Cercano Oeste with Otoño - An Interview

Quando conheci o quarteto argentino Otoño algumas coisas vieram diretamente na minha cabeça. principalmente Tanya Donelly e Kristin Hersh, claro muito por vocal da visceralidade do Otoño, mas as referências são enormes, é só dar uma conferida na entrevista e ver o que a própria banda cita.

Basicamente um caldeirão de guitarras noventistas com uma pequena dose de pós punk, é o que se ouve em "Cercano Oeste" último trabalho deles. Um disco barulhento, pegajoso e viciante do início ao fim. Mas o TBTCI dá a dica, não deixe de saborear o espetacular "Diferentes" de 2014 e o debute "Otoño" de 2010. Ambos primorosos.

O Otoño é daquelas bandas que uma palavra resume, frenéticos.

***** Interview with Otoño *****

Q. When did Otoño start? Tell us about the history...
In November of 2006, in a New Order concert in Buenos Aires, Carina and I met. We were in different bands (Carina was the singer and leader of Bruma, a band from Mendoza, and I was the bassist and co-singer of Seele, a band from Buenos Aires). We exchanged some songs unfinished that I had and she returned them to me with lyrics. Otoño was born. In February of 2007 I moved to Mendoza (about 1.100 kms form Buenos Aires) and we start playing gigs and record albums with OTOÑO.

Q: Who are your influences?
There´re so many!!! We love bands like The Cure, Depeche Mode, Dinosaur Jr., The Smiths, Smashing Pumpkins, Joy Divsion, Pixies, My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, The Stone Roses, Morrissey, Johnny Marr, Siouxsie & the Banshees, New Order, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Lush, Slowdive, Ramones, Deerhunter, Cocteau Twins, Placebo, Oasis, R.E.M., Nirvana, Interpol, The Cardigans, Yo la tengo, Pavement, Stephen Malkmus, Mudhoney, Juana La Loca, Los Brujos, Peligrosos Gorriones, Francisco Bochatón, Bicicletas, Virus, etc.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
It´s quite difficult. I'll make my own list -I repeat: it´s impossible to pick only five albums- (Máximo), I'm sure each member of Otoño have their own list. This five albums change my life:

1) Siamese Dream (Smashing Pumpkins)
2) Faith (The Cure)
3) The Queen is dead (The Smiths)
4) Isn't anything (My Bloody Valentine)
5) You're living all over me (Dinosaur Jr)

Q. How do you feel playing live?
It's the best experience ever. We love playing live. The adrenalin that live shows brings you is awesome. We're louder and faster live than we're on our records. We most likely play on smalls places. It's full of energy. Playing live is one of our favourite things.

Q. How do you describe Otoño sounds?
We try to sound like we feel like. We never tried to sound like one band in particular. We like to work the sound that every song needs. Obviously we love distortion!!! The bands you listen, sooner or later, appears in the way you sound.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
In our fourth record ("Cercano Oeste e.p.") we used another way of recording. The entire e.p. was recorded in the rehearsal room of the band. It was produced and mixed by Pablo Ventura. He flew from Buenos Aires to recorded it. It was quite fast to record. We recorded the drums, the bass and the guitars in four days. After that, we recorded the voices and some keyboards (and other guitars too) where Carina and I live. The recording process was quite fast but the mixing process didn't (Pablo returned to Buenos Aires and sended us different mixes by mail and was very awfull to mix that way).

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
The bands we mentioned as influences, and:

International: This twilight sad, DIIV, The Drums, A place to bury strangers, Built to spill, Explosions in the sky, Foals, Yuck, Sleep/Walk, Silversun Pickups, Redd Kross, Sebadoh, Los Planetas, etc.

From Argentina: Pánico Felpa, Tirano, Cyro & La Liga Premier, Myte y sus Linternas Verdes, Nahuelaizers, Fusibles, Púlsar, Bobos A Go- Go, Desastrónomos, Surfeando el Tambor, Muertos Nuevos, Los Objetos Inanimados, Los Sonidos, Vudu Sustain, Mater Matuta, Los Blandos, Ultramandaco, Difusión Antisistema, The Mites, and so many others!!

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
We did one Daniel Jonhnston song. https://soundcloud.com/oto-o-m-sica/tell-me-now-daniel-johnston-cover

We played "El Probador" of Virus in one show, circa 2010. The only cover version of a song we ever played live.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Record a new e.p. during the next year. We'd love to played again in different places (Brazil? :D ).

Q: Any parting words?
Thanks for this interview. It's nice to be interviewed of a specialized blog as The Blog That Celebrates Itself. Hugs from Mendoza, Argentina, to all the readers of this magnificent blog.
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Thanks

https://otonio.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/otoniomusica
http://www.otoniomusica.com.ar

Amber with in violet - An Interview

Aos desaviados o nome in violet pode soar como algo adocicado, eteréo, beirando o dreampop correto? Errado.

Absolutamente errado, in violet, projeto capitaneado pelo inglês Jake Murray é um mix de insanidades barulhentos e experimentais, podendo ir do post industrial abrasivo a viagens alucinógenas metalizadas.

Depois do debute "Opal" de 2013 os caras soltaram mês passado o caótico "Amber", condensando as referências de viagens destrutivas e sem volta embaladas por barulho, barulho que adentram a mente e fazem a alma ser completamente corrompida.

Indispensável para os dias atuais, o in violet ao lado do APTBS compõe a trilha sonora do caos.

***** Interview with in violet *****

Q. When did in violet start? Tell us about the history...
in violet began back in 2010, after I moved to London. I was living in a basement, I’d left my old band behind and needed a new regular outlet to keep making music. The project has grown and evolved through a number of different shapes and forms over the years, with no real restrictions besides what I can imagine.

Q: Who are your influences?
Friends, family, writers, artists, visionaries, lunatics, pioneers, eccentrics, geeks, freaks, losers, outcasts. Mother Nature. All humans of Terra past, present, future.

Q. Make a list of 5 album of all time…
I’d need more than 5 to give an real overview of the entire history of recorded music, but here goes:

Django Renhardt - Souvenirs de Django Reinhardt (1947)
Sun Ra - Jazz in Silhouette (1958)
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of The Moon (1973)
Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral (1994)
Four Tet - There Is Love In You (2010)

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Cathartic. Vicarious. Performing live is a hugely physical and emotional experience for me, in which I act as a channel for the characters, stories and sounds to pass through. There are some deeply personal songs in the catalogue too and they can be incredibly intense to play.

Q. How do you describe in violet sound?
in violet is a musical project marrying the worlds of the experimental with the conventional. Traversing all manner of sonic terrain, from abrasive post-industrial structures to spacial lysergic landscapes, the concept is one of momentum and exploration.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
It can take a very long time. This new record took almost three years to make. Typically the idea and I will find each other while I’m walking or playing around with an instrument/computer/inanimate object. I’ll usually then develop the idea mentally until we’re both ready to sit down and find the sounds with instruments… this part often happens very quickly, with song skeletons sometimes taking less than a day. Finally is the long process of collaborating with other musicians where appropriate, and the sculpting of the song overall through audio production techniques and mixing. Each piece of music to me has it’s own colour and shape, so I have to refine the details and timbre of every individual element in order to complete the whole.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Recently I’ve been listening to a lot of Sixth Minor [https://sixthminor.bandcamp.com/album/amygdalae], Oneirogen [https://oneirogenvoid.bandcamp.com/album/convivium] and Civil Elegies [https://civilelegies.bandcamp.com/album/combat] who are all new to me. I also highly recommend the works of friends Feral Love [https://soundcloud.com/feral_love], Rumour Cubes [https://rumourcubes.bandcamp.com/] and Teeth of The Sea [https://teethofthesea.bandcamp.com/].

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
We covered one of my favourite Moderat songs a few years ago [https://inviolet.bandcamp.com/track/rusty-nails], which was a lot of fun but a pretty standard replication of the original. My remixes [https://playmoss.com/en/echoesanddust/playlist/in-violet-the-remixes] are much more far-fetched reworks of other people’s songs, and I’d love to try reimagining a cover-song in a similar way.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Now that ‘amber’ is out it’s time to put together a new live band, so that’s the plan for the immediate future. There’s still some more to come from the album as well, so watch this space.

Q: Any parting words?
Thank you so much for having me.
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Thanks

http://inviolet.co.uk
https://inviolet.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/invioletofficial

We Are The Dreamers with Keith Canisius - An Interview

Para quem acompanha estes quase nove anos de TBTCI, conhece muito bem o nome e quem é Keith Canisius.

Mestre do dreampop, o dinamarquês desde a época do Rumskib vem despejando doses generosas de preciosidades do dreampop, sempre em loops dançantes, climas sonhadores e com uma sonoridade absolutamente própria Mr Canisius tornou-se altamente cultuado e respeito no meio.

Eis que para deleite dos iniciados o mago dos sonhos nos brinda agora neste final de ano com seu mais nome trabalho "We Are The Dreamers". O nome simplesmente fala por si só.

Embarque em mais uma viagens intensa a sonhos e delírios sedutores sob o comando de Mr. Keith Canisius.

***** Interview with Keith Canisius *****

Q. Hello, first congratulations on the new album, it's really brilliant, what is your analysis after conclusion of album? Are you happy with the result?
KC: Thanks a lot!

I think it sounds better than the last one I did. I always set the goal to make my albums sound better and better,

So I’m happy in that sense. To be honest I think it has slightly better material than previous as well.
The style is a little different than the last album. I think it sounds a little darker to me personally.

Q. How was the process of creating the album?
KC: It’s a little hectic. I like working quick and at least four hours in a row.
This album was made with many long breakes. Some of the songs are over three years old.
I’ve been busy with family and work. I had twins four years ago

Q. What are the main differences between "We are the Dreamers" and your early releases ?
KC: Sounds a little darker. Not as shoegazey as the first couple of albums. But I think people, can hear it’s me.

Q. What were the influences for creating the album?
KC: Not really any this time. I just write and record by now. But I liked some stuff from Kranky records.
I liked the dark moods of the band Implodes, but I don’t sound like them. Something about their solo guitar sound I liked and was a little inspired of one my track Swim.

Q. What are your plans for 2016/2017?
KC: Not that many right now. I take one week at the time. But I would like to have more time and energy for music, haha!
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Thanks

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

Spectral Fog with Svelte - An Interview

Uma avalanche sônica exala do EP de estreia homônimo do quarteto de San Diego, Svelte.

Traços de noise, shoegaze e uma aura cinzenta permeiam as quatro faixas com destaque absoluto para "Improved Means To Unimproved Ends" que transcende o espectro entre calmaria, melancolia e agressividade.

Para ser escutado em volume máximo.

***** Interview with Svelte *****

Q. When did Svelte start? Tell us about the history…
E: The band has existed in some sort of mutation for about 3 years. We initially decided to make music together when we met at the Steinhaus, after years of not seeing each other, and expressed our interest in experimental music. We all come from very different backgrounds, myself having played in a blues, 60’s inspired rock band, Ralph coming from a more post-hardcore/math-rock project, and Jeremiah in and out of a psychedelic band. We noticed ease in crafting songs, but things weren’t fully concrete until we introduced Bradley into the project. We all met him through Jeremiah, after many conversations about Tera Melos, and felt that he was a natural addition to the project. A year of trial and error, fights, but at foremost, being constantly inspired by each other, we achieved a balanced chemistry in our friendship that in turn translated into music. The music itself has been an exploration of how we feel and in a way is a conversation between all that is wrong in us, and everything that is right.

Q: Who are your influences?
E: Chet Baker, Leo Brauwer, Rimbaud, Vincent Gallo, Nick Cave.

B: Michael Gira, Tim Hecker, Soren Kierkegaard, John Balance, William Basinski, and Qabalah.

R: Gigi Masin, Tosin Abasi, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Tim Hecker, Rachmaninoff, Brian Eno, Bhagavad Gita, Jonny Greenwood

J: D.A. Levy , Duster , Lou Reed, Swirlies , Eric rohmer , Brian Wilson

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time
E: The Stooges - Fun House, The Radio Dept. - Pet Grief, Nature and Organization - Beauty Reaps the Blood of Solitude, Coil - Musick to Play in the Dark Pt. II, Buena Vista Social Club- Buena Vista Social Club

B: Tim Hecker - Harmony in Ultraviolet, Swans - White Light from the Mouth of Infinity, Bark Psychosis – Hex, This Heat – Deceit, Coil - Ape of Naples

R: Pretend - Bones in the Soil, Rust in the Oil, Gigi Masin – Winds, Brian Eno - Music for Airports, Duster – Stratosphere, Tim Hecker - Harmony in Ultraviolet

J: krzysztof komeda - ballet etudes,sonic youth - Simon Werner a disparu, Terry Riley - reed streams, Swirlies - blonder tongue audio baton, Sun ra - aurora borealis Q. How do you feel playing live? E: Catharsis.

Q. How do you describe Svelte sound?
B: Ethereal walls of sound and visceral noise with discreet complexity. Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?

B:3 days of sweat and sleep deprivation.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
E: HTRK, Marching Church, Pretend B: Mankinda, Street Sects, Laje

R: Marcus Balter/ Saunier, Two Moons Merging, Dent, Laje, Pretend,

J: Haruka , Vaginals

Q: What are your plans for the future?
E: We are aiming to begin touring around Spring next year, release a split tape with our friends Vaginals, and begin to work on a full LP.

Q: Any parting words?
R:Thank you.
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Thanks

https://ssvelte.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.facebook.com/ssvelte

Raw Desire with Kill West - An Interview

Os hermanos do Kill West, quarteto argentino que soltou recentemente seu mais novo trabalho "Raw Desire" onde o título é mais do que auto explicativo, sim porque sonhos crus resumem bem a catástrofe sonora que é o disco.

Uma paulada no centro do crânio, onde o caos sonoro evocando  instinto primitivo de Stooges, J&MC, Suicide, Ramones dá o norte para a devastação de "Raw Desire".

Detalhe para a versão vinil do álbum que já esta esgotada, e você ainda fala que não se faz música boa atualmente.

Melhor você calar a boca, aumentar o som e se curvar perante a brutalidade primitiva do Kill West.

***** Interview with Kill West *****

Q. When did Kill West start? Tell us about the history...
Martin and I (Fran) met in 2006 and started playing togheter, mostly punk rock covers, eventually we met Joel and started jamming with him too. Kill West started around January 2013 near the garage at my parent's house.

Q: Who are your influences?
There are lots but mostly punk rock, psychedelia, rythm & blues from the 1970's. Cult horror and sci-fi b-movies.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
tough one, i'll put the first obvious ones that come to mind:
the stooges - raw power
neil young - on the beach
suicide's 1977 album
stone's exile
ramones - ramones

Q. How do you feel playing live?
I really like it. i try not to think much of anything and just enjoy playing with my friends.

Q. How do you describe Kill West sounds?
we're not very good at this... we'll leave it to each one's interpretation

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
For this EP we started recording it after beign with our new drummer for just 2 months or so. So it was a bit of a challenge, lucky for us he's great! i'm happy with how it came out.

We worked at our friends studio that he built in his garage, so it felt really home-like... we feel better working that way.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
i've been enjoying this band "Birds of Maya" from philadelphia.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
fleetwood mac would be cool

Q: What are your plans for the future?
just to keep it going - we are working on new music right now.

Q: Any parting words?
thanks Renato! STAY SICK
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/killwestband/
http://www.killwest.com/
https://killwest.bandcamp.com/

Our Three Favourite Limbs with mzii - An Interview

Eu quero iniciar a apresentação do projeto sonora da malaia Maisie ou melhor mzii, nome de "sua banda" dela mesma.

A garota produz, compõe, toca tudo e produz um trip hop beirando o dreampop no qual eu chego a dizer que se ela fosse inglesa certamente estaria estourada e fazendo sucesso, mas sabe como é né.

Dois trabalhos deliciosamente hipnóticos e sensuais, "Our Three Favourite Limbs" e "Ode to Youth" ambos desse ano que se integram sinergicamente.

Pense em Grimes, Portishead e afins e apaixone-se por mzii.

***** Interview with mzii *****

Q. When did mzii start? Tell us about the history...
mzii started sometime in 2015, I think? I'd been making music, putting it on soundcloud, but I wanted to start a brand, and the name is actually a phonetic adaptation of my first name (Maisie), which was important because I've been in a few bands, but my band members haven't been as interested as I am in performing and writing original music, so I did it all on my own.

Q: Who are your influences?
Grimes is absolutely my musical idol - she produces, writes, does the cover art for, sings, plays all the instruments for her music, and retains her core values. She's the epitome of home-grown stardom. Sum 41 is another of my influences, maybe not in the way my music sounds, but in the attitudes expressed, which are quite destructive at times. Flight Of The Conchords are a huge inspiration as well - the way they seamlessly blend humour and music is so human, and ridiculously easy to listen to.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Costello Music - The Fratellis
Art Angels - Grimes
Teens of Denial - Car Seat Headrest
GB City - Bass Drum Of Death
Submarine - Alex Turner

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Honestly, it's terrifying. Haven't quite got past that yet. I do love it though, especially the original stuff, because the audience doesn't know what it's meant to sound like, so there's a kind of freedom that is completely lacking when you play a song that everyone's heard the studio version of.

Q. How do you describe mzii sounds?
Good question. In my first album (Ode to Youth) I tried to explore a few different styles (bare guitar/voice, acapella, more electronic), because I wanted to see which suited me best; and...it didn't really help. I'm still not sure *shrugs*. I think the easier question to ask would be "How does mzii feel?", which is more consistent, I think. It's meant to give a relaxed vibe that makes you think about things you normally wouldn't. The kind of feel that makes you want to dance on your own.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
When people ask about this, I get kinda embarrassed, because my software is so rudimentary - I use my ipad for recording, and GarageBand to arrange. Normally I come up with a vocal melody or riff, and then allocate chords or a bassline, and go from there. I know this is quite strange to some people who like to come up with the backing track first - I just think that my voice and lyrics are the most central parts of my music, and so everything else should be constructed around that.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
I'm digging Jacuzzi Boys at the moment, especially the harmonies and 50's aesthetic. Bleached is great too. Gotta love all-woman punk pop, right?

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I would absolutely adore to do a cover of Can't Surf by Beach Party. Because I, like Beach Party, cannot surf. Also it's a really chill song. Oh and California Grrls by Shark?.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
I'm trying to get together some people who can help me do some experimental stuff, like more performance artsy, because that's something I'd really like to explore.

Q: Any parting words?
Art is never a waste. Make bad art, and enjoy it. Laugh about it and then make something awesome.
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A Ghost History with Kestrels - An Interview

Já comentei diversas vezes pelas redes sociais que na minha opinião, o segundo álbum dos canadenses do Kestrels é um dos discos do ano.

O álbum homônimo dos caras é um bubblegum shoegaze com direcionamento guitar noventista que impregna na mente e não sai mais.

Experimente mixar MBV, Superchunk, Dinosaur Jr e Ringo Deathstarr e dessa receita é exatamente de onde o Kestrels nasce.

Escute alto em casa, na rua, em qualquer lugar, Kestrels é foda.

***** Interview with Kestrels *****

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

Kestrels started in 2008 as a side project. I was playing in a post-hardcore band but I was really interested in playing more melodically. I started writing some songs for Kestrels and they were more in the vein of indie pop - still loud guitars and pretty melodies, but less shoegaze-y. The sound gradually changed and the band members evolved over time to incorporate different sounds and approaches to songwriting. We hit our stride with our 2014 EP The Moon is Shining Our Way and just released our third self-titled LP. In a way it feels like a totally new band. We don't really play many songs from before 2014 anymore. The sound is cohesive and powerful now.

Q: Who are your influences?
Beach Boys, My Bloody Valentine, Ash, Dinosaur Jr, Ringo Deathstarr, King Crimson, Cornelius, Weezer, Yo La Tengo...the list could go on forever.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
1) Ash - 1977
2) Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
3) King Crimson - Red
4) My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
5) Dinosaur Jr - Hand It Over

Q. How do you feel playing live?
It's really fun. We have a very big sound live and hearing the amps blaring and pushing air is a gratifying experience. We've worked a lot on making a setlist that ebbs and flows. We also added a new guitar player who is singing backup. It's an enveloping sound and though it's cliche, it is a cathartic feeling, especially on the nights where everything comes together perfectly.

Q. How do you describe Kestrels sounds?
Heavy/dream pop/shoegaze/indie rock/melodic/melancholy.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
We recorded the drums and some guitar/bass at the Dream House in Toronto with Alex Bonenfant. I then worked on the record in my home studio, adding guitars, vocals, and synths. We had our friends Alex and Elliott in Ringo Deathstarr add guitar and vocals on the songs "Are You Alone?" and "Neko". We then had Brad Wood mix it in his studio in California. The process took about two years start to finish.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
I would recommend the band Kindling. They are an amazing band and also our friends. We played three shows with them in the summer and they blew me away every night. They have a bunch of excellent releases and their newest LP Everywhere Elseis definitely worth buying.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I have been working out an arrangement for the Beach Boys song "Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)". It's a dark and dreamy song. I think it would sound great with guitars replacing the string sounds.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Playing a bunch of shows in support of the new album and then heading to Amherst, Massachusetts in late February to record a new record! We are hoping to do more international touring next year.

Q: Any parting words?
Check out our new record at kestrels.bandcamp.com - it's our best work and we couldn't be more proud of it. It's a treat for the ears.
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Thanks

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

Séance For Something with Pale Lights - An Interview

Quando escutei o quarteto do Broklyn, Pale Lights, foi amor a primeira audição, um verdeiro tesouro eu encontrei, disse a mim mesmo.

O motivo disso? Bem, dê play no EP "Séance For Something" e sinta aquele delicioso frescor do perfect pop, referências a bandas do coração como Orange Juice, Josef k, Comet Gain, The Chills e claro The Go-Betweens, esse é o segredo inspirador do Pale Lights.

Jangle guitar pop majestoso como há tempos eu sinceramente não escutava, e não a toa me lembrei do meu amigo Guilherme Almeida da The John Candy e Electric Lo Fi Seresta, se ele não conhece ainda, certamente vai amar tal qual eu.

E se você esta cansado, tenso, desesperado, dê uma chance a você mesmo e desfrute imediatamente da beleza do Pale Lights, certamente sua mente e corpo agradecerão.

***** Interview with Pale Lights ****

Q. When did Pale Lights start?
Tell us about the history… We started in 2011. I’m from the UK. I moved to the US in 2007, to live with my wife. I had previously played the drums in bands in the UK. Comet Gain (1992-7), Velocette (1997), Kicker (1998-2005), and The Projects (2005-7). Kicker was the first band I put together, and where I wrote songs (most of them). Kicker made two LPs for the label Track and Field. When I moved to New York, I started a group called The Soft City with Dora Lubin, and Jason Corace (A Boy Named Thor). The Soft City recorded an LP and an EP, before Jason moved to Baltimore, to teach. Lisa Goldstein and Andy Adler (of Crystal Stilts) joined The Soft City late on, but then Dora moved to Boston, to go to graduate school. So Lisa, Andy and I started Pale Lights. I decided after all this time to sing and play guitar, rather than drum. Lisa’s friend Maria Pace joined on bass. So far we’ve recorded an LP, Before There Were Pictures (2014), and couple of EPs, and a single. We’re working on an LP with our usual collaborators, Kyle Forester, of Crystal Silts, and Ladybug Transistor (keyboards), and Suzanne Nienaber, of Great Lakes (harmonies). We always record with Gary Olson (Ladybug Transistor). We’ve played the New York City Popfest twice (2012, and 2015). We play out mostly in New York City, but are hoping to play outside the city next year. We’re working on a new LP, to come out Spring 2017.

Q: Who are your influences?
The Go Betweens, The Chills, The Triffids, Comet Gain, TVPs, Kinks, Hollies, Zombies, V.U., Felt, Galaxie 500, Vic Godard. Those are mine, at least as far as this band goes, I suppose. The others may have different ideas! Movies and books too. The last LP had songs influenced by the movies Mama Rosa and Port of Shadows, the EP had a song based on a short story by Sherwood Anderson. Anything can be an influence. Sunlight. Trees. Colors. Photographs. It’s all very multimedia!

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
There are so many. Five off the top of my head.
You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever / Orange Juice,
Forever Breathes the Lonely Word / Felt ,
La Maison Ou J-ai Grandi / Françoise Hardy,
What’s The Matter Boy? / Vic Godard,
Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. / The Monkees.

Or the first 5 Go Betweens LPs. So many...

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Nervous mostly. Relieved when I think I’m playing OK. I do like it when a show goes well. But it does feel like wrestling a mad snake sometimes. Am in tune? Is my capo on the right place? I do like it when it goes well. We opened for The Loft, a long time favorite, at the NYC, and that show was fun. We opened for Ultimate Painting one year, and it was awful! The next time we played with them I loved it. Swings and roundabouts. You have to tread the boards now and then though. We should probably play more. We played a show with the Twerps once, and they liked us, but asked us if we had day jobs!

Q. How do you describe Pale Lights sounds?
Jangle pop, guitar pop, not sure. I think we’re better and worse than I think. I think we’re quite good. Velvet Underground beats, with Felt-ish guitars. Apparently I sound a bit like Lloyd Cole. When we played with The Loft, Lloyd Cole was at the show (he’s friends with them, loaned them guitars. I opened the door between the venue and the bar at front, and he was standing in front of me. I was going to say, ‘People say I sing like you. I can’t hear it myself.” But I didn’t. Apparently he’s a nice chap. Maybe I should have said something. I did do his song Lost weekend at karaoke once.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
I’m a formalist. I wrote the entire song, and bring it to the rehearsal room. The band learn it, and then, if it’s any good, we record it.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Lake Ruth are very good, and have wonderful LP out. The Hairs LP is also great. And our friend Kyle Forester has a great new LP too. I have no idea about new music, to be honest! I just bought LPs by Sandy Denny and the Strawbs, Bill Fay’s second LP, The Chills Kaleidoscope World reissue, I’m still in love with Robert Forster’s last LP, the last Garment District LP has a wonderful song, Bell, Book, and Candle. I want to hear the new Ultimate Painting LP. I really liked the last one.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
We’ve played with covers, but never dared do one live. We’ve done songs by The Chills and The Servants in the rehearsal room. Andy’s always jamming out Orange Juice, Josef K, the Go-Betweens. We are recording a Lake Ruth cover. They’ve done a wonderful cover of one of our songs, for a split release of some sort. We’re a bit behind schedule! I like playing Vic Godard and the Hollies on my guitar by myself. there was a song by Comet Gain, called Goodbye Song, a very early song by Sam and Sarah who went on to be 2/3rds of Velocette, that I like to play. I still play drums, at home. I play along to old Comet Gain songs sometimes. I’m a much better drummer now, so I play over the top of a recording, drumming how I would have done then if I could have played like I can now! I don’t do that too often though!

Q: What are your plans for the future?
New Pale lights LP in the Spring (12 songs this time), preceded likely by another EP, then a wee Pale Lights tour (Boston, Philadelphia, NYC?). We’d love to play out more. Some indiepop festivals, maybe. I’d like us to do a promo film for a song from the LP. I’ve started demoing a solo LP too. Hope to play a show in London, my old home town, hopefully with some friends. Tour Europe? The world!

Q: Any parting words?
Be creative. Do your thing. If it doesn’t work, at least you tried. Keep it punk rock, if only in spirit. DIY! Thanks for asking the questions, Renato! Good luck!
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Thanks

https://palelights.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pg/palelights

Break In The Skin with Silence in the Snow - An Interview

Vem acontecendo no submundo dos bons sons uma verdadeira avalanche de bandas, diga-se de passagem, de altíssima qualidade e altamente inspiradas, que se norteiam pelos anos cinzentos do pós punk/darkwave e coldwave, e creia em mim amigo, a California é a meca desse resgate, não somente Los Angeles mas o estado como um todo.

Um categórico exemplo é o debute do duo Silence in the Snow, que atende pelo nome de "Break in the Skin". Cyn M, guitarras e vocais e Andy Z, sintetizadores, se alimentam e muito do que a diva máxima do gênero criou, sim ela, claro, Siouxsie Sioux, mas é possível sentir um clima berlinense na atmosfera do disco, muito por conta das referências da trilogia de Mr Bowie e o The Idiot do Iggy Pop.

Um disco absolutamente denso e altamente recomendado para seres da noite.

***** Interview with Silence in the Snow *****

Q. When did Silence in the Snow start? Tell us about the history...
Andy Z and I have both played in other bands together in the past and I wanted to start playing guitar again so I started this band and wanted organ sounds, so he was a natural choice to collaborate with. We played out first show in June 2014 and continued to play shows and work on the recording and record that just got released (“Break In The Skin”) which is our debut.

Q: Who are your influences?
We are influenced by a wide variety of things: music, art, film, books, life experiences…it’s an on-going process, not one that I could boil down to a list.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
This is too difficult because I love so much music (new and old). Some of my top artists I love include Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, David Bowie, Kate Bush, Nico, Leonard Cohen, 1960s music (Serge Gainsbourg), Patti Smith, a lot of post-punk artists like The Fall, Cocteau Twins, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and so many more….) and new bands too…Sorry I can’t limit it to 5!

Q. How do you feel playing live?
When the sound system is good and the audience is connecting with us it’s an amazing experience!

I like to get lost in the feeling.

Q. How do you describe Silence in the Snow sounds?
Dark, moody, reverb-laden, echoing, passionate.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
We work out the songs live first, then go and record them as “live” as possible with our friend, Skot Brown, who has his own recording studio and records many local bands.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Some current bands I love include: Them Are Us Too, Chasms, Blackmare, Drab Majesty, Emily Jane White, Boy Harsher, Rakta, Worm Ouroboros, Hide, Chelsea Wolfe….

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
David Bowie

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Play shows in support of our new record and continue working on new songs for the next record. Touring in Europe and South America would be great too if the opportunity presents itself!

Q: Any parting words?
Thank you!
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Thanks

http://www.silenceinthesnow.com/
https://silenceinthesnow.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pg/silenceinthesnow

Untied Kingdom (…or how to come to terms with your culture) with The Wolfhounds - An Interview

Bem, se você acompanhou os últimos 30 anos do que foi feito na música independente mundial o nome The Wolfhounds certamente não soará estranho, pelo contrário, certo?

Só pra situar, o The Wolfhounds é uma das principais bandas da saudosa class of 86, sem contar que David Callahan quando do término do Wolfhounds, ele mais Margaret Fiedlee montaram o Moonshake, e muitas e muitas histórias, quer saber mais, sugiro que faça esta leitura aqui e entenda mais do que estou falando.

Pelo segunda oportunidade, o TBTCI tem a honra de conversar com o mestre David sobre o novo álbum do Wolfhounds, "Untied Kingdom (...or how to come to terms with your culture)", um discaço que segue a linhagem de grandiosos álbuns da banda.

Muito ao contrário do que fazem as bandas que retornam atrás de grana e ficam paradas no tempo, o The Wolfhounds consegue se reinventar e esta mais atual do que nunca.

Sras e Srs co ma palavra Mr. David Callahan.

***** Interview with The Wolfhounds (David Callahan) *****

Q. Hello David, first, congratulations on the new album, it's really brilliant, what is your analysis after conclusion of album? Are you happy with the result? 

A. Thanks. I think it’s the best thing we’ve ever done, not just because of the quality of the songs but also because it’s the first thing we’ve done that works as a coherent whole, rather than just being a collection of songs. The closest we’ve come before to this is with Bright & Guilty in 1989, which had a similar ‘state of the nation’ feel but was more abstract. On Untied Kingdom I think we’ve managed to capture a real sense of the current political and social unease in our country (which has parallels in the rest of the world, of course) while simultaneously being more melodic and more experimental than usual. I’m dead proud of it. There are always things I would change after finishing recordings, but there are less of them this time around.

Q. How was the process of creating the album?
A. Prolonged, but steady. We recorded the drums and some of the louder more feedbacky guitars in a couple of studio sessions, but otherwise added overdubs at home. It was great fun getting guest vocalists round to my house to record in my hall and bedroom, and engrossing trying to sync the different layers of vocal recorded on my iPhone for Apparition. It was also fun getting the files of what other people had done on top of the backing tracks when I sent them over. Sometimes these changed the feel of the songs in ways I didn’t envisage, like when Terry Edwards added the horns to My Legendary Childhood.

The LP really started to take shape when I wrote Apparition (which was just sung straight into my phone) and Across the River of Death, written while I was investigating a new tuning I’d made up attempting to emulate those West African ‘desert blues’ tunings. These songs were clearly a beginning and an end, and everything else pretty much slotted in between with very little work. It was also good to work some of the songs in live before finishing them – that gave them an edge of excitement that is really hard to get any other way. There are songs left over which also indicate a new direction, but we’ll see ...

Q. What are the main differences between "Untied Kingdom (…or how to come to terms with your culture)" and "Middle Aged Freaks"?
A. Middle Aged Freaks was always conceived as a compilation rather than a coherent whole, though the songs mostly hang together, I’m happy with most of those songs, though they’re mostly just recordings of the band playing together as we would live. That’s good, but the Untied Kingdom songs have room to breathe and fir off in all directions and hopefully on all cylinders.

Q. What were the influences for creating the album?
A. We’ve always been eclectic listeners, but the new LP pushes forward my idea that garage/punk/indie/guitar/whatever music can be just as expressive as any other form of pop music. If you really get into it, every song has tons of musical ideas bubbling under the surface, and I really worked hard on the nuances in the lyrics, giving them double or triple meanings where possible. It was important to mix electronics, samples, male and female vocals, and various extracurricular instruments into the whole, while still retaining that noise-pop edge. Andy’s use of the bulbul tarang he got off eBay on Fire in the Home is a high point for me, as are the electric violin lines that Paul Warwick added on to The Stupid Poor and Across the River of Death. The influences are more general than specific – you can hear echoes of folk, techno, 70s African music, garage punk, rockabilly and the avant garde in there, I think – all stirred up in big fruit cake. I’d like to bring more of that out in future, but we’ll see.

Q. What are your plans for 2016/2017?
A. Both Andy and myself have solo recordings almost ready, while I have a sampling/electronics project which has been long in gestation, which will either come out as a Moonshake record or something else. We’ll be playing more Wolfhounds shows, and there are several songs ready for rehearsal with a view to planning our next move. I’m open to more collaborations like I did with Manyfingers last year, and there will also be more of the acoustic shows which I started performing about a year ago.

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Thanks

https://thewolfhounds.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/TheWolfhounds

Unknown Author with Jeremiah Foundation - An Interview

Os irmãos Jason e Justin Hendry de Wichita, no Kansar, formam o duo Jeremiah Foundation. 

Um exercício freak onde a eletrônica dita o andamento, mas junte na miscelânia guitarras e uma enorme variedade de experimentações que geram um resultado hipnótico e dançante.

"Unknown Author" o debute dos caras lançado ano passado é um caldeirão de referências, pense em Thompson Twins misturado com Talking Heads com Kraftwerk, com MBV com SY, Depeche Mode e não soando como nenhuma das matrizes.

Um disco híbrido e excitante, é exatamente isso que o Jeremiah Foundation cometeu.

Mexa o esqueto e o cérebro com "Unknown Author".

***** Interview with Jeremiah Foundation *****

Q. When did jeremiah foundation Start? Tell us about the history.....
Well, that is a long story, so I will try to make it interesting. The band jeremiah foundation is made up of two brothers, Justin and Jason Hendry, before jeremiah foundation we had a band called Public Fred and Public Fred was a 3 piece Punk band that started to use elements from electronic music. Public Fred started back when we were in High School 1993 and ended roughly 1996 or 1997. Public Fred became 33.3 montag and was a 3 piece band playing some Punk music, but was working on playing live Techno music. The 3 piece band became a two piece, leaving just us ,Justin and Jason. Now that was not the beginning of jeremiah foundation, but it was a sparkle. Justin left 33.3 montag and 33.3 montag lasted until 2001. 2001 New Order released their album Get Ready and we loved it! I ( Jason ) was getting tired of playing music by myself and was wanting to do something like Depeche Mode and Justin was ready to take some of the songs he has already written and rewrite them in a new direction. Then jeremiah foundation was born. The beginning of jeremiah foundation was a little loose, musically speaking and I would say that we have now started to write music that we really meant to write. We started to focus on an Electronic Shoegaze sound and it has been working very well for us.

Q. Who are your influences?
That would be the reason our music was loose, because we love music and have a lot of music that influences us. As I mentioned New Order, Depeche Mode, The Beatles, ColdPlay, Radiohead, Sonic Youth, Starflyer 59, Seefeel, Moby, Atari Teenage Riot, My Bloody Valentine, Franz Ferdinand, Kraftwerk, Johny Cash and Cut/ Copy to just name a few.

Q. Make a list of the 5 albums of all time...
Wow, that's a hard one. I am going to have to cheat here and give you two lists. One from Justin and one from me.
Justin's list:
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Interpol - S/T
New Order - Technique
The Beatles - Abbey Road or Revolver ( Can't decide which he likes best. )

Jason's list:
Sonic Youth - Washing Machine
ColdPlay - Rush of Blood to the Head
The Beatles - SGT. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band
Raveonettes - Pe'ahi
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

Q. How do you feel when you play live?
I don't think about that one much. Hot and sweaty! I guess it must feel great or otherwise we wouldn't do it. It's great to try to get a response from a crowd and to have fun with a group of people that are listening to music that you have written. It's even better when people get excited about the same things that have made you excited, like the way a song sounds!

Q. How would you describe how jeremiah foundation sounds?
The best way that I have been describing our sound recently is Electronic Shoegaze or Dance Punk. I also like the description of Hazed Out Dance Party.

Q. Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
We have been taking a different approach for each song, because we use to write our songs the same way all the time and that made things kind of sound the same. What we do now is a little bit of the old way where one of us will write an entire song, bring that song to the other, then work it out and record it. Another way is to right different parts of a song and create more ideas from the previous idea and then bring those ideas together to form a song or write a poem and then make some music to fit that idea.

So then recording works like this......

Once we have all of our loops, samples and keyboard lines together, we record all of our electronic tracks. Sometimes we record drum sounds through guitar or bass amps and mess with the sound using our effect pedals, I also like to try to capture the room sound. We will also do this with our samples and keyboard sounds. We usually record our own music and love the process!

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
We are not listening anything really new, but here are some newish bands to check out:

Phantogram, Cut/Copy, Purity Ring, DiiV, The National, Starflyer 59, M83, Travel Guide and The Raveonettes

Q. Which band would you love to do a cover and what song?
Well we have played a couple of Kraftwerk songs Model and Space Lab, but it would be fun to cover Cher - If I Could Turn Back Time or Talking Heads - Burning Down the House.
www.soundcloud.com/jeremiah-foundation/das-model

We like kraftwerk and thought that this would be a good song to cover.

Q. What are your plans for the future?
We are currently working on recording, on our own, a 6 song ep. Once we record each entire song we will release the recording on cassette tape and each song will be mixed into each other, so a continuous mix of music. We will also have each song on it's own on bandcamp that can be downloaded. What we would like to see is people download all of the songs and for them to send us a mix of the songs that they have made, then in return we will post the mixes that we enjoy on our soundcloud page. I love interacting with our fans and what better way than to show things that other people are doing. After we finish the recording we are working on, which will probably be sometime next year, we want to write two more songs and go into a recording studio to see what someone else could do with our sound, as well as produce music for 7" vinyl record.

Q. Any parting words?
Again thank you so much for taking the time to do this blog interview with us. Thank you for listening and we are now offering our music on bandcamp as pay as you like, so you may download the music for free! If you can't pay us any money for the recording, that is fine, just tell someone else about us, come to our shows or if you are in a band bring us to your town.
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Thanks

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

All That We Lack with War Waves - An Interview

Pense em todas as vertentes do indie rock noventista, de Nirvana a Offspring, e MBV a Pavement, daí pegue uma banda da novíssima geração inglesa, mais precisamente de Ipswich, no caso o quarteto War Waves e seu segundo álbum lançado em Outubro, intitulado "All The We Lack" e situe tudo isso nos nossos dias nos quais a grande maioria esta mais afim de baixar mp3 e pouco se lixando para os formatos físicos, pois, veja, o disco dos caras esta esgotado, tal qual seu debute homônimo de 2015.

Porque? Simplesmente porque os caras são bons, e fazem seu som de forma que estão pouco se fodendo se você esta afim de conhece-los, sabe porque? Porque, tem muita gente que esta, e outra, o disco não estaria esgotado se não valesse muito, mais muito a pena.

Dê uma chance a você mesmo, experimente a experiência de chutar tudo como você fazia quando era moleque, no caso o War Waves é um estimulante perfeito.

***** Interview with War Waves *****

Q. When did War Waves start? Tell us about the history...
A: We have all been making music together for a few years now, but War Waves in this lineup has been together solidly for two years now. I came to my friends with a bunch of songs I had written and asked them to help!

Q: Who are your influences?
A: 90’s indie, Frightened Rabbit, The Smiths and Brand New.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
A: I can only speak for myself, but my top 5 albums are…actually, can I have 6 please?

The Smiths – S/T
Brand New – The Devil and God Are Raging Inside of Me
Saves the Day – Stay What You Are
Idlewild – The Remote Part
The Gaslight Anthem – The ’59 Sound
The Offspring - Smash

Q. How do you feel playing live?
A: I think our songs come across best live – the songs are very meaningful to us all and you can’t beat the live setting – the adrenaline and rush.

Q. How do you describe War Wavers sounds?
A: We have been described as putting a modern twist on 90’s indie, make of that what you will! I think we are honest, emotional and upbeat. Oh and I swear a lot…

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
A: Our first album was recorded in a basement separately onto tape, but for our new cd ‘All That We Lack’, we recorded it completely live, only adding vocals a few overdubs afterwards.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
A: I’m really loving Pinegrove at the moment!

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
A: Probably an Offspring song and we all loved them growing up. Gotta Get Away?!

Q: What are your plans for the future?
A: To keep writing music and releasing records. And to smile more.

Q: Any parting words?
A: You can pick up our new album ‘All That We Lack’ on CD and vinyl from www.backwaterrecords.com, or digitally from all major online retailers. There’s also some merch here: www.warwaves.bandcamp.com - *The new album 'All That We Lack' available digitally and on CD/LP now!*
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Thanks

https://warwaves.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pg/warwaves

Positions with Dancing Tongues - An Interview

Já disse aqui nas páginas do TBTCI diversas vezes e mais uma vez vou repetir, não é de hoje que Los Angeles tornou-se a nova meca do pós punk, se você desconhece o que acontece por lá atualmente é porque não deve acompanhar o TBTCI, ou simplesmente vive em outro planeta ou esta com algum problema.

A bola da vez aqui no TBTCI é de lá, obviamente, e acabou de debutar com um disco enérgico, dançante e barulhento, algo como se o Gun Club colidisse com o Bauhaus via Heartbreakers, sim a banda do ícone Johnny Thunders.

Estou falando dos trio Dancing Tongues e seu trabalho, "Positions", suingado e dissonante, o disco funcionará perfeitamente na pista de qualquer qualquer inferninho e veja, vai fritar neurônios.

Tire as crianças da sala, aumente o som e divirta-se com o Dancing Tongues.

***** Interview with Dancing Tongues *****

Q. When did Dancing Tongues start? Tell us about the history...
Kevin and Alex played together in bands since high school and had always been writing and recording stuff on the side. We recorded two songs right before Alex left to study in Spain for a few months and after hearing them decided that we should move forward and put some more focus on our songs. We had continued to work on songs while we were playing in other bands together and as all of those projects disbanded we started spending all of our time on what was going to become Dancing Tongues. Alex was introduced to Josh by a bandmate in The Rooms and invited him to come play with Kevin and him. Josh instantly clicked with the Dancing Tongues vibe and quickly became the third member and a creative force in the band.

The three of us have been performing as a trio since November 2015. We have rounded up our first year as a band with the release of our debut EP titled Positions. We are excited to have this EP out and are getting ready to shift our focus to writing a full-length album.

Q: Who are your influences?
We have a wide range of influences that include a lot of post-punk and punk bands from the late 70s and early 1980s, jazz, soul, blues, and rock n roll. Some of the bands we always find ourselves revisiting are: The Cure, Gun Club, Nick Cave/The Birthday Party, Talking Heads, Stan Getz, Sam Cooke, The Animals, The Ramones, Johnny Thunders, Thelonius Monk, The Clash, The Monks etc… The list could go on forever

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
We could spend all day as a naming dozens of albums that belong in the top five greatest albums of all time. It’s tough to say, but here are five albums we love (in no particular order):

Fire of Love - The Gun Club
Boys Don’t Cry (US Release) - The Cure
Turn On The Bright Lights - Interpol
Suicide - Suicide: Alan Vega and Martin Rev
Getz/Gilberto - Stan Getz and João Gilberto

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Hot and Sweaty??? Hahaha. It’s usually a kind of blur. It’s exciting at times, sometimes it’s nerve racking, sometimes its energizing, and other times its tiring, but it usually always goes by too fast. It’s a weird thing to say that you don't totally remember a live show or a set, but that’s usually the case. It’s cathartic and feels good most of the time. Usually the only things that we remember are specific details, like things that are particularly awesome and things that might not go as planned. That’s the cool thing about live shows as both a performer and a spectator… It isn’t about trying to sound exactly like the recording. It’s about what happens when your music brings people together. This makes each live show different, because the spaces we play in and the people we play to change.

Q. How do you describe Dancing Tongues sounds?
It’s fun to hear other people describe to us or others how we sound. They usually throw around names of bands who they think we sound like, or crazy descriptions likening us to some pretty awesome and crazy shit. It’s a little hard for us to pinpoint our sound exactly, and think it best for the listener to just listen to the tracks and make up their mind, but it’s generally danceable music with an edge.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
The recordings released on Positions were recorded in a studio environment with a fairly traditional process. However, the process to getting to that point was a bit different. We write very differently that most other bands we have been a part of. Rather than writing most songs out of a live jam, we tend to start with a specific part and construct a song together around that. It works well for us and allows us to incorporate changes or parts that we might not have arrived at otherwise.

The process is really important for us, especially because we have learned that all three of us have a very different approach to looking at songs and that there are many more ways than one way for a song to be finished correctly. This realization is why we also tend to record a lot of demos. This allows us to dissect the songs so that we can make revisions to them. It is nice to be able to listen to something without the distraction of having to play it to hear it.

Typically we put a lot of energy and time into writing, listening to, and making changes to our songs before we feel like they are finished being written and ready to be recorded for release.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
TrapsPs - https://trapsps.bandcamp.com
Marching Church - https://marchingchurch.bandcamp.com
Ruby Haunt - https://rubyhaunt.bandcamp.com
Chalk - https://fuckchalk.bandcamp.com/releases
The Garden - https://thegardenmusic.bandcamp.com

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

Q: What are your plans for the future?
To keep writing, recording, releasing, playing, and listening to music.

Q: Any parting words?
We just released our debut EP last week, please go give it a listen and enjoy it!
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Thanks

https://dancingtongues.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/dancinggues

Kill All The Kings with The Deathrettes - An Interview

Direto das garagens dos subterrâneos da Cidade do Cabo na África do Sul surge o quarteto The Deathrettes e seu demolidor EP de estreia, "Kill All Kings".

Encharcado de psicodélia garageira, logicamente influencia por Roky Erikson e os Elevators, o The Deathrettes transpira acidez nos cinco esporros de fuzz de "Kill All Kings".

Ao lado do The Psalms, o The Deathrettes coloca a Cape Town no mapamente do psych moderno.

Escuta alto, em todos os sentidos.

***** Interview with The Deathrettes *****

Q. When did The Deathrettes start? Tell us about the history...
1. We started in late 2014 when I got a guitar, Charl joined in on drums to jam some stuff that I had been sitting on for a while. Michael and I have known each other since primary school and have been jamming together since they were about 16, Michael was an obvious choice for bass. We all met Dylan through his other band, Black Lung. Dylan joined in on lead guitar and just started singing at rehearsals. We kinda just went with it and we couldn't have been happier!

Q: Who are your influences?
2. Our influences are very different, we all listen to quite a variety of music. I think that because we're not listening to the same thing, there's so much flavour coming through in each instrument. We do have a core musical genres that we all listen to, namely Garage Rock and Psychedelic Rock, but these genres have changed over time and are still changing, our taste is moving around too.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
3. I think a 5 album list of all time would take too long to consider but here are some of our favourites.

Dead Ghosts - Cant Get No (2013)
The 13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of The 13th Floor Elevators (1966)
Night Beats - Sonic Bloom (2013)
Allah Las - ST (2012)
The Zombies - Begin Here (1965)

Q. How do you feel playing live?
4. I think we feel super energetic and pumped when we play, lots of adrenalin! and probably a little drunk too haha

Q. How do you describe The Deathrettes sounds?
5. We like to call our style of music Garage Groove. We try to emphasis movement in our music, we'd like for our music to make people dance. We're not one for labels but this feels like us.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
6. Kill All The Kings was recorded live in 2 days at Bellville Studios, Cape Town. We had done a few sessions of pre-production at our rehearsal studio so we had a full idea of what we were going to lay down before we went into studio. The recording session didn't leave time for experimentation as we had worked everything out before we went into studio and we were a bit pressed for time. We double tracked a lot of the guitars on the EP, we layered acoustic guitar and 12 string on most of the songs. We experimented with one or two mic positions but for the most part it was quite a traditional recording.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
7. Corners, Runaway Nuns, Fat White Family, The Wytches, Sol Gems, Temples, Heaters. They're not really new bands but they've recently released some music we're listening to now.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
8. We like to cover songs that have a good energy. Songs that either already represents our band or we are able to play them in such a way that we are able to resinate with the song on a Rettes level.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
9. We're going on a tour in March next year in Johannesburg and Pretoria and we'd like to follow that up with a European Tour around October or so. We're working towards another EP and hopefully can get started on our LP late next year.

Q: Any parting words?
10. We currently have a funding campaign for our EP 'Kill All The Kings' on Qrates.com. We need to reach our goal of 200 pre-order records for the vinyl to hit the presses and get shipped. Fans will only be debited once we reach our 200 record goal so there's no risk. You receive a free digital download of the EP when you preorder the vinyl. You can check it out here: https://qrates.com/artists/thedeathrettes/items/12598
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Thanks

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

Distant Light with Holygram - An Interview

Depois de um show dos italianos Soviet Soviet, prediletos da casa, em sua terra natal, a Alemanha, o quinteto Holygram se formou, a história completa você lerá mais abaixo na entrevista.

Tudo começou em 2014, e agora no início de Novembro os caras debutaram via, Oraculo Records com seu grandioso álbum homônimo. 

Dominado por sombras oitentistas, fazendo conexões co mThe Cure, New Order, Comsat Angels, Chameleons entre outros, o Holygram cria suas aventuras sonoras envolto em paisagens cinzentas e esfumaçadas.

O Holygram atesta a força do resgate pós punk sem descambar para o gótico piegas. Discaço. 

***** Interview with Holygram *****

Q. When did HOLYGRAM start? Tell us about the history...
Patrick: I think that the initial spark for getting the band together was a concert of the italian group Soviet Soviet I saw back in 2014. I fell in love with the raw energy and spheric noise they were creating on stage and it made me want to explore the music scene they are loosely connected to. As a teenager I was a big fan of The Cure. I remember listening to the album Disintegration on the schoolyard on my walkman while everybody else was playing football and it made me feel „good“! The concert was some kind of flashback, a memory from a distant time and I wanted to re-experience those feelings in a much more active way. At that time I was rehearsing with my former band in Cologne in a room we shared with other bands and one day I met this guy who was just picking up some stuff. I liked his style and talked to him about my idea and if he was interested in joining the project. It was Bennett, our bass player, and we directly got along with each other. We started writing songs, experimented with different styles and instruments, searching for the sound we already had in mind. As musicians we both were coming from totally different genres, for us the project was still some kind of „terra incognita“. In the beginning we didn’t know how to make the bass guitar sound the way we wanted it to or the drum kit appear like a drum machine. After some pretty long nights in the rehearsal room we eventually succeeded…

But just writing songs and recording them was not enough. We wanted to play live and had to find a way to bring our songs in front of people. We love bands like The KVB who manage to perform their songs without a full band but that was not our idea. We wanted real drums, keys etc. without losing the sound we developed in the last months. Cologne is not so well known for its post-punk / new wave scene, so it took us a while to find the right people. Finally Marius joined on guitar, Se-bastian on drums and Pilo on synthesizers. That’s how we started to become the band we later called HOLYGRAM.

Q: Who are your influences?
Patrick: I was already talking about my first encounter with The Cure and I guess they are still one of my main influences. I am fascinated by the permanent reinvention this band went through, from cold albums like Faith to pop songs like Friday I’m in love. I think that the urge to explore different moods and styles, to keep moving and not stand still, is also immanent in HOLYGRAM.

With our EP we tried to give a glimpse of the band‘s musical range. For me personally it is an attempt to create something that is not too stuck in the rules of a certain genre. There is so much music out there I am fascinated by…it is hard to tell what really has an impact on me and my role in the band. When we recorded our EP we actually listened a lot to The Cure’s Pornography because we love the rough production but then again I am not sure you can hear any of that in our recording. I see influental bands rather as an inspiration to start with a song at all. And usually the process of writing that song takes you into totally different directions than you initially intented.

Marius: My guitar sound on some of the songs is inspired by bands I like. For example the flanger sounds of The Cure’s guitars, the soundscapes of Slowdive and the fluttering guitars of Tamaryn. For the song Distant Light I think I was pretty much influenced by the noisy guitars of A Place To Bury Strangers.

Bennett: One of the biggest inspirations for my bass playing is Peter Hook of Joy Division/New Or-der who had this kind of lead guitar touch in his bass riffs. And on the other hand there is this mo-notonic, hammering Krautrock bass à la NEU! and La Düsseldorf. In HOLYGRAM I try to combine these two elements to create something different.

Pilo: I am fascinated by melodies that trigger a certain feeling and stuck in your mind - things you hear for the first time but feel familiar with. When it comes to bands my musical base is more settled in late 60s underground stuff… Syd Barrett‘s Pink Floyd, July, Tomorrow (Rubble/Chocolate Soup). The jazzy hammond sound of Jimmy McGriff, Jimmy Smith or Brian Auger. Early electronic music by Jean Jacques Perrey or soundtracks by Francois De Roubaix. Edgar Froese did some mad stuff. Kraftwerk and other Conny Plank produced albums.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…

Patrick: The Cure – Disintegration Marius: The Comsat Angels – 7 Day Weekend

Bennett: New Order – Movement

Pilo: Writing On The Wall - Power Of The Picts

Sebastian: NEU! - NEU! 75

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Patrick: Playing live has a certain liberating effect on me. Sometimes I don’t remember what happened on stage (maybe that is also due to the abuse of alcohol). It is a more direct, kind of brutal and primitive way of making music for me. In the studio everyone records his instrument all by himself but on stage the band has to get back together, like a tribe going to war. Control vs. intuition. During our shows I play the tambourine on some of our songs and I frequently have this giant bruise on my right leg because I keep hitting it with the ring. Performing on a stage can set different kinds of energy free, positive but also negative feelings. I think that playing live makes me experience the songs in a much purer way, it makes me feel more in general. I think that’s why HOLYGRAM for me is more a live band than a studio band!

Marius: For me being on stage is a totally different experience than rehearsing. The things that happen during a show can’t be controlled. As Patrick said you can’t control what you‘re feeling. I for my part tend to isolate myself from what is going on around me. For example once Patrick cut his nose with the jingles of his tambourine right at the beginning of a show and I actually realized only later when we went backstage that his face was all covered with blood.

Bennett: Live I play the songs depending on the mood I am in. Some of them have enough space to improvise and to respond to the audience, myself and the rest of the band.

Q. How do you describe HOLYGRAM‘s sounds?
Patrick: All five members of HOLYGRAM come from different music scenes and used to play or are still playing in other bands. Everyone adds his unique idea of what HOLYGRAM should sound like to the band. Our drummer e.g. is totally into Krautrock and bands like genre-pioneers NEU! or recent projects like Kosmischer Läufer. His style of playing drums is pretty much influenced by these bands‘ iconic beat patterns called „Motorik“. We use this rhythmic style which is more often asso-ciated by psychedelic bands and combine it with guitar riffs and basslines typical for post-punk or new wave music. It is a very inspiring experience as a band when for a while everybody is set in some sort of „trance state“ of mind but without all the flower power emotions, haha. It is a very fundamental experience. HOLYGRAM is not about doing music that has its origin in the desert and the sun-bleached area of California. I think that HOLYGRAM is the feeling you could have if you were living in a german city like Cologne: Driving and gloomy. In a way it is our attempt to be „authentic“.

Bennett: We are very sound oriented. Most of our songs are inspired by a sound we like – either from a synthesizer or the guitar – and we arrange the rest of the instruments around this sound. Sound is the foundation of our songs and sometimes it takes more time to find the right sound than to write the song.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
Patrick: We already tried to record some songs in the beginning of the year in a studio but it didn’t work out for us. Over the last few months we developed a very clear idea of what the band is supposed to sound like on a recording and realized that we can’t give the production of our first EP into the hands of someone else than us. So we decided to start experimenting in our rehearsal room and recorded all 5 songs by ourselves within 2 months. Besides the struggle with the conditions of a DIY-production the experience of autarkic recording gave us the freedom to explore every song with the necessary dedication. It also gave us unconventional possibilties a „professio-nal“ recording would have never allowed. I have always been wondering what the motivation be-hind „auteurship“ is but I guess that’s it!

Bennett: Our writing and recording process is a mixture of concentrated sessions and a lot more intuitive jams with the whole band. Daria for example was loosely written by Marius, Patrick and me and later Sebastian and Pilo joined on drums and synthesizers and we finalized the song all together.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Patrick: I already mentioned Soviet Soviet who are going to release a new album in December or The KVB. France has a very vivid music scene with lots of great bands that don’t care about genre boundaries like La Secte Du Futur or Frustration. I think there is a very interesting music scene dwelling underneath all the layers of overproduced chart music and it is worth digging a bit deeper. You might find something you have never listened to before and fall in love with it!

Marius: Diiv.

Bennett: Soviet Soviet.

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
Patrick: I would like to cover a totally atypical song like Soft Cell did with Gloria Jones‘ Tainted Love. They turned a 1965 soul song into an 80s icon. Most of the people know the song because of the cover version! And then Marilyn Manson did a cover of the cover… I think that interpreting someone else‘s song is a possibility to give it a new face, but it should also be the main challenge. I am not so much into cover versions or even cover bands that sound like the original. I used to play in a 60s Garage band for almost 10 years and I am still a big fan of bands like The Music Ma-chine or The Seeds (both are coming from the „sun-bleached area of California“ btw!). I guess I would like to cover a forgotten classic from that era.

Marius: Eisbär by Grauzone. It’s the best song in the world!

Bennett: I would like to cover New Order’s Age of Consent. During soundcheck I always warm up with the bassline of this song.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Patrick: We just released our EP on tape and as a digital download and the feedback is already overwhelming! We have a deal with the spanish label Oraculo Records who will press it as a super limited vinyl edition. It is amazing how fast some things are happening and how much potential there still is. We definitely won’t rest now, we are already thinking about recording an LP next year. I guess there will be quite some shows as well. That is all I can see from here right now.

Q: Any parting words?
HOLYGRAM: We are looking forward to playing lots of shows next year and meeting hopefully some of you out there!
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Thanks

https://oraculorecords.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/holygram.official