Brighter with Ancient Tapes - An Interview

Primeiramente devo confessar que não me recordo de ter escutado nenhuma, veja bem, nenhuma banda ruim vinda da Nova Zelândia, desde Gordons, Bailterspace, Chills entre outras tantas sem contar a mecca de toda a cena neo zelandesa que é simplesmente uma das grandes gravadoras desde sempre, a fantástica Flying Nun.

E eis que mais uma vez a NZ não nos decepciona, e é de lá que vem o Ancient Tapes, com nítidas influências de Ride, Drop Nineteens e claro toda aquela geração de bandas geniais dos 90´s.

Os caras pegam os 90´s trituram em seu condensador sonoro junto com suas conexões locais e nos ofertam um delicioso cardápio de especiarias sonoras.

Experimente imediatamente e repita infinitas vezes, com o Ancient Tapes vale conferir o menu completo.

***** Interview with Ancient Tapes *****

Q. When did Ancient Tapes start? Tell us about the history...
Sam and Rob: We started out in 2014, having met each other through work and football. We worked in the same classroom and found we both loved Ride and My Bloody Valentine and many others, and it went from there. It’s kind of been a bit on-again-off-again over the three years, due to band members moving away to live elsewhere and then coming back… we’ve cycled through 5 different drummers in that time. The current incarnation of the band seems to be fairly stable though.

Q: Who are your influences?
Sam: I would say our main influences are all of the alternative guitar bands from the 80’s and 90’s: My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Pavement, Blur, Drop Nineteens, The Wedding Present, that kind of stuff.

Rob: I’d go with that, though it’s fair to say each of us has our own extremes – those bands and their ilk are where our Venn diagram cross over.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Sam: Bloody hell… Loveless, Nowhere, Pink Moon, Marquee Moon, Siamese Dream. Those seem to be the ones that I always come back to.

Rob: Five is hard. In terms of the way they affected me at the time, probably Psychocandy, Slanted and Enchanted, Nowhere, Loveless and Lazer Guided Melodies by Spiritualized, which is far superior to Ladies and Gentlemen, if you ask me!

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Sam: As a band, I think we’re much more confident about how we set up live now, but it took us a while to figure it out. Part of that is probably my fault – as the singer I’m supposed to be the charismatic one in the centre of the stage, but I hate doing that. So now Rob acts as the frontman with all the crowd banter stuff, and I kind of just lurk in the shadows off to the side.

Rob: Frontman hmmm. I basically stand in the middle of the stage and try and say something worthwhile between songs, often about cricket. I was not made to perform at all. Hecklers are great, it gives you a base to start from and is something of a challenge. If it was up to me we wouldn’t have gapes between songs that we had to fill at all.

In terms of how you I feel playing live, it really depends on how the crowd buzzes off you and what you can actually hear on stage. Personally I have to concentrate a lot on stage on what I’m playing. I’m not so much a shoegazer, more of a fingergazer. More than anything, it’s really nice when the room is full and you see the crowd getting off on the noises you are making and I can hear all the others in just the right amounts.

Q. How do you describe Ancient Tapes sounds?
Sam: We try to write songs that are dynamic and layered. A lot of what me and Gareth do with our guitar playing is influenced by shoegazing, using lots of effects to create different textures – but we try to avoid the whole “constant wall-of-sound” thing that is often associated with that genre, by having quiet, more subtle sections within songs as well.

Rob: It depends really, I flit from ‘noisy guitar rock’ to the uninitiated to shoegaze-influenced indie-rock. Lyrically it’s quite emotional, but not emo in the Pete Wentz sense. There’s a band name right there btw. Most of the stuff we have written recently has been with a view to a slightly faster paced live set, but I’m certain it won’t always be like that.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Sam: It started off as just a demo, basically – we recorded it all in Cam’s garage on his laptop, and just played the songs as we normally would live. We never really intended for it to be a proper release. But we got some good takes of the songs, even if they are a bit rough around the edges, and thought we might as well make them available. I kind of see it as something halfway between a demo tape and an EP.

Rob: The first EP, (Hummingbird), we did in a few hours with a friend all for the price of a bottle of whiskey but it came out ok all things considered. The latest demo was just as Sam said. Going forward we have a plan to record an album with our friend, sound engineer Scott Newth, in a neat studio on the outskirts of Hamilton, New Zealand. It’s all $ sensitive though so who knows what’ll happen and when!

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Rob: New Zealand is doing so well in producing new bands at the moment. I’m not sure which NZ bands people have heard of, so I’ll mention some old ones too. There’s the more traditional post-rockers Jakob, In Orbit and even my old band Sora Shima. Gareth records as sink\sink – check that out, it’s pretty amazing. Flying Nun Records is still leading the way in this country for alternative music though, and is in the mix again with some neat bands, the likes of Fazerdaze, Kane Strang, Mermaidens, and Aldous Harding. A massive shout out to The Bats too, we just played with them and they were incredible even after 33 years of being together in the same line-up. And also Cam (drums) other band Old Loaves.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Sam: We’ve done covers of Ride and Slowdive songs in the past, but I think it would be cool to do a cover of something more stylistically different from us… I’d love to do a cover of an Oasis song.

Rob: Strawberry Switchblade’s ‘Since Yesterday’. It’s an 80’s pop classic but I have a cunning plan for it…if the others let me!

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Sam: We’ve got some shows with The Wedding Present coming up in July, which we’re all hugely excited about as they’re such an amazing band, and a big influence for us. Beyond that, we’re going to be working on an album during the second half of this year.

Q: Any parting words?
Rob: Give us a listen, and get in touch!
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Thanks

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

Daybreak with Divisionists - An Interview

Quando começam os primeiros acordes de "Say Can You" música de abertura de "Daybreak", o novo trabalho dos ingleses do Divisionists percebe-se que a partir dela até o término apoteótico com "We Must Be Careful", que estamos ouvindo algo que nos remete a vários favoritos de várias décadas.

O Divisionists soa por vezes como o The Who, em outras evoca o VU, sempre com o fantasma de Neil Young rondando as doze canções  do álbum, mas ainda sobram sopros guitarristícos  fazendo conexões com Television e toda a cena Paisley Underground.

Um disco conduzido primordialmente por guitarras rasgadas e com o coração na ponta da palheta.

"Daybreak" é grandioso, simples assim....aplausos para o Divisionists.

***** Interview with Divisionists *****

Q. When did Divisionists start? Tell us about the history...
After releasing Camden Diary, my first solo album in January 2008, I wanted to work with a band again. I'd met Rob when I'd first moved to London. We'd become friends, and worked together previously in a few different contexts. Mike and I were working together at our day jobs, and had been swapping music recommendations back and forth. Along with original guitarist Niall King, we started jamming together and working some songs out. Mark joined as we were recording the first EP, when Niall decided to move on.

Q: Who are your influences?
We all have different influences, which is part of what makes it interesting for us! Obvious shared reference points would be the Who, Velvet Underground, Niel Young, and the Beatles, but there's also a lot we disagree on! But I think that's part of what makes it work. We're not trying to convince each other to like all the same music each of us do. Rather, we each bring what we bring, and we work on the songs together, to try to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
I can only speak for myself. Even then... keeping it to 5 will be tough, but I'll give it a go.

* The Velvet Underground - s/t
* John Coltrane - Live at the Village Vanguard
* The Beatles - Revolver
* John Fahey - Death Chants, Breakdowns, and Military Waltzes
* Leadbelly - Black Betty
* 13th Floor Elevators - Easter Everywhere

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Playing live with Divisionists is an amazing feeling. It's worth noting that at the core of every song on Daybreak, what you're hearing is the band playing together live in the studio. It's a studio album, so there's obviously overdubs, but everything is built around that core. When we play live, there's fewer layers, of course, but we do slightly different arrangements, so it all works out.

Conceptually, we kind of aspire to be like the Who, in that the studio albums and the live shows were the same band, but very different.

Q. How do you describe Divisionists sounds?
Downbeat electrical soul noise. At least that's how we describe 'Daybreak'.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
We went in for two days to Perry Vale Studios in South London, where Pat Collier helped us record basic tracks. Overdubs and mixing then was mostly done at my home studio, although bits of it were done at Mike's place.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
I really like the Trimdon Grange Explosion album, and the new Thought Forms is also really good. Ghost Box Orchestra, Magic Shoppe, Golden Spike, and The Neon Violets are all worth checking out as well, and I really dig the new Black Angels release.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Well, there's a cover of a Velvet Underground song on 'Daybreak'!

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We may be releasing another song later this year on a split 7" with another band. We'll see! Otherwise, we'll be playing some shows around the UK.

Q: Any parting words?
Be kind to each other.
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/DIVISIONISTS
https://divisionists.bandcamp.com/
http://www.divisionists.co.uk/

Daydreaming with Lilac - An Interview

E segue a sina do TBTCI, fazer uma verdadeira viagem ao submundo dos bons sons, independentemente se a banda abordada tem álbuns lançados, ou não, nestas páginas o que importa é apresentar o que é clássico logicamente, o que vai ser clássico e o que infelizmente ficará perdido, mas também apresentar novos e promissores artistas que merecem sua atenção.

Caso dos suecos, Lilac, apenas dois anos de banda e enfim os garotos estão prontos para apresentar ao mundo sua música.

O cartão de visitas, primeiro single deles, é "Daydreaming", um dreampop cintilante e ensolarado que faz jus a fama da cena sueca, onde pepitas sonoras são construídas rotineiramente.

Guarde este nome, Lilac, em um breve futuro você poderá ouvir falar muito mais deles.

***** Interview with Lilac *****

Q: When did Lilac start? Tell us about the history...
A: Initially, André, Simon and I (Erik) played together in another band which was approaching a hiatus, and we had been talking about really wanting to create a shoegaze band for a while too. For months and months it was all talk until the other band was definitively on hold, and then slowly we decided to go for it and find a drummer. We found Johan online fairly quickly who was a perfect fit, but after that we still needed a singer. We played Popsicle and the Twin Peaks theme with a couple of singers but it was never a great fit (great fit meaning someone who liked Slowdive), so after almost half a year I wanted a change and demoed some vocals myself on one of our songs instead, and the other guys thought “yea, alright” and I think collectively we thought “hey let’s give this a go”, and that meant the band and the roles were settled.

Q: Who are your influences?
A: We were set on making a classic 90s shoegaze band in the same vein as the big ones when we started but now I’m not even sure what it turned out being. Obviously those kinds of bands have been in the back of our heads but I think as with anything creative you soon find out when writing music how you’re more so influenced by thoughts, ideas, relations, moods etc than any specific bands.

Q: Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Erik: The Beach Boys – The Smile Sessions
Johan: The Radio Dept. – Clinging to a Scheme
Simon: Sun Kil Moon - April
André: Pretend – Bones in the Soil, Rust in the Oil

Q: How do you feel playing live?
A: Exposed, a lil terrified and also really happy. It was barely a week ago we played live for the first time. It wasn’t a catastrophe so I feel like we’re all aching to go play and hang out again.

Q: How do you describe Lilac sounds?
A: Dreamy guitar pop, faux shoegaze, reverb pop, bluegrassgaze, summer night melancholiccore, post-slowcore rock. For ease I just say pop rock for people who really like sound effects.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
A: It was a scattered mess; we’ve DIY recorded bits and pieces all over Stockholm almost getting our friend evicted for playing too loud. Then it came together with the help of Christopher Göthberg who helped mix and master.

Q: Which new bands do you recommend?
A: The Sweden east coast scene impresses me a lot, recently we played our first show joined by the great Bossanova and Dim Vanilla, but we also need to mention Mystery Language, Prins Wilmer, Cat Princess, Steve Buscemi’s Dreamy Eyes, Delsbo Beach Club, Melby, Tangela and there’s many more. Outside of sthlm there are bands like I Love Your Lifestyle, Birthplace, Dog Days, Hater and Agent Blå making great music too.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
A: As of now I really wanna cover Robyn and Wheatus.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
A: Release more music, play more shows, hopefully have a solid time during.

Q: Any parting words?
A: Lilac loves you. xx
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Thanks

https://lilac.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.facebook.com/lilaclilaclilac/

Hearts Called with The Holy Circle - An Interview

Vou iniciar pegando a perfeita auto descrição que o The Holy Circle atribui a si mesmo, algo como, eles seriam o Depeche Mode se David Gahan fosse uma mulher, ou se Karen Carpenter enveredasse pelos caminhos do synthpop, ou ainda, se Sade caísse de cabeça no shoegaze.

Assim pode ser descrição o trio The Holy Circle que debutou no início deste mês com seu primeiro disco. O álbum homônimo dá sequência ao Ep também homônimo lançado no ano passado e passeia de forma hipnótica por entre um fio que une o shoegaze, o synthpop e o dreampop, com toque acinzentados diga-se de passagem.

O The Holy Circle, é sexy, cerebral, dançante e escuro sem perder o charme em momento algum.

Sofisticação e elegância acima de qualquer suspeita.

***** Interview with The Holy Circle *****

Q. When did The Holy Circle start? Tell us about the history...
Erica-Terence and I had been talking about starting a new project for years, pretty soon after Unlucky Atlas disbanded, around 2010. I wanted it to be more vocal driven and was really anxious to do something where I had creative input. I contributed to several Locrian albums but, as a contributor and not a member, had no real voice in that. In 2015, Terence and I were both experiencing a lot of stress in our jobs and were feeling restless and finally ready to do something. Terence had several riff ideas on the Moog and Korg and my ideas for vocals were more pop and vocal forward. The song that really solidified that The Holy Circle was a new project was writing and recording the first version of “Basel” and posting the clip on Soundcloud. The next day we had so much positive feedback from friends that we knew it was the right thing to do. Nathan joined us a few months later. That same Soundcloud clip had piqued his interest in what we were up to. We knew him for several years through other bands and mutual friends.

Terence – I have a musical life in quadrants where I make experimental metal music in Locrian for over a decade, have my solo material that is more drone-electronic, and my power-electronics band Axebreaker. The Holy Circle is really for the pop side of my brain and began as sketches for songs that wouldn’t quite fit those entities. Plus after Unlucky Atlas, Erica and I were trying to get something off the ground. So, after our first tracks went up we had been friends with Nathan and admired his drumming in Silo Halo and Screen Vinyl Image and he expressed an interest in what we were doing. I knew because of our mutual influences with pop and shoegaze it would be a perfect fit and he had the idea of avoiding more electronic drums and using live drums with the synths. It just really worked.

Nathan – I had been a fan of Locrian and, also, Erica and Terence are just really great people. I loved the early Holy Circle tracks they posted, very lush and ambient, and figured I’d get some electronic pads and drum machines out. Then I kind of wanted to try going the exact opposite direction and put big, loud, very acoustic drums under all the synths. You worry, being a drummer, that being an oaf with sticks hitting things that you’re going to ruin the beautiful sounds they’re making, but with credit to them, it really ended up working out.

Q: Who are your influences?
Erica- I’m a huge Peter Gabriel fan. As someone who comes from a theater background, I appreciate his penchant for drama in his vocal and live performance. He was influential on several of our choices on the album. I grew up listening to Karen Carpenter because my mom played and sang Carpenters songs at weddings. I grew up thinking that she had the most beautiful, lush voice in the world and I really tried to emulate her sound on some of the vocal layers on the record. I also listened obsessively to “Pet Sounds” while we were recording this and those influences can be heard, too. Other influences on this album are Kate Bush, Judee Sill, Karin Dreijer, and Jean Richie.

Terence – I have really broad influences, I grew up listening to a lot of metal so bands like Sepultura and the grandiosity of Emperor were really influential to me. I think Sonic Youth and Einsturzende Neubauten were huge for me. The second CD in my house when I was young was Erasure’s “The Innocents”, and my parents’ didn’t like it, at that time CDs were a lot of money since they just came out. Erasure felt like church in a way, with that cover and just how over the top it felt. I realize now it made a big impression on me, and got me into Yazoo and Depeche Mode. When I was a teenager

I remember this interview with Bjork and she commented on what she saw as a perception of electronic music having no soul, and how wrong she felt that was. So for The Holy Circle though it was my love of synthesizer based bands or synthpop that I kept coming back to, like The Associates, Soft Cell, Ultravox, Depeche Mode, New Order and others that made me aspire to create something emotional with machines. To avoid guitars and attempt to make the electronics have a soul. I think bands like Xeno and Oaklander, Led Er Est on Weird Records encouraged this idea of the synthesizer as a DIY instrument that I really connected with.

Nathan – Lots of jazz drummers like Tony Williams. I taught myself to play drums playing to the Smashing Pumpkins records, so Jimmy Chamberlin for sure. I really admire Simone Pace of Blonde Redhead. But most of the music I listen to every day has sampled and programmed beats, which is influential of course, stuff like Suicide to Public Enemy.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Erica- It really depends on the moment and how I am feeling but right now I’ll say:

The Knife “Silent Shout”, The Beach Boys “Pet Sounds”, Kate Bush “Sensual World”, New Order “Movement”, Fleetwood Mac “Rumors”

Terence – Talk Talk’s “Spirit of Eden” / Earth “2” / Kraftwerk “Radioactivity” / Brian Eno’s “Music for Airports” / Skullflower “IIIrd Gatekeeper”

Nathan – I don’t know how to answer this but let’s say “Songs of Leonard Cohen”, Suicide’s “Way of Life”, The Cure’s “Pornography”, My Bloody Valentine’s “Loveless”, and Public Enemy’s “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back”.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Erica- I grew up performing. When I was two years old, my parents had me stand on a plastic, knock-off Eames chair with a microphone on the church stage and sing “Jesus Loves Me” while my dad directed the choir and my mom played piano. I have always loved playing live but get extremely nervous right before the set; shaking, sweats. I start questioning everything I’m about to go on and do. I’m a perfectionist when it comes to my vocals so I have a hard time dealing with the idea of not cranking out my best. Once Terence starts droning on a chord and the lights drop, I can drift into my own world and just act through the songs. I’m most comfortable on stages where it’s dark, there’s dramatic lighting, and I’m not meeting eye-level with the audience so that I can have that fourth wall. After a set with those conditions, I feel like I just came out of a trance at the end of it.

Terence – I enjoy playing live, I enjoy where we extend and segue, blending songs. I hate stage banter, and really like crafting an experience. I think we find those spots in each set, we think about what should follow what, and where we should incorporate more improvisational moments or noise. I look forward to those moments.

Nathan – When you care about the music and the bandmates and you can be in the moment, it’s really the best.

Q. How do you describe The Holy Circle sounds?
Erica- This is probably the hardest question to answer because we’re so eclectic in our influences and our sound that it really can vary from song to song. I think the best way to describe us is like Depeche Mode if David Gahan was a woman or if Karen Carpenter joined a synth-pop band or if Sade got into shoegaze.

Terence – I think kind of shoegaze meets synthpop or dreampop. Really that is kind of where we are, but with a great drummer and vocalist.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Erica- We already had all of the songs written except for ‘Hearts Called’ which was just a sketch. We had a pretty good idea of what we wanted to do but needed someone who could handle our instrumentation. A musician friend recommended J. Robins and I’m so glad we listened. Recording with him was such a positive experience for me. We would record a scratch take of my vocals so that Nathan and Terence could lay down drums and synths. Then I would start recording the lead vocal track and the layers. A lot of those vocal layers happened organically because J. was supportive of me going into the vocal booth and just trying ideas I had listening back to the lead. He has an excellent ear and he knew how to push me to do more or a better take.

Terence - I had known of J Robbins for a long time, when I was in high school I had copies of his band Jawbox on tape, and I would listen to it on my Walkman on the way to school. Decades later I moved to Baltimore and a lot of my friends in bands had great experiences with him. So I knew he was one of the best in town having recorded Roomrunner, Beach House and Coliseum to name a few. I also knew we weren’t exactly what he was known for, but I knew he’d do a great job with the drums and vocals, and he did so and more. It was a great process, we could really create around what we thought were the songs and he was always encouraging and giving us input. The songs really grew when we tried to nail them down for posterity.

Nathan – It was just such a comfortable experience all around. J got everything sounding great and made it so all we had to think about was playing. We did the drums first and everything on the record is the first or second take, it almost felt too easy. As Erica mentioned, ‘Hearts Called’ was a unique process, they sent me a demo with that brittle piano loop and whispery vocals and I had this silly idea of a big driving drum track as a kind of juxtaposition. We thought it worked and built the song in a day. That was cool! Terence all weekend while recording was pulling synth leads out of the air, god knows how. And Erica had the patience to put down so many amazing vocal takes and extra vocal layers, which are my favorite parts of the record when I listen to it now.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Terence – I’ve been listening to a loft of the new Soft Kill, “Choke”, I was a big fan of Blessure Grave so it’s a logical extension of where that project was but with a more Chameleons twist. Uniform are amazing on record and live. Black Marble has essentially gotten me through this year. Curse, from Baltimore, is so impressive, they tour like beasts and their live set is inspiring and for a duo they make so much sound, it’s very melodic and abrasive. (Birth) Defects from our area too are on this noise-rock trip that is so interesting to see where they will go.

Erica – Thom Wasluck of Planning For Burial is spell-binding live and the album “Below The House” is really strong. Street Sects live set is so abrasive and disturbing. They fill the room with fog, run strobes and Leo Ashline walks around in masks and wigs with a chainsaw! It’s really challenging and it’s not for everyone but what they are doing instrumentally and performance-wise is so unique and special. Nathan turned Terence and I on to Aldous Harding and I am really digging what she is doing right now. She is so commanding and her voice and songs are so interesting. I love the way each song seems to be a different character and she changes her voice accordingly. Japanese Breakfast “Psycho Pomp” is just good indie rock with some shimmery, 80’s-esque moments that make me jealous that we didn’t think of them first.

Nathan – Speaking of Aldous Harding, Nadia Reid, also from New Zealand, has put out two terrific records. I’m really obsessed with Heather Woods Broderick’s music right now. Chelsea Wolfe, Emma Ruth Rundle. Austra, Trust, Xeno & Oaklander, Iamamiwhoami, and whatever Johnny Jewel is putting out.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Erica - I would love to cover a New Order song, specifically “The Him”. That song is so beautiful and hypnotic. I’m always game to cover some Fleetwood Mac but the world does not need another cover of “Landslide”. Terence always wants to do covers and I always poo-poo the idea but I did agree to cover Popol Vuh “Dort Ist Der Weg” with Locrian. I’m also pretty excited about our The Holy Circle cover of the Julie Cruise song “The Nightingale” for all of us geeking out over the return of “Twin Peaks”.

Terence – I always want to do covers. We did one recently from Julie Cruise for her song in Twin Peaks “The Nightingale”. But I too go back to the first New Order and think “Doubts Even Here” is a good one. I’ve always wanted to cover Iggy Pop’s “Mass Production”.

Nathan – “Ugly” by the Smashing Pumpkins.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Erica-We’re ready to plan the recording of another The Holy Circle album. We’ve already written several new songs for it and started to play a few of them live.

Terence – Playing live to support this record and recording these tracks.

Q: Any parting words?
Erica- Thanks for asking us to do this!
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Thanks

https://theholycircle.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pg/theholycircleofficial

Your Bliss​ with Bugjar - An Interview

A descrição na página dos trio Bugjar de Boston é especialmente espetacular "Rock for losers", não que isso deva ser levado extremamente a sério, na realidade a música é feita especialmente pra ser sentida, seja em perdas, seja em sonhos, alegrias, bebedeiras, tanto faz, música é estado de espirito e os caras do Bugjar sabem muito bem como isso funciona.

Ouvir o recém lançado single deles "Your Bliss/Harakiri" é literalmente voltar no tempo e curtir as loucuras e devaneios dos 90´s. Os caras evocam as melhores guitar bands daquela época, Dinosaur Jr., Swirlies, Drop Nineteens, e muitas outras, e ainda conseguem soar como uma grande novidade dos tempos atuais.

O melhor de tudo na música do Bugjar é aquele barulho que fica soando tempos depois de você os ter escutado, e inevitavelmente a vontade de ouvi-los de novo vem ferozmente.

Nada como as guitar bands!!!!

***** Interview with Bugjar *****

Q. When did Bugjar start? Tell us about the history...
Bugjar had a few "starts" I guess you could say. I (Mark Hajjar) and my friend Mark Bambrick ("bambi" for short) were sitting in our jazz/rock ensemble at Quincy High School during my senior year in the fall of 2014 when we were assigned a project to write an original piece of music; at the same time I had been jamming with my other friend Jim Farnham (drums) and we had one original that we didn't really plan on doing anything with. When Bambi and I got to work on our project I remember mentioning to him the other stuff that Jim and I had been working on and that we should possibly get together to jam sometime. Thus we combined forces andBugjar (which wouldn't be actually named "bugjar" until months later) was formed a few weeks later with me on bass, some guitar and vocals, Bambi on lead guitar, and Jim on drums. Our first practice was in Jim's hot and sweaty room using small combo amps and an electric drum kit. We went on to record our first release a few months later in the summer of 2015. A very amateur and sort of choppy release (which I have honestly come to dislike) our first piece of music, with some singles, was released in the fall and winter of 2015. At the time our influences and levels of musicianship were really all over the place and we were just learning how to be song/sound writers. Following our first release, with college and new friends and some changes in taste, Bugjar took a short time off. After taking some time to settle into our new lives and get our new ideas and influences together we finally recorded two new originals "Your Bliss" and "Harakiri" with our friend Pat Madigan on bass and me on guitar full time. Bugjar, which was a three piece, is now a four piece and better than ever.

Q: Who are your influences?
This is one of those questions that I think the answering is going to keep changing as time goes on. If we had been asked this when first starting the band I think overall we would have agreed that Weezer and Dinosaur Jr. were our main influences at the time. That being said some bands that we took influence from during Bugjar's inception that still effect our sound are bands like Hum, The Smashing pumpkins, My Bloody Valentine, and Failure. On top of these bands which have been with us since the beginning, we as a whole have been gearing more toward the Art rock/shoegaze/avant-garde sounds of bands like Swirlies, The Drop Nineteens, Starflyer 59, Sonic Youth, and Medicine.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
This is also one of those questions that's going to be hard to answer, especially with it always changing, but I think the overall top 5 albums for us to choose with Bugjar in mind are as follows (in no particular order):

My Bloody Valentine- Loveless
Hum- You'd prefer an Astronaut
The Smashing Pumpkins- Siamese Dream
Starflyer 59- Gold
Swirlies- What to do about them

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Playing live for us is always sort of a special occasion which depending on the venue and crowd can go over really well, or not so great. We tend to play really loud and are constantly changing our setlist live so that every show we play is a little different. Especially lately with a new lineup, more bodies on stage, and more amps on stage, the live performances have been filled a lot more with sound and energy which is the way we like it. There have been times, not recently, but in the past when our set has been cut short or we've been told to turn down which is usually one of those times that isn't great haha. But every now and then we play a really great venue with a good crowd that is into our sound and we can play as loud as we want and really let the energy blend and our sound melts into a full blown experience, it's really great.

Q. How do you describe Bugjar's sound?
I would say Bugjar definitely fits a genre (shoegaze/artrock/grunge/alternative), but I would also say we're always changing, always trying out new sounds and new styles. We try to put a new face onto an old genre of music, exploring the boundaries and pushing them just enough and sometimes too much, however we feel sounds best really.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
As far as recording goes we've always been fighting really with sounding our best on recording but I think we've finally settled into a process that fits us perfectly. With our first release we payed a lot of money and were unhappy with the final product. We've definitely learned from that horrible experience and are not going to screw up like that again. With our most recent singles that we've put out (both of which were recorded for free) the process went really well for both. "Your Bliss" was recorded with an engineer named Chris McLaughlin at the converse rubber tracks studio here in Boston which was a really great experience because it allowed us to work in a professional studio with professional sound engineers for completely free, and the recording definitely shows for it. "Harakiri" was recorded using a style that we're going to record most of the rest of our material, at least with our upcoming releases, in home, with one of our members Pat Madigan engineering. This, in my opinion, is the best way a modern band can really create music, having complete creative control over their sound. Being able to do quite literally whatever you want with your music is a must. This way also allowed me to screw up as much as possible when I was recording the guitars/bass/vocals and try some new techniques out on the spot which I think really helped for me to get the best sound I wanted on the track.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
As far as new bands, the list goes on really. If you ask me I say keep checking up on the small time blogs like this one, the when the sun hits blog, and the dkfm blog where new bands are being featured every week and you can really find anything that you're looking for. Some newer bands though I'd say I've been listening to are ones like You're Jovian, My Dead Girlfriend, The White Tulips, and Soft Spot from Halifax NS. If you ask Bambi I'm sure he would say something like he's been listening to a lot of Cloakroom or Windhand. Jim would most likely say something like Trip hammer & the water wheel or Feels, and Pat would probably say something like Tame impala, Morgan delt, Courtney Barnett, or Pond. It's hard because most of us hangout all the time but we listen to so much stuff new and old. I'm sure we'd all agree on recommending everything Ty Segall has ever been involved with, the new slowdive, a really great new psych/doom band called Gluon which we had the pleasure of doing a split with, and a garage band named Bruvs that we play with a lot of the time.

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
We've done covers here and there for fun by bands like weezer, blur, and dino j, but we've been considering covering some older songs by cream or the beatles and putting them on a release. As long as we sort of take them and make them our own, giving them an overall Bugjar feel. But it would have to something older, something almost completely different from our sound, so we really have a lot to work with. Maybe there will be a few on something in the near future...

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Recording, Recording, Recording. We plan to put out as much music as possible this summer, a possible big LP and then maybe an EP or two here or there, we'll really have to figure it all out once the stuff is recorded, but we have 10 or 11 songs in the works already and more to come, trying to get as experimental as possible.

Q: Any parting words?
Thanks again, it's been fun, be on the lookout for more music, keep on rocking while you still can
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Thanks

https://bugjar.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pg/bugjarband

Footnote with Creature in The Spiral - An Interview

Raul Gonzales é responsável por inserir mais beleza no universo sonhador do submundo dos bons sons através de seu alter ego Creature on the Spiral.

"Anodyne" o primeiro single lançado em Fevereiro já deixava explícito o caminho que o CITS seguiria, depois vieram "Spill" e a última "Footnote" ainda mais sonhadora que suas antecessoras. 

Mas o mundo dos sonhos do CITS pode ser cintilante "Footnote" mas, ao mesmo tempo pode soar densa e angustiante, tudo vai depender do estado de espírito de seu criador.

Para ficar de olhos e ouvidos atentos.

***** Interview with Creature in The Spiral *****

Q. When did Creature in The Spiral start? Tell us about the history...
Creature in The Spiral is essentially a bedroom recording project that I have. Sometimes I'll have friend play on songs. For example I have 2 of my friends play/sing on the song Anodyne.

Q: Who are your influences?
I really love ambient music, shoegaze, indie music. For this particular project I had been listening to/channeling project such as Slowdive, Ringo Deathstarr, and Cloud Nothings

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
Foo Fighters - There's Nothing Left To Lose
Dinosaur Jr. - Bug
Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antarctica
Swervedriver - Mezcal Head
Alex G - Trick

Q. How do you feel playing live?
I love playing although CITS has never actually played a show yet

Q. How do you describe Creature in The Spiral sounds?
Ambient, Pop, Sad, depends on the mood I'm in

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
I'll usually record the bulk of the songs, Vocals, Guitar, Drums, Bass. Sometimes I'll have a friend or 2 record stuff for the song. We will record these songs in my bedroom.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Thisistoodifficult
Varia
Quien Sabe
Bettermeant

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Title Fight - Like A Ritual or Modest Mouse - Talking Shit About A Pretty Sunset

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Keep posting songs on Bandcamp and maybe get a group together to play shows. It currently just a bedroom project so I wanna keep it that way for a little bit.

Q: Any parting words?
Break all the rules and have all the fun. Cheers
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Thanks

https://creatureinthespiral.bandcamp.com

Sleepless with Stoned Seahorse - An Interview

Stoned Seahorse é o alter ego do indiano Shrawan Banerjee, que debutou no início do mês com "Sleepless" seu primeiro trabalho.

Um intenso souvenir que por vezes evoca o espírito de Kurt Cobain, vide "Together", a música soa como se o imortal responsável pelo que aconteceu de 1991 pra cá, resolvesse voltar a este planeta resolvesse ser um trovador. Em outros momentos o Stoned Seahorse pega elementos do já citado grunge, condensa em ambientações gazers e encharca de psicodelia freak.

"Sleepness" é experimental sem soar cabeçudo, é como se os srs Kurt Cobain, Kevin Shields resolvessem chamar o Aphex Twin pra brincar sob a tutela do Brian Eno.

O Stoned Seahorses é música freak para freaks, sem mais.

***** Interview with Stoned Seahorse *****

Q. When did Stoned Seahorse start? Tell us about the history...
It started in 2010- 2011. A friend of mine, Aakash Dusane and I, Shrawan Banerjee were two 15 year olds who liked to play music and wanted to play in a band. Unfortunately, we didn't know a lot of people who shared our interests and played instruments. It took a long time until Stoned Seahorse was actually a band. Once the band got together, we played 2 competition gigs before we all got busy with our own individual lives. Later, I moved to a different city for college and decided to continue the project by myself. I taught myself how to record and produce music, and that's how the EP's were made.

At the moment, Stoned Seahorse is in a bit of a transition phase where it going back to being a band rather than a solo project, which was the original intention of the whole project.

Q: Who are your influences?
I like and listen to a lot of different types of music, but I would say my main influences would be bands like My Bloody Valentine, Nirvana, Aphex Twin, The Beatles and Brian Eno. I'm sure that I'm forgetting many.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
In no particular order:
Revolver - The Beatles
Velvet Underground and Nico
Loveless - My Bloody Valentine
In Utero - Nirvana
Select Ambient Works/Druqks - Aphex Twin

Q. How do you feel playing live?
I actually have close to no experience live. It's something that's about to happen quite soon though, with the band getting together.

As of now, I'm not sure if I like live music more than records. I don't like the idea of playing in front of people. When I record alone at home, it's only for myself, for that moment. Even if nobody or barely anyone ever listens to it, its ok. But when you play in front of people, its not for yourself anymore, its to entertain people, which sucks because most people who go to gigs aren't even there to listen to music. They're there to get wasted or to make some sort of a shallow fashion statement. Again, I have close to no experience playing live, so maybe this opinion will change in the matter of months, and that's ok too!

Q. How do you describe Stoned Seahorse sounds?
It's full of emotion, quite noisy but can be very mellow and introspective as well. It's something that is constantly morphing. Stoned Seahorse is yet to settle on a sound so it's also very experimental. I don't want the music to be too accessible since I like to mess with people's heads, but I'm a real sucker for good melodies and pop songs. As of now, I'd like to say that these sounds resonate heavily with who I am.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
All of it was recorded was in my home with no budget. It's a completely 'DIY' project. I started about a year back when I had just gotten done with college and had a lot of free time and a lot to think about. It ended with something that I wasn't necessarily ecstatic about, but its seems like its good enough for me to get interviews.

My creative process seems pretty fixed now. It starts with me being angry or sad because I feel like I suck and I can't do anything. Then I start puking songs out. Then I record those songs and work on them until I hate them. Then I release the music. Then, I start all over again. It was the same this time. Anytime somebody compliments my music I say thank you, but what I'm really thinking is "What? Really? WHY?"

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
The indie music scene in India is a gold mine waiting to be discovered. There's a lot happening here with new music coming up every other week. Check out Blushing Satellite, Stuck in November, and Shepherd.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I wouldn't like to work on covers. I would rather use that time to create new and original music that doesn't already exist. It's not that I feel like all covers suck, I just find it redundant. I have a lot that I want to express already, doesn't make sense to accommodate someone else's material.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Start playing gigs, collaborate with more musicians, write more music, release more albums, repeat until I die.

Q: Any parting words?
It blows my mind that someone even wants to interview me, let alone that someone halfway across the globe heard my songs and liked them. It really brings a lot into perspective. All the music that I've made, I only did it for myself, but now that people are listening, I hope that I'm able to make a few minutes of someones life better with my music.
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Thanks

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

Feathers with Ikiryo - An Interview

Barulheira explícita diretamente da Suécia, ao contrário do que usualmente acontece, obviamente porque a Suécia é expert em exportar deliciosos combos agridoces, mas no caso do Ikiryo acontece exatamente o contrário.

Chame-os de grunge, pos hardcore, emos, ou o que você quiser, o ponto é que o novíssimo EP "Feathers" tem elementos de tudo isso e mais uma série de outras possibilidades.

Serve perfeitamente para ouvir no volume máximo e preferencialmente bebendo, certamente fará mais sentido se é que você me entende.

***** Interview with Ikiryo *****

Q. How was the recording process of "Feathers"?
It was good . We tracked a lot of drums on and off for a while and recorded some guitar for a bunch of songs before we finally decided which songs to feature on the EP. All in all, it has been a pleasant experience with a relaxed approach.

Q. What were the influences for the EP´s creation?
It's hard to pin point the musical influences on this album due to our different and eclectic tastes;

Victor has been listening to a lot of jazz; John Coltrane, Charles Mingus and Miles Davis. Dante has listened to Modest Mouse, Yvette Young, Neon Indian and LoFi trip-hop mixtapes.

For Pontus the band Good Luck has been an inspiration guitar wise, Mew has crept backinto his playlists, and generally just been listening to a lot of Math-punk and Jonas has been listening to classical music and TQ-Jams

In general I think we just wanted to be free in new areas of musical inquiry, while at the same time honing our craft and create really good songs.

Q. Are you happy with the result?
We´re very happy with the EP. It is our best sounding release to date and feels like a true representation of the band and a snapshot of where we are at this moment in time

Q. What are the plans for 2017?
We have a goal of releasing a series of EPs throughout the year But in general I think we're trying to become better at bonding with fans and reaching out to people for help and collaboration. It seems rather important, in the DIY scene to establish fruitful relationships with other artists so that ones
own art may grow and become something beyond the sum of each individual part.

Q. Final considerations
Listen to our Ep "Feathers" and if you like it, please share and spread the word. Talk to us at anytime for questions regarding collaborations or if you just want to talk about music or anything at all! You can get in touch with us via our facebook page or email us at ikiryoswe@gmail.com

[wedoittoourselves]
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/ikiryoswe
https://ikiryo.bandcamp.com/

Black Monday with Bloodletter - An Interview

Não é de hoje que o TBTCI bate na mesma tecla, algo acontece na Austrália, alguma coisa colocaram naquelas águas, que semana sim, semana não, aparecem novos expoentes de altíssima qualidade de lá.

Agora é chegada a vez do quarteto de Brisbane, Bloodletter e seu debute homônimo lançado em Março.

Uma pedrada nua e crua, com vestígios da fase mais punk da diva Siouxsie Sioux e seus Banshees. O Bloodletter se aproxima sonoramente de gente como o Belgrado e o Rakta;

O Bloodletter é pós punk caótico com sentimentos sombrios, altamente recomendado.

***** Interview with Bloodletter *****

Q. When did Bloodletter start? Tell us about the history…
Lena (vox) and Cat (bass) decided to start a band through fangirling over Siouxsie and the Banshees together. Will (drums) and Ryan (guitar) were later invited to join later as they are old friends and we knew we could balance our abilities together.

Q. Who are your influences?
Lena: I think we're influenced by listening to and playing a broad range of music in our lives - metal, psychedelia, hardcore punk, synthpop. We wanted to take a dark twist from the punk roots, listening to older bands like The Sound, Siouxsie and the Banshees and more current bands such as Rakta and Spectres who also refer to these sounds to make their own.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
This is a hard question, I asked each member of the band to list their favourite record:

Ryan: Of the Wand and the Moon - The Lone Descent
Lena: Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth
Cat: The Sound- From the Lions Mouth
Will: Poison Idea - Feel the Darkness

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Lena: We enjoy playing live, it always feels different, depending on the show as we're not alike to many other bands in Brisbane, so its always about building our own energy when we perform together. I am quite vision impaired and also easily spooked out, so when I sing I like to take my glasses off so that it’s easier for me to face the crowd, which means that I can’t see very far but it’s less scary for me. I’ve been told that since this allows me to give eye contact to the audience, it intensifies the performance.

Q. How do you describe Bloodletter sounds?
Ryan: Like the shifting phases of the moon. I like to think there's a conflict between the catchy and the uncomfortable that has yet to find an equilibrium.

Q. Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
We got our first tracks together and asked Nell Forster to record for us. She’d heard us before and liked what we were doing, and we knew that she would do a good job for us. We were able to lay down the tracks live in a small studio together called Aisle 6 while infecting each other with a little bit of cabin fever. Lena put down her vocals at the end while everyone else ate pizza. She almost boiled cockroach tea in the process - that stunk like hell! No one drank it. After about 6 hours we embellished the tracks using the MicroKorg.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Ryan: Quayde LaHüe

Lena: Pull out Kings, Spotting, Dame,

Will: Ubik, Rottem, Enzyme, Rabid Dogs

Cat: Belgrado, Nerve Quakes, Pleasure Symbols

Q. Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
We have a couple of covers under our belt at the moment - Spellbound by Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Doom Town by the Wipers.

Q, What are your plans for the future?
Write more, record more and hopefully tour a little later in the year. We're just getting started

Q. Parting words?
Thanks for listening!
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/pg/BLOODLETTERBAND
https://bloodletter.bandcamp.com/

Pale with Binge - An Interview

Hoje em dia tudo é consumido tão vorazmente que chega a ser cruel para uma nova banda tentar um lugar ao sol, visto a quantidade absurda de lançamentos que explodem diariamente, ainda mais cruel é quando uma banda que perpetua um típico shoegaze clássico sem extremos como na matriz MBV e sem devaneios profundos como o Slowdive, apenas um shoegaze melódico, melancolicamente conduzido entrelaçado em texturas e sussurros.

Michael Iaciofano é a mente por trás do Binge, com menos de um ano, o debute veio mês passado sob a alcunha de "Pale", e exemplifica tudo que foi colocado no paragrafo acima.

Não houve divulgação, tampouco existem links nas redes sociais onde o Binge poderia ser divulgado, apenas "Pale" esta exposto no Bandcamp, em formato "name your price", apenas, infelizmente, para poucos que terão o conhecimento de sua beleza.

Música em sua forma mais pura, sem marketing, sem promoções, sem firulas, apenas ela, como deve ser, tente não desperdiçar a oportunidade de saboreá-la. 

***** Interview with Binge *****

Q. When did Binge start? Tell us about the history...
Binge started in September of 2016, a couple weeks after I moved to attend school in upstate New York. I honestly think i had the name of the project before any songs were written. Most of the songs for the EP were written within a day or so, just took me awhile to write lyrics and track multiple guitars. Besides that, it's just a solo project of mine that I put all my shoegaze songs into.

Q: Who are your influences?
Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Elliott Smith, Tim Buckley, Deerhunter, Animal Collective. Also a bunch of '80s artists like The Smiths, The Cure, Lowlife, Echo and the Bunnymen, New Order, etc.. I do enjoy a bunch of jazz too, especially Chet Baker.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
Oh this is a tough one, in no particular order:
1. The Smiths- Meat is Murder
2. Beach Boys- Pet Sounds
3. Animal Collective- Feels
4. Tim Buckley- Goodbye and Hello
5. Aphex Twin- Richard D. James Album

Q. How do you feel playing live?
I haven't done any of the Binge material live yet, but I do play live with another band I'm in called Demonman. I do really enjoy playing live, and hopefully I can get a couple shows for this project.

Q. How do you describe Binge sounds?
Binge sounds like a conglomerate of music I enjoy. At times it can be quite washed out and drowned in reverb, and others its somewhat straight forward. The guitar sounds were most important to me going into recording. I wanted the guitars to sound a bit fuzzy, but not too overdriven. I think I captured what I was going for in the end, songs sounding sort of like early MBV and nothing too gazed out.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
All the songs were written in my dorm room at school and recoded on Logic. I could only do guitar tracks recorded directly into the software, I was without an amp while at school. All the vocal, bass and guitar tracking were done at my home in New York. It was somewhat strange to breakup the times of recording. I went a couple weeks in-between overdubbing, which is why the EP took so long to finish. I just did the final vocal overdubs the other day, pretty much the only thing that was taking so long.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Daphodil came out with a really nice EP a couple months ago, I highly recommend. Fishbach is another band I'm quite into as of late, they put out an LP I think in January. Alex G is always a good listen, he just put out a new album. Porches are really cool too, they have an album that's a little over a year old that I recommend.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Maybe something by Elliott Smith off of "Roman Candle", all those songs are amazing. Also maybe a Tim Buckley track, something like "I Never Asked to Be Your Mountain" or "Happy Time." I also like to sit on my couch and sing some Deerhunter tracks, so maybe something by them.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
I'd like to do a full LP for this project within the year. I've got three other projects that I'm invested in at the moment too, so finding time could be an issue. But generally speaking, play some more shows, record more music and maybe do a tour soon.

Q: Any parting words?
Yeah, thank you for the interest in the music. It's always nice to hear some kind words about something you put a lot of time into and I really appreciate it. To anyone who listens to the EP: I hope you enjoy!
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Thanks

https://bingee.bandcamp.com/album/binge

Waves of the New with Las Robertas - An Interview

Se por um desvio de personalidade, ou apenas por um lapso, você não conhece as(o) costarriquenhos, Las Robertas, eu diria que você esta perdendo uma das mais bacanas bandas da atualidade.

Um caldeirão do que de melhor foi feito nestas décadas de boa música. Pegue as girl groups dos 60´s, pegue o psicodelismo sessentista, pegue o punk, pegue a class of 86, pegue VU, J&MC, BJM e coloque tudo dentro da mesma receita e você terá o que Meche, Sonya e Fabricio fazem.

O terceiro disco deles saiu mês passado e é uma verdadeira delicia, "Wave of The New" tem todos os ingredientes pra impregnar em sua mente e não mais te largar.

Escute alto e vá se divertir.

***** Interview with Las Robertas *****

Q. When did Las Robertas start? Tell us about the history... 

1- It all started in mid 2009, when I started to look for people to start the band with, recorded the first album "Cry Out Loud" in 2010, which made us sign with labels and from around 2011 we started touring outside Costa Rica. Right now we have 3 albums and just released "Waves of the New" almost one month ago!

Q: Who are your influences?
2- We all have different inputs and influences that make that final result, but personally I really like mid- late 60s music, shoegaze, indie pop, c86 and neo psychedelic bands.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
3- Ahh that's such a hard question! Haha, I love so many records but here are some of my top ones:
The Velvet Underground and Nico- The Velvet Underground
Psychocandy - The Jesus and Mary Chain
Revolver- The Beatles
Their Satanic Majesties' Second Request- The Brian Jonestown Massacre
Sound of Confusion- Spacemen 3

Q. How do you feel playing live?
4- When I play live, I just disconnect from what's going on and enter in my own little dimension with Sony and Fabro. It's one of my favorite things to do, just sumerge in a deep and intense wall of sound.

Q. How do you describe Las Robertas sounds?
5- I think our sound is catchy, fuzzed up yet ethereal. I like to create layers of harmonies with dreamy vocals and to think we sound like mermaids or something like that haha.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
6- Every record we've recorded in the past has had a different process, but something in common is that we grab an entire week for it and work from 10-12 hours a day. We get to the recording with all of the songs figured out, and with an overall idea of what we want to sound it like and arrangements.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
7- From Costa Rica, Dylan Thomas, a great new and young shoegazy band and then I really like, Holy Wave, Boogarins, Triptides, Mystic Braves, Beverly, The Babe Rainbow and so many others I can't remember! I listen to music 24/7!

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
8- For this tour we're covering BJM's Anemone and we always wanted to cover it, but next one will be Where Evil Grows from The Poppy Seed Family!

Q: What are your plans for the future?
9- More touring, recording new stuff and hopefully making some cool collabs with friends!

Q: Any parting words?
10- Right now we're touring around Europe and it's been the best tour we've had so far! Greetings from Prague :) and Pura Vida (the Costa Rican motto for peace and love)!
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Thanks

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

Coming Up For Air with The Raft - An Interview

Phil Wilson é a mente por trás do The Raft, que desde 2003 vem construindo sua doces e suaves melodias e permanece no anonimato, até mesmo para os mais iniciados, o que é de certo uma pena, e um tremendo erro.

Vejamos, pegue o nome trabalho "Come Up For Air", um Ep que me remete diretamente a alguns discos bem conhecidos de todos, o primeiro é "Carnival of Light", sim o terceiro álbum do Ride, e o outro é "Honey Bee" do cruelmente esquecido Moose, e daí logicamente se faz conexões com Nick Drake, entre outros.

Psicodelismo agridoce, guiando por melodias ensolaradas, vocalização absolutamente perfeita que a cada audição vai soando mais e mais apaixonante.

Cabe a você, desbravar a intacta discografia do The Raft e descobrir belezas como o primeiro disco homônimo lá de 2003 por exemplo, mas, faça um favor a você mesmo, dê play imediatamente em "Come Up For Air" e sinta o amor, vai te fazer bem.

***** Interview with The Raft *****

Q1. When did The Raft start? Tell us about the history...
I recorded my first album as The Raft in 2003 on a digital 8 track in my bedroom with a couple of friends. Later that year I met producer Marc Joy (Lights That Change, Wilson &Joy) and we started making music together. We went on to make seven or eight albums together and The Raft became an extended family of musicians and friends contributing whatever talents they had. Over the years we've worked with different drummers, singers and pretty much anybody who happened to be passing through the studio! The idea has always been for people to get on and off The Raft as they pleased.

Q2. Who are your influences?
Growing up I obviously listened to whatever my parents were playing around the house which was usually The Beatles, Simon And Garfunkel or Carole King so the melody and harmony of these artists, particularly The Beatles has always been with me. As I got older I fell in love with The Stone Roses and bands like Ride and a bit later on Shack. Sonically and guitar sound wise though I think the biggest influence on my music today has to be MBV, The Cocteau Twins and The Sundays.

Q3. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
The Stone Roses first album,
Sgt Pepper,
The 3 E.P.'s by The Beta Band,
Loveless
and probably Since I Left You by The Avalanches.....

5 isn't enough!

Q4. How do you feel playing live?
I don't get out live much these days because at the moment I'm essentially a one man operation. When I do though it's always nerve-racking, always fun and occasionally shambolic!

Q5. How do you describe The Raft sounds?
I'm working on stuff with a new producer at the moment called Jose Pedro and during one of our talks about how it should sound I said it should be like The Cocteau Twins covering The Sundays with Beach Boys harmonies! Not sure how close we're getting to that but it sounded good in my head!

Q6. Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
The stuff I've been working on recently is a bit of a departure for me because I'm collaborating with JP over the internet. In the past it's mainly been myself and Marc working face to face over the mixing desk. This time round I've been working on guitars, vocals and other bits and bobs at home then sending the tracks over to JP. He then adds his thing and does the recording studio wizardry and sends it back. We then discuss what else the track needs or doesn't need and we bat it around until it's finished. It's been a great way to do things so far and we're developing quite a creative partnership.

Q7. Which new bands do you recommend?
I've been listening to the new Jane Weaver album Modern Kosmology a lot recently and it's blowing me away! I also gave the new Com Truise record a spin this afternoon and that's sounding great. Lee Southall who used to be in The Coral has got a new record out at the moment too and it sounds wonderful.

Q8. Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I'm terrible at cover versions! I can barely sing my own songs!...... If I was pushed I'd like to have a go at something off Loveless but how are you gonna do any of those songs any justice??

Q9. What are your plans for the future?
Myself and JP have got another E.P. nearly finished and plans for another one after that. I've also got some tracks knocking around that I recorded last year with vocalist Claire O'Neill that I hope will see the light of day soon...... Apart from that I'd like to get back in a studio soon with some sort of full band set up and make some noise!

Q10. Any parting words?
Erm...... The E.P. is out now on bandcamp. Go and buy it!
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Thanks

https://philtheraft.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/The-Raft-55224752347/

Getting Frequent Now with Antipole - An Interview

Um sincronismo perfeito entre o pós punk clássico, leia-se Chameleons, Cure, Joy Division e a nova geração, KVB, Motorama, L'Ordre d'Héloïse, entre outros, assim é o duo norueguês Antipole.

Densos e gélidos até a medula, o duo lançou "Getting Frequent Now" seu mais recente trabalho com participações especiais de Paris Alexander (que aliás contribui com todas as letras no trabalho)  e Mats Davidsen, o disquinho é um deleite, conduzido por sintetizadores e pelo baixo caracteristicamente pos punkier, mas mesmo sob todo o ambiente nublado e cinzento do disco há ao menos um momento onde a luz penetra mesmo timidamente "La Vie Après" é esse momento.

Trilha sonora perfeita para inferninhos escuros.

***** Interview with Antipole *****

Q. When did Antipole start? Tell us about the history...
Karl: Me and Anne-Christel met during summer 2013 and got together as a couple by the end of that year. During that autumn she introduced and re-introduced a lot of old and current post-punk / minimal wave / coldwave bands to me. I've been writing songs in bands before and was inspired to start writing and record more music. By late 2014 8 of these songs were released as an instrumental album "Panoply - Songs for AC". By now 68 Antipole demos/songs have been recorded. The first 2 years we did everything ourselves. Lately we've involved singers. Like Camilla Sombrio (Brazil),
Mats Davidsen (Norway), Alain of L'ordre d'Héloïse (France) and Paris Alexander (UK). Paris Alexander produced our most recent album, Getting Frequent Now, in addition to doing vocals. We're really happy with the results. The stuff we've done with L'ordre d'Héloïse lends more towards coldwave while the song with Camilla more towards etheral music.

Q: Who are your influences?
Karl: Older bands like Chameleons, Joy Division, early New Order and of course The Cure. But also contemporary bands like Motorama, Mode Moderne, The KVB and The Agnes Circle.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time
Karl: Impossible to decide on such lists, but here are 5 albums we love.
1. The Cure - Disintegration
2. Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand
3. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
4. Chameleons - Script Of The Bridge
5. Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Karl: Love it. Although Antipole is not playing live at the moment since the people involved are spread all around the world. We hope to do performances later.

Q. How do you describe Antipole sounds?
Karl: Antipole make dark melodic postpunk music. Guitar-based tracks driven by a linear rhythm.
Often partly or fully instrumental.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Karl: Most of the time it happens instantly and I can have a song done in 15 minutes. A melody can appear when watching TV or driving car or when listening to some other music. Once it's done I send the bass and guitar, and occasionally synth, tracks to Paris Alexander who records synths, rhytm and vocals and produces the song. Then we'll do some adjustments sending the song back and forth since Paris is in Brighton UK and We are in Trondheim Norway.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Karl: Mode Moderne, Preoccupations, Geometric Vision, Hante, Motorama and Ultrviolence. Could continue forever.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Karl: We've done quite a few cover versions. We did Insight of Joy Division, Imprimees sur nos mains by L'Ordre d'Héloïse and Instance Of Resistance by One Man Standing. We just did a version of Crazy For You by Slowdive, not released yet. We do songs we really love and we think we can add an Antipole-ish twist to.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Karl: Continue writing and recording songs. We're collaborating with Paris Alexander recording our next album scheduled for winter 2019. 5 songs are already done, will be on Unknown Pleasures Records.

Q: Any parting words?
Thanks for having us. There are so many great bands out there in the underground releasing
really good music. Look for it!

Cheers Karl and Anne-Christel
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/antipoleband/
https://antipole.bandcamp.com

VHS with Dade City Days - An Interview

Eis que novamente a Itália aporta nas páginas do TBTCI, representandos pelo trio Dade City Days.

No currículo deles, vê-se que eles não estão pra brincadeiras, já dividiram palco com gente do cacife de Modern English, Raveonettes, Clan of Xymox, She Past Aways, e esta diversidade, que vai desde o pós punk clássico passando pelo indie e darkwave, explica-se quando se ouve o debute deles, "VHS", lançado no ano passado, é um caldeirão com todas estas influências e mais eletrônices diversas passando por momentos sonhadores e barulheira total.

Com o Dade City Days temos um caso de diversas personalidades onde todas convergem para um único lugar, o bom gosto acima de qualquer suspeita.

***** Interview with Dade City Days *****

Q. When did Dade City Days start? Tell us about the history...
We started in 2013, almost by chance. We already knew one another and sometimes we talked about starting a new band together. It actually took a while as some of us already played in other projects but the cool thing is that once we started we turned out to be amazingly in sync with one another and since then we never stopped.

Q: Who are your influences?
Well, we really have a lot of influences, we share a common ground but each one of us listens to quite different things. Gea is the pop side of the band, listening to a lot of indie rock and keeping up with all the new releases; Andy belongs to the MTV Generation and is more attached to ’90’s dance music and all its wakes, while Michele is more into the ’80’s and still listens to a lot of bands of that period. We consider it a positive aspect, as it lets us combine all these different shades into what our sound is.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands
Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral
Pulp - Different Class

Q. How do you feel playing live?
We’ve had almost 50 gigs in the last year and we can say we really love playing live.

The funny thing is that we usually look quite listless before the show, but as soon as we set foot on the stage we have a kind of total transformation. We get really lively and totally involved in what we’re doing, and that’s what people see, and they feel it and love it.

Q. How do you describe Dade City Days sounds?
As we said before our sound is a mixture of our different backgrounds. If we had to define the predominant features of our first album, VHS, maybe we’d say the shoegaze mood and the new wave structure, even if there’s more than this.

We’ve used a lot of reverberation, especially on guitars and vocals, as we wanted to convey this sensation of stupor, like the one that you have when you’re half-asleep and kinda unable to tell dreams from reality. We liked the idea of videotapes as a sort of comforting collection of faded, old memories that you already know by heart, as distant things always look better. That’s why we chose that title too.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
The majority of our songs originated in Andy’s bedroom. He usually creates a first draft, then we gather and work on it in the rehersal room, arranging and altering it until we’re all fully convinced. Lyrics are usually the last thing to appear, as well as the more repeatedly revised.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
There’s a lot of good stuff around, we’re thinking of bands like Beach House, La Femme, Cigarettes After Sex or performers like Angel Olsen and Perfume Genius, to name but a few. They all have that something extra to stand out.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
We’d love to feel entitled to perform a Bowie song, one day. For now we kinda feel it’s still too early.


Q: What are your plans for the future?
We’re working on new songs, we’re really excited about them and we hope to be able to play some live soon!

Q: Any parting words?
Visit our new website www.dadecitydays.com and follow us if you like our stuff!

Who knows, maybe one day we’ll come play in Brazil too :)
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Thanks

http://www.dadecitydays.com/
https://www.facebook.com/dadecitydays/
https://dadecitydays.bandcamp.com/album/vhs