Choir Kids with We Have Ghosts - An Interview

Sabe aquelas belas ambientações melódicas do Yo La Tengo, aquela sensação de prazer inconfundível, aquele sentimento de flutuar com os pés no chão? Pois então, prepare-se para todas essas emoções, só que ao invés do YLT o TBTCI apresenta agora o duo da Filadélfia, We Have Ghosts.

Toda essa alquimia sonora com uma sutil dose de densidade permeiam os dois belíssimos EPS do We Have Ghosts, que se por acaso você ainda não ouviu, sugiro começar imediatamente.

Siga o conselho do TBTCI, certamente seus dias ficarão bem melhores na companhia do We Have Ghosts.

***** Interview with We Have Ghosts *****

Q. When did We Have Ghosts start? Tell us about the history...
Bryan: Thomas and I have been playing music together for what now seems like forever. We formed our first band when I was a sophomore in high school almost 9 years ago and have been making music of various forms and styles together and occasionally apart ever since, but this band has been our prime focus now for about two years.

Thomas: Yup!

Q: Who are your influences?
Bryan: My guitar playing and songcraft is always influenced and driven by Yo La Tengo. They're my favorite band of all time and I find endless inspiration in their music and in Ira Kaplan's guitar playing. I've also always been influenced by The Strokes and the interplay they can build with their instruments. If I hadn't gotten into them years ago, I would not be the guitarist or musician I am today.

Thomas: My biggest influence is probably The National. I love the way every member plays their instruments and from drums, guitar and especially vocals I just kinda pick up a lot of what they do. I think Modest Mouse is also a big influence for me. I was like...11 or 12 when I got into them so I think everything I do musically is influenced in some way by them. Probably subconsciously.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Bryan: This is a huge question that I've had to think on a lot, but I think I can be content with what I've chosen, though I'm not going to say this is my hard and fast order for this list; they're all just my favorites and do different things for me.
1. Titus Andronicus - The Monitor
2. Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
3. Insouciant - Dresser (this is a band from northern New Jersey near where we grew up and they were perfect)
4. Hello Shark - Break Arms
5. Radiator Hospital - Something Wild

Thomas: If these are MY top 5 albums I think it'd be something like this....
1. Have a Nice Life- Deathconsciousness
2. Kanye West- MBDTF
3. Titus Andronicus- The Monitor
4. Madvillian- Madvilliany
5. Modest Mouse- Lonesome Crowd West

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Bryan: It's an incomparable feeling. It's everything I want life to be like all the time. It's cliche, but I feel free. Writing music is a totally different thrill and struggle, but playing live is almost only pleasure. Thomas and I have been playing together so long that I think we intrinsically know how things are going to go and how to adjust to one another, so I feel safe and open.

Thomas: Playing live is one of my favorite things ever, and also one of the hardest things. I just get so anxious and nervous that we'll get up there and all our shit will just break or everyone will hate us or something. Neither of those things have happened, but it's always in the back of my mind. But being on tour this past summer was one of my favorite things I've ever done in my life.

Q. How do you describe We Have Ghosts sounds?
Bryan: I strive to make music that feels deep and that moves with some sense of flow. We Have Ghosts is (hopefully) textured music that is filled with emotion and intensity.

Thomas: Same. I think we both like the idea of using the whole "wall of sound" thing. The best compliment we've got was someone said "It doesn't sound like it's just two of you" which is something we both wanted.

Bryan: I suppose the short and easy answer is we're a post-punk/shoegaze band with elements of post-rock and noise and other things, but that's just the genre we label things as because we have to.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Bryan: We record the songs on our own. Both EP1 and EP2 were recorded in our living room using simplistic means. We usually have the songs mostly written and put together after practicing them or playing them live for a while, but sometimes we surprise ourselves with a last minute adjustment or a new riff or something like that.

Thomas: Pretty much.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Bryan: I just got the first album from this great new post-rock/post-punk/very interesting band from NJ called Sun Body. Their stuff has that exact motion and texture and intensity I try to put to work in our music and they really easily blend a bunch of genres and sounds to make really amazing music. I'm also obsessed with our best band friends Charles Rogers from Grand Rapids, Michigan. They play post-hardcore/post-punk and I was lucky enough to play guitar with them on our recent tour and they are constantly outdoing themselves on recordings. Oh and I just recently got into Noveller, this really awesome solo drone-y, pedal based guitarist. Sarah Lipstate (the person behind the act) has one of the best Instagram's out there for awesome guitar sounds and their albums are really cool.

Thomas: Being on tour with Charles Rogers was amazing for a ton of reasons but one of the biggest reasons was just being able to listen to them every night. They are so fucking tight and the way those songs are written is everything I want outta indie-rock.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Bryan: Covering any Yo La Tengo song is a dream for me, but I would want it to be so close to perfect that I know we can't possibly reach my expectations. I would also cover almost any Bruce Springsteen song.

Thomas: We've joked around a lot over the years about forming a "Pinkerton only Weezer cover band". I think that would be a lot of fun.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Bryan: We just moved from Champaign, Illinois to Philadelphia, so we're really hoping to start making some strides in the scene here while also working on new music when we can.

Thomas: Just make good music. Hopefully improve on a specific sound.

Q: Any parting words?
Bryan: I hope I didn't mention Yo La Tengo too much. I simply love them too much.

Thomas: Thanks for the interview!
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Thanks

wehaveghosts.bandcamp.comfacebook.com/wehaveghosts
instagram.com/we_haveghosts
twitter.com/we_haveghosts

Waver with Haiku Garden - An Interview

Diretamente da Eslovênia, vem o Haiku Garden. Barulhento, melódico exalando ecos noventistas por todos os poros do novíssimo "Waver", recém lançado EP dos caras.

Coloque na receita Pixies, MBV, Dinosaur Jr. Teenage Fanclub e basicamente todos os ruídos que fizeram a cabeça de muita gente lá nos já distantes 90´s e que reverberam mais atuais do que nunca.

O Haiku Garden é prova vibrante dessa energia que, ao que tudo indica, jamais se esgotará, o que aqui no TBTCI é motivo de comemoração constante.

Arrisco a dizer que o Haiku Garden se tiver o devido reconhecimento pode e deve chegar ao mesmo nível de reconhecimento mundial, pelo menos no circuito alternativo de um Cheatahs.

Vida longa ao Haiku Garden.

***** Interview with Haiku Garden *****

Q. When did Haiku Garden start? Tell us about the history...
LUKA: The founding three members (Anže, Klemen, Luka) met in the first year of college and started hanging out and jamming together. But the band really started in the Fall of 2014. It was at that time that we started focusing on our own material, finally got a permanent bassist (Matevž) and changed our name to Haiku Garden. Beforehand, we just played covers under a different name. We had our first show as Haiku Garden in March 2015. Since then we parted ways with our vocalist Juš, after which the other members took over vocal duties.

Q: Who are your influences?
LUKA: Our musical influences are quite varied. We definitely don't all listen to shoegaze all the time. Of course there are the classic bands that we mostly all like - MBV, Slowdive and Ride. We also dig newer gaze bands like Cheatahs and more noisy stuff like A Place To Bury Strangers. But we also share many influences that aren't in the shoegazing ballpark - Radiohead, Tame Impala, Sonic Youth and others. Klemen is also a fan of newer folk-oriented bands like Fleet Foxes, and drummer Anže simply loves The Beatles. Luka grew up on classic rock bands like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. There are also classical music influences - Anže is a trained clarinetist and plays in a wind orchestra, while Luka is getting his degree in musicology, where he was exposed to a lot of contemporary classical music.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
Talk Talk - Laughing Stock
MBV - Loveless
Pixies - Doolittle
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Tame Impala - Innerspeaker The Beatles - Abbey Road

Q. How do you feel playing live?
MATEVŽ: We have the upper hand of being »shoegaze pioneers« in our home country of Slovenia, so the scene is quite welcoming. We are pretty excited about our shows in general and rarely miss a chance to present our music live. Gigs have always played a major role in our past and now we are really starting to enjoy our stage time because we are also slowly getting bettter at performing. Lots of show dates help us focus on practising and also writing new material.

Q. How do you describe Haiku Garden´s sounds?
KLEMEN: I think it's a blend of what we are currently listening to mixed with some shoegazing staples. Some songs have a more noisy edge to them and some are more somber or psychedelic. We change the sound quite a bit to complement the individual songs.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
KLEMEN: We recorded the EP ourselves in our rehearsal space. We rented some recording equipment and brought some of our own. We really didn't want to get into a studio to record the EP because we wanted to have full control on how the record would sound. Also we cut down the costs dramatically without having to pay for extra studio time. That allowed us to experiment and change up the record even when it was in the mixing process. The record was mixed by our friend Gregor Bajc.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
KLEMEN: Lately I've been getting into an Italian shoegaze band called rev rev rev. They released their second album this year and it's great. As for other genres, the new Mothers release is also worth checking out.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Goodbye Moonmen :')

Q: What are your plans for the future?
MATEVŽ: At the moment we are concentrating on playing live and presenting our debut EP as much as we can. During the summer we would like to record a live session and put it online. We'll probably even make a music video for one of the songs. The focus will also be on writing as much good new material as we possibly can. We would love to drop full length album as soon as possible. That will probably happen in 2017.

Q: Any parting words?
 It would be awesome to see you guys in Brazil someday!
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Thanks

https://kaparecords.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/HaikuGardenBand/

Motorcycle Song with Seafang - An Interview

Lembram da saudosa Class of 86? Bandas absolutamente fundamentais como Shop Assistants, Flatmates, Primitives, Biff Bang Pow entre tantas outras preciosidades daquela geração espetacular servem como alicerce sonoro para o quinteto Seafang e seu single de estreia "Motorcycle Song". Simplesmente energético, visceral e claro, cuspindo fuzz e aquele apelo pop para todos os lados.

Acrescente uma pitada de Pixies nisso tudo e você tera a ligeira impressão do que o Seafang é capaz.

Viciante e pegajoso como precisa ser. Provavelmente o Seafang por se tornar sua nova banda favorita, quer apostar? Experimente.

***** Interview with Seafang *****

Q. When did Seafang start? Tell us about the history...
About a year ago. Stacey (guitar) and Susan (guitar) were in a band together and wanted to try something new. They shared a practice space with several other bands. It is a place where people hang out, drink beer, and talk about music. Each time I was there they had different people playing with them. One of the times Paul (drums) was playing drums and Heidi (vocals) was playing bass and singing. Heidi put down the bass to focus on a vocal part. I picked up the bass and started playing. At the end of the song I tried to give the bass back to her, but she told me to keep playing. After that practice we had a couple of songs. Everyone looked at each other knowing we had something special.

Q: Who are your influences?
We have many influences. At the moment the most obvious influences are from past bands such as The Shop Assistants, Lush, early Primal Scream, Motorcycle Boy.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
That is a difficult question to answer. It changes based on time of day, mood, and style of music. There are so many great albums some from very obscure bands. However, here is a list of five undeniably classic albums that at the time of their release had an affect on me.
Primitives - Lovely
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy
Pixies - Surfer Rosa
Stone Roses - Self titled
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Honey's Dead

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Playing live is fun. You get to see people's reaction to the music. It is a chance to hang out with music lovers, see other bands. St. Petersburg has a healthy music scene, but we are a little different to what is going on here musically. We're looking forward to traveling to other towns and playing with like minded bands.

Q. How do you describe Seafang sounds?
The Seafang sound is ever evolving. We hope to create good songs and melodies wrapped with interesting sounds. Some bands that dabble in shoegaze create beautiful soundscapes with bent MBV guitars, but they forget to coat it over a song. Having said that, there are no rules but the ones you create for yourself. And my rule is that the song comes first.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
In my previous band, Honeyrider, I worked in the UK with Primitives producer Paul Sampson. I would bring in the basic song then we would experiment playing a bunch of instruments and at the end of two weeks we would have an album. Seafang is completely different in that all the spontaneity happens at the rehearsal space. There are five of us at varying levels of musicianship. By the time we get to the studio everyone knows what they are going to do. We recorded four songs at a local studio in one day, but went back to do some vocals, tambourine, etc.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Oh man, there are so many good bands right now. Veronica Falls, La Sera, Beverly, Flowers, Kids On A Crime Spree, History Of Apple Pie, Joanna Gruesome, Bleeding Rainbow, Best Coast, Bleached, Crocodiles.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I can't think of a reason for us to do a cover song. I think if we did it would be something that was not intended for our style of music. Going back to what I said about the song comes first. It would need to be a great song that was originally in a different style. A good example would be Lush's cover of Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep. They did it right!

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We intend to record more, release more, play more, and have a great time.

Q: Any parting words?
Check us out! If you like our music follow us online!
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Thanks

https://seafang.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/seafangofficial

Friendzone with Black Death After Sonic Massacre - An Interview

Ok, vamos fazer o seguinte, sem muito blá blá blá, essa entrevista será dedicada especialmente aos que dizem que atualmente não existe nada que preste na música, que absolutamente nada é excitante, que hoje em dia tudo é bunda mole.

Dedico esse esporro sonoro, que pega Hendrix, Happy Mondays, Melvins e Cure e funde tudo de forma avassaladora e nonsense. Trata-se dos russos insanamente freaks do Black Death After Sonic Massacre.

O nome da banda basicamente resume tudo, mas se ainda ficar dúvida, pegue "Norki Naraspaskhu" último EP do caras, que simplesmente possui a madchesteriana "Norki" onde o BDASM pega o que os Mondays fizeram e adiciona querosene ácido e os pulveriza, e fecha com a esbórnia chamada "Friendzone".

Se mesmo assim você achar que nada de novo é foda atualmente, sugiro procurar um médico.

***** Interview with Black Death After Sonic Massacre *****

Q. When did Black Death After Sonic Massacre start? Tell us about the history...
1). We started two years ago in 2014. I was doing a humorous video for youtube that is called "Какие Пичужки?" (Kakie pichyshki). It means "How are you doing?" for English. I made short musical movies and one of the episodes was dedicated to fictional shoegaze band I thought up. This band was called "Black Death After Sonic Massacre" and the song was called "Shum". It was derision of russian poseur bands. To cut a long story short, people liked this song and I made a decision to set up the band with the same name as the band from the video had. I offered to my fellows to join this new band, so we started our existence.

Q: Who are your influences?
2). All members of our quartet listen to Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses and Eagulls. So these are our influences.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
3). For me these albums are
1. The Doors - The Doors;
2. Jimmi Hendrix - Are You Experienced;
3. The Cure - Disintegration;
4. The Melvins - Houdini;
5. Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dreams

Q. How do you feel playing live?
4). In other band wich is called Kiskin Zhar I play bass guitar and sing, and till I perfom I should care about two things: playing and singing. It brings less pleasure than perfoming with Black Death After Sonic Massacre where I should only to sing. So I feel myself more liberated and more sexual when I plaing live. I feell like my dick can reach any face of the girls from audience and stroke it.

Q. How do you describe Black Death After Sonic Massacre sounds?
5).Our sound is made up of dirty guitars, catchy drums, frisky bass, hysterical vocals and hilarious lyrics about girls and love for them.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
6). The last time we recordered We did two songs for 5 hours. We recorded all together
except vocal. Mixing took us 2 days. Usually we come to studio, drink a little, smoke cigarettes a little and record the songs. Sometimes we eat noodles.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
7). I'd like to recomend to listners these bands : Kiskin' Zhar, Weak Nerves, Mokroshelky and Lepra. Weak Nerves is my favourite young British band and others are Russian bands I like.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
8). We would like to make a cover of Charlatans - The Only One I know and Stone Roses - Elephant Stone, but with other band Kiskin Zhar we have already done covers of Mudhoney, Nirvana, Red Fang, The Vines and Joy Division.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
9). We plan to record a single every two months and than to release The Best Of The Black Death After Sonic Massacre) Maybe we will make a tour of Russia in 2017.

Q: Any parting words?
10). I would like to say that Russian underground scene feels the rise. Many intersting bands appeared at the last three years. So, If foreign listners are interesting in extension of their musical boundaries, they may to watch my video blog about Russian Underground music wich is called "VOISE OF UNDERGROUND" or "Голос из канализации".)
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Thanks

https://soundcloud.com/jagervibes/black-death-after-sonic
https://bdasm.bandcamp.com

Archipelago with The Baltic - An Interview

Faça o seguinte, esqueça o Tame Impala, porque se o negócio é resgatar a psicodelia 60´s colocando doses de ares Madchesterianos entre riffs hipnóticos e deliciosos ácidos, o que o TBTCI indica é que você dê play imediatamente no debute do quarteto de Denver, The Baltic.

Good vibes tomaram conta de sua mente de imediato. A música do the Baltic é lisérgica sem causar bad trips, o negócio dos caras é curtir a viagem.

Sendo assim, saboreie seu docinho e boa viagem.

***** Interview with The Baltic *****

Q. When did The Baltic start? Tell us about the history...
Ans: We started playing music in 6th grade but The Baltic began around 2010 in our freshman year of high school. We all listened to similar music and had common influences so everything clicked. We have been practicing in eachother's basemenst since.

Q: Who are your influences?
Ans: Ride, Slowdive, Tame Impala, Sigur Ros, Steve Hauschieldt, Neu!, Diiv, Boards of Canada

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
Ans:
Nowhere-Ride,
Souvlaki-Slowdive,
Lonerism-Tame Impala,
( )-Sigur Ros,
Room on Fire-The Strokes

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Ans: It's actually so funny. No it's great. It's a truly euphoric feeling. We work really hard to create a specific atmosphere for our shows so it's super cool to see that atmosphere come to fruition at our shows.

Q. How do you describe The Baltic sounds?
Ans: Through our sound we attempt to create imagery of gliding through different landscapes, each song acting as a different terrain.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Ans: We recorded the album in three days with no sleeping. layering instruments on eachother, utilizing our delirious mindset to develop new ideas on the record.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Ans: Wray, Nothing, Sound of Ceres, Steve Hauschieldt, Whitney

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Duel-Swervedriver and Money Trees by Kendrick Lamar

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Ans: We really hope to tour through Brazil and South America. We want to follow up or EP with an LP that people are genuinely excited about.

Q: Any parting words?
Ans:Thank you so much to our listeners in Brazil for the continued support.
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Thanks

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

Departure with vhs dream - An Interview

Não é de hoje que o duo australiano vhs dream é um dos prediletos aqui do TBTCI, isso simplesmente é um fato.

Porém Matthew Hosking e Mayzie Wallen simplesmente cometeram um dos mais belos discos desse 2016, "Departure" é o nome dessa pérola, lançada mês passado.

Delírios sonhadores envoltos a uma atmosfera que evoca principalmente o Cocteau Twins, mas que não é, ou não serve apenas como uma mera cópia, muito pelo contrário, o vhs dream dá vida e cria imagens e sentimentos reais.

A voz de Mayzie aliada a ambientação que Matthew criou é absolutamente mágica.

Como eu disse no início, um dos melhores discos desse ano facilmente. Simplesmente magistral.

***** Interview with vhs dream *****

Q. Congratulations on the new album, it's really brilliant, what is your analysis after conclusion of album? Are you happy with the result?
Matthew: Yes, I'm really happy with how it turned out but I can't really analyse it anymore. It's all over to everyone who listens to it now.

Mayzie: I'm so proud of how it turned out. I think one can be incredibly critical of one's own work, but as a whole I think (and hope) Departure achieved our vision.

Q. How was the process of creating Departure?
Matthew: It was slow, measured and very time consuming. With that said though, we only became a duo about 18 months ago, so I think things started very quickly, but we worked slowly. We never messed around. As soon as we were playing music together, we were straight down on the accelerator. A few tracks were partially ready from our past, and there were lots that we fine tuned along the way. Some new ones popped up as we went along as well. It's a snapshot of us and our lives before we were playing together.

Mayzie: We were very careful and considered in the way we approached it. We both had a very clear vision of what we wanted to get out of the album and what we wanted to put in. In lots of ways this album was very cathartic, a way to process our past(s). It felt really good to finish it, like cleaning out the closet. I think that's quite a common theme for first albums, an almagamation of a lot of material that has been building up for a long time. In saying that, we did have a very strong idea of the theme and how we wanted the album to sound as a whole, and didn't compromise on that.

Q. What are the main differences between Departure and Wonderfully Hopeless?
Matthew: There are many. To be honest, no one was ever supposed to hear 'Wonderfully Hopeless'. But I just had to let it out, even though it was very unfinished. Wonderfully Hopeless was the beginning of my love of creating sounds. It's dark and lo-fi and really unmeasured. It's mainly lo-fi because I had no idea what I was doing. I just sat there in a trance until I heard something I liked. I remember what that did to me, and it was horrible. I didn't want it anymore. Wonderfully Hopeless was also a solo EP and was released well before I met Mayzie and became a duo. 

'Departure' is the result of many years of life experiences and work. It's measured and produced in a way that I have worked so hard at for so long. It's the complete picture that I wished 'Wonderfully Hopeless' to be. It's a very thematic album, beginning with a sense of optimism, quietly descending through sadness, into something darker and more sinister. Since 'Wonderfully Hopeless' was also an EP, the lack of material doesn't lend itself to develop movement; it's just hopeless, and that's it. Departure is also far more electronically driven, which was executed far better in 'Departure' in comparison to 'Wonderfully Hopeless'. It was also the beginning of a great working relationship between Mayzie and I. It was almost as if we were supposed to meet to do this.

Mayzie: Me!! Wonderfully hopeless was released before I came along. But in all seriousness, I think the two are very sonically different. Like Matt said, Wonderfully hopeless is wonderfully lo-fi, and quite guitar heavy. I think it's absolutely stunning in it's own way (and i can say that because i didn't make it !!!). I still listen to it, i thnk it's so great to just put on and get lost in. Departure is very different in it's tone and appeal I think. It's much softer feeling, I think it also feels a lot warmer. Wonderfully hopeless is like being submerged in a dream, but I think departure is a bit more like jumping in to someone's memories. It feels hazy and woozy but comforting at the same time. Like something nostalgic.

Q. What were the influences for creating Departure?
Matthew: Loss, hence the title. It's a theme that we've pursued with the album. It's about feeling far away and not being sure if you've departed or been departed from. That was the idea behind the artwork too; creating a sense of isolation that feels inherent in the music. I guess the influence for 'Departure' was living the way it sounds. Whatever that means. The theme was persistent in our own lives.

Mayzie: Loss, for sure, but I think also it's about saying goodbye and moving on. It's a reflection of our pasts, and the people and places we have left behind.

Q. What are your plans for 2016?
Matthew: Continuing work on a new album, working in a slightly different direction. We'll also release another single later in the year.
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Thanks

http://www.vhsdreammusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/vhsdreammusic
https://vhs-dream.bandcamp.com

Wire City with Caskets Filled With Flowers - An Interview

Destroços e barulhos noventistas em doses cavalares é o que os canadenses do Caskets Filled With Flowers despejam em nossas cabeças através do poderoso debute deles.

"Wire City" é o nome da pedrada. Não há momento de trégua durante a audição das dez chineladas na orelha, talvez somente a belíssima "Honey Eyes" traga uma certa paz.

Discaço pra ouvir alto e sair pra rua.

***** Interview with Caskets Filled With Flowers *****

Q. When did Caskets Filled With Flowers start? Tell us about the history...
A. It started as just Jon and Jake, we both wanted to start a project different from the bands we were in at the time. We recorded some songs on a tape player, and eventually decided we wanted a drummer. We met Haley through that drummer, and recorded our demo under the name Kaneda. We went through a few rotations of drummers and a guitarist, but now the lineup couldn't be better.

Q: Who are your influences?
A. Some of our notable influences would have to be Mansions, The Hotelier, Swearin', probably Tigers Jaw? Our local music scene is killer here in MA, so a lot of our influence comes from the bands around us for sure.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
A. This is a hard one,
Pinkerton by Weezer,
Underdrawing for Three Forms Of Unhappiness at The State Of Existence by My Dead Girlfriend, Hot Fuss by The Killers,
XO by Elliott Smith,
S/T by Spirit of The Beehive

Q. How do you feel playing live?
A. We all feel different I suppose. Playing live is one of our favorite parts about being a band, we are able to put much more energy into our songs. After our sets, we are all pretty tired.

Q. How do you describe Caskets Filled With Flowers sounds?
A. The best way to describe our sound would just be pop. As much as we try and look deep into sounds we fit in, slacker pop, indie, emo, dream pop, we end up getting too overwhelmed with what our sound actually is. To make it easy for everyone, we are a just a pop band.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
A. We record all our songs ourselves, so sometimes songs are written before and sometimes we write them in studio. Almost all of our EP Sleep Culture was written in studio.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
A. New locals that are killing it right now, Old Soul, Modern Lives, 7 Birches, Anyone Anyway, Daephne, Dios Trio, Mallcops, Settler, Animal Flag, Jamboree. All these bands KILL it, and most of the music is free!

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
A. Ryan wants to cover Take On Me really bad. We are looking to do a Paramore cover set one day, because why not?

Q: What are your plans for the future?
A. Our full length album is out the 15th of this month, and we are touring the east coast of the US this month as well. After that, we will be taking a break for a while to write new music!

Q: Any parting words?
A. Our album Wire City will be available for free on our bandcamp! Have a listen casketsfilledwithflowers.bandcamp.com and be kind to one another!
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Thanks

https://casketsfilledwithflowers.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/cfwfma

Natural Pastime with Self Portraits - An Interview

O francês Fabien Le Gourrierec é a mente por trás do Self Portraits.

Conforme Fabien confessa durante a entrevista abaixo, existe uma verdadeira fascinação pelo cast da gravadora sueca Labrador, casa de nada mais nada menos do que o Radio Dept.. Além dessa conexão, inclua nas referências, fortes doses de Felt e New Order e assim, esta completo o mundo dos sonhos adocicadamente eletrônicos entre melodias sonhadoras e melancolias diversas.

O Ep de estreia foi lançado pela Beko, ótimo selo francês por sinal.

Ouvir o Self Portraits é sonhar acordado, então bons sonhos.

***** Interview with Self Portraits *****

Q. When did Self Portraits start? Tell us about the history...
The project started three years ago when Reno from Beko Disques requested me for a Beko christmas compilation.

I didn't understand the whole request cause I did a Severed Heads cover who don't talk about christmas at all.

He laughed at me but really appreciate the song and the sound so, shortly after, I created the first Self Portraits' EP.

Q. Who are your influences?
I take my inspirations and influences in everything, but especially in the things i read everyday. From the free newspaper articles i read in the public transports to the comic books from Garth Ennis, Grant Morrison and Brian K. Vaughan.

Musically, I'm really into the swedish bands from Labrador and Sincerely Yours. I think The Radio Dept. is my first musical influence.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
1: The Radio Dept – Pet Grief
2: Felt – Crumblic The Antiseptic Beauty
2 ex-aequo : The Embassy – Tacking
3: New Order – Technique
4: Disco Inferno – D.I. Go Pop
5: M83 – Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts

It can change everyday, but these five will always be in my top ten.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
I don't play live with this project...

Q. How do you describe Self Portraits sounds?
Electronic with hazed guitars.

Q. Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
As i said before, I read things everyday. So, it always begin with a story or a theme.

For example, my song Kodokushi is about a recent societal phenomenon in japan who touch a lot of old and isolated people who die alone in their appartment and begin to decompose.

So...

After the theme, I think about the music and make the arrangements in my brain. I always start a song with a drum or a sample, then I try to find the best way to embroider the rythm. It could be a guitar picking or a synth wave.

I ended the song with the voices and lyrics.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
I won't be impartial, but I could highly recommend Orange Red and Fort Not, two swedish bands who released their songs on our label Scandinavian Crush.

https://soundcloud.com/scandinaviancrushlabel/orange-red-ocean

https://soundcloud.com/scandinaviancrushlabel/fort-not-it-is-love

Also, Valdorea and Djokovic are the best french acts right now.

Q. Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I discovered Glorious Din recently. It's an eighties post-punk band from San Fransisco. It could be interesting to do a Glorious Din cover. My favorite song is Cello Tape from their album Leading Stolen Horses.

Q. What are your plans for the future?
I will try to finish The Witcher 3 at 100 % and made a new EP.

Q. Any parting words?
Timbale !
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Thanks

https://soundcloud.com/self-portraits
https://beko.bandcamp.com/album/self-portraits

Mine with Blue Navy - An Interview

Que a música é a verdadeira essência de tudo, basicamente não há dúvidas, ao menos aqui no TBTCI. Agora, muitas vezes, quando o ser humano nasce a música já esta devidamente alocada no DNA, é inevitável fugir disso.

Este é o caso de Jake Dryzal ou se preferir Blue Navy, O cara desde os 12 anos de idade criou o Blue Navy e desde então vem produzindo seus belos delírios melancólicos e sonhadores, algo como se o Red House Painters colidisse com o Mojave 3 e a partir daí o nascimento do Blue Navy aconteceria, e aconteceu.

O amadurecimento do Blue Navy chega agora, talvez, ou pelo menos até o presente momento em seu clímax que atende pelo nome de "Mine", álbum lançado no início do ano e que exprime uma beleza pura, única, absolutamente mágica.

Em meio ao caos em que vivemos, separe um tempo de seu dia e deguste esse pequena pérola, sua alma agradecerá.

***** Interview with Blue Navy *****

Q. When did Blue Navy start? Tell us about the history...
Blue Navy started on June 30, 2011 when I was only 12 years old. When I started Blue Navy, I already had some musical experience. I started playing guitar when I was 8 and began writing songs when I was 10. However, after discovering underground music in my preteen years, I had the urge to do something more artistic and experimental with my music, and after getting ice cream with my family one night, I wrote the first two Blue Navy songs. I've been committed to it ever since!

Q: Who are your influences?
Well, I grew up listening to bands and artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Counting Crows, R.E.M., Live, and Green Day, and I believe that I was influenced by them to a certain degree. But recently my music has been influenced by a lot of underground artists, particularly Red House Painters, Snow Patrol, Yuck, Porcelain Raft, Slowdive, Galaxie 500, Julianna Barwick... The list goes on and on.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
This is a tricky one! But I had to pick, I'd go with:
Red House Painters - Red House Painters I
Sea Oleena - Shallow
Bluetile Lounge - Lowercase
The House of Love - The House of Love 1988
Sigur Rós - Ágætis Byrjun

Q. How do you feel playing live?
I absolutely love playing live; it's definitely a rewarding experience for me. In my city (Johnstown, PA) I play various shows ranging from acoustic open mic nights to full-band, electric sets at some venues within our scene. Regardless, I let out my heart and soul in every performance I do, because to me, my music is my favorite way to express myself. My favorite part about playing live, though, is the interactions that I have with some audience members afterwards. Sometimes, people say that they were crying during my set, because of how meaningful/great the song was, and to me, it means the entire world - to know that they were listening to my music and understanding what I was trying to do.

Q. How do you describe Blue Navy sounds?
I would call Blue Navy a combination of dream pop and slowcore. I just think that playing songs at slow speeds, combined with reverberated soundscapes - it's just a beautiful combination, haha! I would also say that Blue Navy's music has elements of shoegazing, post-rock, ambient, and lo-fi.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Well, for my earlier works, I would record everything on a little Flip Video camcorder and then mix it in my editing program, Sony Vegas Pro 8; this gave my songs a really lo-fi quality. However, for my latest album, "Mine," I would go to my friend's house in the summertime, and we recorded everything using Logic Pro X. The guitars and basses were plugged in with a USB guitar cord, and I played everything on those instruments like normal. The synthesizer, piano, and string sounds were created by playing his keyboard, using customized settings. I recorded the vocals at home with the camcorder mentioned earlier, and we used Logic Pro and Sony Vegas to mix the album. Overall, it was an extremely fun album to make.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
A lot, haha! But recently, some artists are beginning to fuze slowcore and shoegaze together; Pallow and Bare Wire Son come to mind; great music, and the members of both acts are all great guys, too! I would also check out Yeah Wings and Weird; they make some good music.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I would love to do one or two Bluetile Lounge covers the next time I play a show with a backing band! But for my solo sets I'd love to cover Mojave 3 and Mark Kozelek songs.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
With me being 17 now, my options are still very open! But my ultimate dream is get Blue Navy signed to a recognized indie label, then record/release albums, and travel & play shows throughout America and the rest of the world.

Q: Any parting words?
Check out my music on Bandcamp, Spotify, SoundCloud, and anywhere else you listen to music! And I just wanna thank you so so much for giving me the incredible opportunity of interviewing me. I deeply appreciate it!
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Thanks

https://bluenavy.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/bluenavyjakedryzalmusic

Scribbled Messages with Momentary Gems - An Interview

Seguindo a tradição e a máxima do TBTCI durante todos esses anos, que é apresentar a todos bandas promissoras e quase sempre, novíssimas, onde basicamente nenhum outro meio de comunicação daria este espaço, principalmente para aquelas que estão iniciando os caminhos e merecem sim toda e a devida atenção.

Caso do duo dinamarquês Momentary Gems, que possui apenas uma canção disponível a bela e melancólica "Scribbled Messages". Um doce e tortuoso passeio pelos flagelos dos sonhos e da mente.

Conexões com The Cure, fase densa e também com as melodias de Robin Guthrie.

Um sutil corte bem no meio da pele começando pelo coração, "Scribbled Messages" é lindamente dolorosa.

Atenção máxima so Momentary Gems.

***** Interview with Momentary Gems *****

Q. When did Momentary Gems start? Tell us about the history...
We started Momentary Gems in October 2015, a few months after we started dating. We have always been very fond of music and have been involved in different projects and bands since we were teenagers.

Q: Who are your influences?
We are primarily inspired by music from the 80's such as, The Cure, Cocteau Twins, Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths and Slowdive, as well as newer bands like Beach House, Warpaint, Lower Dens and Tame Impala.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Cocteau Twins – Heaven or Las Vegas
The Cure – Seventeen Seconds
Tame Impala - Innerspeaker
Brian Jonestown Massacre – Bravery, Repetition and Noise
Beach House - Bloom

Q. How do you feel playing live?
We haven’t actually played live yet, but we really want to. We just need to finish up the rest of our songs and find some more musicians to play with us live.

Q. How do you describe Momentary Gems´ sounds?
Momentary Gems’ sound is a mix of shimmering guitars and synth, together with grooving rock beats and pumping bass, and a unique characteristic lead vocal on top. Everything is covered in a thick layer of reverb, which makes the sound big and dreamy. The harmonies in the music create a nostalgic feel.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
We have recorded everything ourselves inside our apartment, although we sometimes use drum samples and effects recorded elsewhere.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
LISS, Hiatus Kaiyote, Rhye, Shiny Darkly, Dynablaster and Cheap Shades.

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
The Cure, Cocteau Twins and The Beatles.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We want to play our music live here in Denmark and abroad when we have a full band. Right now we need a drummer and maybe a second guitar or keyboard player. We also want to release an EP or album.

Q: Any parting words?
We feel honored to already have been asked to do an interview when we have only released one song. So thank you for your interest in our music.
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/momentarygems
https://soundcloud.com/momentarygems

Star Stuff with Sci-Fi Caper - An Interview

Escutar "Star Stuff" novo álbum de Emelia, Sam e Jorge ou, para os íntimos, Sci-Fi Caper é fazer uma bela viagem por toda a barulheira noventista. Pode colocar aí na listinha de referências, Pavement, Velocity Girl, Breeders, Pixies, Teenage Fanclub e os situe junto ao Pains of Being Pure At Heart para ficarmos em situação atual.

Só que, o Sci-Fi Caper é pauleira, guitar pop bubblegum pegajoso que se aproxima muito mais do que o Velocity Girl fez com uma pegada mais punkpop.

O Sci-Fi Caper fez um disco viciante, delicioso e grudento.

Escute alto e sai pulando.

***** Interview with Sci-Fi Caper *****

Q. When did Sci-Fi Caper start? Tell us about the history...
We started out as a two piece and put some home recordings out on bandcamp in 2011. After our first show as a duo in July of 2011 we decided to recruit a drummer. Jorge had been an old high school friend of Sams (guitar) and so we reached out to him to see if he was interested. He was down and thought his position was temporary but we worked so well together. We've been a power trio now for 5 years now.

Q: Who are your influences?
Most of our influences come mostly from 90's bands like Nirvana, Weezer, That Dog, The Breeders and a lot of others. Too many to mention to be honest. It feels as though we're still being inspired and influenced by newer bands like The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Swearin', Terry Malts and Joyce Manor. We also gather a lot of inspiration from our friends and their bands.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
This is probably the toughest question to answer! In no particular order:
Weezer (the blue album)
Pavement (Crooked Rain Crooked Rain)
Terry Malts (Killing Time)
Go Sailor (Go Sailor)
The Parcels (Have a go with the Parcels).

Those are my (Emelia/bass/vox) all time faves.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
We all get a little nervous sometimes but we've been playing together long enough to have confidence in each other. It feels great once we're all in sync with each other. Sometimes it's immediate and sometimes it takes a song or two. At the end of the night, it's all good.

Q. How do you describe Sci-Fi Caper´s sounds?
I'm not sure if we can be described by any one sound or genre but we play a combination of fuzz, twee, pop and punk. I just like to call it Valley Fever Pop since we live in the central valley of California.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Sam is our guitarist and brings all new songs to the table for myself and Jorge to build around. It's a fun process and sometimes doesn't take very long for us to have a full song ready and done. It's not always so easy. Some songs get scrapped.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Some of our favorite new bands would probably have to be a lot of bands from the local scene. Bands like St. X and Midwest Moms. But we're really enjoying Aye Nako, Downtown Boys and Wimps!

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version
of? We've played a lot of covers since we've been a band. We've even done a whole set of Nirvana. Bands we've covered would include Wavves, Terry Malts, Ke$ha, Diarrhea Planet, Descendents, JEFF the Brotherhood and The Blue Hearts. However, I think it'd be cool to cover some Prince at some point.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We just released some new recordings and hope to get it on vinyl at some point. Ultimately, we'd like to tour. Even if it's just a little, touring would be wonderful! Hopefully, we can keep this going!

Q: Any parting words?
Only thank you to anyone and everyone who has every supported us! It's so very much appreciated.
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/scificaper
https://sci-ficaper.bandcamp.com/

Vacation with Baseball Gregg - An Interview

O duo mezzo californiano mezzo italiano Baseball Gregg pratica aquele doce, suave e perigoso dreampop ou seria indie? 

Já disse por aqui algumas vezes, que as banda que se atrevem a passear pelos caminhos adocicados podem por muitas vezes desandar e perder o toque de sofisticação e suavidade. Não é o caso do Baseball Gregg que no seu segundo trabalho, "Vacation" consegue transitar com elegância entre sonhos e devaneios altamente sutis.

Um álbum despretensioso e que agrada sem jamais soar piegas. Pontos positivos para o Baseball Gregg.

***** Interview with Baseball Gregg *****

Q: When did Baseball Gregg start? Tell us about the history...
Sam: We met when I, Sam, was going to school in Bologna in 2013. Luca and I met and became friends and then decided to start a band.

Luca: We actually wanted to make a tape just for ourselves first, then the guys at Barberia label got to listen to the Ep and liked it, and decided to release it for 2014 Cassette Day. We initially didn't mean to be 'a band' in the traditional way because of distance, but eventually we started touring with different live bands in US and Italy, and last summer we reunited in California to record our first LP Vacation.

Q: Who are your influences?
Sam: I'm going to say Brian Wilson, Bryan Ferry and Drake.

Luca: The Beatles and The Smiths are the main reason why I started playing music some years ago.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Sam: A really difficult question by I'll try
1) The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
2) Tatsuro Yamashita - For You
3) My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
4) XTC - Skylarking
5) Eat Skull - Wild and Inside

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Sam: I always feel nervous and my hand always hurts

Luca: I feel alive!

Q. How do you describe Baseball Gregg sounds?
Sam: I made up the genre "Climate Controlled Pop" because I think it's really funny but it also doesn't mean anything at all.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Sam: Luca lives in Italy and I live in California while we were writing this record, so we had to write the songs completely separated from each other. Then last summer Luca made a trip to California and we traveled around and recorded and mixed all the songs in my bedroom.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Sam: Diners from Phoenix and Boy Romeo from Sacramento.

Luca: You should check out all the bands from our really tight label Barberia like JJ Mazz, Setti, Smash, Wolther goes stranger and many others.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Sam: The song "I'll Remain as I Am" from our first EP was a cover of the youtube sensation Tonetta, so I guess him!

Luca: I'd like to cover 'Perfidia', a Mexican standard.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Sam: Live for a while longer and then eventually I'll die

Luca: (@Sam: lol). Well, making another album soon! And hopefully keep on playing forever

Q: Any parting words?
Sam: Thank you and bye bye!

Luca: Ciao!
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/baseballgregg
https://baseballgregg.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/baseball-gregg

Love's Lost Art with Tibican - An Interview

Muito se diz acerca do indie rock atual, não o indie rock do submundo dos bons sons, mas o que chega de certa maneira à um público maior, o tal público indie. Infelizmente a grande maioria dessas bandas que atingem esse público é de qualidade duvidosa e pouco diz ao menos para o TBTCI.

Porém, existem bandas que tem potencial, e um potencial enorme para atingir esse público, e essas bandas tem uma qualidade e criatividade absolutamente genial, caso do Sulk por exemplo. Outro caso idêntico é dos também ingleses do Tibican, vide o espetacular debute dos caras, "Love´s Lost Art", lançado ano passado. 

Uma poderosa mescla dos áureos tempos do Verve com toques modernos e recheado de psicodelismos noise. Os caras, pra falar a verdade, acabaram de soltar outro petardo chamado "Your Kisses Work" que tal qual o EP de estreia deveria estar absolutamente estourado em todos os cantos, mas, sabe como é.

DÊ play e ateste, garanto que vale cada segundo da audição.

***** Interview with Tibican *****

Q. When did Tibican start? Tell us about the history...
Tibican is made up of Dom, Pete, Cathal, Tom & Marc.

The band started as my (Dom) solo project in December 2014 while studying at university. After attracting some attention from BBC Introducing I started receiving offers to play shows, so asked around to see who would be interested in getting involved. At the time I was living with Pete (guitarist) and started talking to him about what was going on. He, along with Cathal and Marc (who I had been in bands with in the past) soon made up the beginning of Tibican as a ‘band’. During the summer of this year we were looking to bring in an additional member and Marc introduced us to his friend Tom.

Q: Who are your influences?
We all listen to different types of music but our main influences would probably be: Foals, Wolf Alice, The Maccabees, The Smiths and My Bloody Valentine among many many more. We could go on forever!

As a guitarist, I’ve always loved the tones that guys like Kevin Shields and J Mascis have brought to the world. I was exposed to these guys very late on and prior to them I loved the intricate rhythmic layers that Yannis and Jimmy from Foals use to build momentum and drive melodies into you.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
It’s almost impossible to choose but if we had to, it would be something along the lines of:
1) Foals – Total Life Forever
2) Muse – Absolution
3) Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
4) The Maccabees – Given To The Wild
5) The Smiths – The Smiths

Q. How do you feel playing live?
We love playing live. It’s our favourite part about doing this! It’s always so rewarding to show people what we have worked so hard on.

Q. How do you describe Tibican sounds?
I would say the music is somewhere in the region of indie/alternative with slightly more ‘pop’ elements at times. I think the earlier stuff we put out was heavily influenced by shoegaze artists like My Bloody Valentine (and we still are) but as we evolved we have started to experiment with ‘poppier’ tones and are really enjoying what we’ve come up with.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
At the beginning I would vaguely write all the parts for everyone and then take it to the guys. From there, they would put their own take on it and then the song builds from there. As we’ve developed and we brought in Tom the process has changed. Sometimes it will be as before. Other times maybe a verse or chorus will be finished and then the others will give me their thoughts and we’ll take it from there.

When it comes to recording we always get the main idea down quickly. Then we go about recording each instrument individually, making sure it’s as tight as possible. I’ve always mixed and produced the tracks once we all agree they’re finished musically.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
I really like what I’ve heard from As Elephants Are and NZCA Lines. The Coronas’ single really caught my eye when I heard that.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Marc and I would love to do a Fetty Wap cover. We’re both obsessed with the album and I would love to find out what we could do with one of his tracks!

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We’re currently in the process of building up to the release of our first Charity Single titled ‘Your Kisses Work’ in aid of Lupus Awareness. Lupus is a chronic and currently incurable auto-immune disease believed to be affecting thousands of people throughout the UK and about 5 million throughout the world, of which 90% are female.

We contacted three Lupus charities (Lupus UK, The St. Thomas’ Lupus Trust & The Lupus Foundation USA) with the aim to release a song as a charitable release with profits being shared between the charities.

The song will be available to buy on all major online download and streaming services later this year.

Q: Any parting words?
We would like to thank The Blog That Celebrates Itself for getting in touch with us and featuring us on the site. Being based in London, UK we are amazed our music has reached across the world and into Brazil. We hope one day we can come and play some shows.
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/tibican
https://tibican.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/tibican

Supermoon with Tonemirror - An Interview

Quando uma nova banda estreia geralmente cria-se uma série de expectativas sobre seu futuro ou, simplesmente deixa claro que nada irá acontecer, certo? Sim, basicamente é isso.

Acontece o seguinte, Jake e Robby, canadenses de Toronto, estrearam no mês passado simplesmente com um estupendo single de estreia, chamado "Supermoon". Ah sim, o nome do duo é Tonemirror, e a faixa título é um massacrante exercício de ruído branco com seus alicerces todos direcionados em duas vertentes bem explícitas, o barulho de bandas noventistas como Dinosaur Jr. e Swervedriver fazendo claras conexões com a nova safra de barulheira densa e melancólica, leia-se Nothing.

O Tonemirror, em seu cartão de visitas, simplesmente deixou explicitado que os caras prometem destroçar tímpanos e corações lenta e dolorosamente.

Ah sim, o lado B do single é uma bela balada que atende pelo óbvio título de "B-Side.

Começo melhor impossível.

***** Interview with Tonemirror *****

Q. When did Tonemirror start? Tell us about the history...
Jake: We were in a band together in high school. We played punk and alt rock stuff, we were just kids then, still learning. But Robby and I gelled musically almost instantaneously. When university started we all kinda parted ways (but we were still close friends). Later on, we were in another musical project that fell apart very quickly, but this time we decided to stick together afterward and we formed Tonemirror in April of 2015.

Robby: Just want to start with a huge THANK YOU to Renato for interviewing us! Tonemirror as it is, started April 2015, however Jake and I were in a highschool band, which fell apart when we parted ways continuing education. I then joined another band (The Bloody Five) which ran for about 6 years. Just before Tonemirror came to be, we also both came from another startup band which did not last too long. We decided to continue ourselves with a different sound and style.

Q: Who are your influences?
Robby: As far as influential drummers, there are many as I like to listen to all styles and genres of music. However some key drummers who had the most influence on me are Neil Peart, Chris Adler, Benny Greb, Jay Postones, Jaska Raatikainen, and Danny Carey to name a few. As far as influential bands, I would have to say Lamb of God, Band of Horses, Pink Floyd, ASG, Tesseract, Rush, Blink 182, Tool, Warmachine, Big Wreck, The Cult, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Mutemath, and Tragically Hip.

Jake: The Smashing Pumpkins, Dinosaur Jr., Slowdive, Nothing, Whirr, Nirvana, Swervedriver, Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, Pixies, The Cure

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
Jake:
1. The Smashing Pumpkins, "Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness"
2. Dinosaur Jr. "You're Living All Over Me"
3. Slowdive, "Souvlaki"
4. Nothing, "Guilty of Everything"
5. Pavement, "Brighten the Corners"

Robby:
Tesseract - Altered State,
ASG - Blood Drive,
Pink Floyd - The Division Bell,
Rush - Caress of Steel,
Persefone - Spiritual Migration

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Jake: Playing live is honestly my favourite thing to do with the band. It feels amazing when you put yourself out there and get a response from the crowd. No matter how good or bad a show goes, I always feel energized after.

Robby: I have been playing live shows fairly regularly since 2009 and I still get nervous before shows, but once we get going I just love it. I tend to try to focus a lot, but as we go on, and with fairly regular practices I can relax and enjoy more and more and let muscle memory take over. It is such a rush and elating feeling when people cheer and enjoy your songs.

Q. How do you describe Tonemirror sounds?
Jake: Loud and spacey dream/noise.

Robby: Proggy alt. rock Noise

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Robby: We write a song and play the crap outta it so recording takes less time. In the case of our EP we picked out tempos before hand, got to the studio, Jake lays Guitar ghost track, I get the drums recorded, and Jake finishes off with guitars over the drums, and lyrics over everything.

Jake: "Supermoon" took a day to record because of all the guitar tracks on it (Robby is really quick on drums, and it was my first time recording haha). I think we ultimately did something like 10 takes, with 2 mics on each take, so there's somewhere between 16-20 guitar tracks on there, all pushed together. The rest of the songs on our upcoming EP we were able to do in a weekend but we worked our asses off to accomplish that. "B-Side" I recorded in my room, I did it in secret because I wanted it to be a surprise for the release of our first single.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Jake: There's this awesome band called Weed, they're from Vancouver, B.C. They play this really raw, aggressive shoegaze. Also, Toronto has a tonne of amazing bands; Elsa, Beliefs, Dilly Dally and Weaves just to name a few!

Robby: King Beez, Autopilot, War Balm, Blackdog Ballroom

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Robby: Lou Reed - Take a Walk on the Wild Side

Jake: I'd love to do a cover of "When the Sun Hits" by Slowdive, or "Sometimes" by My Bloody Valentine. Oh, or "Needle In The Hay" by Elliot Smith! We like doing covers haha

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Jake: We have an EP coming out this fall, we're excited to release that and just keep playing shows in Toronto and surrounding cities. Hopefully we can reach some other cities in Canada and maybe the States if we're lucky.

Robby: EP album is coming soon, so very excited about that. Then play more shows to help promote it, release a full length album, get various merch for shows.

Q: Any parting words?
Jake: Thank you for taking the time to interview us! And thank you to anyone who listens to our music, it means so much to us that we're reaching people out there!

Robby: ...legs
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Thanks

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

Søulмaтe with I Mean Us - An Interview

Seguindo a tradição no TBTCI, leia-se apresentar novas, e quando se fala em novas bandas, são absolutamente novas, como o caso do I Mean Us, diretamente de Taiwan.

Com apenas duas demos os caras chamaram atenção do TBTCI pela sua habilidade em mesclar o clima denso e soturno do pós punk com os delirantes ruídos do shoegaze.

"I Don´t Know" é uma belo cartão de visitas do que o I Mean Us poderá nos apresentar em um futuro bem próximo.

Olhos e ouvidos atentos.

***** Interview with I Mean Us *****

Q. When did I Mean Us start? Tell us about the history...
It starts from the borrowing of the guitar pedals. One day in 2015, Vitz borrowed the effects from Chun, who was injured because of a car accident. While they were chatting, Chun said that he would like to play a shoegaze band, and Vitz said yes without hesitation. Soon, Mandark Ravel (Synthesizer and Vocalist), PP L (Dummer), and Hank Chen (Bassist) joined the band; I Mean Us was born. However, we found that our souls are not that “showgazed” as we thought. Anyway, just let it be.

Q. Who are your influences?
Chun (Guitarist, Vocalist, Band Leader): Each member in IMU has his/her own preference of music, I can’t represent them. For me, I admire the noisy guitar in the 90’s so much, such as the songs of Yo La Tengo, Teenage Fanclub, and Sparklehorse. I stroll in these wonderful sounds, and internalize and utilize while composing.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Chun: Sugar Plum Ferry - Thank You for Reminding Me
PP L: The Beatles - Abbey Road
Vitz Young: Mooncake - Zaris
Mandark Ravel: Agnes Obel - Aventine
Hank Chen: Touming Magazine - Our Soul Music

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Chun: Hot and thirsty.

PP L: Every time is just like the first time.

Vitz Young: My hair always clings to to my face. I’m not a shoegazer because I can’t barely see a thing most of time.

Mandark Ravel: Just tell myself to keep calm.

Hank Chen: Stay high but make no mistakes : D

Q. How do you describe I Mean Us sounds?
Drunk whale.
Bitter sweet symphony.
(We are still exploring new sound and image of our music.)

Q. Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
We are still on the stage of making demo. We usually start from recording drum, bass and guitar in the same time with click, and add the parts of synths and vocals after processing. Vitz(Guitarist) is charged with the final mixdown. Based on the budget and the form, we didn’t complete the mastering part so far.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Chun: Arcplg 羣島, Reversing into Garage 倒車入庫, cat in the case., Triple Deer

PP L: No opinion.

Vitz: Reversing into Garage 倒車入庫, I Mean Us

Mandrake Ravel: Stranded Whale

Hank Chen: Touming Magazine, 1976, The Sign Of Human 記號士

Q. Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
PP L: no idea.

Vitz Young: no idea.

Mandrak Ravel：X_X

Hank Chen: No idea, either.

Chun：Ok, let me mention something, “Porcelain Raft - Drifting In And Out”.

Q. What are your plans for the future?
PP L: Be a special sounds and waves in the vast music universe. People can tell who we are from our music and the sound we play.

Mandark Ravel: We hope our music could cross the region and the language boundary, and help us meet more people who share the same feelings and thoughts with us.
Hank: Keep our passion alive with music.

Q. Any parting words?
Yes. Taiwan NO. 1

What’s more important, we really appreciate that Renato found us in the vast music universe and share our music with love and kindness.
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/IMeanUsBand/
https://imeanus.bandcamp.com/releases
https://streetvoice.com/imeanusband/