Endless Chase with Boundaries - An Interview

Partindo do pressuposto de que se o Joy Division tivesse um filho com o METZ, ele se chamaria Boundaries, esse exercício imaginário cabe perfeitamente para o quinteto dinamarquês, Boundaries.

Sombrios sem serem suicidas, barulhentos sem extremismos, os caras ficam em uma tênue linha entre as cinzas e o caos.

O EP homônimo veio ao mundo há três dias atrás, mas vem sido criado desde 2017, e segundo a banda, modificado e repaginado diversas vezes para não apenas soarem como mais um cover do Joy Division.

Bem, os caras tiveram pleno êxito na missão, o fantasma de Ian Curtis permeia o EP mas dá de cara com a paranoia dos novos tempos.

Escute alto, é claro.

***** Interview with Boundaries *****

Q. When did Boundaries begin? Tell us about the history…
We started out a couple years ago when I began to record some demos of my own just for fun. I have never considered myself a singer or anything, but after years of playing with other singers or backing other artists, it felt very liberating to do something completely on my own. After the first couple demos I played it to Emil (guitar player), and to my huge surprise he liked the songs and then we sort of created the band, just being the two of us in the beginning. Shortly after Jacob and Jonas joined the band, and we played with that constellation for a year. Recently during the recording of the EP, Morten joined us and has since been an integral part of the band

Q: Who are your influences?
I think it is safe to say that the influences vary quite a lot depending on who you ask in our band.

When I started the band I was very influenced by the usual suspects when it comes to post punk / Shoegaze acts such as New order, Joy Division and My Bloody Valentine. I think it is alright to be very honest about your influences when you start to write your own music, but then gradually move away from it after your first release. We are currently in the process of writing new music and lately I have felt very influenced by Death Grips, JPEGMAFIA and Skee Mask, which is something that is usually out of my comfort zone. That being said I have also felt very inspired by the latest records from acts such as METZ, Idles and Ought, which might not come as a huge surprise for people who listen to our music.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Not in any given order.

My Bloody Valentine - loveless
Women - Public Strain
Pixies - Doolittle
The Modern Lovers - The Modern Lovers
Scott Walker - Scott 3

Q. How do you feel playing live?
We enjoy it a lot. We are a group of really tight friends, so it is always fun to go out and play the songs. I also believe we enjoy the challenge of re structuring the songs for live use. Our recording process sometimes is quite comprehensive, and contains a lot of layers and details, so it’s usually a fun challenge to condense these recordings into a simple band context, with a only 5 sets of hands instead of a 30 track mixing desk.

Q. How do you describe Boundaries´ sounds?
I would place us on the edge between shoegaze and post punk.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
It’s been a fairly long process. We started with our first recordings in the spring of 2017, but we felt that it was important to work a lot with the songs to obtain a more personal sound, and not just sound like another Joy Division cover band. We write the songs very collaboratively, where someone brings a demo to the studio or rehearsal, and then we kind of take it from there.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Lately I have been really into this artist called Kraus, who sounds like if Death Grips decided to make a shoegaze album. It is almost impossible to find any info on this guy, but I would really recommend people to check out his music despite that. Apart from him there a lot of Danish bands I would recommend as well, such as The Entrepreneurs, Leizure, Spines, Blood Child, Eerie Glue, Gents, ATUSJI and Hoy La.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I am not entirely sure if we will ever play a cover, but if I had to choose I would pick I Cant Go for That (No Can Do) by Daryl Hall and John Oates. That would be quite a laugh.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
In the nearest future we are going to play some shows backing up the EP, but as mentioned prior, we are already starting to write new songs, and we will hopefully release new music again in 2019.

Q: Any parting words?
Thank you for the interview!

Hopefully it will get us closer to playing a show in Brazil some day.
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Thanks

https://soundcloud.com/boundariesdk
https://www.facebook.com/boundarieskefali/

Phantasms with The Strange Creatures - An Interview

Das Filipinas vem o sexteto, The Strange Creatures, um sopro de candura evocando o supra sumo do twee, jangle e dreampop.

Tudo feito de forma a cativar os corações apaixonados, melodias mais do que cantaroláveis, seria até desnecessário que as canções do debute, "Phantasms" literalmente grudam na mente, na pele e onde mais for possível.

O The Strange Creatures é daqueles clássicos exemplos dos quais o TBTCI pode reafirmar sempre, existe vida inteligente na música muito além do eixo USA/UK.

"Phantasms" poderá ser sua trilha do verão, é só deixar fluir....

***** Interview with The Strange Creatures *****

Q. When did The Strange Creatures begin? Tell us about the history...
A: The band was formed January 2013. My original plan was to form a boy-girl duo like The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger. We ended up as a full band because of musician friends volunteering to join me in this journey.

Q: Who are your influences?
Each member have different influences, but I think we’re all fans of The Beatles, so that’s something we all have in common. But before we started jamming, i had my bandmates listen to Camera Obscura, Belle & Sebastian, The Charade, Slowdive, The Radio Dept. and The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
Slowdive - Souvlaki
The Radio Dept - Lesser Matters
Blueboy - If Wishes Were Horses
The Cure - Disintegration
The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour

Q. How do you feel playing live?
We still feel nervous before we play. But once we started, it’s like we’re transported to another dimension. The natural high you get when playing music is just amazing.

Q. How do you describe The Strange Creatures´ sounds?
It’s a blend of twee, dream pop, the jangle of indie pop and shining synth of 80’s new wave music, riddled with boy-girl vocals.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
An acoustic demo was sent to each members so they can learn the song. Then we arrange it for several hours in the studio and play it on gigs so we can have our friends listen to it and ask for comments/suggestions. Once the song riped, we begin recording it.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
We’d like to recommend our fellow bands from the Philippines like We Are Imaginary, The Geeks, July XIV, Identikit, Populardays, Narcloudia, The Rave Tapes and Pastilan Dong!

Also, checkout Butterbeer, Atta Girl and The Sweetest Touch from Boring Productions.

And some new favorites like Say Sue Me, Forsaken Autumn, Alvvays, Night Flowers, Iris and Pictured Resort.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Any songs by The Beatles, The Cure, Belle & Sebastian, The Smiths, Camera Obscura and Blueboy will do.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We’re planning to release several music videos from our album, Phantasms.

It’s also a goal of ours to play outside the Philippines. Now that we have an album, we hope this will materialize. Any music festival from Southeast Asia will be a good start.

And more Singles, Albums in the future.

Q: Any parting words?
Our album, Phantasms is available on Terno Recordings and Boring Productions.

For the limited edition 12” + 7” Vinyl, you can purchased through the bandcamp link below:
https://boringproductions.bandcamp.com/album/phantasms

Thank you, Renato & The Blog That Celebrates Itself. Cheers!
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/TheStrangeCreatures/
https://boringproductions.bandcamp.com/album/phantasms

Tell Me How This Ends with Curtsy - An Interview

Indie pop com letras maiúsculas, é o melhor sintetiza a música do quinteto californiano, Curtsy.

O segundo álbum dos caras, "Tell Me How This Ends" lançado há pouco mais de um mês, é um exercício do que de melhor foi concebido na música pop dos 80´s até os dias atuais.

Dreampop agressivo, melódico, cantarolável e, altamente pegajoso, dosando influências de Tears for Fears a Radiohead, de Dandy Warhols a Cure, sem pender para nenhum dos lados citados, apenas servindo-se da base formulada para criar uma identidade própria.

Não se trata de algo revolucionário, experimental ou que vá mudar o mundo, muito pelo contrário, o lance do Curtsy é conceber música pop em sua essência, e os caras acertam bem no alvo.

Pura diversão.

***** Interview with Curtsy *****

Q. When did Curtsy begin? Tell us about the history...
We’ve all known each other for about five years, except for our drummer, Jonathan, whom we met in December of 2017 and fell in love with. Austin (vocals, guitar) and Crystal (vocals, keys) go the farthest back, having met when Austin auditioned as a lap steel player for Crystal’s country-folk band in 2012. We bonded over our mutual love of 80s pop and 90s shoegaze, and became friends, bandmates, and songwriting partners. The songs we wrote together started sounding more like rock and pop than country or folk. We began the project that evolved into the band we are today. Kai (bass) joined us along the way after attending a show in Ventura, CA. Austin met Tamara (guitar) in 2014 from being involved in the music scene in LA. She had heard of Curtsythrough the local-band grapevine, so when Austin invited her to jam with the band, she fully accepted his invitation. Tamara met Jonathan in 2016 through class mates in college, all of whom seemed to be in different bands with him at the same time. When the band needed a new drummer in 2017, he was first on her list.

Q: Who are your influences?
Beach House, Radiohead, The Cure, The Beatles, Tears for Fears, Fugazi, Paul Simon

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time:
1. The Cure - Disintegration
2. The Dandy Warhols - Thirteen Tales to Urban Bohemia
3. Paul Simon - Graceland
4. Radiohead - Kid A
5. Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See

Q. How do you feel playing live?
The love we have for playing live is indescribable. There’s nothing like having that kind of spontaneous conversation with people you trust. It's amazing.

Q. How do you describe Curtsy´s sounds?
Angry Indie Pop/Dream Pop

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
The process of recording songs begins just from a melody Austin or Crystal or both have been writing. They bring it in to practice, we then we take it apart and just jam and build on it until we feel it is complete. The band fully works together to create every element each member want in our songs. When we go to record them, we do the same process of adding certain things and sounds wed want to try out. We work as a team and to make sure everyones voice is heard.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
 The Purrs, A Beacon School, Tigercub, Cloud Nothings, Palm

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

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Making new music and touring!!! That’s definitely the next goal.

Q: Any parting words?
Thank you so much! Our new album Tell Me How This Ends is out now!
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Thanks

https://curtsy.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/curtsymusic/

Comfort In Concrete with Soot Sprite - An Interview

Da cidade de Exeter, sudoeste da Inglaterra, também conhecida por ser a cidade natal de Chris Martin, vocalista da banda Coldplay, vem o trio que nada tem em conexões sonoras com a banda citada, pelo contrário, o Soot Sprite navega por territórios subterrâneos por entre sonhos nostálgicos, hipnotizando literalmente quem se aventura pela audição.

"Comfort in Concrete" é o primeiro trabalho deles, que se destaca pela cativante voz de Elise. Pense em heroínas do indie rock, Cat Power, PJ, Karen O ou Dolores O'Riordan, todas elas juntas, são alimento para Elise os seus parceiros.

Uma belíssima e instigante estreia, que gera inevitavelmente aquele deliciosa sensação de querer mais ao final....torcemos para que o Soot Sprite não demore com o sucessor de "Comfort in Concrete".

***** Interview with Soot Sprite *****

Q. When did Soot Sprite begin? Tell us about the history...
I started writing for this project at the end of last year after separating from a long term relationship that had been very mentally exhausting and restrictive. I instinctively looked to music as an outlet for this weird feeling of sadness and liberation, and I haven’t looked back. I’d played in loads of projects before but felt like starting a solo project because I’d seen so many groups break down for one reason or another. But now I’ve got such a wonderful couple of people who play in my live band it doesn’t feel much like a solo project now, but that’s been a lovely natural thing.

Q: Who are your influences?
When I was writing I was listening to a lot of Phoebe Bridgers, Soccer Mommy & Hovvdy, but nearly everything I’ve written ever has been influenced by My Bloody Valentine. I’ve been compared to Cocteau Twins quite a lot but they’re actually a super recent discovery for me!

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
It’s Blitz - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
The Big Roar - The Joy Formidable
Mean Everything To Nothing - Manchester Orchestra
Stranger In The Alps - Phoebe Bridgers
Loveless - My Bloody Valentine

Q. How do you feel playing live?
I actually still get really nervous before we play, even though we’ve played loads of shows now! I suppose it comes with the nature of the vulnerability of this project. Once the set’s begun it feels totally natural and comfortable, but then for a little while after we’ve played I actually feel pretty overwhelmed and need to be outside and away from it for a little while. Despite that it’s all I ever really want to do.

Q. How do you describe Soot Sprite´s sounds?
Dreamy nostalgia, paired with guitars that ebb and flow between glittering and roaring, laced with ghostly vocals.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
I actually recorded everything in my room, I took music technology at college so kind of have a background there & love the whole recording & producing process. My partner helped record some bass parts and program the drums in, he plays bass in my live band as well.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
My partner also has a project called Fusea which I seriously recommend, FFO DIIV, Wild Nothing and Current Joys. Also really digging Sit Down and Lala Lala

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
Maybe The Cranberries? Or Catatonia!

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Fingers crossed in the new year we’ll start hopping on some cool tours, asides from that I’m gonna keep writing and keep working at it, go wherever this band takes me!

Q: Any parting words?
Just that if you’ve ever thought ‘I’ve always wanted to be in a band’ then just fucking do it, it doesn’t matter who you are or how old you are, I didn’t even play guitar until about a year ago. Everyone has a story to tell, and it’s never too late to start.
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/sootspritemusic/
https://sootsprite.bandcamp.com/

Homegrown Vandal with Valuemart - An Interview

Tory Knowles é a mente e o faz tudo por detrás do Valuemart.

O Valuemart é um apetitoso menu para amantes da new wave em todos seus desmembramentos, é dançante, é cerebral, por vezes sombrio também, conexões com Cure, Cars, Gary Numan entre outros baluartes são facilmente identificadas durante o desfile das canções do debute "Homegrown Vandal".

Os desavisados ao ouvirem, certamente se perguntarão, eu já ouvi isso em algum lugar? ou ainda, já dancei essa no clubinho.

Cheiro de nostalgia plena.

***** Interview with Valuemart *****

Q. When did Valuemart begin? Tell us about the history...
I came up with Valuemart in early 2018 after distancing myself from my last project, Blond Delirium, which never saw any success. Its failure pushed me to try a lot harder and experiment with my sounds, until I finally began to understand song structures better and master my digital workstation. This allowed me to express myself without any technical boundaries, making exactly what I had in mind, and letting my emotions free flow into my work. After returning from traveling abroad over the spring, I put in thousands of hours in my home studio, working every day to release an album before the end of 2018, which thankfully I was able to do, just a few weeks ago.

Q: Who are your influences?
My biggest influence is The Cure, which I hold to be the greatest band of all time. Their attention to and importance of melody, and overwhelmingly dark sounds inspire all of my work. After that, Ariel Pink. Pink is one of the reasons I started making music. His music showed me that I didn't have to have sign some major deal to make it in the music industry, or have inside connections. That I could record whatever I wanted, all by myself. And eventually, by doing his thing and making cool ass fucking music, he got signed to a label, with a huge catalog of weird and wonderful music behind him. I regard him as one of the greatest artists and songwriters of our time. Other than those two, I'm influenced by all of the amazing punk, post punk, goth, and alternative bands from the late 70's and 80's. In no particular order - Joy Division, New Order, The Cars, A Flock of Seagulls, Killing Joke, The Psychedelic Furs, Iggy Pop, The Cult, Gary Numan, and Bauhaus.

Also, I'm extremely influenced by David Lynch's films. They get me in a mood where I can write the lyrics, which in my opinion, are the best.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
The Cure - Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
The Cure - The Head On The Door
The Cars - The Cars
Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
New Order - Low-life

Q. How do you feel playing live?
I haven't found a band yet that can play my music as I'd like it to be played yet, but I'm working on that. Other than that, I like to go wild on stage and break shit. I'd like all my shows to have mosh pits, and things for me to destroy. The punk bands of the 70's really influence me on my live performances. A crowd gives me crazy energy, and time starts to slip while I'm playing, and I see red. I love it.

Q. How do you describe Valuemart´s sounds?
I'd describe it as a whirlwind of heavily layered sound, fusing post-punk and goth music and lyrics straight from the darkest corners of my mind. It's meant to be played very loud, while going fast.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
My recording process is very self destructive. When recording my songs, I'll be coming off a two or three day bender, no recollection of the night before. I wake up very early, around 7AM, knowing I'm going to create something. There's really dark shit rolling around in my head at this point, and I throw down a bass line and a drum beat. What happens next, I usually can't remember, as I'm still wasted. But I'll slam out a song in 5 or 6 hours, then nurse my hangover for a day or two. Over the next week I'll return to it, changing it completely, over and over, until it's barely recognizable from the original. I stay sober for (mostly) this whole week, mixing, mastering, and recording. Once my song is completely finished, I'll sing over it, using lyrics I've written when I'm in my darkest state of mind. That's basically how I made every song on the album.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
From around my hometown, I'd recommend Shameface. I played a show with them recently and thought they absolutely killed it. Other than them, I love Black Marble, Part Time, Boy Harsher, DIIV, John Maus, Velvet Condom, and Lebanon Hanover.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I'd like to cover a Gary Numan song, for sure. There's something about his song structures that I love, and I'd like to put my own unique style on it. Down In The Park, or M.E., or Metal.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
I'm going to be a rockstar. That's my only plan. And to release a massive amount of music over my career, so people never run out of things to listen to.

Q: Any parting words?
If there's any labels out there reading this, I'm still unsigned and I'd love to get on a label who really focuses on creative freedom.

Thanks for interviewing me,
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/valuemart666/
https://valuemart69.com

Echoes of a Tide with Swallow the Rat - An Interview

Fantasmas de SY e Bailterspace, permeiam os experimentos sônicos dos neozelandeses do Swallow The Rat.

Tudo estridentemente concebido para testar neurônios, o primeiro EP dos caras é uma afronta aos tímpanos, buscando em em obras como "Thermos" e "Evol" sua essência.

Art noise para apreciadores do mais puro exercício de barulho por excelência.

Escutar alto, é um conselho absolutamente desnecessário.

***** Interview with Swallow The Rat *****

Q. When did Swallow The Rat begin? Tell us about the history...
Brian (Our guitarist) had just moved to NZ from his home in Austin, TX with his Kiwi family and was looking to start a band. He'd met Sam (Vox, Guitar) on an earlier trip to NZ. Sam knew Hayden (Drums) and myself (Bass, synth) from various bands who he had shared stages with around Auckland, and the rest is history...

Q: Who are your influences?
3Ds, Bailterspace, Butthole Surfers, Dead Kennedys, Tim Hecker, Sonic Youth

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
The Beatles - Revolver
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
3Ds - Venus Trail
Caberet Voltaire - Red Mecca
Tim Hecker - Ravedeath 1972

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Like a lightening bolt down your spine

Q. How do you describe Swallow The Rat´s sounds?
Texas Psychedelia vs NZ Post Punk

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
We are working with engineer Nick Abbott at his studio NorthWestern in beautiful West Auckland. Typically we try and work out all our parts beforehand, so we can just go into the studio and record them live, in as few as takes as possible. A few overdubs later and we are done.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Repairs https://repairstheband.bandcamp.com/releases
Yves Tumour https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/yves-tumor-safe-in-the-hands-of-love/
Love Theme - https://lovetheme-alter.bandcamp.com/album/love-theme
Tooms - https://eugenetooms.bandcamp.com/album/tooms
ROPE - https://ropenz.bandcamp.com/releases

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
The Cleaners from Venus - Only a Shadow

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We have many...

We are finishing our album in a few weeks which we will look to put out next year. In the meantime we are putting out a 7", which will be going up for pre sale on pledgemusic.com very soon. You can hear the tracks on our bandcamp (https://swallowtherat.bandcamp.com/). In March next year we are heading the U.S. to play at SXSW in Austin, TX, which is really exciting. Beyond that we are looking to continue playing around NZ, and will head to Australia at some stage...

Q: Any parting words?
If you ever get to see us live, bring earplugs!
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Thanks

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

The Silence Kit, "Fall Protection" - Track by Track

Prediletos daqui do TBTCI, desde o primeiro contato, os phillies do The Silence Kit são audição obrigatória quando o assunto é pós punk para este que vos escreve.

Seguindo a tradição clássica, leia-se The Sound, The Chameleons, The Cure, os caras chegam a "Fall Protection" seu novo trabalho em seu melhor momento.

Melodicamente intenso, poeticamente certeiro, o The Silence Kit, sintetiza no novo disco seus melhores momentos.

Já na abertura sintética e metalizada de "Supermarket", lembrando o grande Bright Channel, os caras já dão todas as pistas do que é o álbum. Um mix de cinzento mas não doentio, angustiante mas não desesperador, um revitalização modernizada do pós punk clássico.

Um disco intenso na medida certeira para o milênio, facilmente um dos grandes trabalhos deste 2018 para o TBTCI, e é óbvio que para obras como "Fall Protection" é necessário ir a fundo, e para isso o TBTCI convidou seus criadores para decuparem faixa a faixa este pepita.

Corram para a escuridão...

***** The Silence Kit, "Fall Protection" - Track by Track *****

This is Patrick from The Silence Kit. We're very excited that "Fall Protection" is finally out in the world. I recorded us and mixed the songs in my studio over a three year period. Because of the length of time, I wound up remixing many of the songs quite a few times, in order to make sure everything sounded cohesive from a production standpoint. It was originally going to be a 13 song album but we made the decision to cut two of the tracks which made it a tighter album overall, but it still covers quite a bit of ground stylistically.
Supermarket
We embraced our inner-Sonic Youth on this one, walking the line between noise and melody. There aren't enough songs about supermarkets and it's a fun word to sing (as anyone who sings along to The Clash's "Lost in the Supermarket" can attest). Darren says it was the most challenging drum beat to come up with for him but that listening to XTC's "Drums and Wires" proved to be the rhythm inspiration he needed. The rest of the song came together pretty quickly: I was making up the lyrics on the spot as Justin, Kristin, Darren and I jammed on it and I scribbled down and refined the lyrics later. James came up with a really unique, twisting lead for the choruses and solo which added another dimension to the song. The lo-fi intro was taken from a rehearsal session I'd recorded and spliced in because the noise was "just right" and we knew we wouldn't be able to improve upon it. We didn't know it at the time but it ended up being just the right start for the album.

New Year's Eve
This was the last song we wrote for the album. We weren't going to record any more songs, but this one came together so quickly that it made sense to record it. I'd brought this to rehearsal and I was thinking it'd be a sparse, "surf-guitar" kind of song. we had the basic structure in place after 1 rehearsal and recorded it a couple of weeks later. The Cure does this thing on a lot of their songs where Simon will basically play the same bassline through the whole song, and everybody else plays around it, and Justin said he was aiming for something like that with his part. Bryan came up with some really nice synth parts that added color and some counter melodies throughout. After that, we decided the song needed a little more punch, so James and I added more guitars. James' part at the end in particular really takes the song to another level. Lastly, I'd known all along I wanted female backing vocals on the choruses and funny enough, I'd played a rehearsal version in the house and my 8 year old daughter was in the room and she immediate started singing along, and it sounded so great I had to try and record her singing backup. And she nailed the part in one take!

This Time
The earliest versions of this one had a more stripped down feel and I think we called it "krautrock song" as a working title early on. The final version sounded a lot different, but the drum & bass part in the verse has been there from the beginning, and everything else was built around that. We're definitely wearing our 70s and 80s post punk influences on our sleeve with "This Time." It was one of the first songs we wrote for the album and still one of our favorites to play live.

Can We Skip This?
This is the second-to-last song we recorded for the album and we first did it as a three piece, just Darren, Justin and I. For this one, I was going for an R.E.M.-meets-shoegaze song, which is a bit of a tall order, but I think we're in the ballpark. James stepped in later and recorded a guitar part which really helped add another dimension throughout. Because of the feel of this one, Justin mentioned he wasn't sure early on if this would fit into the album with the other songs, but once it was fully mixed and mastered, it quickly became one of his favorites.

Everything You Feel Good About
I'm pretty sure this was the first song we wrote together and recorded for the album. In terms of sound, the first half is decidedly upbeat sounding, infused with an early New Order vibe, and the second half is more downcast and defiant, but lyrically there's a lot in there, and the song could mean something different to me every night, which is something I like about it. I've always loved songs that can shift from one mood into another, too. It's not easy to do naturally, and I feel like we accomplished that with this one. I also included a not-so-sly lyrical reference to my favorite Seam album "Are You Driving Me Crazy."

Wound
I'd written this song and recorded a demo by myself of an early sketch of it way back in 2004 or so. Fast forward to 2017 and Kristin and I got together to work on new songs, and I brought this idea back out. We rearranged it with him playing new synth parts and I switched to Justin's bass VI, which I play throughout the song. There is definitely an homage to David Lynch/Angelo Badalamenti somewhere in there. The bass VI and synth combination gives the song a nice darkwave vibe, the piano part keeps things moving and the drums' driving beat and dramatic pauses really pull things together. Now that we're playing as a five piece we can finally start playing this one live regularly, which we're all excited about.

Worry
For a long time we weren't exactly sure what to do with "Worry." This and "Supermarket" were actually originally one really long song. Everybody who heard it seemed to like it, but they all commented that it sounded like 2 completely different songs. We resisted for a while but when we eventually took their advice and reworked this into it's own song, we realized it was definitely the right move, so that each song could grow into it's own properly. I love Justin's bassline in this one, as it really anchors the song and adds different shades here and there to keep things interesting, and the outro was a cool experiment that worked out nicely: I was going for an almost Portishead-like vibe and so I reversed some of the drums, cut up some other things we'd recorded and recorded a synth part to tie the part together as the song gradually fell apart.

Never Say Goodbye
We were exploring our synth pop side of our post punk influences with this one. I had my Fender Jaguar, Kristin had a board full of synth modules, and he and I sat down and came up with the verses and choruses in one go. In only a few rehearsals, Justin and Darren had their parts written and the song's structure was solidified. In the mixing stage, I spent a lot of time on the drum sounds for this album and for this song in particular we wanted a big reverb-heavy snare sound and it took a little while for me to get it just right, but once it was there, the rest of the song really wrapped around the drums and things fell into place.

How Does It Feel?
We arranged and recorded this one really quickly. It's the densest rock song on the album and it took me a bit to wrap my head around mixing it. Once James came in and recorded his parts, it really helped me focus on what we should accentuate with the song, since his part really helps push the song forward and I feel like the dynamics that were always there got much more distinct, which made for a nice, dramatic shift between the louder sections and the softer section.

Tablecloth
This is another one I had written and recorded a sketch of, way back in 2005 or so but it was totally, totally different - a sparse, slow, moody arrangement centered around a piano progression. I played it for Justin and Darren and we decided we'd just jam and rearrange it however felt natural. We started playing the progression but in a completely different way: Justin's energetic bassline and Darren's jagged beat drove the song forward in a way I'd never imagined and I switched to playing more of a lead guitar part and things kind of took off from there.

Discard
Sometimes inspiration can be as simple as getting a new guitar pedal. I got a new pedal for Christmas, and the first time I played with it, I sat down and wrote "Discard," and I think I sent the other guys a video of me playing the main progression on Christmas day. We recorded bass and drums together and Darren says although it might be the simplest song for him to play, it was the most difficult to record due to its slow tempo. He used mallets on the the verses and sticks in the louder sections to give it two different feels and for some unique textures, and I recorded the main guitar and synth tracks and then came back a few weeks later and added the leads. Songs like this are such a fun canvas to work with and experiment with, and the trick is always to make sure each part is serving the song and is there for a purpose. So, although I tried a lot of different things on the song, there aren't that many tracks, considering. Anytime we sent someone the rough mixes they'd say this was one of their favorites. It really only would work as the last song on the album, and I do think it provides a nice closure to the album.
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/the.silence.kit/
https://thesilencekit.bandcamp.com/

Throbs with The Fog Ensemble - An Interview

Thessaloníki é a principal cidade da região grega da Macedônia, e é exatamente de terras tão exóticas e excêntricas que aterriza nas páginas do TBTCI neste momento o trio The Fog Ensemble.

Os caras se descrevem como "concrete shoehaze", um termo esquisito e deveras excêntrico tal qual a procedência dos caras, mas a sonoridade soa bem conhecida.

Nada de vozes por aqui, os caras centram-se em densas paisagens instrumentais, gerando atmosferas por vezes angustiantes, em outras pairam tranquilidade e caos sobrepondo-se aleatoriamente. 

Não é shoegaze, não é post rock, não é experimental, é tudo isso junto em doses cavalares.

Escute alto e boa fritação.

***** Interview with The Fog Ensemble

Q. When did The Fog Ensemble begin? Tell us about the history...
Actually we knew each other long before we decided to form a band!But after many years thinking about it, on Christmas eve of 2011 Antonis (Karakostas::guitars and programming) dropped the idea of forming a band while we were all out together with friends celebrating. So in early 2012 the band was formed and after a few months we went into a studio and started playing music together.

So far we have two albums out, our first called "The Fog Ensemble" (2015/Mellotron Recordings) and our second called "Throbs" which just came out on October the 19th on Inner Ear Records!

Q: Who are your influences?
Definitely early '90s shoegaze,the groove of the so called “Madchester” sound and a little bit of the trip-hop classics!

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
That’s difficult because it changes all the time but let’s say the following..

1 Loveless-My Bloody Valentine
2 Mezzanine-Massive Attack
3 Goo-Sonic Youth
4 Pills Thrills and Bellyaches-Happy Mondays
5 Revolver-The Beatles

Q. How do you feel playing live?
We don't play live very often,but when we do, we give our very best and we do enjoy it to the maximum!

Q. How do you describe The Fog Ensemble´s sounds?
"Concrete Shoehaze"

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Usually Antonis comes up with the main idea for a track, works on it for a little while mainly on his laptop and guitar and then brings it to the studio where Nicholas (Kondylis:bass) and George (Nanopoulos:drums) add their stuff so as to become completed.Sometimes this takes a lot of time because we all throw ideas to each other about the instrumentation but sometimes it comes to us so naturally that we finish it pretty quickly and we move on to the next track.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
The are not new but Sleaford Mods are a band that we do enjoy a lot!

Also Echo Ladies "Pink Noise" and Mark Peters "Innerland" are both great records that we listened to lately.

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
The Smiths "How soon is now" but we'll have to find someone to do the vocals because we are playing instrumental music and none of us can sing!

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Well, we’ll see how things will turn out with our second album and concentrate on promoting it by playing live as much as we can. Other than that, we’ve already started writing music for album number 3!

Q: Any parting words?
Thank you very much for your invitation to this interview,we are big fans of the “blog that celebrates itself” for years now! Have a great time and always listen to music and try to find new music as well.

There’s so much cool stuff out there!
https://www.facebook.com/thefogensemble/
https://thefogensemble-innerear.bandcamp.com/album/throbs 
https://thefogensemble1.bandcamp.com/album/the-fog-ensemble
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Thanks

ΨΧ with Cathedral Echo - An Interview

Psicodelismo a´la grega aterrizando nas páginas do TBTCI neste exato momento...

Viagens desaceleradas em formas cósmicas, psicodelia moderna, sonhadora encharcada de elementos eletrônicos, é o novo mundo dando formato a velhas trips.

O Cathedral Echo não nega suas influências, leia-se,a fase moderna dos Flaming Lips, o lado sintetizado de Sonic Boom, mais precisamente o Spectrum, vagando ainda por enlaces com os modernos Tame Impala e MGMT.

Novos tempos, novas viagens, novas drogas, são alimentos os lisérgicos do Cathedral Echo.

Fritações para o novo século.

***** Interview with Cathedral Echo *****

Q. When did Cathedral Echo begin? Tell us about the history...
Well, cathedral echo essentially started when I started writing and recording music on my own when I was 16, which led to me becoming obsessed with the idea of creating my own "sonic universe" by experimenting and ultimately not being able to focus on anything else. I started appreciating sound little by little and discovered the possibilities of expressing myself through sounds which I would create. And all that transformed into my recording project, which later had its own name and it became a thing by itself.

Q: Who are your influences?
My influeces change all the time and obviously they've changed from when I was a kid, I was into 60's and 70's rock stuff like Pink Floyd, The Doors, Supertramp and later on into my adolescence, I started listening to more genres and electronic music and particularly a lot of neo-psychedelic bands such as MGMT, Tame Impala and The Flaming Lips. I also started listening lots of underground/ indie bands that wouldn't normally be on my radar such as Spacemen 3 and Sonic Boom (Pete Kember) that had a huge impact on me as well.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
5.Aphex Twin - "Selected Ambient Works 85-92"
4.Spacemen 3 - "Dreamweapon"
3.Pink Floyd - "Piper at the Gates of Dawn"
2.Tame Impala - "Lonerism"
1.Aphrodite's Child - "666"

Q. How do you feel playing live?
It's a unique experience in itself and it's definitely something I love doing, even though it sets me out of my comfort zone, which is my home recording studio where I basically live in and work on music. It's also more limiting on how many things you can do, but at the same time that allows you to focus on the performance and the atmosphere itself, rather than spending hours trying to craft a sound or more.

Q. How do you describe Cathedral Echo´s sounds?
Cosmic kaleidoscope pop!(?). I'm always asked as to how I perceive these sounds and how I set about creating them and the best way to describe it is that I imagine a huge colourful cathedral-like building floating in the sky and those "cathedral echo" sounds are being generated from the inside, something like a factory of sounds. The whole concept of the name was inspired by Tangerine Dream's performace at "Coventry Cathedral" in 1975, being one of the most magical performances ever.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
The songs are usually written on one instrument, either on a guitar on a keyboard but the process varies hugely.

For example ,the track "i can feel the sun" was written the moment I picked up the guitar and it just came out of nowhere in one take, whereas the track "harumi" is basically 3 different tracks fused into one, so it all comes down to the atmosphere of each track and I try to keep as organic as possible.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
There is a UK dream pop band/recording project called The Death Of Pop, which I think they are vastly underrated because there is some really good songwriting and very cool sounds. Bands from Athens, Greece that I like, Acid Baby Jesus, Monochromatic Visions and The Vagina Lips.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I recorded a cover of Spectrum's "I Know They Say" a while ago, which although I did in a bit of a hurry, I enjoyed it, I would love to do an amazing psychedelic Spacemen 3 cover with the band, although I'm not sure which track specifically but I would do my best to do it justice.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We just released our first EP "ΨΧ", which can be found in its entirety on youtube and can be purchased through our bandcamp page. At the moment we are setting up our live band so we can start playing gigs in Athens, because I took some time off recording the EP in my home studio. I hope I can start writing our first full-length album sometime in the near future, but I think that will take quite some time for now.

Q: Any parting words?
Don't stop believing.
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Thanks

https://cathedralecho.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/cathedraleeechoes/

Sensitive & Tired with Hug - An Interview

Todos os efeitos estridentes possíveis misturados com o único intuito de criar atmosferas sonhadoras e viajantes, por vezes as fritações sonoras vão além do que os tímpanos permitem, assim é o quarteto sonicamente sonhador de San Diego, Hug.

"Sensitive & Tired" é daqueles discos que qualquer fã de shoegaze, dreampop, ou com amores perdidos nos 90´s acaba se envolvendo intensamente.

Obviamente que fantasmas de Kevin Shields permeiam o álbum, mas, o lado americano me parece soar mais intenso, leia-se Medicine, Drop Nineteens e Swirlies.

O Hug pode se tornar sua mais nova banda predileta, não deixe de forma alguma escapar, são sonicamente perfeitos, simples assim.

***** Interview with Hug *****

Q. When did Hug begin? Tell us about the history...
The beginning of hug is a bit complicated, but hug began with childhood friend Wyatt, in my moms garage in 2016 as a fun goth project. I (Chris) was playing bass and Wyatt played guitar and synth. Wyatt later didn’t want to play guitar anymore as he preferred synth. I ended up picking up guitar for my first writing endeavor. I naturally started writing more shoegaze-like riffs and that’s how our sound eventually came to be.

We landed a bassist and drummer and played a couple local bar shows. Our drummer ended up leaving as he had other bands and it wasn’t quite his style. Our bassist joined another band and that sort of drifted away as well.

We ended up gathering our bassist, Tron, who happens to be my girlfriend and it was a perfect fit. We went into recording with our friend Will, who ended up wanting to drum for us. And that puts us here.

Q: Who are your influences?
As for our influences each member has very different taste in music. It ranges from every end of the spectrum. Wyatt is a big Enya guy which influences his keyboard and synth sounds.

Drummer Will has a background in hardcore hence his heavy hitting drums.

Tron loves everything, oldies, R&B, hip hop, punk, which most likely influences her huge voice and groovy bass lines.

As for me I’m heavily influenced my 90s shoegaze, grunge, and alt rock. I love the sounds of My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Swervedriver, Hum and everything in between. It helps influence creativity and putting together huge, room filling chords and riffs. I like to call it a fuzz filled, reverb coated “hug”!

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
Top five albums?
In no particular order
Obviously Loveless by My Bloody Valentine.

They might all be obvious but the rest are Souvlaki by Slowdive, Mezcal Head by Swervedriver, You’d Prefer An Astronaut by Hum, and maybe Ferment by Catherine Wheel.

I could go on and on about great albums and there’s so many more that go all the way back to the 80s and flash forward to present day.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Playing live is a major release and very much so cathartic. There is so much anxiety building up to it. I have a hard time sitting still the day of the show. Once you’re up there it’s go time and almost an out of body experience. I tend to end up having a lot of energy and blacking out during the middle of a set only to end up in a total state of peace during our last song of the set. It’s an amazing way of displaying how much hard work and the countless hours we all put in to making the EP.


Q. How do you describe Hug´s sounds?
As for describing our sounds I’m going to go back to what I said previously, it’s a fuzz filled, reverb coated “hug”. Very atmospheric and ethereal. We play very loud and I like to think Wyatt adds the perfect touch of atmospheric synth sounds to hone in all of our noise.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
The recording process was tedious as hell. I’m a perfectionist and OCD and anxious and depressed so it became a beautiful nightmare. We spent over a year writing and recording and scrapping songs and riffs and lyrics and melodies. We probably wrote around 15 songs and ended up with 5. I’m constantly writing new and better material as I’m still growing as a guitarist and song writer. That being said I’d come in with new songs every week and say to hell with the old stuff. We also took on Tron, our current bassist and vocalist, midway through recording the EP so that was an adjustment, but a very easy one at that.

We took a lot of time to dial in different tones and recorded many dry tracks and re amped them over and over. I’m also not the best singer but luckily Tron has range for days which helped me sit in a comfortable spot vocally speaking. Once again it was a nightmare, but a beautiful one.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
New bands to recommend? You’re either asking the right questions or the wrong questions, depending on how long you want these responses. I can go on for days and we have so many good friends in good bands. To start, a childhood friend of ours, Jacob Breeze, is in an amazing band that’s taking off called Spiritual Cramp, they’re all amazing dudes and we love them and their music. He’s also in a sweet band called World Smasher and does solo work as Fine. All amazing. Then we have local friends in Downers, Little Heroine, Babe Parade, and Witness 9. All great people, all sweet sounds. We’re also loving the sounds of Tijuana based bands Memory Leak and Mint Field. There’s plans to play a show with Memory Leak in the future so we will see if that goes through! To list of a few more there is Miserable, King Woman, Newmoon, Rain, Ringo Deathstarr and so many more. Last and not least, Tron has her own band called Bruised Fruit and just released her first EP. And then our drummer, Will, and good friend Presley play in a band called Grenelaine which is a rocking good time.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Personally I really want to make a very atmospheric cover of Q Lazzarus’s “Goodbye Horses”. That’s all that’s been on my mind lately. Other than that I would love to find songs in adjacent genres to ours and turn them into something different and more “hug” sounding. That’s the whole fun of doing covers!

Q: What are your plans for the future?
As for future plans, we are really trying to bring classic shoegaze music back and turn it into a new movement in the local San Diego scene. There’s a lot of potential and some really good gaze bands starting up. We got a couple amazing shows lined up and even a shoegaze festival that we’re going to play here in San Diego. I’d like to link up with some of those bands and do a short California coast tour and see where that takes us. Like I said earlier, I’m constantly writing and have quite a few songs lined up for the next release so we will see if those see the light of day or if I’ll scrap them like I tend to do.

Q: Any parting words?
Thank you for your interest and the opportunity to be interviewed. I can’t speak for the other members of the band but I can speak highly of them. I love them all, we love each other, and it’s so great to be part of a team together. They drive me nuts sometimes, but that’s just what I need and I love them for that. They know exactly what I’m talking about. I can’t thank them enough for their love and support and hard work.

Much love from Chris and the family we call hug
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Thanks

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

Voices with Middle Management - An Interview

E a Austrália aterriza novamente nas páginas do TBTCI, desta vez representada pelos caras do Middle Management.

"Voices" o novo single, como "Return", o anterior, nascem e crescem da mesma matriz. Texturas hipnóticas fluindo por entre o pós punk clássico e o shoegaze, os caras conduzem seus devaneios sonhadores melodicamente sem excessos ou experimentalismos.

Aguardamos os próximos passos do Middle Management ansiosamente.

***** Interview with Middle Management *****

Q. When did Middle Management begin? Tell us about the history...
Middle Management began in late 2016. Three of us (Stefan, Sam, William) met up through a gumtree ad posted looking for like-minded musicians. We started with a beer and a chat about music and soon after we started to jam. At this stage we didn't have a bass player but after writing a few songs we created a new ad and found our bass player Josh! So the full band came together in early 2017 and none of us had met before we formed the band. Since then we've just been writing, recording and gigging. Good times!

Q: Who are your influences?
Our influences vary widely and we are constantly showing each other new bands and artists. Our main influences would have to be: Total Control, King Gizzard, Pond, The Church, Rowland S Howard, The Smiths, The Cure, New Order, Joy Division, Savages

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
Soft bulletin by The Flaming Lips
Pornography by The Cure
Songs of Leonard of Cohen by Leonard Cohen
Blonde by Frank Ocean
Sound of Silver by LCD Soundsystem

Q. How do you feel playing live?
We really enjoy playing live. We tend to have a lot of fun on stage and like to move around a bit. Our live sound is a little less dreamy and a little more energetic than our recorded songs.

Q. How do you describe Middle Management´s sounds?
Our sound has grown and developed a lot since the early days. The first few songs we wrote were slower with a real post rock/shoegaze vibe. Lots of big and loud sections with some heavier guitar and drums. Over time we've slowly started to head more towards a post-punk/indie/dream pop combination. It's been called 'dream rock' which we're not totally against. 'Voices' has a bit more intensity and grit than our previous releases and this is the sort of direction we're going with for our song writing at the moment.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
We recorded all of our tracks thus far in a garage turned studio early this year. We released 'return' and '21' in February although we also recorded the instrumental tracks for Voices in the same session. 

We weren't quite sure where to go with it vocally so we kept it in the bank until we were happy that it was fully complete. We recorded the vocals for Voices at Williams house in a makeshift studio in one of his spare rooms. It actually turned out great!

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
There are so many amazing new bands but the ones that come to mind are: Mothers, Tram Cops, No Sister and Candy. Check them out!

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
In the 20 months or so that we've been together, we have never actually played a cover. If we did, we would love to play something by New order.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We've been busy writing a bunch of new songs and we're looking to put them together into and EP some time next year. Hopefully early-mid 2019. Apart from that just keep playing shows and try to get our music out there!

Q: Any parting words?
Thanks heaps to Renato for the opportunity and the great interview. Thanks for reading!
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/middlemanagement1/
https://middlemanagementmelbourne.bandcamp.com

Front Row Future with Sacred Shrines - An Interview

Sabores psicodélicos vindos de terras australianas, cortesia do quinteto Sacred Shrines.

Por vezes doses garageiras dominam a acidez dos caras, em outras, pepitas lisérgicas dominam a mente, e, por fim, emanações esquizofrênicas completam a receita sonora do Sacred Shrines.

Décadas de fritações conectam-se a banda, passando pelos porões sessentistas, adentrando ao flower power, nothern soul, chegando a nova era psicodélica dos dias atuais, tudo é combustível para as viagens dos australianos.

Para derreter neurônios, esse é o diagnóstico do Sacred Shrines.....boa viagem!

***** Interview with Sacred Shrines *****

Q. When did Sacred Shrines begin? Tell us about the history...
We played our first show as Sacred Shrines in March 2014 in Brisbane, Australia. I had worked previously with Mat Von Diehm (drums) on other projects and we went about looking for the right people to start the band. We knew exactly what we were looking for and were lucky enough to find the right people for what we were hoping to achieve with our music. We’d been writing and rehearsing a little before our first show once we cemented the lineup and pretty much started recording our first album right away.

Q: Who are your influences?
Our music is a mix of a lot of things and we all have our own individual influences that we bring to the band, but we all do share a love of 60’s music and I would have to say the sounds of that era are probably our biggest influence, especially the late 60’s. Some psych/garage bands that we really like - The 13th Floor Elevators, The Easybeats, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, Broadcast, The Black Angels, The Sonics, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Doors but the list goes on endlessly!

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
I’m just gonna name 5 off the top of my head that I really like. This is the impossible question!!!

The Noise Made By People - Broadcast
Ocean Rain - Echo & The Bunnymen
Behind the Music - The Soundtrack Of Our Lives
We Could Leave Tonight - Sounds Like Sunset
Funhouse - The Stooges

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Playing live is probably one of our favourite things about being in a band. Most of the things we do are in anticipation of performing e.g. writing, rehearsing recording. It’s hard to describe but I guess it is mostly like a blur. In some ways time goes very fast and stands still as well. It’s a great feeling playing our songs together. We’re best friends, so that makes it even more amazing to be able to perform together.

Q. How do you describe Sacred Shrines´ sounds?
We describe our sound as psych/garage but there are a lot of other influences that find their way into our songs. We’re pretty focused on trying not to repeat ourselves and work at making our songs quite different to each other within the framework of our sound. We seem to be moving in a few different directions with our 2nd album, so I’m excited about that.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
We try to do quite a lot of pre-production before we head into the studio. Our guitarist Matt Weatherall is also a recording engineer, so we put time into making demos of the songs ourselves and then make changes until we think we’re ready to head into the studio. We’ve been recording with a few different people since we started so that we can create a diverse sound on our records. We’ve also been getting multiple people from around the world to mix our songs so that they will have a sense of individuality. Usually we set up and record together as much as possible to retain the feel of the band when we perform live. It’s usually all done fairly quickly as well.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
There’s some great Australian psych/garage and other genre bands that we are proud to call friends - Sons Of Zoku, The Dunes, The Black Heart Death Cult, The Flamingo Jones, Drawn From Bees, Mexico City, We All Want To, The Stress Of Leisure, Suicide Swans, Sounds Like Sunset and I could go on and on. That’s a good start!

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
The Stooges. We’ve played “I Wanna Be Your Dog” at the end of our set a couple of times.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We’re currently recording songs for our second album which is coming out in 2019. We’re hoping to be finished by the end of the year and we’re super proud of what we’ve done so far. We’re also hoping to play shows in North America and Europe as well next year. Basically more recording and playing in as many places as we can get to.

Q: Any parting words?
We’d like to thank everyone for their support so far, from buying our music to coming out to see us play live and writing to us as well. Keep on supporting live music! Cheers, Phil
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Thanks

https://www.sacredshrines.net
https://www.facebook.com/sacredshrines/
https://sacredshrines.bandcamp.com

El Lugar with Los Años Rojos - An Interview

A cena independente argentina esta em plena ebulição, muitas novas e, boas bandas vem surgindo da terra de nossos hermanos, vide Camion, Nax, Otono, e agora chega às páginas do TBTCI, o quinteto Los Años Rojos.

Dreampop moderno, repleto de texturas climáticas e sonhadoras dão mote ao novo trabalho, o EP, "El Lugar". Detalhe importante para o trabalho dos caras é o idioma, todas as canções são em espanhol, e soam mais do que apropriadas no contexto criado pela banda.

Foi-se o tempo que a boa música era feita apenas no eixo, UK/USA, hoje, o submundo dos bons sons flui efervescente nos quatro cantos do mundo, e o Los Años Rojos comprova essa máxima.

***** Interview with Los Años Rojos *****

Q. When did Los Años Rojos begin? Tell us about the history ...

Martin (guitarist, lead vocalist and composer) and Javier (violinist) met working as music teachers in 2010. There they became friends and said that at some point they would make a musical project. Six years later Martín and Javier, at another point in their lives, decided to form the band adding some of their former students graduated from those schools: Vicente on bass and choirs, Fermín on keyboards, Germán on drums and octapad.

Q: Who are your influences?

There is a great influence of the sound of pop rock and the new wave of the 80s, however the structures of the songs oscillate between the current indie, the noise and garage of the 90s and the beginning of the century, and the punk of the 80s. There are also influences from Argentine bands such as “Babasónicos”, “El mató a un policía motorizado” y “ Mi amigo invencible” among others.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time ...

“La dinastía scorpio” ( El mató a un policía motorizado)
“Room on fire” (Strokes)
“Reflector” (Arcade fire)
“Nocturne” (Wild nothing)
“La danza de los principiantes” (Mi amigo invencible)

Q. How do you feel playing live?

Connected, alive and happy. We feel an instrument of music, whose function is to express something that music means, and we lend our bodies to it.

Q. How do you describe Los Años Rojos' sounds?

We are a band of original formation, which finds its roots in melancholy and the future. Music with airs of urbanity within a cocktail of changing mixtures: songs that travel between guitars, synthes and violins, always in movement to develop new sound routes

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?

Very funny and enjoyable, we recorded in a very beautiful studio, with a sound engineer and producer friend of the band: Juan "Ponche" Abraham. He is very close and there was great communication. The result really surprised and enchanted us.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?

We recommend “Can ki” y “Fus delei”, Argentine bands of young members of la ciudad de La Plata.

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

"Shadow" (Wild Nothing)

Q: What are your plans for the future?

Disseminate the record as much as we can, we believe a lot in the sound that it has and we understand that it brings new ideas and proposals to the music scene. We also aim at the development of our events, we want to make better and more convincing our events, with more complete and nutritious artistic proposals.

Q: Any parting words?

We wanted to thank TBTCI for supporting and spreading the rock music of South America, where there is also a musical movement of great importance with its own unique sound.
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Spanish version

Q. When did Los Anos Rojos begin? Tell us about the history...
Martin (guitarrista, voz principal y compositor) y Javier (violinista) se conocieron trabajando como profesores de música en el año 2010. Allí se hicieron amigos y dijeron que en algún momento conformarían un proyecto musical. Seis años después Martín y Javier, en otro momento de sus vidas, deciden conformar la banda sumando a algunos de sus ex alumnos egresados de esas escuelas: Vicente en bajo y coros, Fermín en teclados, Germán en batería y octapad.

Q: Who are your influences?
Hay una gran influencia del sonido del rock pop y el new wave de los 80s, sin embargo las estructuras de las canciones oscilan entre el indie actual, el noise y garage de los 90s y principio de siglo, y el punk de los 80s. Se ven también influencias de bandas argentinas como “Babasónicos”, “El mató a un policía motorizado” y “ Mi amigo invencible” entre otras.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
“La dinastía scorpio” ( El mató a un policía motorizado)
“Room on fire” (Strokes)
“Reflector” (Arcade fire)
“Nocturne” (Wild nothing)
“La danza de los principiantes” (Mi amigo invencible)

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Conectados, vivos y felices. Nos sentimos un instrumento de la música, cuya función es expresar algo que la música quiere decir, y nosotros le prestamos nuestros cuerpos.

Q. How do you describe Los Anos Rojos´ sounds?
Somos una banda de original formación, que encuentra sus raíces en la melancolía y el porvenir. Música con aires de urbanidad dentro de un cóctel de mixturas cambiantes: canciones que viajan entre guitarras, synthes y violines, siempre en movimiento para desarrollar nuevas rutas sonoras

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Muy divertido y placentero, grabamos en un estudio muy bello, con un ingeniero de sonido y productor amigo de la banda: Juan “Ponche” Abraham. El es muy copado y hubo gran comunicación. El resultado realmente nos sorprendió y encantó.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Recomendamos a “Can ki” y “Fus delei”, bandas argentinas de jóvenes integrantes de la ciudad de La Plata.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
“Shadow” (Wild Nothing)

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Difundir el disco lo más que podamos, creemos mucho en el sonido que tiene y entendemos que trae nuevas ideas y propuestas a la escena musical. También apuntamos al desarrollo de nuestros eventos, queremos hacer mejores y más convocantes nuestros eventos, con propuestas artísticas mas completas y nutritivas.

Q: Any parting words?
Queríamos agradecer a TBTCI por apoyar y difundir la música rock de Sudamérica, donde también hay un movimiento musical de gran importancia con una sonoridad propia y singular.
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Thanks

https://www.facebook.com/losaniosrojos/

Pipe´s Not Dead, "Bemushroomed" - Track by Track

O duo Massimiliano Nardulli e Gabriele Saffioti ou Pipe´s Not Dead para os mais íntimos, chegaram ao seu mais novo trabalho, o EP, "Bemushroomed", que resumidamente poderíamos apenas sintetizar como uma pequena obra prima da música pop.

Parece um tanto de exagero eu sei, mas "Bemushroomed" em seu conceito, execução e resultado atinge os objetivos de sua criação, explico, as seis peças sonoras do disco tem como tema central a expansão da mente através do uso de drogas e substâncias psicodélicas, musicada sublimemente por Massimiliano e Gabriele de forma a causar uma catarse psíquica na mente do ouvinte.
Vozes sampleadas dos três gurus do mundo psicodélico, leia-se, Timothy Leary, Terence McKenna e Alan Watts, o Pipe´s Not Dead, cria um guia alucinógeno em formas sonhadoras, um certo dreampop lisérgico que serve de pano de fundo para trips delicadas e intimistas.

Para obras como "Bemushroomed", o TBTCI, como de praxe, procura ir a fundo, afim de desvendar seus segredos e mistérios, o que o duo criador fez de forma exclusiva para estas páginas.
"Bemushroomed", infelizmente, ficará restrito a poucos apreciadores, mas aqueles que o encontrarem, certamente terão momentos plenos de extrema delicadeza ácida.

Boa viagem!!!!!

***** Pipe´s Not Dead, "Bemushroomed" - Track by Track *****

Bemushroomed is the second EP of PIPE'S NOT DEAD. Released in October 2018, this work features 6 tracks with a common theme: the expansion of the mind through psychedelic drugs or natural substances. During this musical trip we can hear the voices of three of the most important figures of the psychedelic world: Timothy Leary, Terence McKenna and Alan Watts.

1) Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out
Pipe's not dead: We composed this song even before thinking about the concept of the EP...Actually, the track was supposed to be the soundtrack of a feature film. It wasn't used in the end and we let it sit for a while. Then, in the last year, we found a couple of very good documentaries on the so called psychedelic generation and they kind of planted a seed in our mind. The voice of Timothy Leary, here in one of his most known speech, was added after composing the music and it was the perfect match with the atmosphere of the song. There is something that reminds us of the Pink Floyd soundtrack for the movie More on it. We thought that it was the perfect song to introduce the listeners to what turned out to be a pretty coherent musical trip. Maybe the listeners of TBTCI remember a previous version of this song appeared in the Planets Collection-Jupiter.

2) Aurora 3
Quite a different genesis for this song compared with our usual way of composing. It started with a very simple and minimalist organ melody. We don't use organ very often, but this time we found it very interesting. There is some influence of Turkish psychedelic music, in the guitar riff with wah wah pedal and the use of Turkish darbuka percussion.The second part of the song has a piano melody and the ending has a clean guitar riff on the organ. We love this kind of mirror structured songs. The name Aurora was given since the beginning and we added the number 3 after because we had three reasons to name the song Aurora. One may be quite obvious...imagine the musical trip under the cold lights of Aurora Borealis. Another is that the Roman mythology speaks of Aurora, the personification of the dawn. The third one is that the middle name of the Massimiliano's better half and Jack-of-all-trades when it comes to helping us out, is also Aurora. It's light that is the silver lining between the name.

3) Total Eclipse of the Mind
In the very beginning, this song was a coda of Aurora 3. Then we developed it as soundtrack with almost only electronic sounds. When the moment came to select the tracks for the EP, we decided to include it and we thought that it may be a good idea to add some more guitars and a simple bass riff to complete the electronic one. We finished the song the day of the last total lunar eclipse of July 2018 and so we found the title. But it was interesting to see the parallel between the total eclipse of the moon and those moments of extreme tiredness and stress when you're on the verge of a mental breakdown. This is maybe the song that in terms of sound is the perfect transition between the previous EP "We are no longer young but we are not dead yet" and the new sound of this EP.

4) The Mushroom
Exploring the incredible rich contribution of Terence McKenna to several topics related with the expansion of the mind made us decide to include his voice in this song. The song has a quiet and chill harmony that makes us dream with open eyes. Initially we made a version with no drums, but we thought that adding some very light ones and a tambourine might give it more dynamic. We don't know if the mushroom can give you the answer you look for, but we like to imagine that this song can help you to dig more inside yourself. Lately, we've had a lot of inside jokes on mushrooms. Of course, we are experimenting with mushrooms - champignons, portobello, yellow chanterelle and so many other delicious additions to our dinners. But it seems we've been experimenting so much that they ended up on the sleeve of our EP.

5) KyKeoN
Kykeon is a Greek word, is the name of a drink that is believed to be a psychoactive compounded brew normally associated to the Eleusinian Mysteries, the most famous of the secret religious rites of ancient Greece. They were sort of initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at Eleusis. We've always been passionate about Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, their culture and tradition. It is where we come from, no doubt. Recently, we spent some time in Greece and found an exciting musical scene that's as inspirational as one would expect - bundles of inspiration for us. Musically speaking, we tried to recreate different moments of the Eleusinian mysteries, more specifically the moment when Kykeon is served. So the song tries to captures the changes of mood and emotional state associated with this part of the rite.


6) On the road paranoia
The words of Alan Watts accompany this song with a very long intro. It has been composed with this shape from the very beginning. Literally on the road. Spending a lot of time travelling, we experienced sometimes this strange feeling that we called "on the road paranoia". It's a mix of tiredness and excitation to discover something new, fear, and at the same time, fascination of the unknown and of being lost in translation or not be understood. Musically very adequate as the conclusion of this EP, it mirrors the two souls and minds of Pipe's Not Dead!. We suggest this fine piece to accompany another refined work of art, Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas".
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Thanks

https://soundcloud.com/pipesnotdead
https://www.facebook.com/themenwiththepipe/

Watching You with The Visceral Pleasure - An Interview

Para uma banda com menos de um ano de vida, o duo londrino, Visceral Pleasure, impressiona, e impressiona muito.

Muito por conta do caos angustiante inserido na primeira trilogia de singles, todos lançados este ano.

Terrenos gélidos e sombrios são o pano de fundo para os soundscapes criados por Lex e Keeley, ele guitarras, ela vocais e, ambos, responsáveis por evocar fantasmas de Jarboe, Coil e todo levante de cold wave.

Fãs de noites sem fim irão apreciar infinitamente.

***** Interview with The Visceral Pleasure *****

Q. When did The Visceral Pleasure begin? Tell us about the history...

The concept of The Visceral Pleasure began early in 2018. I had been creating soundscapes and they started to evolve into a song form. We then messed around with putting vocals on and it just worked.

Q: Who are your influences?
Our influences are visual as well as sonic. The way viewing something makes you feel inspires sound and mood so I would say early Cocteau Twins, Francis Bacon, David Lynch, David Cronenberg, Trent Reznor, Swans, Jarboe and early Cindytalk are the main sources of inspiration.

Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Cocteau Twins - Head Over Heels
Swans - The Great Annihilator
This Mortal Coil - It’ll End In Tears
Cindy Talk - Camouflage Heart
Coil - Horse Rotorvator

Q. How do you feel playing live?
Like we are part of the sound and chaos.

Q. How do you describe The Visceral Pleasure´s sounds?
As if you were walking into the Roadhouse in Twin Peaks.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
I’ll sketch a song out of playing around with guitar sounds/scapes I make and various drum sounds I programme. We have a book of lyrics that we both write into randomly. I’ll sit down with the book and form the vocal lines. The vocals get recorded and I’ll produce a full track to what you hear today.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
We don’t think new bands get nearly enough time or publicity so finding them can be near impossible and time consuming. It’s something that needs to be addressed. For now we just channel everything into our sound.

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
Well we have a Coil cover up our sleeves already that we are yet to put out, maybe in the future. We really want to concentrate on our own work at the moment.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
An e.p and then an album.

Q: Any parting words?
We are giving away our first trilogy of songs through bandcamp on the basis you can donate or download as you see fit for a limited time. So grab them while you can at
http://thevisceralpleasure.bandcamp.com
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Thanks

https://thevisceralpleasure.bandcamp.com