mim.

***** Inteview with Daylily *****

Q. When did Daylily start? Tell us about the history...
A. We've been playing under the name Daylily for almost a year now. We've all been in projects with each other for the past 6 years, though.

Q: Who are your influences?
A. Every band member brings a very different set of influences that are ever evolving. There are obvious touchstones in the texture work like - My Bloody Valentine, Deerhunter, Slowdive, etc. Artists that work with texture and repetition were pretty influential on the instrumental/'ambient' pieces. People like Tim Hecker, Brian Eno, Ricky Eat Acid, and Grouper. The records we're recording right now are definitely coming from a symbiosis happening within the band rather than having specific influences. I personally have been really delving into stuff like The Talking Heads, Steely Dan, Sturgill Simpson, Kanye West, Young Thug. Working from a warmer sonic palette, to coincide with the coming summer months.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
A. Simply the toughest question ever, but something I love to think about all the time! For now:
Loveless - My Bloody Valentine
Halcyon Digest - Deerhunter
Remain in Light - Talking Heads
Yeezus - Kanye West
Kid A - Radiohead

Q. How do you feel playing live?
A. I love playing live, and I think it's an essential release for the type of musician that I am. I'm absolutely more focused on the recorded aspect of music, though. Creating something ageless and beautiful is the dream. Playing live can also be frustrating because we're all perfectionists in our own way. Having a show that didn't feel effecting enough can really bring your mood down.

Q. How do you describe Daylily sounds?
A. Jake (drums) is the backbone to our sound. The way he feels out grooves, and the timbre of his cymbals next to the guitars are what set our sound apart in a sea of guitar pedal bands. It's taken years and years of sound experimentation and trying out different gear before I even began to start materializing the guitars and soundscapes that I heard in my head. Knowing the fine line between detail and over indulgence is a crucial part of our sound, as well.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
A. All of our current material has been self recorded. I use pro tools and a very simple mic set up. Most of the plug-ins used are stock. The textures come from getting the most interesting basic sound and recording that to fit the vibe of our particular record or song. Some of the material on the new record was recorded on cassette by Pete (vocals, bass, guitars, keys) and I and then chopped up. Doing kind of a collage of sound thing. Ryan Olcott mastered Pills and he did a magnificent job of bringing out the guitar and vocal textures.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
A. My favorite local artists are Pale Spectre, Hollow Boys, Flavor Crystals, Psymun, and Good Doom. Kaytranada just put out an excellent debut album. King Tuff is a slice of rock n roll heaven that I think everyone should be listening to. If you're sleepin on Neon Indian, you really shouldn't be.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
A. We've done Blondie before. I'd love to do a Cars song or maybe something by New Order, or The Wake.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
A. The future is poppin' - we have this plan to release 4 albums this year: one for each season. Pills was our spring jam, we're almost done tracking the 2nd one. It'll be on schedule for a mid-July release! Keep an eye out.

Q: Any parting words?
A. Thanks for doing the interview, we're stoked that you enjoyed the record! Be on the lookout for a new single in the next month here, and another full length after that!!

Interview by Jesse River (guitar, keys, engineering, production)
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Thanks

https://daylily.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Daylilymusicmn

Lilith with Thee Black Moon - An Interview

Quando se pega um álbum como Lilith, debute dos italianos do Thee Black Moon pela frente , eu tenho a plena certeza que enquanto houver malucos mundo afora, sexo, drogas e rock´n´roll o mundo ainda terá salvação.

Psicodelismo freak, por vezes sujo, em outras apenas bêbado e sempre apaixonante, Lilith é assim, na melhor tradição Stones, circa Brian Jones, seguindo indubitavelmente pela influência de Anton Newcombe e seu BJM, o Thee Black Moon, joga seus riffs em doses cavalares e aí meu caro, é só encher o copo, e curtir como se não houvesse amanhã.

Porque, na boa, diversão é o que interessa de verdade, e isso o Thee Black Moon oferta em doses grandiosas.

***** Interview with Thee Black Moon *****

Q. When did Thee Black Moon start? Tell us about the history...
We are new band, founded in 2015 by some friends who really like playing, then in September, we released our first EP “Thee Black Moon” (4 songs) and after a short time we started to play live in Italy.

Then in December 2015 we did a split with the French band “Thee Maximators” (2 Songs).

In march 2016, our first tour, nine days in France and once back in April we recorded our LP, “Lilith” 13 songs, then we decided to don’t sell it, but just release it in Free Download.
(link: https://theeblackmoon.bandcamp.com/album/lilith-lp)

Q: Who are your influences?
It depends, we are in five and it's really hard to decide to follow a single sound, we can say that we listen to many different types of music, some of us are coming from garage/punk, psychedelic, one from progressive music, SynthBoy at the keyboard he likes rock music, but electronic too, so all these influences may be mixed together

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
Melted - Ty Segall
Let It Bleed - The Rolling Stones
Fire Of Love - The Gun Club
Closer - Joy Division
Boom - The Sonics

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Concerts are never a problem, we take it in a very relaxed way, basically our songs are not that difficult. (ah ah)

Obviously we have always great fun, playing for people is one of the reason why a band exists.

Q. How do you describe Thee Black Moon sounds?
A psychedelic/punk sound with pop influences, all very thin, scratchy, with some blues and a good dose of synth.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
We self-produced EP and LP, with a little of attention to the position of the microphones and amplifiers, the space for the natural reverberations of the room, and playing all together, with only a few overdubs.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Joujou Jaguar (Fr)
Blondi’s Salvation (Fr)
Thee Maximators (Fr)
R’n’R Terrorists (It)
Go!Zilla (It)
Movie Star Junkies (It)

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
For the moment we do not cover, but maybe we are thinking to making it.

Probably " Taste of Cindy " (Jesus and Mary Chain)

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Now we are writing some new songs, we hope to publish soon a new Album and to go playing around… we’re living in Italian countryside, sometime it’s boring here man…

Q: Any parting words?
Thank you very much for your interest, there should be more people like you, to make sure that the music underground can get anywhere.

We hope one day to meet you, hopefully in Brazil.
Ciao ;-)
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/theeblackmoonband
https://theeblackmoon.bandcamp.com

These Minds with Sun Colony - An Interview

"These Minds" foi minha iniciação com o quinteto estadunidense Sun Colony, e foi digamos, no mínimo, arrebatador.

Canção poderosa, algo como se os Bunnymen enveredassem por águas gazers, psicodelismo com ares soturnos envolto a reverbs e delays encharcando a canção em ruídos esquizofrênicos.

"Heavy Sky" é a outra canção na página do bandcamp deles, tão densa quanto "These Minds" porém com tendências psychs.

Uma daquelas revelações que demanda atenção especial.

***** Interview with Sun Colony *****

Q. When did Sun Colony start? Tell us about the history…
It originally began with just the two of us (Derek and I), as a recording project in 2012. We had just moved from New York to California. We were no longer doing our other projects -- he had been playing in Soren Well and I had just left the Stargazer Lilies. When we found a sound together, we invited Quinn, our longtime friend, to play bass with us. Ola, the drummer, showed up like a dream -- we live in a tiny mountain town outside of LA…. what are the chances?. Vocalist, Tommy, former member of Gun Runner and Dark Thirty, was the last addition. His sound and energy got us out of the bedroom and the missing link.

Q: Who are your influences?
I'm pretty much a freak over Wire, Siouxsie, the Jesus and Mary Chain, early Mute records stuff (especially Fad Gadget). Derek loves Echo and the Bunnymen and King Tubby. Ola is really into classic punk, but his style of playing is influenced by so much more. Quinn is into groups like Killing Joke, the Chameleons, Love and Rockets... Tommy digs Primal Scream, BRMC, and tons of other great stuff. We were all born in the 80's, so the dreamy / dark / loud analog sounds are what seem to catch our attention.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Syd Barrett - Barrett
Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy
Echo and the Bunnymen - Porcupine
Wire - 154
Slowdive - Souvlaki

Q. How do you feel playing live?
We don't know yet… our first show together is May 27th in Topanga Canyon, Los Angeles.

Q. How do you describe Sun Colony sounds?
Dark and bright, lazy and hostile, dreamy and shocking…

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
So far all of the recordings have come from our living room. Derek used to have a studio in Brooklyn (called Honeyland) so he still has a ton of gear from that. We usually record live drums and bass first. Then Derek and I spend a ton of time recording our guitars, become totally satisfied but end up recording them all over again the next day...

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Our east coast buddies, Spirit System, are pretty awesome. And definitely check out the new Stargazer Lilies stuff.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
We are currently working on a cover of "See My Friends" by the Kinks.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We will keep developing our sound and making new songs. I have been making my own (analog) pedals recently, so hopefully those will be a part of it as well.

 Q: Any parting words?
Not really… but thank you for having us.
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Thanks

https://suncolony.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/suncolonyband

Signs with Flvke - An Interview

Uma aura de candura te absorve a partir dos primeiros instantes que a audição de "Signs", recente trabalho lançado pelo Flvke.

Sensações de leve, paz tudo de uma maneira peculiarmente introspectiva, tornam "Signs" um artefato para tratamento do caos do dia a dia. "Hide" ou "Dream.wav" são medicações sonoras recomendadas para o bem estar de qualquer indivíduo.

Em situações onde a esperança simplesmente desapareceu, experimente o Flvke em doses diárias, certamente sua alma vai agradecer.

***** Interview with Flvke *****

Q. When did Flvke start? Tell us about the history...
A: flvke started in the middle of 2013. I was sorta working in another project that was supposed to be similar, but it just wasn't coming together how i planned..by then i had been in and out of various bands and wanted to just make something i could call my own..

Q: Who are your influences?
A: when i was a lot younger i really loved sub pop bands, stuff like that is what kinda got me into music, but i still like that shit today haha bands like wolf parade, arcade fire etc..
then in my later teen years, i started listening to bands like slowdive, jesus and mary chain, and mazzy star.

I guess both sides kinda show through in the stuff i've put out so far.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
A: thats tough!! so, in no specific order:
unknown pleasures - joy division
you made me realize EP - mbv
souvlaki - slowdive
the suburbs - arcade fire
in rainbows - radiohead

Q. How do you feel playing live?
A: i like playing live it's just been a struggle finding anybody too reliable for booking down here. i'd really love to play some good shows this year.

Q. How do you describe Flvke sounds?
A: i'd say dreamy, deep, and sometimes a lil bit trippy or spacey.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
A: for "flower pills" i took a very unconventional approach at writing and recording. i didn't quite know where i was at, so there's sounds coming from all over the place. i recorded it myself at home on an 8track recorder.

For "signs", i spent a lot of time developing a sound that would really be consistent all the way through. i recorded signs with my friend isaac. he helped me make sure that it was everything i had in mind.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
A: right now i'm really enjoy cigarettes after sex.  Also really pumped on minor victories.

I have to throw in i, aeronaut too. his stuff rules. make sure to check him out!

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
A: i try to steer away from doing covers for the most part, but my song "lemonade" doubles as a cover of "she's lost control" by joy division.. so sometimes i'll be playing it that way.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
A: mostly just plan to write and record a bunch more. work on stuff for my other project, home invasion.

I hope to be able to find my place in a good network of people and find some better shows this year.

Q: Any parting words?
A: a huge thank you to you, and all of the people who listen and spread the word. i appreciate it all so much! it's one thing that really keeps me moving forward.
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Thanks

https://flvke.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/FLVKEca

Gloom with Swooning - An Interview

Formado a pouco mais de um ano o Swooning, duo de Chicago, auto intitula-se "dream punk" o que de certa maneira pode facilmente definir qual é a dos caras sonoramente. Todavia eles estão mais para um "lo fi dream" do que propriamente para a agressividade punk, a não ser se analisado pelo estilo, o famigerado DIY que ao meu ver já foi bem banalizado durante o decorrer dos anos.

Deixando as teorias e rotulações de lado, o Swooning, em seu mais recente trabalho, o EP "Gloom" passeia por essa ambientação lo fi sempre em formato sonhador, e por vez ou outra insere mais peso em suas canções, caso de "Ginger Pug".

Os 90´s aterrizaram definitivamente nos 10´s e o Swooning atesta essa máxima perfeitamente.

***** Interview with Swooning *****

Q. When did Swooning start? Tell us about the history...

Swooning started last year in January after I started talking and hanging out with a crush that I had. For some odd reason, she made me feel very anxious and I needed an outlet, so I began writing songs about how I felt. The first song was "Pining."

Q: Who are your influences?
My influences with Swooning are based off Beach Fossils, Smashing Pumpkins, American Football, Diiv, Joy Division, Alice In Chains, The Smiths, and Nirvana. Kinda basic, I guess, but I'm really into the dream pop sounds that Diiv and Beach Fossils make and felt that it would be really cool to mix that with punk, emo, and some more technical playing than what dream pop usually does. I want to make something that could be fast and heavy but also soothing and catchy. I'd say it's a pretty weird mix that hasn't been done right yet.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
Since I Left You - The Avalanches
Dirt - Alice in Chains
The Wall - Pink Floyd
Rust in Peace - Megadeth
Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Playing live has been tough. I don't have a consistent drummer, but the drummer's that do help me out are all very good and technical. I really like it, but if it doesn't feel or sound right I tend to feel really bad about my performance. The show is usually heavier live than the recordings are which is on purpose because I want to create a fun punk like energy with dreamy sounds.

Q. How do you describe Swooning sounds?
I would describe my music as dream pop-punk. I feel like the music has the dream pop textures, punk energy, and emo sound that I get from my influences.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
I usually record with my guitarist, Richard,
who goes to school for audio engineering. We usually record on a MacBook straight into an interface and then add a small amount of effects more than what my pedals already do. Drums are tough, but I usually ask people for help who have a place to record with equipment and I then ask a friend to record the drum parts I wrote.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
I highly recommend Melkbelly from Chicago, they're one of my favorite local bands. Fatkid is also very good. There are so many different artists from different genres that I like but I'd say to listen to Diiv, Cloud Nothings, and Beach Fossils since they are bands that are current and quality.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I'd love to make a cover of an Avalanches song. I particularly want to cover "Electricity," but it's hard to envision that song in my style.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
I'm planning on growing as much as I can as a guitarist and as a musician. My plans are to write better songs and just keep my head up so that I could experiment more.
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Thanks

https://shoesthatglow.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/SwooningDream

Stone Circles with The Demon Parade - An Interview

Psicodelia hipnotizante, ares modernos, mas sempre olhando para os ácidos anos sessenta e também para o segundo verão do amor lá em Manchester na virada dos 80´s para os 90´s, tudo isso foi devidamente absorvido pelos australianos do The Demon Parade.

Do amor aos Stones, circa Brian Jones, passando por BJM, e Kula Shaker, os caras debutaram ano passado com o lisergicamente dançante "Stone Circles" um EP digamos assim, chapado. E voltam agora com o novíssimo single"Succumb To A Feather" mantenho o gostinho ácido bem debaixo da língua,

Com o The Demon Parade é simples, aperte o play, e boa viagem.

***** Interview with The Demon Parade *****

Q. When did The Demon Parade start? Tell us about the history... We played our first show in December 2008. We came together because I had basically been booted out of my own band the year before as my interests in creating psychedelic music and living the psychedelic lifestyle became more prominent. My old band went on to form a country band with a new singer. They broke up. Being on my own and having complete creative freedom I set up what has now become the Jaya Jaya Music studios at the back of my house and within about 6 months, 40 songs had been penned. There was a lot of partying that year, new experiences and new friends, I had to find my feet. The psychedelic scene was thriving in Melbourne in 2008, a lot of bands on the rise playing cool gigs... and I wanted to be a part of it. I befriended some guys from New Zealand who had just moved over to pursue their music careers and all of a sudden I had a rhythm section. I have to say that without going out and having a good time, the band would never have formed. Some strong bonds were made that year. After only less than a year of gigging around Melbourne, we found ourselves in the right place at the right time and were asked to support The Brian Jonestown Massacre on their 2010 Australian tour. At that stage we hadn't even played outside of Melbourne and had only just released our first 7” single. We were extremely lucky and fortunate to be in that position, but I had worked hard at writing, and the band had worked hard relentlessly gigging so it felt right. On the other hand, we went from being underdog newcomers to a band people were very envious and jealous of. During that tour I felt we made a lot of new friends and lost a lot. We went on to release our first EP 'God Said It's Legal' that year and toured Australia multiple times. Between 2011 and 2013 we underwent some line up changes. The sudden hype that creates promise can cause a misbelief in how long and hard you sometimes need to work to get to where you want to be. During that time I produced the EP 'Chameleon'. I sent it to Portland, US for Tony Lash to mix (Dandy Warhols, Elliott Smith) and recruited drummer Troy Ramaekers to the line up, we hit the road during 2013 playing many shows across Australia once again. 2014 was a quiet year for the band – I had to take time out to look after ill family members. But once that was behind me I was able to focus on a concept for the next EP entitled 'Stone Circles' which was eventually released in August 2015. For me, 'Stone Circles' re-energised the band and put us back on the map and helped me believe that I can still do this. We are currently playing shows in support of our current 7” single 'Succumb To A Feather' while completing our long awaited debut album due out later in 2016.

Q: Who are your influences?
My first love was the Rolling Stones, seeing them in concert when I was 10 years old made me want to play guitar and copy all the old blues legends like B.B King, Buddy Guy & Bo Diddley. Then I discovered psychedelic bands such as; Kula Shaker, The Church, Jesus & Mary Chain & The Stone Roses just to name a few. I'm also very influenced by Middle Eastern and Hindi music which you can hear on a fair chunk of our songs.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
In no particular order;
The Rolling Stones – Let It Bleed
Kula Shaker – K
The Stone Roses – Second Coming
Crowded House – Woodface
The Small Faces – Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake

Q. How do you feel playing live?
It can be the ultimate experience. I treat every show like it could be my last. I'm lucky that I'm able to do what I love and hope that the audience feels my energy and in return has a good time. We don't play things live the same as we do on record. It's much more spontaneous and there are a lot of variables depending on our own energy on the night, as well as the crowd's.

Q. How do you describe The Demon Parade sounds?
We have covered a lot of territory over the time we have been together but there are a few things that have always been consistent; melody, harmony, wall of sound guitars and a hypnotic epic-ness which still seems to surface even when we try to play the most gentle of songs.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
As I mentioned before, I have set up my own studio and now work as a producer and mix engineer so having a studio at my disposal means we can do what we like – which is sometimes a good thing and sometimes a bad thing. Recording your own material can be a long process, always trying to better what you started out with, where sometimes it should be left alone. I kept that in mind for our last EP 'Stone Circles' and most of the EP was recorded completely live in one room with very little mixing involved in the process. Our most current single 'Succumb To A Feather' on the other hand has undergone a few incarnations until I felt like I got it where I wanted it. I wanted the song to push us into a new direction and give people something they weren't expecting from us. I like to do that. I guess I like the element of surprise. I always need to change things up to keep myself interested and to get a reaction out of people.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Well they aren't that new having already released eight albums but King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard are my favourite band right now. I was lucky enough to mix their latest album 'Nonagon Infinity' as well as a few tracks from 2014 release 'I'm In Your Mind Fuzz'. They supported us very early on in their career and I was blown away by them. A lesser known band that have sent stuff through my studio are new Brisbane group Sacred Shrines. They supported The Dandy Warhols last year and have their debut LP coming out later in the year!

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I'd love to do a fuzzed up – psychedelic - tripped out - wall of sound version of a Crowded House song. Their sense of melody and harmonies are amazing so it leaves a lot to work with for your own interpretation.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We are finishing off our debut LP which we will have out later in 2016. We've been selling a lot of vinyl to Germany, Spain, Italy and Greece so we'd also like to start making plans to visit those countries for a tour in the not too distant future!

Q: Any parting words?
Believe in what you do and don't give in to nobody.
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Thanks

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

Black Saber with Closet Disco Queen - An Interview

Doses cavalares de kraut experimental e uma certa psicodelia setentista virtuosa, permeia a sonoridade dos suíços do Closet Disco Queen.

Coloque no tempero doses pesadas de eletrônices diversas, e mais um coquetel stoner para deixer todo e qualquer freak satisfeito com o sabor e direcionamento da trip. Basicamente é o que se tem no debute dos caras lançado ano passado pel Hummus.

Pra ouvir no talo, e bem alto, se é que você me entende.

***** Interview with Closet Disco Queen *****

Q. When did Closet Disco Queen start? Tell us about the history...
Jona: Back in june 2014, we organized this pop-up festival in our rehearsal room. Every band had to play 20 minutes. We were missing an artist for one slot. Luc (drums) and I (guitar) decided to do it and jam around a couple of riffs and we used the moniker CLOSET DISCO QUEEN. After that we played a couple of shows here and there until march 2015 when amercian proggers The Atlas Moth offered us to tour with them in Europe. Until that point we were not a band but since we were about to go on tour we had two weeks to write, record and send our album to the pressing plant. So we did it. We even eneded up organizing the tour for both bands until they actually canceled the whole thing 10 days prior the tour. Unfortunately it was too late and we were a band with an album. This whole thing was basically an accident. Now over the last 10 months we’ve played 3 european tours including a direct support for Baroness as well as a Russian tour in last october.

Q: Who are your influences?
Jona:I honestly cannot answer this one. However, I can tell you that we’ve been and still are getting inspiration from hundreds of other bands and people we’ve met (or not) through the years. This can go as far as from Heads and their huge bass sound to Jimi Hendrix’s soulfull playing.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
Jona:Only talking personal here and not for the band.
Nirvana - Unplugged in New York
Silverchair - Neon Ball Room
Deftones - White Pony
The Dillinger Escape Plan - Calculating Infinity
Converge - You Fail Me

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Jona:hum…Very good. That’s pretty much what we’ve done full time for the last 8 years through different bands. Feels like the right thing to do for us.

Q. How do you describe Closet Disco Queen sounds?
Jona:As our press release states : "70's instrumental psycheledic kraut rock'n'roll progressive beats for your ass to shake and your shoes to burn." Someone also once wrote that it sounded like « Jimi Hendrix on Amphetamine ». Accurate enough for us.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Jona:We rented a music club for 2 days. on day one we setup the instruments and microphones and on day two we recorded the album live. Generally we don’t do more than 4-5 takes per song before having one we’re happy with. After every take we listen to it and we can instantly say whether we’re gonna keep it or not. We don’t mind the mistakes or tempi changes (we never record to a click), but it needs to have attitude and balls.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Jona:No idea. To whom? I discover bands all the time but I’m not sure which ones are new or not. For sure, if you’ve never heard of them you should check out Breach and Cursed. Young Widows might be a more recent one you want to check. I also really enjoy Goat, Metz, Blues Pills, Suuns, Earthless…

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Jona:I would love to cover « lunchbox » from Marylin Manson.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Jona: Playing a couple of off shows until summer festivals and then we will tour China and Russia in september and october and a full european headlining tour in november.

Q: Any parting words?
Jona: Thanks for checking us out. Visit www.hummus-records.com to discover many great swiss underground bands from lo-fi folk to experimental drone shit. Like Crazysane records, they’re awesome.
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Thanks

http://hummus-records.com/
https://www.facebook.com/closetdiscoqueen

Dissociation with Solip - An Interview

Pegue o Disintegration, o Chrome, claro, os álbuns do The Cure e do Catherine Wheel, e condense-os em sua cabeça. Extraia a dor, sofrimento, desilusão, angústia de um, e, a ansiedade, o lirismo, o barulho e a intensidade de ambos, pronto, essa é a receita para o que o quarteto Solip criou em "Dissociation", novo single deles, lançado em Abril e também no primeiro EP, "Lack" do ano passado.

Por vezes o Solip se aproxima dos trabalhos anteriores do Nothing, mas sempre mais denso, mais angustiante, mas sempre com o barulho eminente para atacar o sofrimento melancólico que domina suas músicas.

Um revelação poderosa e densa, que certamente vai dar o que falar.

***** Interview with Solip *****

Q. When did Solip start? Tell us about the history...
Solip started in August 2014 after I moved to California from Florida. After figuring out members, we spent a few months writing Lack and started playing shows. Pretty straight forward band origin.

Q: Who are your influences?
Initially when we were writing Lack, we tried to write from somewhere in between post rock and shoegaze with a hint of post metal, so there was some influence from Jesu, Jakob, Catherine Wheel, Explosions In The Sky, Pelican, and Swervedriver, among others. When we were writing Dissociation, we expanded more on the heavier side of things with some influence from some bands like The Angelic Process, Nadja, and Neurosis. Going forward, we're trying to incorporate some more doom and drone influences we have.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
My top albums list is really all over the place and some of it doesn't influence this project at all, so I'll give my top 5 albums more relevant to this band.
1. Jesu - Opiate Sun EP
2. Jakob - Solace
3. Catherine Wheel - Chrome
4. Explosions In The Sky - Those Who Tell The Truth
5. The Angelic Process - Weighing Souls With Sand

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Playing live is always great. We play pretty loud and try to have a lot of energy. It's a lot of fun as long as our gear doesn't break.

Q. How do you describe Solip sounds?
Very dense and dark, with a few breaks for less dense, slightly prettier sounding stuff.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
We recorded Dissociation with Scott Evans, who is in a great band called Kowloon Walled City and a great engineer. We tracked at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland in a great sounding room over a weekend in February. It was relaxed and fun. Scott did a great job of getting the songs to sound like I imagined and wanted them to sound like in my head.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Some great newer bands that I've been listening to lately are Cloakroom, Supercrush, Yautja, and Stove. A band from the Bay Area we got to play with last year, Plush, also just put out an EP that's great, too.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I really want to do a cover of Plainsong by The Cure. I think we could do a cool version of that in our own way.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We're already writing for our next release, and we're hoping we can get that recorded by the end of fall/beginning of winter. Other than that, we're going to try to do some touring on the west coast as soon as we can.

Q: Any parting words?
Thanks for listening, and thanks for interviewing us for the blog.
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Thanks

https://solip.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/solipband

Doomsday Device with Acid Barrets - An Interview

Depressão, caos, desilusões, amor, lixo urbano, meditação, ruídos, barulho, barulho, barulho, tudo isso serve perfeitamente para descrever o duo grego Acid Barrets, nova preferida aqui do TBTCI.

H.K., guitarras e vocais e A.K., baixo e vocais, formam e conduzem a avalanche sonora do Acid Barrets, descendente direto da escola Skywave de perturbação musical. e a partir daí pode se relacionar tudo que foi criado em termos de sujeira e devastação através do ruído branco criado desde o surgimento do V.U. passando por J&MC, MBV, Telescopes, Loop e todos os mestres do caos.

Os caras preparam seus EP´s de estreia e desde já o TBTCI aconselha, acompanhe de perto a história dos caras.

Acid Barrets é foda.

***** Interview with Acid Barrets *****

Q. When did Acid Barretts start? Tell us about the history...
Harry: Antonis and I used to be in a band in high school with some other folks, but because we studied in different cities during our college days, that project ended in 2008. In late 2012 Antonis returned to Athens, so I asked him if he’d be interested to play bass in the band (at that time I had done a couple of shows by myself and with the help of another friend). He accepted and we started jamming together and playing some gigs with an old EKO drum machine. After a show in 2013, almost all of our gear was stolen. We slowly started getting new stuff and tried some drummers for our next shows, but without a drum machine the sound was just not the same. Finally, we found a drum machine that would do the job and in 2014 we started performing again.

Q. Who are your influences?
H: Starting from the 60s, it’s impossible not to mention the Velvet Underground. They fused noise, drones and pop music in such a unique and interesting way, listening to their first album for the first time is a life changing experience. The krautrock genre in the 70s and bands like Neu! are also very dear to us. From the 80s, we love Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and Spacemen 3. Bands and songs that focus on repetition or have a roaring guitar sound make a stand and will always move us.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
Antonis: It’s very hard to answer this question without being brutally unfair. This is my best shot:
1. Abbey Road – The Beatles
2. Low – David Bowie
3. Faust - Faust
4. Subnarcotic – 39 Clocks
5. Sound of Confusion – Spacemen 3

Q. How do you feel playing live?
A: Honestly, every time we‘ve played live has been a beautiful and unique experience. There are many emotions involved when playing live: Enthusiasm, anxiety, impatience, fury are just some of them. Exposure, while it may cause self-consciousness, sometimes becomes the catalyst in order to be fully expressive and let it all out during a gig. This is absolutely great when it happens. Achieving honest and subtle communication with the audience is always vital.

Q. How do you describe Acid Barretts sounds?
A: Sometimes aggressive and “hands-on”, sometimes detached, cold, dark or even dreamy. From day one, there was a definite tendency for making noise, using feedback and “loving the fuzz”; so, noise became an important element for us and usually there’s a lot of it between songs when we play live. Loud distorted noise, at the right place and time, can be cathartic, creating a powerful feeling of redemption, which I think is something we’re trying to create. At the same time, our sound, especially the rhythm section, could be described as minimalistic. There is a clear minimalistic approach in our frequently monotonous and repetitive drum tracks, motorick bass-lines and relatively simple song structure.

Q. Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
H: When we’re writing a new song, we try to approach it as if playing it live would be the final result recorded on tape. There are only two guys in the band and the only prerecorded thing we use are the drum machines, so it’s really important to make it sound as massive as possible. It would be ideal to just enter the studio, lay down the track and finish it in one take. Of course that’s not always the case, because when you are working in the studio you can really get lost trying to add things or experimenting.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
A: There are many interesting and talented new bands and artists nowadays, but I believe we could both agree that The Janitors, The Mushroom Club, The KVB, Static Daydream and Sonic Jesus really stand out.

Q. Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
H: Anything by Skywave. Especially “Got that Feeling”. The Offering did a really great job covering this.

Q. What are your plans for the future?
H: We are currently uploading a new song on our soundcloud profile every month and at the same time we are recording some new tracks. All these songs will form our first two EPs which hopefully will be physically released some time in 2017 on cassette.

Q. Any parting words?
A: Stop worrying and love the fuzz, I guess…
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/AcidBarretts
https://soundcloud.com/acid-barretts

Late to the Party with Heavy Heart - An Interview

Mesmo com todas as influências e referências a era grunge, e algo sonoramente mais pesado, os ingleses, leia-se quatro garotos e uma garota, que formam o delicioso Heavy Heart, simplesmente não conseguem deixar a leveza melódica e o doce, suave e sensual vocal não sejam a principal força de suas músicas.

O Heavy Heart vem soltando um single todo mês, e sera assim durante todo o ano de 2016, preciosidades como "Late Too The Party" o último lançado em Abril ou "Time Will Stand Still", o single de Janeiro, são exemplos perfeitos que exemplificam a capacidade do Heavy Heart em criar um dreampop com jeito de indie rock noventista sem soar data.

Entre todos os singles lançados, o TBTCI sugere a audição imediata do primeiro EP deles, "This Season". 

Encantador é pouco.

***** Interview with Heavy Heart *****

Q. When did Heavy Heart start? Tell us about the history...
We started in 2014 in London as a 3-piece electronic/acoustic project. I'd written some songs in my bedroom but had kept them to myself for a while. They only started to take shape once I showed them to James and Patrick and we began to work together. The idea was to take a shoegaze approach to acoustic music, to surround these delicate ideas with texture and ambience. When we got asked to play some festivals in the UK that year, we decided it would make sense to add to the band and give ourselves the chance to make more noise, so Adam (bass) and Craig (drums) joined. We still retain some of the quieter moments though, and that sense of dynamic, of light and shade, is still really important to us.

Q: Who are your influences?
We individually have quite varied influences, but I think the people who really inspired this band, and our approach to songwriting, were things like The Pixies, Jeff Buckley, Nirvana, My Bloody Valentine, R.E.M., Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, Smashing Pumpkins...

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
That is so hard! For me personally, I would say:
'Hejira' by Joni Mitchell,
'Doolittle' by The Pixies,
'Grace' by Jeff Buckley,
'Goo' by Sonic Youth,
'Incesticide' by Nirvana.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Happy, nervous, sick, excited, in a dream...

Q. How do you describe Heavy Heart sounds?
Someone recently described our sound as "euphoric melancholy" - I like that. There's something sweet and beautiful in melancholy, and something dark as well. That's why we called the band Heavy Heart. The core of each song is simple, delicate and fragile, but sometimes we like to surround it with noise and dissonance. We make rock music, with guitars and drums and voices, it's rooted in those traditions but we try to do something new with every song, put our own DNA into it.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
We write and produce everything ourselves, recording at home and at people's studios when we can - it's quite a nomadic process but it seems to work. We're lucky to have some good friends who are talented recording engineers, so we do these all-night sessions with them when the studio is otherwise quiet. We're recording and releasing a new track every month in 2016, so we're always working at the moment. It keeps us busy and it also means that we're always releasing brand new music and pushing ourselves to write better and more.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
The sun is out here in London for the first time in a long time, so music is sounding especially good, with the windows open and the warm air coming in. If you live in rainy old England every drop of sunshine is like gold. So today is being soundtracked by DIIV, Spring King, Sunflower Bean, Black Honey, The Big Moon, Diet Cig and the new Radiohead album (well, it's new music if not a new band).

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Well, we already covered 'Sweetness Follows' by R.E.M. - it's on Soundcloud - so we'll have to come up with a new cover idea. I'm a big Black Sabbath fan...maybe we could do a Heavy Heart version of 'Planet Caravan'.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We're going to continue to release a new song each month this year, so we'll end up with 12 songs in 2016. After that, I think we'll start writing again for 2017. Maybe we'll just carry on releasing new songs every month, I'm not sure...

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

http://www.heavyheart.co.uk
http://www.soundcloud.com/heavyheartmusic
http://weareheavyheart.bandcamp.com
http://www.twitter.com/heavyheartmusic
http://www.facebook.com/heavyheartmusic

Through The Lychgates with Lake Ruth - An Interview

Uma aura de sofisticação, elegância e uma primorosa percepção melódica, indo do pop barroco, ao perfect pop, com extrema maestria é o que se encontra naa grandeza criada pelo trio de NY, Allison Brice, Hewson Chen e Matt Schulz que atende também pelo nome de Lake Ruth.

Um requinte acima do que encontramos diariamente transborda no single "Through The Lychgates" e também no anterior "The Inconsolable Jean​-​Claude".

Música de rara e suntuosa beleza. A perfeição esta mais perto do que você imagina.

***** Interview with Lake Ruth *****

Q. When did Lake Ruth start? Tell us about the history...
HC: I met Allison when I had recalled her name from one of my favourite groups from the Myspace days, The Silver Abduction. We were both chatting about trivialities on Phil Sutton's (Pale Lights) Facebook page. I was trying to defend the honour of this particular kind of TV dinner marvel of modern technology, the "Iceland Supermarkets Tikka Masala Yorkshire Pudding." I asked her what she was up to, and she mentioned she had been recording these new tunes, really creepy songs about the restless ghost of a medieval mother, swearing to avenge her daughter's murder, and another song about a woman who is impregnated by a shape-shifting seal-man.

Along the way we started talking about the Victorian physician John Snow, his work and the rise of epidemiology, and realised that we needed to form a band. The timing was pretty perfect since, in the meanwhile, Matt (whom I work with on another project, The New Lines) had me over to "jam" and every now and then. I would ask him to just play the drums to an imaginary song in his head. So we had all of these complete drum grooves lying around: verses, choruses, big ending vamps. The epidemiology song (Dr Snow And The Broad Street Pump) and the mother-daughter ghost story (Yet Still Tomorrow Comes) both appear on our soon-to-be-released LP!

Q: Who are your influences?
HC: The Shirley Collins / Davy Graham "Folk Roots, New Routes" album, Delia Derbyshire, Margo Guryan, Basil Kirchin. A bit of Fela Kuti and krautrock find their way into the mix too. More recently I have been carefully nurturing a mildly embarrassing love affair with Fotheringay's 'Too Much Of Nothing'. Whether that influence will be wielded for good or for evil remains to be determined!

MS: Rodney Dangerfield, Neil Blender, Miles Davis, Le Corbusier.

AB: Edda Dell'Orso, Jacqui McShee, Jimmy Scott, Yma Sumac, Elizabeth Fraser, Phyllis Dillon. In recent years, I've become quite obsessed with the Croatian-American jazz vocalist Helen Merrill, especially her 1960's collaborations with Sandro Brugnolini. Kate Bush is a big influence, though maybe in more of a songwriting than a vocal capacity as I'm not nearly so experimental - but I think I developed my love of dark, character-focused songs heavy with supernatural surrealism from her for sure.

And since this is for Brazilian readers, let me go ahead and say Clarice Lispector, my favourite writer of all time. Unfortunately I can't read her in Portuguese - I really should have a better grasp, given the number of classic Brazilian records in my collection - Os Mutantes, Rita Lee, Gal Costa, Baden Powell, Tamba Trio, Nara Leao, Sylvia Telles, Quarteto Em Cy - lots of Elenco releases. However, I think the musicality and uniqueness of her voice comes across well, even in translation. Her work has certainly had an enormous impact on me. We've actually written a tune about her parents, Ukrainian Jews who fled the horrors of post World War I pogroms to find refuge in Recife. That tune didn't make the cut for this album, but will hopefully be on the next one.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
HC: The Pretty Things 'S.F. Sorrow' and Pink Floyd's "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" are both at the top of my list at the moment.

MS: 'Bad Brains' (self-titled), Ornette Coleman, 'The Shape of Jazz to Come'.

AB: To round that out I'd have to say the one and only self-titled LP by The United States Of America - so influential.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
H: We'll have to let you know after we do our first ever show on May 22, 2016 at NYC Popfest! I think it will be the first time I will have ever attempted to perform a song in 7/8.

Q. How do you describe Lake Ruth sounds?
MS: Future Primitivism.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
HC: Sometimes the songs start with nuggets from Allison, Matt or me, like a particular kind of drum cadence, a snippet of melody, or even just an idea for the subject matter. Currently on one of the contemplation tables is this curiously weighty sentence that Allison's young daughter Rosetta dropped some time ago regarding one of her friends: "If I throw rocks at her door, maybe she'll come back…"

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
AB: Let us take this opportunity to big up some labelmates from The Great Pop Supplement / Deep Distance / Polytechnic Youth: Listening Center, Rhododendron, The Hanging Stars, Youth Of America. Great sounds and highly varied. Seriously enjoying the new 'Void Beats / Invocation Trex' from Cavern Of Anti-Matter as well.

MS: Lemon Twigs.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
MS: The Shaggs.

HC: We have been munching on the Scottish folk song, 'Tam Lin' by Fairport Convention. It is a crazy tale about some sort of ex-knight who is under the spell of a Fairy Queen and a prisoner in her court. Bored with that, he decides to wile away his time romancing ladies that pass through the forest. At some point he meets the song's heroine, a witchy girl called Janet, who gets pregnant and decides to rescue him, which she does on Halloween night.

AB: I've wanted to cover 'Nature Boy' by eden ahbez for years. I really love the James Brown version in 6/8 so that would probably be my starting point...

Q: What are your plans for the future?
MS: Eating lunch.

HC: We're really excited to see what people think of our new LP. It's going have a special liner insert loaded with puzzling clues as to each song's particular mysteries, written by a super-talented author and expert on psychogeography.

Q: Any parting words?
MS: Take pride in your work and don't be an asshole, one of these is easier for me than the other...

AB: Just want to say thanks for taking the time to chat with us and spread the word about our music. We really appreciate it and are very excited to be reaching a Brazilian audience.
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/lakeruthmusic
https://lakeruth.bandcamp.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti8X7vNyM-0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_D08_73Cqc
https://soundcloud.com/lakeruth

Hello, We Are Not Enemies with Novanta - An Interview

Em 17 de junho virá ao mundo o segundo álbum de Manfredi Lamartina ou se você preferir, Novanta.

Após uma belíssima estreia, "Best-Selling Dreams", Manfredi apresentará a todos "Helo, We Are Not Enemies", o qual o TBTCI tem se deliciado em altas doses.

"Hello, We Are Not Enemies" soa mais denso e soturno que seu antecessor, mas sempre com uma certa esperança pairando no decorrer de suas sete canções. Destaques imediatos para "Mike" com conexões claras ao Slowdive e também para Tell a Story, uma belíssimo exercício de auto contemplação sonora.

Aproveitando todo este momento do Novanta, o TBTCI conversou com Manfredi sobre a concepção de "Hello, We Are Not Enemies" especialmente para vocês.

Salva a data, 17 de junho, o Novanta vai te encantar.

***** Interview with Novanta *****

Q. Hello Manfredi, first congratulations on the new album, it's really brilliant, what is your analysis after conclusion of album? Are you happy with the result?
Well, thanks, I’m glad you like this album. I’m happy with the result, thanks to the help of these ultra-talented artists: Raniero Federico Neri (from the Italian indie rock band Albedo), Claudio Cataldi, Ian Bonnar (aka In Every Dream A Nightmare Waits), Giuseppe Musto (aka Il Ragazzo Del Novantanove), Giampiero Riggo (aka Haas) and Fabrizio De Felice (aka Bialogard).

Q. How was the process of creating Hello We´re Not Enemies?
A very long process, as usual. I started working last year, while I was in Iceland (what a wonderful country, indeed). I recorded some very rough tracks with an iPad. Back to Italy, I worked very hard on the arrangements, with the precious help of the guests of this album. If you like this album, you should tell them, because their contribution has been very important.

Q. What are the main differences between Hello We´re Not Enemies and Best-selling dreams?
“Best-Selling Dreams” is a very dark album, “Hello We’re Not Enemies” is the opposite in a certain way. It’s a thin, little ray of light. The core idea of the album is the importance of empathy in a period where human relationships are often based on aggression and on a division between “us” and “them”. So hey, we’re not enemies.

Q. What were the influences for creating the new album?
One of my favourite album ever is “In A Safe Place” by The Album Leaf: this record has been a huge influence on “Hello We’re Not Enemies”, as well as Slowdive’s “Souvlaki” (I recorded a Slowdive cover for a tribute album released by Seashell Records last year) and the “Gomorrah” tv series soundtrack by Mokadelic.

Q. What are your plans for 2016?
I’m planning a little tour that starts this fall. And then I’m going to write new songs for another album.
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Thanks

https://novanta.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/novantamusic

Innocence with Magic Mountain - An Interview

Uma colisão em tonalidades cinzentas e tons sombrios entre Nowhere/Heroes/Closer é o que se encontra no segundo EP dos ingleses do Magic Mountain, intitulado Innocence, acresça a este híbrido uma doce e suave flauta por vezes flutuando entre a densa massa desesperadora criada no EP.

James Percy, Ashley Smart e Sarah Smart souberam como filtrar e chegar a poção matadora na junção de ecos berlinenses unidos ao desespero pós punk e as viagens gazers.

Um EP completamente acima.

***** Interview with Magic Mountain ******

Q - When did Magic Mountain start? Tell us about the history...
James: Ash and I have been mates since we met at University in Bristol and we had a band back then called This Dumb Desire - Ash played drums and my younger brother played guitar, while I took main vocals. It was a cool band but it burnt out in the end and we both pursued different musical ventures, occasionally meeting up for a jamming session.

Magic Mountain came about when me and Ashley had a bit of a late night jam in October 2011. I had just bought a Kaossilator and we wanted to try it out. It was our first time using a drum machine - and the sound really clicked with Ash's guitar sound - the regimented beats meant Ash could make the wildest noise with his guitar. We decided there and then to start a band and we started writing songs. But the real breakthrough came with Velvet - Ash asked Sarah to do a guest flute on that track and it sounded amazing - it took the sound too a different dimension. We asked Sarah to officially join the band.

The name for Magic Mountain comes from one of my most beloved books: Thomas Mann's "The Magic Mountain". It's a strange tale of a young man searching for meaning and love in a sanatorium high up in the Swiss Alps. There's something of the dreaminess of that novel in our sound.

Q - Who are your influences?
Ash: It’s a real mix. From My Bloody Valentine to Joy Division, David Bowie to Nirvana. There are many more musicians and bands in there too but we are usually drawn to music that has heart, has a melody or hook and can move you.

Q - Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Ash: Wow, that’s hard and grossly unfair ;-) I don’t know if I could ever limit myself to just 5 albums! I will exclude Elvis Presley albums as I am a massive fan and there would no room for anything else.
The Beatles – Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (mono version)
Joy Division – Closer
Nirvana – In Utero
My Bloody Valentine – Loveless
David Bowie – “Heroes”

James: Ok this is more like my favourite album list – which changes a lot – OK today’s list:
Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures
David Bowie – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
Cocteau Twins - Treasure
Radiohead – The Bends
The Stooges - Funhouse

Q - How do you feel playing live?
James: I love playing live and putting across our music to an audience at first hand – sometimes we can get a really powerful sound – and it’s great when the audience gets into it.

Ash: I feel nervous excitement, always

Sarah: Yeah there's always the fear something could go awfully wrong on stage (and it sometimes has!) or that we won't achieve the sound we're aiming for because it will end up being poorly mixed. You're a bit in the lap of the gods when it comes to the sound engineers. It's great to be able to share our music live though and enjoy seeing the audience's reaction.

Q - How do you describe Magic Mountain sounds?
Ash: Post-punk meets Shoegaze with a hint of Darkwave thrown in!

Sarah: I find it hard to define so I usually say it's best for people to hear it for themselves

James: I’d say it’s intense and uplifting.

Q - Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
Ash: Usually we will have recorded a basic demo of the song at home to use as a reference. We try to be as prepared as possible before going into the studio so as not to waste time (or money!). It is a great help working with a recording engineer such as Justin Saban at Latent Lemon Studio who understands what you want to achieve, gives impartial advice and doesn’t try to take over.

As we use a drum machine we save a lot of time and can get stuck straight into laying down a rough guide track and then move on to guitar and keyboard tracks. James does his bass first and then I put down two rhythm guitar tracks to thicken things up and then add the more textured stuff such as shimmer reverbs. Sarah’s very good at nailing her synthesizer or flute parts often in one take; she’s also good at coming up with subtle variations on the fly which can really make a track take off. The vocals are the final thing that James and Sarah work on and sometimes we experiment with different vocal effects and even delivery style – they can all make a big difference to the feel of a song. James is known as ‘3 take Percy’ as by the third take he’s got his vocal spot on. He’ll do another couple after wards but it’s usually the third cut we return to.

After that, the track is mixed which can sometimes take a while as we all have slightly differing opinions on what the finished song should sound like but we usually find the middle ground in the end. Justin is very patient with us!

Q - Which new bands do you recommend?
James: I seem to be getting into a lot of female fronted bands lately - Chvrches are good, especially their first album. I saw Daughter live other day and they had a subtle intensity.

Ash: There’s so many now, the internet has opened up the whole world to new music of all genres and sub genres. I quite like Panda Riot even if they’re a bit of a My Bloody Valentine clone. Schonwald are very interesting, they’re a Coldwave duo from Europe and have some truly icy sounds. Then there’s Eaguls and Preoccupations who are both worth checking out.

Q - Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
Ash: Either ‘I’m waiting for my man’ by The Velvet Underground or ‘Ceremony’ by Joy Division. I think we could do them justice.

James: Yes, I agree Ceremony would be great – or something off Low - Always Crashing in the Same Car could work well.

Sarah: I had an idea of doing a cover of a 90s hit “What is Love by Haddaway”. I think it would be really interesting to give a dance tune a Magic Mountain twist!

Q - What are your plans for the future?
Ash: More recording hopefully and a bit of gigging if we can fit it in around parenting commitments! I’d definitely like us to get some more material recorded; we’ve quite a few songs hanging around.

James: Yeah it would be good do some gigs to promote our EP - depending on where and when.

Q - Any parting words?
Ash: Thanks for taking an interest in our music.

James: Yes, thank you so much, we really appreciate it.
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Thanks

https://magicmountain.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/magicmountainband

Noire Psyché with Saigon Blue Rain - An Interview

Seria simples rotular o duo francês Saigon Blue Rain de gótico, ou etéreo, sim, talvez a definição gótica ou etérea os caracterizaria dentre outros inúmeros expoentes do gênero, mas ouvindo o que o  duo Ophelia SBR e Franck SBR criou no mais recente álbum deles, "Noire Psyché" com extrema atenção, as simples rotulações serviram apenas como guias para um universo de belezura e candura em muitas passagens, já em outras, melancolia e desespero contrapõem um trabalho de enormes sutilezas e variações.

Ecos da dark wave existem, é claro, muito de cold wave também, porém aquela aura dos áureos tempos da 4AD se sobrepõem dos 80´s para os nossos tempos, tornando o álbum intenso e eloquente.

Um grandioso álbum de uma das melhores bandas dos sons soturnos da atualidade.

***** Interview with Saigon Blue Rain ******

Q. When did Saigon Blue Rain start? Tell us about the history...
Ophelia : Hello, so Franck and I (founding members of the band) like to say that Saigon Blue Rain is a gothic band with hints of color and light in a global dark universe. We started the project at the end of 2012 quite unexpectedly after we composed and wrote a song to the memory of my grandparents who died a few days before. We thought that it was a good cold wave/dream pop track, so we composed a few other things in the wake and that's how our first EP Stupid Bitch Reject was born. Later, our sound turned more ethereal, we've been more precise about what we wanted to create, then we released our first album What I Don't See at the end of 2014. We've done a few gigs to introduce our universe and promote our work. And now, here we are with our second album Noire Psyché recently out in March 2016.

Q. Who are your influences?
Franck : Our influences resides in the 80's music scenes with bands like Depeche Mode, the Cure or Cocteau Twins but are not limited to it. We appreciate lots of music, from folk-rock, hip-hop and jazz to electro, 70's prog and black metal. All of them define the music we make, consciously or unscounsciously.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Franck : Here's a list that comes in my mind at that instant, but if you ask me the question tomorrow I'd give you probably another names.

El-P : I'll sleep when you're dead
Poison The Well : Versions
Aucan : Black Rainbows
Anathema : Eternity
Led Zeppelin : Houses Of The Holy

Ophelia : you know that it's quiet impossible to make such a list, there are so much brilliant albums, but if I had to choose right now, I would say :
Depeche Mode : Playing the angel
Alcest : Ecailles de lune
Anathema : Alternative 4
Nine inch Nails : The downward spiral
Katatonia : Dead end kings

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Ophelia : Our albums need to be played live to exist and it's important for us to feel the osmose with our audience. An invitation to the dream, that's what we want to offer each time we are on stage. If people who came to listen to us has had the feeling to drop out of reality, then they caught the meaning of our musical universe.

Q. How do you descride Saigon Blue Rain Sound ?
Ophelia : We like saying that Saigon Blue Rain is a gothic band with hints of colors and light in a global dark universe. Drawing its personality from subjects such as esotericism, flight of time, forces of Nature or still destructive passions, our music invites the listener through its compositions, to a journey in places where the rational fades in front of the musing and the self abnegation.

Q. Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Franck : The process of recording is closely linked to the process of composing. We record everything from the beginning, and we keep, as far as possible, the first takes which are usually most expressive and, obviously, spontaneous. It is a really exciting part of the process, where you begin to see the final shape of the songs.

Q. Which new bands do you recomend ?
Franck : As we are ourselves a new band, it's hard for us to recommend any new band.

Q. Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
Franck : We've already covered « Goodbye Horses » by Q-Lazzarus. We were talking about covering some french band, but nothing's certain yet.

Q. What are your plans for the future ?
Franck : Touring the more we can to promote « Noire Psyché » and finding partners such as labels and booking agencies.

Q. Any parting words ?
We'd like to thank all the people that have been supporting us since the beginning, especially the South American people that send us lots of encouraging messages. We hope to play there soon !
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Thanks

https://saigonbluerain.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/SBRofficial

Glossed with Rose Sèlavy - An Interview

Ah o pop perfeito, tão difícil e complicado de se atingir o resultado de uma pureza singular sem desandar para algo suspeito.

E em Glossed, EP de estreia dos estadunidenses do Rose Sèlavy, esse resultado foi atingido de forma sublime. Três puras preciosidades do jangle pop com altas doses de referências oitentistas.

Agenda, Content e Maverick, as três canções de Glossed, se unem e complementam de forma ímpar e única.

Certamente, o Rose Sèlavy pode ser sua banda predileta em minutos. Deliciosamente relaxante.

***** Interview with Rose Sèlavy *****

Q. When did Rose Sèlavy start? Tell us about the history...
1.) Rose Sélavy started after a band that Robert and Steven were in ended and another band that Art and Steven were in went on hiatus.

Q: Who are your influences?
2.) We are heavily influenced by 80's pop music and 90's shoegaze.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
3.) Ride - Nowhere
The Cure - Head on the Door
The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
Nirvana - In Utero
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless

Q. How do you feel playing live?
4.) Performing live is equal parts satisfying and stressful.

Q. How do you describe Rose Sèlavy sounds?
5.) Ultimately, we think of ourselves as an indie pop band. Even though one side of our music is very jangly and clean and the other side is heavy and washed out, it's all pop music to us.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
6.) We are currently working on our first full length record with our good friend at Estuary Studios here in Austin, TX. Usually the songs start as rough acoustic sketches which we then take apart to find a few different melodies. In the studio, Art knocks out his drum parts really easily and then Robert and Steven meticulously work on guitar and vocals. The process is usually pretty organic.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
7.) Lately, we have been really into The Spook School, Wildhoney, Summer Salt, Cloak Room, and Young Girls.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
8.) Actually, we have worked on a lot of covers in our short tenure as a band. Currently in our set is a cover of "I Wanna be Adored" - The Stone Roses and "In Between Days" - The Cure.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
9.) There are some really cool things planned for the future. We are tirelessly working on the full length and we are hoping it will be out by mid/late summer. After that we are planning an east coast tour in the fall. We will also be working on curating ATX Popfest which is an event we started with our really good friends at Austin Town Hall.

Q: Any parting words?
10.) Be on the lookout for the new record coming out very soon.
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/Rose-S%C3%A9lavy-742897129100820
https://roseselavy.bandcamp.com