Say Sue Me with Say Sue Me - An Interview

Escutar o debute do quarteto coreano Say Sue Me é sentir um frescor, uma calmaria, uma doce brisa, leve e suave, como estar de fronte ao mar ao entardecer e contemplar a beleza do infinito.

Os coreanos realmente aprenderam com os mestres YLT e outros mais como produzir pérolas do indie rock sem se preocupar com modernices, ou exageros, no disco homônimo deles tudo soa exatamente perfeito, nada há mais, nada há menos.

Ah, poxa me desculpem, o tal debute deles é na verdade uma compilação de suas gravações que foram lançadas exclusivamente na Coréia e só agora chegaram até nós.

Aproveite que eles agora estão ao alcance da gente, e apaixone-se pela Say Sue Me, e faça isso rápido.

***** Interview with Say Sue Me *****

Q. When did Say Sue Me start? Tell us about the history...
Our band was formed while drinking tea and beer at a tea shop in Nampo-dong in the winter of 2012.

When we first started, it was not that serious. First bassist left, Jaeyoung joined and then we started to write songs in the summer of 2013.

Q: Who are your influences?
We're really inspired by old surf music, old pop, old garage rock and 90's indie bands like Yo La Tengo, Pavement and Seam.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time ...
Yo La Tengo Summer Sun
Pavement Slanted and Enchanted
Seam Are You Driving Me Crazy
Cat power Moon Pix
Nirvana Unplugged

Q. How do you feel playing live?
It always feels different depending on where we perform. In live clubs, we sometimes try really hard to play precisely and well, so we end up feeling tense. On the other hand, when we play in pubs we can drink a little more and play loosely and naturally. We appreciate both feelings. They’re different kinds of fun.

Q. How do you describe Say Sue Me sounds?
Technically speaking, our sound is reverb! However, people who listen to our music often talk about the sea, so it seems that our music is drawn from that world of sunlight, waves and moonlit beaches, like thinking back on old memories in a sad yet bemused, lonely yet whimsical way.

Q: Tell us about the recording of the songs?
Our lead guitarist Byeongkyu write a song and prepare a guide track. Then he share it with the other members and once the music is set, Sumi adds the lyrics, and full-scale recording begins. Actually, we haven’t recorded much in big studios. As of now, we prefer recording in our practice space. Both our debut album [We’ve Sobered Up] and the 2016 EP [Big Summer Night] were recorded there.

Q. Which bands do you recommend?
Barbie Dolls (바비돌스), Cogason (코가손), Light & Noise (빛과소음)

Q: Which band would you like to make a cover version of?
At the moment, it’s hard enough just to play our own music! If we had to choose just one band though, it would be Yo La Tengo.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We’re busy preparing for the release of our second full-length album. We hope to have it out by summer 2017.

Q: Any parting words?
We're very surprised and delighted to have listeners from so far away. Thanks for your support and we hope to play in Brazil someday!
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Thanks

https://saysueme.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/SaySueMe1

Mothership with Gorilla Cult - An Interview

Aos primeiros acordes de "Mothership" novo single dos malucos freaks suecos do Gorilla Cult fica explicitado qual é a dos caras, diversão esquizofrênica, com alicerces em desconstruções do pós punk sem limites, leia-se A Certain Ratio por exemplo, aliadas a um indie rock curto e grosso e demais devaneios experimentais.

Tudo é combustível sonoro no caldeirão dos caras, pegue "Other Side of Town" e sinta o frenesi freak impulsionado por um certo desleixo e aquele ritmo quebrado que junta no mesmo balaio The Fall e Art Brut.

Indie rock freak pra dançar com o cérebro.

***** Interview with Gorilla Cult *****

Q. When did Gorilla Cult start? Tell us about the history...
Nick: I guess Gorilla Cult formally started as a band during the summer of 2013, when me, Edvin (the drummer) and Simon (our previous bass-player) met up and started working on songs together, but we have gone through so many line-up changes since then that I would actually say that Gorilla Cult really started in 2015 when we released our first EP “Dialectic Collision” and we became a 5 piece, with Tobias joining us on guitar and Dorothy (our first synth player) joining the band. When we first started out releasing material and playing shows it initially seemed like a really big challenge for us since the indie scene in Stockholm was and still is mostly dominated by indiepop bands and we were this crazy postpunk band with very little connections, so apart from the Needledrop sharing the EP on Twitter and some foreign blogs reviewing our stuff there was no real coverage of what we were doing and we mostly arranged gigs by ourselves in basements and abandoned apartments. However, this past year we’ve gotten a more stable line-up than ever before with Leo (current bass player) and Jakob (current synth player) joining the band, and the material we’ve been writing and recording now feels much more versatile than anything we’ve previously released, so we’re feeling pretty optimistic that 2017 will be a new era for us and the responses we’ve gotten so far for Other Side Of Town by both Swedish and foreign publications make us even more confident of this.

Q: Who are your influences?
Nick: Oh, that’s a hard one... We’re all into different kind of stuff, shoegaze and postpunk are some of the uniting influences of the band but Edvin’s drumming for instance has a strong influence from Matt Helders (Arctic Monkeys), while Tobias guitar-playing is influenced more by Swedish psychedelic rock acts like Dungen and Goran Kajfes Subtropic Arkestra. At the same time, Leo and I are both very into darker bands like Death Grips, Liars and Swans, while Jakob is into electronic producers like Venetian Snares and Tim Green.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
We’re five members in the band, and we decided it was too hard to narrow it down to just one album each so here’s our list of ten favourites:

My Bloody Valentine – Loveless (of course, standard pick)
Arctic Monkeys – Humbug
Death Grips – The Money Store
Junkyard – The Birthday Party
Shaking The Habitual – The Knife
Sound Of Silver – LCD Soundsystem
Shields – Grizzly Bear
4 - Dungen
Mess – Liars
Rossz Csillag Alatt Született – Venetian Snares

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Edvin: I think we’re all really enjoying playing live, it’s fun to see people jumping along to “Temporarily Down”.

Nick: Playing live is great, especially when one gets to play as loud and as long as one wants (even when we’re not allowed to, we usually end up doing it anyway). The audiences we’ve had so far have usually been really awesome and supportive too, with the music that we’re playing there will always be a small group of people at the back of the room covering their ears and wondering what the fuck we think we’re doing, but for the most part there has been a surprising amount of people who have responded very physically to our music during shows.

Q. How do you describe Gorilla Cult sounds?
Our sound is loud, a bit dark and intriguing but still melodic and up-beat. Many of our songs sound very different from each other, with Other Side Of Town sounding like indie rock played with chords from bossanova, while future releases will probably sound more like dancepunk or even hip hop-inspired. However, I guess what unites everything we do is the distinct way in which everyone plays their instruments and the lyrical themes of information overload that usually recur throughout the songs.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
So far, we’ve recorded all of our releases in this really tiny basement we like to call Dankland Studios. We usually try to record the drums and the bass together so that we get a tight rhythm section and then record vocals, synths and guitars separately.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Here are some cool bands from Sweden that we like:

John Riggebo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tFkSwj_Xy8 (really beautiful Radiohead/Grizzly Bear type stuff)

Cholera Jasna: https://soundcloud.com/cholerajasna/1056a (Masterful combo of post-rock and shoegaze, dope af)

1056 soundcloud.com d

Steve Buscemi’s Dreamy Eyes: https://soundcloud.com/steve-bs-dreamy-eyes/call-out (lovely dream pop the way it was intended to sound)

Steve Buscemi's Dreamy Eyes - soundcloud.com

Little Velvet: https://soundcloud.com/littlevelvet/mazta (awesome progressive electronica)

Mazta soundcloud.com
Lilla Gucci Wave

Melby: https://soundcloud.com/melbyband/regnet (super nice indie-folk)

Regnet by Melby | Free Listening on SoundCloud

Bodega Sisters (our sister-band, no material yet, but some new material will be coming from them soon!)

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
We would love to be able to pull off a Television song (either Marquee Moon or Elevation), or one by Led Zeppelin.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Right now we’re in the process of recording a few tracks we have been playing live recently and we are planning to release them early spring.

Q: Any parting words?
Our parting words? Build bridges, not walls, and thanks a lot for this interview!
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Thanks

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

They Were Selected and Divided with You´re Jovian - An Interview

Lembram-se das guitar bands dos 90´s? E como esquecer não é?

Pois então, passam-se anos, décadas, e ao que parece elas jamais nos largarão, e se depender do trio You´re Jovian, pode esquecer que esse resgate sera eterno.

Os caras vão fundo em teletransportar aquela atmosfera, aquela aura que esta fincada em mentes e corações, riffs grudentos, barulheira boa, o eterno elixir da adolescência, tudo esta estampado em Stereochronic o último trabalho dos caras, e olha que é de 2012, mas não preocupem-se depois de todo esse hiato, o You´re Jovian retorna com um álbum que vai fazer tudo isso descrito acima e muito mais. 

Salvem a data, 7 de Abril, o nome do álbum "They Were Selected and Divided", e já deixem o som preparado no volume máximo.

***** Interview with You´re Jovian *****

Q. When did You´re Jovian tart? Tell us about the history...
You're Jovian started in my bed room around 2008 at my moms house, much like many other bands out there. It had no name or real reason for existing other than I was feeling very creative at that time and I was heavily influenced by Swirlies, My Bloody Valentine and Pixies. I was recording everything by myself on a digital Fostex MR-8 and probably wrote about 12 songs that summer. It wasn't till 2011 that I dubbed the project You're Jovian. Around that time my friends urged me forum a live outfit and so I did. My best bud Wesley Bunch (Suburban Living) played guitar and helped me book the shows.

Q: Who are your influences?
My influences range. I'm convinced every genre has a great band or even song. I don't come across as snooty or particular but I am. It's horrible. But I've definitely developed a lot over the years. I guess what I'm saying is I'm influenced by a lot, not just by music but my memories and even seasons. I love late night humid summers by the beach. I'm constantly discovering things that I could do or make my own but it comes out as the shoegazy genre. So a lot of times it doesn't get reflected. I don't even listen to a lot of shoegaze..

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
5 albums of all time is still a tough one. I'll definitely go simple here

Pixies - Surfer Rosa
Swirlies - They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days in the Glittering World of the Salons
Beat Happening - You Turn Me On
Weezer - Pinkerton
Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped

Q. How do you feel playing live?
I enjoy playing live. Especially when we're well rehearsed. It's a little different for me because I have to network and book everything, so it's rather exhausting but it's a lot of fun, especially when everything comes together. We (as a band) certainly have our good shows and bad shows, but when we're good, it definitely feels incredible. I also just enjoy traveling with friends. I like having a reason to travel. I'm definitely not a wonderer but It's great playing shows and sleeping on strangers floors..

Q. How do you describe You´re Jovian sounds?
I would describe our live sound completely different from the recordings. When I record everything is methodically planned out, super clean and a little slower. It's just me. Live, there's 3-4 of us (myself included) and we're super loud, vocals buried and the tempos are much faster, which I dig. I like the separation in dynamic. It keeps it interesting for me and different for the audience but the songs are still representable.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Recording usually starts with a riff, again, like many other bands. I'll usually build off that and the rest kinda falls into place. I'll usually know pretty quickly if it's worth pursuing or not. It's kinda euphoric.. It's actually a little terrifying too because I don't know where it comes from. I try nit to think about it and keep it natural, if that's a thing. I will try different techniques if I can pull it off. I try to keep any riff clever, never recycled. Once I feel well rehearsed, I record everything to a 4 track tape. Once I'm happy with that and I compile enough songs, I'll record with my buddy and producer Mark Padgett. He's a super nice person who knows his shit and can move quickly. I also love his studio, super low key. It's actually in a shed.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Lately I've been digging on this band called Fat Spirit based out of Richmond, va. (about 90 miles North from where I live in Norfolk, va). Suburban living (my home boy Wesley Bunch) is making waves right now picking up a lot of momentum. I also have really gotten into this band called OMNI out of Atlanta, Georgia. We'll see how they develop but their debut album was fucking amazing

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I cover a lot of songs actually. Usually Guided by Voices. I've covered the Byrds and Till Tuesday. I like to dabble a bit with covers. They can be fun if done right..

Q: What are your plans for the future?
I'm releasing a new record on a label called Funny not Funny records. They've done a lot for me over the years, so I'm very excited. It's called 'They Were Selected and Divided'. And it'll be out April 7th. It'll be on cassette, digitally and available to stream, like on Spotify etc. We'll have a hand full of regional shows around then and will hopefully back it up in the summer with a full fledged East Coast tour. Unfortunately we don't have any plans on coming to Brazil. Would love to though!

Q: Any parting words?
Parting words.. Stay true to who you are. Always do the right thing
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Thanks

https://yourejovian.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/yourejovian
http://www.funnynotfunnyrecords.com/products/588474

Brace Yourself with Souvenir Driver - An Interview

A melhor coisa nessa jornada do TBTCI ao submundo dos bons sons e sempre ser surpreendido, e isso acontece periodicamente, também pudera, a produção que acontece atualmente é veloz, furiosa e sedenta por mais.

Uma dessas descobertas geniais vem de Portland, o quarteto Souvenir Driver, tritura possíveis rotulações, no caldeirão sonoro dos caras, claro, tem pitadas de shoegaze, outras de dream pop, podem até chamá-los disso ou daquilo, mas o enfoque primal dos caras, é pegar XTC e fundir com Galaxie 500.

O resultado é um melódico e ao mesmo tempo complexo senso de desconstrução. Experimente o último EP "Brace Yourself" um verdadeiro tesouro. Mas não pense que os caras são novidade, pelo contrário, dois discos no currículo e alguns EP complementam a discografia, que merece ser degustada sem pressa e na íntegra.

E ainda dizem que nada é feito de grandioso atualmente..... coitados, não sabem de absolutamente nada, inocentes.

Conselho, decore este nome - Souvenir Drive, e boa viagem.

***** Interview with Souvenir Driver *****

Q. When did Souvenir Driver start? Tell us about the history...
Souvenir Driver started in 2011, initially as a solo project, then as a three piece band with Bob (drums) and Ethan (ex-bass & guitar). Shortly after, Travis joined the band on keys. Recently, Ethan left to pursue other projects, and Josh Kalberg of Daydream Machine and Whole Wide World joined on bass.

Q: Who are your influences?
We are influenced equally by life experiences than we are by music. There are certain moods to me that evoke melody and I try to keep that in mind when we get together to write. Sometimes I hear a melody when I look at a painting or watch a silent film.

Every member of the band has different musical influences, which I think helps bring a unique perspective to our songwriting. There are a few bands we all love and agree on of course. Dandy Warhols, Spiritualized, Jesus & Mary Chain, Joy Division, Rolling Stones, to name a few …

My biggest personal musical influence is probably Galaxie 500 / Luna / Dean & Britta. Other bands that have really inspired by playing and writing include (but are not limited to): Broadcast, The Cure, Velvet Underground, Angelo Badalamenti, J&MC, and Sparklehorse.

J&MC and Sparklehorse are the two bands that gave me courage to try to write music — I remember listening to them back to back on a road trip and thinking “I can hear what each member & sound are doing.” It was this realization that these acts used minimal elements to create something so mysterious and dreamy.

The biggest non musical influences on my writing are probably Clarice Lispector and Stan Brackhage.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
My personal list will probably be WILDLY different than that of my band members. And a couple of my choices are a little embarrassing for various reasons haha. However, here goes:

1. Radiohead - In Rainbows
2. Talking Heads - Remain in Light
3. Brian Eno - Apollo: Atmospheres (though I love all his ambient music)
4. Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine
5. Luna - Rendezvous

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Playing live is a feeling unlike anything else. It puts me in a total trance and is such a good experience for me. We love playing live shows! And we’re lucky to have a separate live crew (sound & lighting person) who help us out.

Q. How do you describe Souvenir Driver sounds?
Its always hard to describe it, but I use terms like “dreamy”, “atmospheric”, and “melodic.”

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Each album has a slightly different recording process; but we’re very lucky to have worked with Gregg Williams during the last two full length records. (He’s worked with Dandy Warhols, Blitzen Trapper, Quarterflash, Sheryl Crow).

For our upcoming release, we rehearsed the songs every day for a couple weeks, then played them all front to back live, as a premiere. We went into the studio to track drums, then drove to a mountain cabin to do everything else. Once we finished with “everything else” we realized there was still a lot of work to do haha. We took it back to the studio with Gregg, and did a series of over-dubs, and re-recorded a few things. We then mixed it with him. We’re extremely happy with the results. Its an album to listen to both on record, in the car, and headphones.

For the political E.P. online right now, it was a very different process. We wrote those songs extremely quickly, in two separate jam sessions, then we took it into a room called Revolver Studios, where Nalin Silva (Federale) recorded everything live. The room has a cool vibe. Its filled with animal decorations and lots of wooden panelling. The only over dubs on that E.P. are the vocals and hand percussion. We wanted that one to capture the energy and emotions we were feeling, and to sound more raw than our previous material.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
I’ll stick with bands that are slightly underground ;)

For Portland I’d say Candace, Hollow Sidewalks, Tender Age, The Shivas, Daydream Machine, Miracle Falls, Hawkeye, Verner Pantons, and Bryson Cone are my favorites. But there’s so much good music here, I’m sure I’m forgetting someone.

In terms of bands outside Portland my favorites are Froth, Dead Leaf Echo, Heaven, Shana Falana, and Cosmonauts.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Too hard to choose! We’re covering Spacemen 3 soon, but that’s sort of a ‘secret’ (which is now out haha) … Before now, the songs we’ve covered have mainly been of bands we don’t really sound like. We’ve covered Prince, Holly Golightly, Chris Isaac…

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Immediate plans are the release of our new album and a west coast tour behind it with our good friends Daydream Machine.

The album, “Self-titled” comes out April 7 on High School Records, a rad label in Portland run by Nora from Hollow Sidewalks. But before the record is out, fans will have the opportunity to buy it at shows while we tour. We’re playing a release show for it March 21st in Portland with Daydream Machine, and then touring with them from March 24 - April 1. Really excited!

In the meantime, we’ll also have a couple videos coming out shortly.

And we’re all incredibly excited to start writing new material. We have a few songs starting to blossom right now. Our favorite thing to do as a band is to write and record. We love making records.

Q: Any parting words?
Thanks so much for interviewing us and for writing about so many great underground bands! And thanks much to your readers for supporting so much music ! Its a crowded landscape right now, so it means a lot to us when people take the time to discover and explore what we’re doing.
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Thanks

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

Nothing Ever Lasts with Echo Ladies - An Interview

Malmö, Suécia, dois singles exuberantes, e o inevitável clichê, amor a primeira audição, é tudo que posso dizer sobre o trio Echo Ladies.

Se por acaso você acha que estou exagerando, experimente não se curvar as belas e intensas "Nothing Ever Lasts" e Close To Be Close To Me". A primeira um wall of sound evocando os mestres que já passaram pela Creation Rec., já a segunda é um delírio climática onde conexões com os padrões de qualidade 4AD de outrora vem a tona.

O primeiro EP bem em Abril, e a paixão pelo Echo Ladies só tende a aumentar, simples assim.

***** Interview with Echo Ladies *****

Q. When did Echo Ladies start? Tell us about the history...
Echo ladies started after alot of different projects that didn’t worked out. We tried to play different genres with different people. But after a while we decided to let our band be just us three.

Q: Who are your influences?
We have alot of different bands that we look up to. Bands like Cocteau Twins, Jesus and the Mary Chain, Slowdive and Black Marble. Even though we love these band we want our music to be our own. We are being inspired by them, but we’re not trying to sound like them.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
This was surprisingly hard. Because there are so much music that are being released all the time and the rare so much old albums that is close to our hearts aswell.

Psychocandy – Jesus and the Mary Chain
Heaven or Las Vegas – Cocteau Twins
In and Out of Control – The Raveonettes
International – Lust for Youth
A Different Arrangement – Black Marble

Q. How do you feel playing live?
We love to play live. It’s where we feel comfortable. Sure we have had gigs that were close to awful. But we get our energy form playing live. When we write our songs we imagine how they would sound live and form them thereafter. We want our recordings to sound like our sound live.

Q. How do you describe Echo Ladies sounds?
A wall of sound that makes you feel that you’re in a dream. We want the singing to color the reverb chaos from the guitars and complement eachother.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
We talk to our producer and book a time in the studio. At this point we already have the song ready, by that we mean we know the song and our parts an have a backingtrack ready. Then we just layer the instruments. And try to find small details thar could enhance the song.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Tinsel Hears, a band we share rehearsal space with. They make really good jingle-jangle pop.
https://soundcloud.com/tinselheart

Then our label friends Wy, that makes sad dreampop.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/627lkEGmmipXQMlOXJMqgm

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Maybe something of Kate Bush. We’ve actually discussed to make a cover of her before. So maybe in the near future.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We are going back in to studio quite soon. But before that we have an EP coming on April 7th and some gigs in the near future are planned. But we have more dreams we want to achieve with Echo Ladies and hopefully they will come true.

Q: Any parting words?
One could never have too many reverb pedals.
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/pg/echoladieshttp
https://soundcloud.com/echo-ladies

kNOWing Eva with Undone - An Interview

Poesia em formas psicodélicas, caos, dores, perversões, delírios, morte, família, sonhos, guerras, , apocalipse, tudo é alimento para o caótico combo macedônio, Undone.

O recém lançado "kNOWing Eva" é um exercício de desintegração plena e total da sanidade, sendo conduzido pelas guitarras delirantes de Viktor Gajtanoski e Ronit Bergman exorciza tudo com a vocalização mais tensa e sexy dos últimos tempos.

"kNOWing Eva" é certamente um dos trabalhos mais intensos lançados este ano, e precisa, veja bem, precisa ser apreciado imediatamente e sem moderação.

Nestes tempos de incerteza o Undone é a trilha perfeita para seus temores.

***** Interview with Undone *****

Q. When did Undone start? Q. Tell us about the history...
Undone started in the summer of 2010 and its still undoing J

We were invited to create an experimental poetry- and sounds show for an international poetry festival in Macedonia. We were given rooms in the amazing mountain village Velestovo overlooking Lake Ohrid – a place which if you don’t get inspired there you might have a problem with inspiration… we had a week to create something and we pretty much wrote the essence to what became the first album of Undone – If We Are Here (2011). Later came Indeed (2012) which was a result of a three day jam session and it was followed by Steering Will, Family - last year, and our new Ep kNOWing Eva. Our last 2 releases appear also in vinyl which I am really happy about. Different people play in each album, but it looks like Edi - Andrej Anastasov-Daskalovski the drummer, Muso - Mustafa Jonuzovski who plays bass, and the guitarist Noga Shatz will defiantly continue to work together. Darko Tasevski and Filip Mitrov also appear in the different albums and we will continue to collaborate when possible. In kNOWing Eva we collaborated with Viktor Gajtanoski whom we also closely collaborated with in If We Are Here. My husband Darko Janevski always takes part as well, he records and mixes the albums and sometimes contributes his Voice, effects and field recordings.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
that’s as 5 as I can get now ~
The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground &Nico
Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy
Spacemen 3 – Sound of Confusion
Butthole Surfers – (can’t decide) Hairway to Steven or Locust Abortion Technician
Syd Barrett – The Madcap Laughs
Coil – Love’s Secret Domain
Gong – The Flying Teapot
Brian Jones Presents The Pipes of Pan at Jajouka
Lustmord – Arecibo – Trans plutonian transmissions
Television – Marquee Moon
Can – Soundtracks
Cocteau Twins - Garlands
Brian Eno and David Byrne – My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
Joy Division - Unknow Pleasures

There are so many others It was a difficult question.

Q. How do you describe Undone sounds?
You can probably genre it shoegaze/dreampop but I call it Sandalgaze, because the roots of the main core of Undone are in the Middle East and the Balkan, and I think we have that about us. we didn’t grow up on shoegaze.. Dreampop from the middle east has war and sand in it, is bloody, and could even get nightmarish..if classic shoegaze is like butter, we bring oil.. I think we best fit in the psychedelic genre since it is so divers and colorful. For me psychedelia is spiritual music, it is worship, and that is something which has been around in one form or another since the beginning of time. I also sometimes tag Undone ‘Quest’, first because psychedelic music is a Journey, a search and travel with mind, with heart, by music, and also, Undone is never really planning, we work and create in a journey, following the path the music and words pull us to, discovering it.. Also, since different people join in each new album, their musicality takes the music accordingly which affects the style.. at the same time the core are friends who know each and Undone well..

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
The first releases we were all working in Macedonia, in later albums we were joined by musicians from different countries. In Macedonia we record at ours and at Edi’s great new studio he built. We start simple, send over and the friends from other countries add themselves - record in their home studios and transfer the recording to us here - where we add it and send it again so everyone hears where the song is going, we communicate musically like this, talk-experiment-think-try until everyone is happy with the song and themselves in the song. Everyone takes any part they wish to take. It is challenging.. and always a very nice interesting collective creative process.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
I will answer with music I pay attention to - older and newer from - Anton Newcombe is perhaps not so new, but he is newcoming with something pretty beautiful on nearly daily basis, and so are the rest on my list are not all new but I am always interested in their older and newer stuff, always find it extra exciting.. Vibravoid, The Pancakes, The Oscillation, The Orange Drop, Dead Skeletons, Magic Castles, The Lucid Dream, Miranda Lee Richards, The Warlocks, The Invisible Opera Company of Tibet, Flavor Crystals, Chicos de Nazca, Tales of Murder and Dust, Chatham Rise, Nameless (UA, Teropil), Sun Mahshene, The Asteroid #4, The Chemistry Set, The Sun Blindness, Dead Horse One, Helicon Glasgow, Floorian, Joe Chapman and his different projects, The Limiñanas, Kingdom of the Holy Sun, Desert Mountain Tribe, HIGH&DRYs, The Hanging Stars, Baby Woodrose, The Sun’s Evil Twin, Dead Meadow, The Third Sound, Frankie Teardrop Dead, Luca Zotti and his different projects, Temples, Mellow Lizard, Perija, Elephant Stone and all the rest…

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
I would like to make a slow heavy but dreamy cover for Mamma Mia of ABBA

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Now I am preparing ‘Harbor’ which is an exclusive compilation of Undone songs for everyone attending Fruits de Mer Records Festival of Psychedelia in August!

I will music in two new projects soon to emerge, one with Yoram Gur who is the amazing musician-guitarist from my first band Plastic Venus, and the other with Luca Zotti! I will continue to collaborate with Edi, Muso and Noga into the next Undone album ‘NewClear Reactions’, and!

A bunch of us friends-bands are about to launch a collective record label Very soon.. ! excited about that!

Q: Any parting words?
Thank you so much for having us! Keep up the good work!
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/undone.one/
http://undone2.bandcamp.com/

Tanned Skin, Light Eyes with Fun With Ether - An Interview

Resumidamente, quando sem querer, inicie a audição de "Tanned Skin, Light Eyes" debute do duo Fun With Ether, foi literalmente amor a primeira audição.

Shoegaze, com doses perfeitas de barulho e candura, fizeram o disco entrar direto no hall dos prediletos atuais.

Impressionante o poder da empatia sonora, fazer um ilustre desconhecido tornar-se querido como num piscar de olhos, não?

O poder da música permanece inalterado e imbatível, e o Fun With Ether é a prova viva disso.

Acima.

***** Interview with Fun With Ether *****

Q. When did Fun With Ether start? Tell us about the history...
1. Fun With Ether started off as an idea back in mid/late 2015. I really wanted to start making music, but I didn't have some essentials to start recording actual content. When I started my first semester of college, I recorded some demos with GarageBand using drum machine software. Then I stopped for a little while until I began recording tracks for my debut in the late summer of 2016 with the proper equipment.

Q: Who are your influences?
2. I'd say I'm heavily influenced by a lot of 90s, alternative, and shoegaze bands. Bands such as Lush, Sonic Youth, Swirlies, Pale Saints, and many more are some of the groups within that category. I'm also influenced by more rock-oriented bands as well, such as Rush, The Church, early Gene Loves Jezebel, etc.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
3. *not in rank order*

Rush - Hemispheres
The Charlottes - Liar: Best of The Charlottes (compilation)
Lush - Gala
For Against - December
Sonic Youth - Sonic Youth EP

Q. How do you feel playing live?
4. I've played live before, but I've yet to play my own material out in public. With that being said, I would love to start playing my own stuff live soon. I feel pretty ambitious about it.

Q. How do you describe Fun With Ether sounds?
5. I guess you could describe my sound as gritty dreampop, shoegaze, pop rock, etc. It's atmospheric, but there's a steady beat to it.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
6. Well, I'm practically the main guy behind Fun With Ether. It's like my baby, haha. I recorded all the instruments, starting with drums, guitars, bass, and lastly, vocals over the fall/winter of 2016. My friend Erika is the voice behind the project. After I had a fairly decent mix of the instrumentation, we met together during our winter break for a couple of days to track the vocals. We were on a time crunch because she goes to school out of town. It's kinda funny because I also write the lyrics and have a certain way the lyrics are to be sung in my mind. Despite having a horrible voice myself, I showed her how the sing the vocals. But it didn't take too long and the process went relatively smooth.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
7. Hmmm, tricky question! While Ringo Deathstarr isn't relatively new, I'd highly recommend them to those who are into modern shoegaze. Ally Gold is another great alt-rock group. If you really want to listen to really noisy stuff, check out Soda Lilies.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
8. I would love to cover Sonic Youth, especially songs from their early discography. I love their raw sound and noise from most of their albums from the 80s.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
9. Let's see.. Well as of right now, I see myself having enough creative ideas to make two more albums, maybe even a couple of EPs. So I definitely plan to write more content in the near future. Hopefully I'll get to go out and tour around Texas. That would be fun!

10. Q: Any parting words?
Thank you so much for your questions! I had a blast answering them. :)
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Thanks

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

Mouthbreather with Mind Meld - An Interview

Em alguns momentos se faz mais do que necessário apenas o rock´n´roll tribal, brutal, nu e cru, sem firulas, sem efeitos, sem modernices, sem interferências, saca?

E para estes momentos acabamos recorrendo a pedras fundamentais da música, leia-se, Blue Cheer, Stooges, MC5, ou Sabbath, mas veja bem, experimenta buscar no submundo dos bons sons o discípulo correto desses mestres, e o TBTCI esta aqui pra facilitar sua pesquisa.

Vá direto ao ponto, Mind Meld, diretamente de Los Angeles, e mais cirurgicamente seu debute homônimo, lançado há pouco mais de 1 mês atras. 

Encha o copo com sua bebida favorita, busque seu psicotrópico predileto, aumento o som e aproveite. Mind Meld é, música alta, pesada, para momentos de exorcismos pessoais

***** Interview with Mind Meld *****

Q. When did Mind Meld start? Tell us about the history...
Bert and Erik were in two great bands together, Jesus Sons and Hoover III, and I'd just finished up with Endless Bummer. We were all pals jamming at Permanent Records after the shop closed, just for fun. All of us vibed so well together that a band just happened. Happy accident!

Q: Who are your influences?
Stooges, Hawkwind, Bowie, Blue Cheer, Sabbath, MC5...we could go on here forever.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
We are at our best live. Our minds meld in that setting and we all become one wild, destructive and engaging beast.

Q. How do you describe Mind Meld sounds?
We are constantly at 11! Our songs are a mixture of our influences and our environment. We strive to get everyone high enough to join us in outer space!

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
LA has so many rad bands. Check out Walter, Prettiest Eyes, Babylon, Frankie And The Witch Fingers, Flat Worms, OGOD...we could go on forever here too.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
We do a cover of Edgar Broughton's "Why Can't Somebody Love Me" and a blown out version of "Skies Above" by The Equals. Lately we have dabbled with an MC5 cover of a Troggs song. We like the idea of covering a cover. Interpreting and interpretation if you will, haha!

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Make more records, smoke more weed and play more shows!

Q: Any parting words?
Creativity thrives in the face of adversity. We're dealing with some heavy stuff here in the US, but that's even more reasons to... KICK OUT THE JAMS, MOTHERFUCKERS!
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Thanks

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

Cloudy Eyes with Pia Fraus - An Interview

Absolutamente desnecessário fazer as honras de apresentação para os estônios do Pia Fraus.

Um banda a frente do seu tempo, resumidamente, os seis amigos, estudantes de arte começaram suas experiências sonoras lá no distante ano de 1997, uma época que experimentar soar como um mix de shoegaze, class of 86, dreampop, com fortes influências de Stereolab era um tanto quanto fora do contexto do domínio do Britpop da época, mas mesmo com as adversidades daquela época o Pia Fraus construiu um carreira e discografia absolutamente impecáveis. Clássicos cultuados como "In Solarium" de 2002, "Nature Heart Software" e "After Summer" ambos de 2006, fizeram o culto aos estônios crescer com o passar dos anos, e lá se vão 20 anos desde os primeiros passos da banda.

Mas não pense que eles acabaram, em nenhum momento houve um ruptura, continuaram a produzir, obviamente com tempos maiores entre um trabalho e outro, além de outros projetos paralelos de seus integrantes como o Imandra Lake do líder Rein Fuks, até chegar ao dia 13 de Março, sim pouco menos de 15 dias atrás e o Pia Fraus colocar no mercado através de sua gravadora, a estônia Seksound, um split ao lado dos heróis da noisepop, o Rocketship.

E muito em breve vem um novo trabalho e assim a vida caminha para o Pia Fraus, imune aos anos e suas modernidades, os estônios permanecem fiéis as suas origens, e os novos tempos dão a eles, um status maior de cult band e heróis de sua época.

Se por um desvio de caráter você não sabe do que estamos falando aqui, eis a história do Pia Fraus passada a limpo, resumidamente pelo próprio Rein, delicie-se a apaixone-se novamente, ou, pela primeira vez pelos queridos estônios.

***** Interview with Pia Fraus *****

Q. When did Pia Fraus start? Tell us about the history...
RF: We started in 1997 when we all studied in art school in Tallinn. First we started playing with Reijo on bass and myself on guitar. We recorded some weird songs with my sister’s cassette player. In 1998 we were joined by Tõnis, Joosep and girls. We were teenagers, everything was new and interesting for us.

Q: Who are your influences?
RF: My biggest influences at that time were Estonian bands like Borax, Dallas, Dreamphish, Röövel ööbik, Zahir. Also The Wedding Present and Stereolab.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
1. J.M.K.E “Külmale maale” (Estonian punk classic!)
2. Stereolab “Peng”
3. The Pastels “Illuminati”
4. Nick Drake “Pink Moon”
5. Bonnie “Prince” Billy “The Letting Go”

Q. How do you feel playing live?
RF: Playing live has always been the hardest part for me. I really like to spend time in the rehearsal room with my friends. I like recording and the producing process but I don’t feel comfortable on stage. But I still do it and it’s been almost 20 years.

Q. How do you describe Pia Fraus sounds?
RF: I’m always looking for some balance between a warm and a soft sound, lo-fi, guitar noise and airy synths. I never wanted to sound like a regular indie rock band.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs.
RF: Thing are a bit different with this new album we’re working on at the moment. I wrote about 20 new songs and picked 12 songs for the album. I started recording alone, recorded all my parts, guitars, vocals, and some percussion and then invited other Pia Fraus members to lay down their parts. The recording process is almost finished and soon we'll start mixing.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
RF: There are so many great bands in the world these days. It's not easy to pick one or two... I can recommend some stuff i like - Soda Lilies, She Bit Her Lip, Lazy Legs.

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
RF: I really like making remixes and cover versions. I have one dream to cover an Arthur Russell song and a few more ideas I can’t talk about right now. Have You heard the Pia Fraus version of Depeche Mode’s “Condemnation”? We have also covered Michal Jackson’s “Heal The World” but never recorded it.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
RF: It’s really hard and almost impossible to make future plans for Pia Fraus because there are so many busy members in the band but I can promise that we are gonna release our best album next autumn. I’ll definitely make more music in the future with Pia Fraus, Imandra Lake, or some new project. Stay tuned!

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Thanks

https://piafraus.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/Pia-Fraus-154856150137
https://soundcloud.com/seksound

Cerebrotonia with Eye Candy - An Interview

 

Amigos são assim, vivenciam bons e maus momentos, amores, desamores, dores, vitórias, perdas, chapações e, a música, sim, a música une, e com o duo Eye Candy aconteceu isso ai, Juan Palencia e Mitchell Kerr, colocaram suas experiências lado a lado e meteram psilocibina ruidosa e viajante e assim, criaram seu debute,

"Cerebrotonia". O álbum é guiado por um certo shoegaze espacial, camuflado em derretimento psicodélico.

Sabe aqueles discos que ficaram perdidos, ainda mais nos dias atuais onde tudo é consumido tão velozmente que não há tempo de saborear como se deve, mas o TBTCI coloca e profetiza que "Cerebrotonia" do Eye Candy vai se tornar um saboroso e eterno quitute sonoro para os que souberem degusta-lo em sua totalidade.

Boa viagem.

***** Interview with Eye Candy *****

Q. When did Eye Candy start? Tell us about the history…
MK: It was 2014, I was about half way through freshman year and then we met, we started the band, and then I stopped going to public school to do independent studies and dedicate more time to the band and we’ve just been writing songs ever since.

JP: Yeah this was in late 2014. We had a couple rehearsals where we weren’t very sure what to do. I knew that I wanted to make something that utilizes guitar pedals and guitar tones very well. We started little by little, with bare minimum guitar equipment. We’d jam on weekday afternoons and kinda slowly carve out the path of what kind of music we were capable of making, those sessions contained noisier types of music. Eventually, the more gear we were able to get, the more we experimented with tones and soundscapes further.

Q: Who are your influences?
JP: It varies. I would say Brian Eno and Phil Spector might be two large influences to me. My influences might tend to change depending on what I’m mainly listening to in the moment.

MK: Guided by Voices, Brian Eno, Windy and Carl, Cocteau Twins, right now anyway.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
JP: Well there’s just so many albums in all honesty but the ones I will always defend no matter what are The VU & Nico, of course. Pet Sounds, Loveless. Evening Star by Fripp & Eno is an all-time favorite of mine. Along with Bee Thousand, Twin Infinitives, and Future Days.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
JP: It sure is a rewarding experience. However, there is uncertainty going on because of improvisation sections that we throw in before and after songs. We like each set of ours to be a different experience from the last.

 MK: I don’t really know what I think of it I guess it's just that we’ve yet to play a show where everyone is into it, I enjoy it but it feels a little odd right now.

Q. How do you describe Eye Candy sounds?
JP: Well one term that was brought up by me was “Drone pop”. I would say it’s a good descriptor for some of the sonic elements of the record, I suppose. I was listening to a lot of Biosphere and Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, so I wanted to combine the textural elements from those types of genres and apply them to these short pop tunes I had written.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
JP: Well it was a bit of a process. We had minor technical difficulties with the guitar amp. We somehow relieved the issue and then went straight to recording it. It was recorded live in Mitch’s bedroom where we rehearse and record. I wanted that live sound, where the instruments bleed into each other. There’s also more of an opportunity for improvisation and mistakes. So we put up some 57’s and an at4040 and tracked each song individually.

MK: Well it technically wasn’t completely live, as we couldn’t find anyone to record the other parts so they just got overdubbed we did rhythm guitar and drums live. As for amp problems, they were never truly solved, we just got lucky enough that we were able to minimize it as much as we could.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
JP: Eli Rector, Mary Lattimore & Jeff Zeigler, Mothers, Swanhoppers. I still have a list of new recommended artists that I need to get to.

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
JP: I play lots of Guided By Voices songs, so probably them.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
JP: Playing gigs, touring. Getting out there and going beyond just a bedroom project.

 MK: That is something far too extensive to type out.

Q: Any parting words?
JP: That’s about all.

MK: Peace out.
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Thanks

https://eyecandyusa.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/eyecandy.us/

Strange Light by Bryant Eugene Vazquez

Bryant Eugene Vasquez é um trovador as avessas, ao contrário da suavidade e demais facetas de quem leva esta alcunha, o cara distribui ruídos, ao melhor estilo discípulo de Phil Spector, dos irmãos Reid e John Cale.

O novo single do cara não deixa a afirmação acima ficar em vão, "Strange Light" é uma linda e ruidosa canção de amor, mas que como reza a lenda, no final o amor vai embora.

Escute alto e entenda as inspirações do Bryant para esta nova pérola de ruído branco.

Strange Light by Bryant Eugene Vazquez

I see it as a farewell to my exploration into the genre of shoegaze/noise pop. As I might have mentioned in a previous article, I'm in the midst of a series of album studies. Grey Expectation was the second in a trilogy. With the release of "Strange Light" I hope to close the chapter on this study. It's been a beautiful and challenging time writing and recording this material, but I am ready to move on to the next study.

"Strange Light" was written after the release of Grey Expectations. Perhaps it was always intended to be a closing note on the study of shoegaze/noise pop. The name came from a literal translation of a person's name whom I briefly knew. She was a very beautiful person, and so in my nature, I was brought under some form of spell. I became enveloped in the concept of this person. I didn't know her very well, but I'd created a false reality of who she was or could be- in order to suit my fantasy. In the end, my lack of a grasp of this reality led to the dissolving of the relationship. I suppose it's in everyone's nature: to create our own worlds, regardless of the truth. Maybe it's because we need it in that moment; maybe it's because we're all lonely people, and a dream is so easy to fall in love with. In any case, I awoke from it, and this is the result of that awakening.
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Thanks

https://bryant-vazquez.bandcamp.com/track/strange-light
https://www.facebook.com/bryantvazquezmusic

"I Want to Stand Where the Sun Himself Shakes with Fear" by Voices From Deep Below - Track by Track

Os nova iorquinos do Voices From Deep Below voltam as páginas do TBTCI mais barulhentos e densos do que antes.

Hoje veio ao mundo o quinto, veja bem, quinto álbum da banda, intitulado "I Want To Stand Where The Sun Himself Shakes With Fear", um título auto explicado obviamente, principalmente após a audição do disco.

Medos, solidão  captados por uma onda de extremo peso e densidade, seja de forma estridente ou, principalmente angustiante, em  "I Want To Stand Where The Sun Himself Shakes With Fear", o VFDB criou seu trabalho mais intenso.

E nada melhor do que seus criadores para explicarem som detalhes quase sórdidos, cada uma das cinco canções que compõe esta peça de barulho e dor.

Sras, e Srs, VFDB no TBTCI.

"I Want to Stand Where the Sun Himself Shakes with Fear" - Track by Track

1. This Is the Way
This was the first song written for the album, and ultimately is the one that set the tone for the rest of the songs. The album wasn’t initially going to be very heavy, and was going to stick to the same formula as the previous VFDB albums, but as this song was being written and recorded, a desire grew to create a more intense album than I had in the past, but one that still kept the right amount of atmosphere and beauty where necessary. This song, as with all the others, has some wonderful guest vocals and guitars from some very talented friends.

2. Blurred
This track was originally very different, and had completely different verses. Something just wasn’t gelling with the original verses though and, despite my best efforts, it had to be scrapped. I was incredibly happy with the rewritten version which include not only new verse, but the big wall of sound instrumental choruses. Listen closely and you can hear some vocals buried deep, deep in the back of the post-choruses. There are a lot of amazing guest vocals on this song, and the incredible outro was done solely by Tyler Agnew of the band Blue Plutos. There’s some acoustic guitar, some ukulele, and two killer synth lines. That’s my highlight of the album.

3. I Can’t Speak
The writing of this track was influenced by the story of the Russian cosmonaut Vladimir Kamarov and his fatal voyage on the Soyuz 1. Kamarov was sent on a space mission in a botched spacecraft that he knew could end in his death. The samples you hear in the track are his last transmissions as his craft plummeted towards earth. This track contains my favourite riff on the album. Considering the subject matter, this song had to be as intense as possible, and I think/hope the riff achieves that.

4. Indigo/Younger
This is the one I liked most as I was writing it. The drums have a nice tom pattern going on which I’d never worked with before. The main riff started out pretty simple, but then I decided to go with an accompanying second line that harmonises with the main line in some places. The big metal outro is one of my favourite parts of the album, and had a lot of time spent perfecting the mix. I’d never mixed double kicks before, and learnt a lot along the way. Mixing those double kicks with thick bass, and about 10 guitar tracks proved a real challenge, but I think ultimately it turned out sounding nice and wide and punchy. This track is about a nostalgic feeling for times and relationships of the past.

5. White Columns
This track was intended to be the big closer of the album, and mirrors track 1 in many ways, especially in terms of an attempt at coming up with a big, heavy memorable riff. Another moment I’m fond of are the synth parts in the “what you want…” section before the long instrumental bridge. That synth preset really was the perfect addition to that section, that I knew needed something extra added for a long time. It sounds to me like a distant, broken siren. The guitar solos in the big outro of the song were the most fun parts to play on this album. In the background of the instrumental bridge you can hear the album title being shouted out from the other side of the room. This track was originally going to be given the same title as the album, but I thought that would draw too much attention to it as the title track, but this track definitely echoes the sentiments of the album title. The title of the album comes from a line written by Seneca, the stoic philosopher. The title’s meaning is echoed throughout the whole album, but especially on this track.
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Thanks

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

Notorious with Small Reactions - An Interview

Quando se escuta uma banda como o quarteto estadunidense Small Reactions, se tem a plena certeza de que o indie rock ainda vive e transpira por aí.

Quando se tem a formula, noisepop, punk e mais um monte de subgêneros fica fácil seguir adiante, e é essa a mágica, simples, mas certeira dos caras. Experimente ouvir "Notorious" último ep do Small Reactions, barulheira, rápida, direta e sem firulas, com direito e um belo cover de Indian Summer dos heróis, Beat Happening.

Precisa mais? Ah, precisa sim, escuta alto.

***** Interview with Small Reactions *****

Q. When did Small Reactions start? Tell us about the history...
Sean: We started playing music together in 2005, but didn’t really become Small Reactions and shift to the music we’re playing now until around 2009 or so. We started out sounding like a jam band (much like Phish) and ended up sounding like we do now, some how. I think hearing Television, Wire, and Stereolab for the first time changed what we wanted to play.

Q: Who are your influences?
Sean: Stereolab, Wire, Deerhunter, Crystal Stilts, Velvet Underground, David Bowie, Echo and the Bunnymen, Jesus and Mary Chain, and Post-Punk, Indie Pop, Krautrock, and Noise Pop in a general sense.

Ross: My influences range from the post punk to classical. To compose a song is often a task of finding the balance between construction and deconstruction. I think Scott Walker's later albums would be a good example of this. Where the art rock of Eno and Bowie are taken a little further into minimalism, leaving the song as a puzzle to put together in your mind and can take a few listens to really absorb.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Sean:
1 Deerhunter – Microcastle
2. Crystal Stilts – In Love with Oblivion
3. Stereolab – Emperor Tomato Ketchup
4. Broadcast – Tender Buttons
5. Wire – Pink Flag

Scotty: Not an LP, but Judy Hughes – “Fine, Fine, Fine” (1967)

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Scotty: When it’s going well, playing live is like daydreaming or sleeping – you don’t really know you are doing it because you’re off somewhere else for a time.

Ross: Live shows are the ultimate musical expression for myself. The recording process makes the song something complex, but performance brings the challenge of representing a composition with a different set of rules. It's all about dynamics. Having the highest point be the most intense and the lowest point to barely holding onto the grid. I don't like when bands have the same emotion and beat for every song. To me a performance should play like a movie.

Sean: Our songs are more varied than they used to be, but I liked to think of our sets as toeing the line between control and chaos, like a high-speed train that almost derails and sometimes it might. Reckless efficiency? That was always the intention. Like a barista who makes a successful, tasty cup of coffee, but makes a huge mess in the process.

Q. How do you describe Small Reactions sounds?
Scotty: It changes a lot. Our first LP was like a noisier, gothier Walkmen. For our upcoming LP, I’d say it’s more sonically diverse and dynamic. Not too mention it’s minimal - guitars + bass + and a little bit of synth.

Sean: I always tell people we sound like a loud, noisy pop band. We want the songs to be big and loud and repetitive, but we always want everything to have a hook, too, no matter how dark the it gets.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Scotty: Recording was done at studilaroche with Ben Price engineering. It’s a house studio, and we got to cut basically all of the tracks live. We made a lot of a coffee and tinkered around with all of the little instruments Ben had laying around. I was heavy into Bowie at the time and I remember listening to Station to Station nonstop before arriving in the morning and going home at night. It was only a few weeks before he died.

We mic’d up vases of water for the track “El Dorado” at Ross’ suggestion.

Sean: We’ve always thought that recording live works best for us. We do vocals and a few guitar and key overdubs later, but, otherwise, we feel best working as a unit. I think the first record has two songs that weren’t tracked this way and the next one is the same. We’re thankful for engineers who are excited about that, too.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Scotty: I am really behind on this. There’s so much out there. I think it’s important to know your history, though. For instance - Prince. I grew up knowing who Prince was, hearing “Purple Rain,” and, as I got older, intrigued by his whole persona. Beyond his music - which, iike, Jesus, “Dirty Mind” I cannot stop listening to - he was a song-a-day type of artist. He’d shut everything else out and work day-in, day-out. When it came time to deliver an album, he’d have 3-4 albums of material recorded. I gravitate towards that way of working - the songs, etc., they come out of the air. You get them or you don’t. You think of them after a dream or while you’re walking around the house playing an unplugged electric guitar. It doesn’t make sense to me that you can be out of that state of mind, ever. I like being in that state - always creating, always thinking, always moving. Sorry this was a terrible new band recommendation. I’d have to say Cindy Lee makes utterly fantastic music that can take over your life for a little while.

Sean: LVL UP, Ultimate Painting, Mothers, Morgan Delt, Once & Future Band, Orion, Art School Jocks, PWR BTTM, Amber Arcades, S U R V I V E, and so many more!

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

Ross: For a covering other people's music, what comes too mind would be taking something that's very abrasive and making it soft. Or taking something that's foreign to us and translating it so a whole new group of people are exposed to it.

Sean: One time, years ago, we chose our set for an upcoming show by literally drawing our set from a hat. As we were pulling out the songs, Clinton had put “Monster Mash” as a one of his songs. It was supposed to be just our songs in the hat, but that wasn’t the case. We played it since we drew it and there were no reservations. So I guess Clinton would have us cover “Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett? I’ll cosign that one.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Scotty: Release LP#2 this Spring, record again, release something else in the fall. Keep moving.

Q: Any parting words?
Scotty: I read in a Trish Keenan interview that she would play a game where she had to write a song from scratch and record it within 30 minutes. It might be crap, or it might be amazing. Either way, don’t negate the benefits constraints often provide.
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Thanks

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

Bayonet with Belgrade - An Interview

Shoegaze em tonalidades épicas, por vezes apenas o velho e bom indie rock, em outras, contornos de megalomania melódica, algo como se os Psychedelic Furs colidissem de frente com o Ride, esse é mais ou menos o cardápio sonoro que vocês se deliciara ao dissecar a discografia dos quinteto da Filadélfia, Belgrade.

Vários singles com extremo destaque para o recém lançado "Bayonet", sem contar no excelente debute homônimo de 2013.

Faça uma coisa, mergulhe de cabeça na música do Belgrade que esta totalmente gratuita para audição e download, mas eu aconselho prestigiar um pouco mais esses caras, mesmo sendo "name you price" estes caras merecem total apoio.

Ouça alto e preferencialmente curtindo a noite, ou o dia, o ponto é que a música do Belgrade é propícia para todo e qualquer momento.

***** Interview with Belgrade *****

Q. When did Belgrade start? Tell us about the history...
Belgrade began in the summer of 2011 when Jeff Meyers (drums) and I (Matt Hanemann – guitar) started playing in a practice space we shared with other bands we were in at the time. We both wanted to do something musically different than we had the opportunity to do before in our other bands over time. We had known each other for about 10 years at that point and were both in pretty loud, energetic and sometimes abrasive bands. Growing up surrounded by different genres of punk and hardcore as our main outlets, we both were kind of gravitating towards something a bit more musical and experimental – and with lots less distortion and yelling. We soon brought on Derek Zglenski (bass) and Jason Bucci (guitar) to start honing in the sound… After a few weeks we decided to call up our old friend Mike McNelis to come and sing for us. In the early 2000’s, Mike sang for the band The Progress (which our bands had all shared the stage with at various points) - and we always loved the sound of his voice. Mike was looking to do something similar and less overtly punk-rooted too. After only a few months – we all found our niche in the creative process and wrote our first LP pretty quickly. We played out first show in February of 2012 with the Jealous Sound. Since then, we’ve been lucky enough to share the stage with Real Estate, Appleseed Cast, Circa Survive, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Walter Schreifels, The Velvet Teen, and a ton of other bands we look up to.

Q: Who are your influences?
Our influences are kind of all over the place… Everything we’ve experienced and and all of the music we listen to plays a part in how we express ourselves. I’d say anything from mellow classic rock like Fleetwood Mac and Thin Lizzy to confrontive art-hardcore Universal Order of Armageddon and Drive Like Jehu, to current local bands like Little Big League, and classic alternative that we all grew up on, like My Bloody Valentine, Pixies, and Nada Surf — hell – we even covered Wicked Game by Chris Isak at a show before.

In terms of how all of our influences make their way into the Belgrade song writing and performance process - I feel like we all channel the feelings we get from hearing music we love and try to bring that to the table in a non-specific way. We all come from slightly different musical histories (with a lot of overlap) but we all try to keep our sound tempered by embracing less distortion and more reverb.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Wow… that’s a REALLY hard one. I think each member of the band would have different thoughts on this question… So I’ll just drop a few that I know have made it to the top of my list at different points in the past 5 or so years that the band has been together. How about Ten, or so? (I listen to a lot of music) ;)

Sonic Youth “Goo”
The Wipers “Over The Edge”
Boys Life (everything they’ve done)
Land Of Talk “Some Are Lakes”
Karate “595”
Yo La Tengo “I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass”
Hot Snakes “Suicide Invoice”
Walter Schreifels (Basically anything he does - but especially the demos before Walking Concert)
Kite Party “Come On Wandering”
Maritime “We, The Vehicles”
Neil Young “Broken Arrow”
Team Dresch “Personal Best”
Psychedelic Furs “Psychedelic Furs“
Real Estate “Live“ — anything with the old drummer.

… and all of that Kinsella stuff always gets me motivated.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
When we have a great show — the feeling is euphoric. Almost in a black-out state of mind because you are so ‘in the moment’ of what you are doing that the rest of the world and all of its details kind of melt away. I think, if you have the ability to get lost in execution of your own songs - it’s the best feeling ever.

Q. How do you describe Belgrade sounds?
It’s hard to get perspective on that - as a member of the band. I’d say that hearing us I hear many different things… including the ever-unattainable goals we are setting for ourselves. It’s ever-evolving… If I had to give a classic response to that question - I’d say on record we are pretty atmospheric - but there are definitely very tangible and sometimes pleasant structures underneath it all.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
For the first record - we went about it the way we’ve always done - Wrote a bunch of songs and recorded them (13 tracks) in two different sessions with Vince Ratti (Skylight studios). Pretty standard recording session. Most of the music was done pretty quickly - and we worked with Mike and Vince to get the vocal sounds we wanted. We split up the first batch of recordings because we could only fit 9 songs on our Vinyl LP - and released the rest of them (with an additional remix) as an EP after the LP was out. We later combined all of the songs on one 14-song CD, which was released on Happy Little Trees/Cargo Records in Europe. Grab one if you can get them - there weren’t that many made.

For the next grouping of songs - we went about the writing and recording process very differently - writing a song - then recording it by itself or with one other track in a different studio - with different engineers based. We really wanted to experiment with different sounds and approaches - rather than being one cohesive sound from song to song (Like the first record was). We’ve tracked at The Headroom (with Joe Reinhart from Hop Along, Algernon Cadwallader, Dogs On Acid) - and at Gradwell House (with Dave Downham) a few times.. and have great experiences with both. I think we’ve decided we like aspects of both processes… But the latter definitely take much longer to get the songs out there. it’s not quite as economical to do each song in a different studio either. Ultimately - for the last batch of songs - we did a lot of home tracking (guitars mainly) and combined them with the studio recordings so that we would have a bit more control over the end product. So far it’s working pretty well - and is sounding a lot more like “us” . The latest song “Bayonet” is a great example of a hybrid home/and studio recording - and we think it’s a pretty true representation of the song.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Wow… another tough one. In Philly especially - there are so many great bands and projects starting up all the time. Lately I’ve really been listening to a lot of Philly bands like Cherry, Spirit of The Beehive, Open City, Sun Organ, Sun Airway, Japanese Breakfast, Cave People, Three Man Canon, Restorations (Jeff’s other band), Yankee Bluff, Hurry, Hop Along, Littler, and Goddammit. Lots more I can’t think of right now - I know I’m gonna kick myself later.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Lately I can’t get enough of that song “Virginia Slims” by FutureBirds…. it’ just one of those songs you hear and never want it to end… I’d love to cover that song and get lost in playing it live. it’s simple and tangible - great vocals… and just totally bathed in reverb.

Another one would be My Bloody Valentine’s “When You Sleep” - i know it’s kind of cliché choice and has been covered by a million people already… but I guess there’s a reason for that… it’s absolutely captivating and catchy.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Writing more music… louder, quieter, weirder… better.

Q: Any parting words?
THANK YOU!

You have a great site - and are representing tons of awesome music _ I’m about to take a high-dive into your bandcamp catalog. If I drown, don’t save me. ;)
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Belgrade — Matt, Jeff, Mike, Jason, Derek
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Thanks

http://www.belgradeband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/belgradeband
https://belgradeband.bandcamp.com