A audição do mais novo ep do one man band australiano o Vulpix é saborear algo como se o The Cure fosse uma banda dreampop atual como o Wild Nothing ou o Radio Dept.
Jordan Barrow é o Vulpix, ele é o responsável por tudo nas gravações, mas que ao vvo conta com participações de músicos de Melbourne.
Um dreampop com jeitão de pós punk só que ensolarado. Recomendado para apaixonados e não apaixonados porque não?
***** Interview with VULPIX *****
Q. When did VULPIX start? Tell us about the history VULPIX started as a bedroom recording project in early 2013. The songs and ideas for the project came off the back of other bands that I was in ending. The natural break allowed me to re-centre myself and how I felt about music, and I ended up trying a new approach to writing music. Through this ended up recording my whole EP.
At the same time my neighbourhood friend started doing the same thing and we ended up making a label called Breathlessness (https://breathlessness.bandcamp.com/) and we play in each others bands. The label has grown a little bit now - We’ve invited a bunch of our friends to the label and it’s now a collection of collaborative artists that do home recordings together.
Q: Who are your influences? I Listen to The Radio Dept., The Cure, The Smiths and My Bloody Valentine on a regular basis, but at the moment I’ve really been digging Deafcult, Stolen Violin, This Will Destroy You and Nothing.
Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time… It’s hard to keep it to a small list! I could name a bunch, but the ones I keep listening to over and over again without getting sick of are: Gemini - Wild Nothing Loveless - My Bloody Valentine Is This It - The Strokes The Queen is Dead - The Smiths Revolver - The Beatles
Q. How do you feel playing live? I love playing live. Not only is it great fun but the songs that I have recorded take on a new form and have a new energy. It provides different insight for me as to what the project can be in the future.
Q. How do you describe VULPIX sounds? I would describe it as a vibrant wall of shoegaze-pop that will caress your weary head. A ball of tape hiss and fuzz to sit in your ears and crumble the stone barricades around your heart. A rush of thinning blood that goes from your genitals to your ears.
Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ? Its always been me with my instruments recording them on my laptop. After I finished the tracks for the EP I took them to my friend Erik, who is apart of the label as a producer, artist and all-round great guy, who then did a final mix with me and then mastered it. We like to work from home, it gives the records and our work a real home-grown, heartfelt feel.
Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of? I really want to cover the song Ceremony by New Order. I think that song is perfect. But if I was going to make a full cover band I would probably do a shoegaze/fuzz interpretation of The Beach Boys. I think that would be so rad.
Q: What are your plans for the future? I working on my first full length LP this year! hopefully I’ll have it finished by next year for you all.
Q: Any parting words? Support your local music scene! * * * Thanks
Adam Watkins e Patrick Savage enfim conseguiram realizar o que queriam, lançar ao mundo seu álbum de estreia. Sob a alcunha de Reunionunion o recém lançado álbum ataca sonoramente em diferentes experimentações musicais, tem pós punk, tem new wave, shoegaze, noise, indie rock, kraut, resumindo basicamente em cada uma das dez músicas do debute existe referências a todas as décadas da história moderna da música.
Um disco que soa descompromissado e altamente atraente. Ah sim, Adam é velho conhecido aqui no TBTCI, lembra-se do Tone Rodent? Pois é, é ele.
Bom divertimento.
***** Interview with Reunionunion *****
Q: Who are your influences?
I (Adam) an influenced by life, love and truth- I also am influenced massively by the 90's shoegaze scene and Britpop scene. Also the post punk scene. But basically every record in my collection is an active influence from the Bay City Rollers through The Warlocks!
(Patrick)Too many to mention, but off the top of my head, Bowie, Neil Young, Sparklehorse, Aphex twin, NIN, Radiohead, Sigur ros, Mogwai, New Order, The cure, The Pixies, The Ramones, The Stooges, The velvet Underground
Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
In no particular order...
1. Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division
2. Disintegration by The Cure
3. Automatic by The Jesus and Mary Chain
4. Lazer Guided Melodies by Spiritualized
4. Technique by New Order
(Patrick)
Again in no particular and could very possibly be different tomorrow
1. Low by David Bowie
2. Doolittle by the Pixies
3. VivadixieSubmarinetransmissionplot by Sparklehorse
4. The Bends by Radiohead
5. Agaetis Byrjun by Sigur Ros
Q. How do you feel playing live?
I'd love to do it. I can't wait for it to happen. Right now we're separated by half of the USA and we'd have to build out a full band, but I'm excited to hear the live version of Reunionunion.
Yeah I’m excited about the prospect of playing this stuff live. It would be cool to play this stuff REALLY LOUD
Q. How do you describe Reunionunion sounds?
That's a hard one-it's organic collaboration at its best. I guess if you're looking for genre identity maybe a mix of psychedelic rock/pop, dream pop, shoegaze, post-rock. It sounds like truth.
The songs developed the way they did without any real specific sound in mind, so they kind of cover a bunch of different genres. It was never a case of us trying to please more people by playing as many different styles as we could think of. Each song just came together on it’s own without any larger plan in mind. Its a jigsaw that fits together even though all the pieces belong to different puzzles
Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
I (Adam) would record partial songs or what we've been calling blueprints in St. Louis and then send them to Patrick in New York and he would remix/re-edit/re-structure and reimagine the tracks. He'd send me homework, I'd redo vocals, we'd send lyric ideas back and forth and really the end product is Patrick clarifying an original feeling or emotional context that I was trying to express.
Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Bands I really like now- I don't know how new they all are, but... Protomartyr, Ringo Deathstarr, The Big Pink, Moon Duo, Novella also Vietcong.
Not sure what qualifies as new anymore. Bands that have one album or less, or bands that have been around for ages but just not many people know about them. I’ll Just list a few bands I like at the moment that are a little under the radar (at least I think they are?) Big Black Delta, Timber Timbre, 65 Days of Static,
Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I don't really think about doing cover songs..... But tunes I might consider Perfect Day by Lou Reed, She Bangs The Drums by The Stone Roses, Head On by The Jesus and Mary Chain…
I like the idea of covering something stylistically different to what you do yourself, and I’m always interested in covering any number of Roy Orbison songs, but only if you can do them justice.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
Really looking forward to getting the album out so everyone can hear it. Trying to line up assistance for getting actual copies made, vinyl, cd, cassettes. Also working on the next album. I've already sent Patrick 9 tracks to work on for album number 2!
Getting this album out to as many people as we can. Working on the next record. Working on my own record. Keep learning, improving and developing in every aspect of music.
Q: Any parting words?
I (Adam) hope people like what we've done. It's a departure from both of our musical pasts which is very exciting. It's a fun record as I feel like it crosses genres and is difficult to pigeonhole which makes me really happy.
I agree with everything Adam said. I really wanted us to make a short pop/punk record that people will be excited by and enjoy listening to. I hope people can connect to the record in some way and that we will continue to make music well into the future.
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E a Itália não para de nos brindar com ótimas novidades. Desta vez, o pop perfeito em formato sonhador do quinteto Hidden Hind.
O debute acabou de sair do forno com trejeito de grudar na mente de quem o escutar. O EP homônimo é um deleite imerso entre o dreampop entre pinceladas de Mazzy Star, Magnapop e afins, melodias que remetem diretamente as clássicas college radio bands estadunidenses dos 90´s e aí me amigo, é aumentar e deixar em looping.
Um brinde sonhador ao ano que se incia.
***** Interview with Hidden Hind *****
Q. When did Hidden Hind start? Tell us about the history...
1. It was Gianluca, the drummer, who had the idea of creating a band, so he looked for someone who was on the same wavelength as him and he found Davide, guitarist and quite ingenious songwriter. Then came Alberto and Gabriele, and finally Alessandra (the band had decided that a female voice would have been the right choice).
Q: Who are your influences?
2. One of our, in our opinion, greatest qualities is that we belong to extremely different musical backgrounds, so anyone of us can always bring something different from the other and new to the creation of our music and its sound. Being more accurate, we can say that everyone would agree to the fact that artists like Slowdive, Beach House, The National, St Vincent and Pavement were (and are) important to our production.
Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
3. Slowdive - Souvlaki;
The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band;
Beastie Boys - Ill Communication;
Joanna Newsom - Have One One Me;
Mike Oldfield - Crises.
Q. How do you feel playing live?
4. We actually don't have much experience in playing live; we've been playing together for a year and in public only two times at little private gigs (that, however, were great!). The first real shows will come with our first EP, in January.
Q. How do you describe Hidden Hind sounds?
5. Hidden Hind sounds are 90s dreamy sounds rearranged for our days. It's simply shoegaze in a pop key, for now. But never say never, we change from day to day.
Q. Which new bands do you recommended?
6. Bee Bee Sea, Ought, Speedy Ortiz, Julia Holter, and Tight Eye for sure.
Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
7. We're still looking for the perfect cover... We have something on our bag of tricks, but it's not the right thing yet. We'd like to find something very special and quite far from our usual style.
Q: What are your lans for the future?
8. The future seems bright by now: the release of our self-titled EP, recorded at T.U.P. Studio and mastered at Mystery Room Mastering, is set for January through Sherpa Records. Then, we hope to play live asap!
Q: Any parting words?
9. Nothing (else) to declare!
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Swallowed Whole é o primeiro álbum do duo Spectre Eyes.
A proposta dos caras é dissonâncias intensas carregadas de experimentações, loops, drones e muito muito barulho. Fugindo um pouco daquele estigma das bandas de post rock que se alimentam de crescendos e momentos de calmaria plena o Spectre Eyes raramente pratica essa vertente, ao contrário, o negócio aqui é experimentar, muito mais para o lado art noise do que para post rock propriamente dito.
Audição complicada e não recomendada a ouvidos não calejados.
***** Interview with Spectre Eyes *****
Q. When did Spectre Eyes start? Tell us about the history...
We started as "Bounce House" in 2014 working with mostly field recordings, and ambient music. We experimented with sounds more, and decided we should start to head into a different direction. We started Spectre Eyes in early 2015 with a much more experimental and live instrument oriented sound. Both of us have been playing music for years.
Q: Who are your influences?
Obvious influences are bands such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Set Fire To Flames, but we also take a lot of influence from blues artists like Junior Kimbrough, R. L. Burnside, or John Lee Hooker or psychedelic groups like Baby Grandmothers or also Pärson Sound. As far as vocals go, we're heavily inspired by Have a Nice Life, and Giles Corey.
Q. Make a list of 5 best albuns of all time…
Assuming you mean our personal favorites...
1.) Radiohead - Amnesiac
2.) Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F♯ A♯ ∞
3.) LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
4.) Set Fire To Flames - Sings Reign Rebuilder
5.) Talking Heads - Speaking in Tongues
Q. How do you feel playing live?
We haven't played in a live setting yet but we definitely get into the music during recording sessions and hope to play live within the near future. Playing on stage is definitely one of our biggest goals. Even if we only play one live show, it'll be our greatest achievement.
Q. How do you describe Spectre Eyes sounds?
Noisy, anxious, dreary, isolated, tense...
Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
Improvisation is a big part of our music. Most of our recordings are improvised pieces, or stem from an improvised piece and recorded after being developed on. Many recordings are from sessions spent in long periods of isolation or even sleep deprivation. We're also heavily influenced by life experiences, and each release is an all encompassing account of the world around us at the time of the recording, letting emotions, worldly crises and our personal experience play the biggest part in the final outcome, regardless of it being negative or positive. We put everything we have into our work.
Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
We have plans for some covers in the future. The idea would be to do a cover of something with very little similarities to our music, giving us room to twist or distort the sound and message.
Surprisingly, we thought about doing a cover of Third Eye Blind's "Motorcycle Drive By", for example.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
We're currently in the process of recording our second full length album, which will be another massive project, and will be out in 2016. We also plan on working towards playing live at some point.
Q: Any parting words?
Thank you for taking interest in our music, it means a ton to us. Anyone listening to our music and being interested by it is the most important thing we can really ask for.
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Vamos fazer o seguinte, dê play no link do bandcamp na entrevista, feito isso, vamos iniciar.
Sim, é isso, essa garota que atende pelo nome de Morningface é literalmente ouvir se apaixonar imediatamente.
Os heróis dela? Anton Newcombe, Jason Pierce, Peter Kember, Richard Ashcroft, tá bom pra você, ou ainda precisa de mais alguma coisa?
Psicodelia em formas acústicas, algo como se o Galaxie 500 fizessem uma faz com o BJM.
The lo-fi EP é isso, simplesmente maravilhoso.
E ponto final. Ah o nome da garota que seduziu o TBTCI é Kate.
***** Interview with Morningface *****
Q. When did Morningface start? Tell us about the history…
Like the infamous Greybags, Morningface has always been here, I recorded an album on a 4-track and did a couple singles for Morningface, then I had a band called Carnation for a moment, and honestly I can’t remember why Morningface came about or what it meant but I just kept the name going, and kept working on crafting songs. Always.
Q: Who are your influences?
I attended the Noel Gallagher school of songwriting. Richard Ashcroft taught me music is Mantra, and Sonic Boom one chord best. Anton Newcombe inspired me to put it out there...Spiritualized, Spacemen 3, Sonic Boom, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Verve
Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
I threw away all my music, I needed the disk space for recording and I also realized I never needed to hear another Stones song, that I could make my own music instead.. I believe you need to shake up your brain and change the vibration, grow new neural pathways.. that being said I never get bored of listening to BJM so:
Methodrone- The Brian Jonestown Massacre
And you can only hear this on Soundcloud but he’s worth it: Blue Endless Abyss https://soundcloud.com/blueendlessabyss
We did a song together called “Love Is All You Bleed” and it’s my favorite.
Q. How do you feel playing live?
I’m into channeling so I don’t know, I’ll have to get back to you in a year when I play more
Q. How do you describe Morningface sounds?
space love? sonic love? I’m trying to keep in the light and shine it through my sound
Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
I do it myself, recording is amazing, I’m interested in psychoacoustics: phantom voices, binaural beats, etc. I try to replicate songs I love like Spiritualized's “Shine A Light”, Spectrum’s “I Know They Say”, to figure out their techniques and how they did it which is quite a challenge considering I’m not analog, I’m using Garageband. I love sound, I am in love with recording and learning. I have so many questions. I want to know.
Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
JENNIFER (London) has an new album coming out that’s amazing
Gorgeous Bully
Blue Endless Abyss
Dead Rabbits
The Underground Youth
The Durty Wurks
Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
The Warlocks wall of sound!! I’m working on a cover of “A Song for Nico” with Severed Feathers (Canada)
Q: What are your plans for the future?
Right now I’m recording a full Morningface album which will be out May 2016, then I’ll play some shows, and find more people to make music with.
I’m planning on putting my collaborations I’ve done with Blue Endless Abyss, GreenCircles, Mellow Lizard, She Is Weird City and Jesse E. James out in some form quite soon. I’ve done backing vox on the forth-coming Happy-Sadness EP.
One day I’d like to have a label, SONIC LOVE RECORDS and turn Abbey Road into a music commune to record all the good bands.
I’m not attached to outcomes though. I am into just being my most authentic self now.
Q: Any parting words?
Consider your relationship with FEAR, then destroy it.
It’s cool that this blog exists and that you’re shining through.
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Cold wave moderna, gelada até a medula é o que se ouve no mais recente álbum do quarteto nova iorquino The Harrow. Silhouettes veio ao mundo em Novembro do ano passado através da aufnahme + wiedergabe, cultuada gravadora que já nos apresentou In Death In Ends, Tempers, Lebanon Hanover entre outros representantes do que há de melhor atualmente no cenário de cold wave e dark wave.
O The Harrow é sempre mais dançantes e gélido do que propriamente gutural ou sombrio, aqui a sedução em tonalidades cinzentas e esfumaçadas prevalece.
Silhouettes é simplesmente um discaço.
***** Interview with The Harrow *****
Q. When did The Harrow start? Tell us about the history...
Frank: It's a long tale, with a few misfires and false starts, but mostly it came together with the passing of my grandmother. I had recently given up on music, but felt her passing was the catalyst for me to give it one last go, with the right people involved and the right ideas on the table from the start. It was almost three years ago to the day – I picked up a few drum machines and started making demos, and it gathered steam rather quickly. We solidified our lineup in a matter of weeks, and everything just clicked. We lined up a handful of releases (including immediate interest from our amazing label, aufnahme+wiedergabe) on the strength of two demos, and for a change, it just seemed like all was right with the universe.
Q: Who are your influences?
Barrett: David Bowie, Trent Reznor, Salvador Dali, Anton Corbijn
Greg: Robin Guthrie, The Chameleons, Debussy, Massive Attack, John McGeoch, Slowdive
Frank: Robert Aickman, David Bowie, Francis Bacon, Shirley Jackson, Graham Coxon, Robin Guthrie, Arvo Pärt, Colin Newman
Vanessa: Fever Ray, NIN, Portishead, Bjork
Q. Make a list of five albums of all time…
Greg: T. Rex – Unicorn, The Chameleons – Script of the Bridge, Cocteau Twins – Head Over Heels, Black Sabbath – Paranoid, Suede – Sci Fi Lullabies
Barrett: The Cure – Disintegration, Massive Attack – Mezzanine, Nine Inch Nails – The Downward Spiral, Depeche Mode – Violator, David Bowie – Aladdin Sane
Vanessa: I hate doing these because I can never pick, so I’m going to list the five albums I’ve been listening to the most lately: Public Memory – Wuthering Drum (out in 2016), Phase Fatale – Grain, Pusha T – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude, Rabit –Communion, Helena Hauff – Discreet Desires
Frank: This changes constantly, so I'll go with current favorites as well: Pauline Murray & the Invisible Girls- Pauline Murray & the Invisible Girls, Manic Street Preachers – The Holy Bible, Felt – The Splendour of Fear, Not Drowning, Waving – The Little Desert, Pieter Nooten & Michael Brook – Sleeps With the Fishes
Q. How do you feel playing live?
Vanessa: At first it was terrifying, but as I’ve gotten more confident, I am really enjoying it a lot more.
Barrett: It's been a fun transition from drumming (I was a drummer in prior bands) to synth. I like to move around and interact with the crowd a bit more.Greg: I really enjoy the electricity in the air and direct audience feedback, as well as the simple physical pleasure of playing music live.
Frank: I used to thrive on stage, but these days, I haven't been enjoying it as much. While it's great to make that connection, there's usually a lot of variables and anxiety involved, and I don't find it to be a worthwhile experience, 99% of the time. I'm much more inclined to be creative for creation's sake.
Q. How do you describe The Harrow sounds?
Barrett: Four friends doing what they feel at any given time.
Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
Barrett: It varies. We usually start with beats and then build around them, but sometimes we get a guitar or synth line first. We each supply our piece of the puzzle and become motivated by each other’s contribution.
Frank: Our producer, Xavier Paradis (from Automelodi), has also been a key element, often bringing the songs to life in the mix.
Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Frank: Marissa Nadler, Second Still, Mueran Humanos, Sumerian Fleet, Pinkish Black, and Silent Em.
Barrett: Public Memory, with whom Vanessa will be performing live, made a great record.
Vanessa: I second Public Memory (really excited to be playing live with him), Partisan, a place both wonderful and strange. I also have another project called Synesect that will be releasing an album soon.
Greg: Vinyl Williams, Death and Vanilla, Them Are Us Too, Flyying Colours, Nite Fields, Savage Sister, White Poppy, Star Horse, Shana Falana, Lightning Bug, Fait, La Casa al Mare.
Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
Barrett: We actually do plan on recording a covers EP soon, so we want to keep it a surprise.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
Barrett: See above. We want to do this as an exercise in rearrangement, as well as something to just have fun with, with very little pressure. Part of the joy of being in this band is working at our leisure and under our own rules. The fact that people have been receptive to it is the icing.
Frank: We also recorded a new song, "Dirty Minds," which will be out in 2016 on a split 7'' with Dead Leaf Echo.
Imagine aquela sonoridade tipica da Kranky Records, leia-se Labradford, Jessamine estendida a sutis e intensas doses de psicodelismo soturno, algo como se o Bardo Pond fizesse uma jam com o Slint, pronto, o resultado seria uma das mais belas e intensas bandas do submundo dos bons sons, os ingleses do Esben and The Witch, agora radicados em Berlim.
Resumidamente, escolha sem medo qualquer uma de suas preciosas e magníficas obras e adentre ao mundo particular do Esben and The Witch.
Sublime.
***** Interview with Esben and The Witch *****
Q. When did Esben and The Witch start? Tell us about the history...
Esben began almost 8 years ago in Brighton, a beach town on the South coast of England. Thomas and Daniel had started making music together and were hunting for a vocalist. Thomas and I were old acquaintances and so I said I'd give singing a go. We all shared a love of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Daniel had a fine library. Things tumbled on from there really.
We spent our early days holed up in a dark red rehearsal room away from the hubbub and right by the ocean. Fond memories. It's strange to think that was so long ago. Now, here we all are in Berlin. From the sea to the city.
Q: Who are your influences?
So many things influence us as a band and as individuals. Rather than other musicians, it tends to be literature and nature that I find the most inspiring. We're certainly influenced by things we read, be it poetry, strange tales from history or beautiful things we've been lucky enough to witness on our travels. From the giant pines in Oregon, to the turquoise lakes of Switzerland and the vast, lonely deserts that lie between.
Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
In no particular order, here are 5 of my personal favourites.
1. GY!BE - F#A# Infinity
2. Joanna Newsom - Ys
3. Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
4. Grouper - Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill
5. Slint - Spiderland
Q. How do you feel playing live?
It can feel totally transcendental. Pure catharsis. I like shows to be physical as well as emotional. The hotter, the sweatier, the more intense the better. When there's a moment where those two elements are combined and I feel a shared energy with both Daniel and Thomas and the audience, it's just incredible... euphoric almost. A powerful feeling, indeed.
Q. How do you describe Esben and The Witch sounds?
Experimental, heavy atmospheric rock with a ear for melody and penchant for terror/beauty.
Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs?
It changes with each record. From Daniel's bedroom to Electrical Audio in Chicago. With our last album, we practised like crazy before we went in to the studio so that we could play the songs live, together and capture a certain energy. To translate the live sound to the record. It all depends on what kind of record we're wanting to make at that time and to see which way of recording is going to yield the best results. With 'A New Nature' we wanted it to to be stripped back, raw, earthy. Recording the songs as live as they could be felt the best way to achieve this.
Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
I'm a little behind on what's deemed 'new' but I can tell you about some of my recent discoveries. I've been listening to the new 'Wrekmeister Harmonies' record 'Night Of Your Ascension' a lot and really love it. He's crafted an entire journey. From the choral, pastoral beauty of the first segment to the heavy, metal drones and screams of the finale. Epic.
Also, the contemporary pianist 'Lubomyr Melnyk' from Ukraine who has recently released a record on 'Erased Tapes'. Just incredible. Oh and not forgetting 'Ragana'. A fearsome duo from California who make doom-laden, punk tinged atmospheric metal. My new favourite band.
Q: Which bands would you love to make a cover version of?
We've just released an acoustic EP 'We Melted The Wax, Now We Can See' and have included on it our cover of Black Sabbath's 'Planet Caravan'. It's been a tour van staple for many years now, driving through the desert at night, under starry skies. We thought we'd pay tribute.
Q: What are the plans for the future?
We moved to Berlin almost a year ago now and after recording an acoustic EP we're now busy forging the next full record. This time around we've found ourselves on the 6th floor of a tower block in the East. Surrounded by trains and not much else. We'll have to see what noises come out of our time there and then unleash them into the world.
Q: Any parting words?
"I will teach you fervour"
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Supermax é o novo álbum de Omar Rashan também conhecido pela alcunha de Charlatan.
Radicado em Seattle, Supermax sucede o primeiro trabalho do Charlatan e se mostra mais soturno do que seu anterior, de certa maneira até mais industrial.
Supermax é a perfeita simbiose de Cabaret Voltaire, Bauhaus e A Place To Bury Strangers, e definitivamente não é recomentando a indie kids.
***** Interview with Charlatan *****
Q: Hello Omar, first congratulations on the new album, it's really brilliant, what is your analysis after conclusion of Supermax? Are you happy with the result?
A: Thanks Renato. It's good to finally have it done and ready to share. It's been a long process - almost all of 2015 was spent working on it. I'm quite satisfied with the results, and while Supermax was very much an album that was pushed into uncharted territory, I'm pleasantly surprised with its conclusion. It definitely evolved in a way that I could not have predicted at the beginning of recording.
Q: How was the process of creating the new album?
A: This entire album was more of a home-cooked experiment than a typical release would have been. Everything was recorded in my living room, my bedroom, and after hours at my place of work. I tracked and recorded everything by myself. It was a very tedious process, everything took far longer than I had imagined, but it opened up a lot of avenues for exploring sounds that wouldn't have been afforded by the time constraints of renting out a studio.
After extensive listening to and compiling tracks, I sent everything over to Chris Harris of Hook Echo Sound, who is in a great dark shoegaze band called 'Depth & Current'. He recently moved to Seattle from Oklahoma and has set up a home studio. He spent a lot of time mixing and mastering Supermax with me, bouncing ideas back and forth, primarily because yet again, I wanted to experiment almost endlessly with this album. From start to finish, it's been a really amorphous process which has allowed me to get creative in ways I haven't before.
Q: What are the main differences between Supermax and first album?
A: The self-titled album was a very cut and dry process, which certainly had its own merits too. I had a plan going into the studio and cranked the songs out. I still overshot the original allotted studio time, but not by much. Plenty of experimentation occurred, but decisions were made quickly and the engineer and I moved on to the next task. Everything was concise and I am very pleased with that record.
However, with Supermax, I feel like I have pushed the envelope into a distant realm of sounds that I hadn't before. Not only because of the radically different recording approach, but also because of my evolution as a songwriter and musician since the first album. This is also the first album I have released since moving to Seattle, which certainly has influenced me through the musical community I immerse myself in.
Q: What were the influences for creating Supermax?
A: As far as lyrical content and inspiration goes, the album is a reflection of my recent personal struggles as well as my political ones, where both are often intertwined. The current state of affairs of the world, especially in the United States, are hard to ignore, and have affected me greatly. I'm very passionate about my criticisms of institutions such as capitalism, imperialism, hierarchy, distribution of power and wealth, etc. - there's no doubt that these attitudes will find their way into my music, and much of this album came from restraining none of that.
The title itself comes from the term used for high-capacity prisons, as the prison industry is powerfully entrenched in the United States. The album is largely a reflection of my attempts to contain and handle hardship, often tied to systematic issues.
Much of Supermax is also a personal chronicle as well as a rebellion; some of it is simply about my struggles against my own self. Just as the creation of the album was down a path I've never traveled before, so was the expression I imbued into these songs. I think sonically, I often draw a lot from the bleak and dark elements of post-punk from the late 70s and early 80s, framing my music with the angular, noisy, stark, and dystopian sounds from that era, while balancing it with newer technology and inspiration.
Q: What are your plans for 2016?
A: Now that I have established myself somewhat in Seattle, I'm looking to plan some bigger shows and perhaps even a regional tour. Who knows, I'd like to tour my way to Chicago and back too, but we shall see if that's do-able. My friends in the Chicago-based label and publication, Midwest Action, are making the cassettes for this release and I'd love to put a show on with them some time.
International tours would be even better, but that seems a bit far-fetched at the moment. It's something I'd love to take on if the opportunity arises, though. I may even be looking to add another musician to Charlatan - it could be interesting. Whatever happens, I foresee 2016 as a critical year for this project - it will either take it places or break it. Either way, I'm excited to see where it goes. *
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Em novembro do ano passado veio ao mundo Chamber Dreams, primeiro ep do duo Ocean Hope.
Já nos primeiros momentos da abertura The Boy fica nítida a influência primordial deles, Cocteau Twins. É inevitável a comparação, a vocalização e a ambientação tem conexão direta com a mítica banda da 4AD e vai se tornando mais e mais forte durante todo o ep principalmente na angelical Forever.
Deixando as referências de lado, Chamber Dreams é sim uma bela estreia do Ocean Hope e nos guia através de devaneios sonhadores.
***** Interview with Ocean Hope *****
Q. When did Ocean Hope start?
This project begun in 2014 by a brother -sister duo .
We’ve started creating music without having any particular plans. What we know for sure is that this whole thing was a form of escapism for us. the whole set up- our studio by the sea in a small village.
We would meet every week trying out things and losing ourselves for hours.
Q: Who are your influences?
Since we were kids, we both used to listen to records of Aphex Twin, Prince, The Carpenters, The Cure and many more. Their music was a gift to us.
Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Efterklang- Piramida
Air- Moon Safari
Beach boys- Pet Sounds
Radiohead- Kid A
Jeff Buckley - Grace
Q. How do you describe Ocean Hope sounds
Nu-chamber pop
Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
We mostly record in our home studios both digital and analogue.
We use a guitar, a guitar bass and some analogue synths.
We start from tiny ideas that pop-up instantly and we have to like them from the very beginning, when we do, we continue by developing them.
Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Keep Shelly in Athens
Oneohtrix Point Never.
George Clanton
Yumi Zouma
Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
Bod Lind "Cool Summer"
Q: What are your plans for the future?
We'll definitely gonna give ya some new sounds soon.
Q: Any parting words?
Without love nothing's possible
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Após 17 anos de estrada e uma vasta discografia os estadunidenses do Landing permanecem perpetuando viagens regadas a drones psicodélicos com fortes doses de kraut, pos pos punk e experimentações infinitas se aproximando por diversas vezes de seus inspiradores, leia-se Flying Saucer Attack, Harmonia, Fripp/Eno, criando delírios sonoros cíclicos.
Uma verdadeira imersão a paisagens e colagens sonoras introspectivas e delirantes.
Se por ventura você nunca ouviu falar, eis uma boa hora para adentrar ao mundo sonoro do Landing, a viagem é garantida.
***** Interview with Landing *****
Q. When did Landing start? Tell us about the history...
We started back in 1998 in Connecticut as a recording project and then formed a band when Adrienne and I moved back to Utah (where Adrienne was finishing college). The first lineup was myself, Adrienne, Daron Gardner and Dick Baldwin. Dick left the band in 2004 and we were a three piece until last year when John Miller joined.
Q: Who are your influences?
We're influenced by what we think is cool, weird music. Stuff like Harmonia, Light, Flying Saucer Attack, Cluster, Tar, Cocteau Twins, Fripp/Eno, Neu!, etc. Adrienne and I bonded over a love of original wave shoegaze and The Cure. We try to combine our favorite elements of lots of different genres to make something we hope is new and interesting. At this point, it's not really new (since we've been doing it since '98), but I'm proud of the fact that we don't really fit in any one genre.
Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
My tastes are changing all the time, but you can't go wrong with these 5 records, in my opinion:
The Cure "Faith",
Cocteau Twins/Harold Budd "The Moon and the Melodies",
Harmonia "Musik Von Harmonia",
Spacemen 3 "Taking Drugs To Make Music To Take Drugs To",
Stereolab "Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage In The Milky Night".
Q. How do you feel playing live?
I LOVE playing live shows. It's extra challenging for us compared to bands that go out there and play exciting rock music because our stuff is right on the edge of being boring, but the challenge is exciting and fun. We like to push the boundaries of what bands normally do. It can be a bummer sometimes when the audience doesn't "get" us, but for the most part, playing live is what it's all about.
Q. How do you describe Landing sounds?
I describe us using adjectives like "psychedelic", "droney", and "boring".
Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
We record in a number of different ways, but always at home. I'm proud to say that we've always been completely DIY- from recording to booking shows/tours. In the early days I recorded us on 4 and 8 track cassette. Then we graduated to 1/2" 8 track and finally to Ableton on my laptop. Since adding John Miller to the band we've been able to use his excellent recording facility with all sorts of cool pre-amps, mics, and spring reverb machines. John has taken over the engineering for the most part and our stuff has never sounded better.
Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
I'm losing touch in my old age, but I really like HTRK, Arp, Dead Mellotron, Sedcairn Archives, Follakzoid, Ashrae Fax, No Joy, Forma, and lots more. It's been really neat to hear from newer bands like Pinkshinyultrablast and Gnoomes who've said that we were influential on them. Luckily, I really like their music too!
Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
We don't really do covers. We did a little digital EP where I covered The Cure and Kate Bush, but as a band we have a no covers policy.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
2016 should be action packed for us. Our 9th album, titled "Complekt", is coming out on These Are Not Records and we're working on lots of new stuff- tape releases, EP's, and hopefully something for a really cool label that I shouldn't mention yet, if all goes well. Also, we're building a pedal called "Wave Layer" that is a dual delay tape echo simulator with built in modulation. I'm going to hand paint them all and John's building them. It's also a possibility that we'll start a subscription based service through Bandcamp to give fans access to complete improvisational session, live recordings, and exclusive tracks. The plan is to stay busy and record new music like crazy!
Q: Any parting words?
We're thankful that people are still interested in us, 17 years on. I think that our new music is our best yet and can't wait to show everyone!
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Sofisticação, elegância, melancolia sempre com ares soturnos e cinematográficos. Apenas duas canções, Parasite e Forget e digo a vocês que já servem de cartão de visitas para o que virá pela frente, pense em Bowie, Waits, Reed, Gainsbourg, Cohen, Tindersticks e os transporte para estas duas verdadeiras pérolas que o duo The Avon Guard criou.
Guardem bem este nome, The Avon Guard, e depois não venham me dizer que não avisei.
Grandioso.
***** Interview with The Avon Guard *****
Q. When did The Avon Guard start? tell us about the history...
The Avon Guard came together as an idea in 2014. Andy Mitty and I have been good friends for 20 years but never got round to working together for one reason or another. When we met Andy was a brilliant front man for 90s indie glam band Transistor and I was the lead singer for Penelope’s Web, who had a single out on Cherry red. We wrote a few songs together and recorded ‘Forget’ and got an immediately positive response.
Q: Who are your influences?
The Avon Guard’s outlook is influenced on Andy’s side (music, video, photography) by people like Tom Waits and The Pixies and on mine (words and vocals) by post punk indie bands like Joy Division and Echo and the Bunnymen but also by Leonard Cohen.
Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
Andy: Darklands – JAMC, Doolittle – The Pixies, Exile on Main St – The Rolling Stones, Transformer – Lou reed, Never Mind The Bollocks – The Sex Pistols
Dominic: Songs of Love and Hate & I’m Your Man– Leonard Cohen, Closer – Joy Division, Blonde on Blonde – Bob Dylan, High Violet - The National
Q. How do you feel playing live?
We are currently working hard in the studio. We are very much looking forward to playing live after we have finished recording our first album.
Q. How do you describe The Avon Guard sounds?
Forget and Parasite are fairly good indicators of the direction of our first album. Cinematic, darkly melodic?
Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
It varies from song to song but often Andy comes up with a musical idea and I work on the melody and words and then we get together
Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Dominic: I really like the El Vy album, and Daughter’s first album.
Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
Dominic: All over the world – Francoise Hardy
Andy: Satellite of Love – Lou Reed
Q: What are your plans for the future?
We intend to complete recording the songs for our first album and start gigging as soon as is possible
Q: Any parting words?
We are very excited about the songs we’ve written and hope to have them recorded in the next six weeks or so. If you like Forget and Parasite, we don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
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Desacelere os primeiros álbuns dos Ramones, inclua por cima a microfonia do Psychocandy e de bônus incluo as melodias e vocalização das maravilhosas girl groups dos 60´s. Feito isso, nasce o duo de Nova Jersey, Sunshine & The Rain, Ashley Anderson Morey e Justin Angelo Morey simplesmente pegaram a fórmula mágica acima e criaram um single simplesmente pegajoso.
Viciante até a médula, Can´t Stop To Think About You e Pale Blue Skies são drogas sonoras desgraçadamente deliciosas, é impossível não sair cantarolando.
Que venha mais material urgentemente, pois tal qual o viciado precisa de mais drogas, nós precisamos de mais Sunshine & The Rain.
***** Interview with Sunshine & The Rain *****
Q. When did Sunshine & the Rain start? Tell us about the history...
We both fell instantly in love with each other one fateful Spring evening in Chicago, May 2008. Shortly afterwards we became boyfriend and girlfriend and on new year's eve of 2010, we wrote our first song together. When Ash wasn't away at college down in Nashville, she would live with me in NJ. Those times were spent listening to our favorite records. The Saturday before Hurricane Sandy touched down in the Garden State, we became engaged to each other. In July of 2013, we exchanged vows in front of our family and closest friends at our once beloved music venue in Hoboken, NJ(Maxwells, R.I.P.). We all danced the night away while WFMU DJ, Todd-O-Phonic Todd provided our wedding soundtrack on the wheels of steel. Ever since then we've clearly been up to no good.
Q: Who are your influences?
A: There's quite an over abundant amount of influences. Here are a couple that immediately come to mind; Ramones, Stooges, Black Flag, Suicide, Little Richard, Them, the Cramps, Velvet Underground, Link Wray, Big Black, the Troggs, Chuck Berry, Sex Pistols, the Ventures, Pussy Galore, Bikini Kill, JAMC and '60s girl group/ Phil Spector production type sounds.
Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time… A: Although old vinyl 45's receive heavy rotation at our apartment, we do enjoy listening to full length lp's every now and again. We decided since there's two us, we'd double the amount and give you ten. There are too many to list however, here's a partial listing in no particular order, based on the records that are currently next to our turntable. 1. Black Flag- Damaged 2. The Pretty Things - S.F. Sorrow 3. JAMC - Psychocandy 4. Ramones - s/t 5. Velvet Underground- Loaded 6. Bob Dylan- Blood on the Tracks 7. 13th Floor Elevators- Psychedelic Sounds of... 8. Nation of Ulysses- 13 Point Program to Destroy America 9. Stooges- Funhouse 10. Spacemen 3- The Perfect Prescription
Q. How do you feel playing live?
A: Social anxiety anyone? Considering the fact that we are both deeply introverted individuals, it's painfully challenging every time! Hahaha! We're not particularly fond of everything leading up to our performances; however, when it's time to hit it, for some strange miraculous reason, we're transported into an entirely different dimension. We put 500 plus genuine and sincere percent into every live S&tR performance. They're truly one night stands. No two are ever duplicated. For that brief moment, everything comes together and we achieve complete enlightenment. It's incredibly hard to translate that feeling we experience into words but we can assure you that the moments are insanely spiritual.
Q. How do you describe Sunshine & the Rain sounds?
A: Our most commonly received comparison is to JAMC which of course we're honored to hear because we LOVE them (especially that first album), but in terms of songwriting I would say we sound more similar to Ramones or early Decendents(their debut 45rpm record: "Ride the Wild" b/w "Hectic World"), the Troggs and Black Flag, that kind of stuff. We have that early melodic punk energy. And of course we have female-fronted slap-back tape echo vocals, so that gives a different twist altogether.
Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
A: S&tR records live and over dubs the vocals on a separate track. We try to get everything down in one take. Sometimes we're successful the first time around...sometimes we play the song 25 times until we capture the right feel. Even though we play to a drum machine while tracking, we're still taking great efforts to capture something live and raw based on the actual live moment. You can't bullshit a bullshit artist, right? We're our worst, most harshest critics and won't rest(or stop for burgers at the greatest burger joint, White Mana in Jersey City) until we obtain some sort of happy medium.
Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
A: Ex Hex, Alvvays, Courtney Barnett
Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
A: Eddie and the Cruisers
Q: What are your plans for the future?
A: We're currently in process of finishing up some new song ideas and plan to record them when we can iron out the logistics properly. We've wanted to head out to Chicago and record our compositions with Steve Albini at Electrical Audio since we started S&tR. Hopefully that dream will come to fruition in 2016. You can expect an ep and a single before 2017.
Q: Any parting words?
A: Support you local mom and pop/ brick and mortar record shop. Don't just go there on "Record Store Day"...That's a douche move! Everyone is different, learn to develop more patience and respect people's differences. We're all human. Let's put an end to all of this gun violence. It's absolutely ridiculous! Parents should do the right thing and teach your children well. Everything begins at home. Buy our records and spread the S&tR word. We're grateful for all of our fans love and support. We're so fortunate to have you on our side. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read about us.
Melodias que impregnam na mente e tornam-se parte de você como que por um toque mágico. São raros as bandas que conseguem esta máxima, gente como R.E.M., Replacements, Teenage Fanclub, Soft Boys são bons exemplos para as conexões sonoras que vêem a cabeça quando da audição do debute dos estadunidenses do Thunderbolt 650, So Close To Life é do início ao fim recheado dessa verve melódica, simplesmente dezesseis canções intensamente procurando atingir corações e mentes.
Ao término, muito provavelmente você vai dar play novamente e começar tudo de novo, porque a música do Thunderbolt 650 é saborosamente viciante.
***** Interview with Thunderbolt 650 *****
Q. When did Thunderbolt 500 start? tell us about the history...
1. We started about 2 years ago. We had all played in other bands but had never played together before ,but we had all had the feeling that we would like to play together and thought it would sound good. So when I mentioned this idea for a project to Chris and Tracy they said WOW we were thinking the same thing. Tracy had produced a past project for me but was itching to play bass guitar on a project so it just all fell together.
Q: Who are your influences?
2. I would state our influences as possibly bands such as Radiohead, Echo and the Bunnymen, Stone Roses, Band of Horses ETC. but I really think we are all excited that this project does not sound too much like any band we may like . For the first time in my musical background I feel like we have made an album that is "our own" sound.
Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
3. my all time albums consist of old and new such as Velvet Underground and Nico, Rolling stones Exile on main street, My Bloody Valentine, The Smiths albums,
My secret fav. is by a band called Idaho. I was blown away by Radiohead king of limbs, also Black Rebel Motorcycle club I believe my all time favorite song is Gimme shelter by the Stones .
Q. How do you feel playing live?
4. We have only played live together our first show as a band is in March but I can say we mesh very naturally and it sounds like "it was meant to be"
Q. How do you describe Thunderbolt 500 sounds?
5. I like our sound as my songs were very mellow until Chris brought them alive with his drums and Tracy plays very simple yet driving bass so in the end I think you get a sound that is both warm, mellow and pretty but also with a sonic driving power behind it, also I think an interesting part of our sound is that we have a varied feel to songs that are very different but all seem to carry "our sound"
Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
6. As far as recording we tracked all basic tracks live playing together and went through all analog racks prior to going to digital so I think it gave us some warmth and soul, you can feel that we are playing together. Also we sort of found the second stage of "our sound" as we were recording we all seemed to agree on all the directions we took creatively
Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
7. I cant really recommend any new bands that come to mind but I have been loving The Broken Bells lately
Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
8. I think we could do a cool sonic version of an old Stone roses song would be cool
Q: What are your plans for the future?
9. Our future plans are to get out and play live, work on promoting our album also learning how to promote in the Digital world. Maybe make a couple of videos, and we have started fleshing out songs to start building a list towards a second album maybe next year
Q: Any parting words?
10. I really am glad you liked the sound of our album and thank you for taking the time to interview me about Thunderbolt 650 (please send us a link or copy us the finished interview would love to see it in its whole) Thanks again
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Começando o ano aqui no TBTCI e para brindar este esperançoso 2016, um presente mais do que especial para os amigos do The Blog That Celebrates Itself.
Uma pequena história primeiro para situar tudo, voltando no longínquo ano de 1996 era lançado o primeiro EP dos queridos e amados The Emerald Down. Obviamente que para os iniciados a história é deveras conhecida, o TED começou na segunda metade dos 90´s envolto a aura da sonoridade clássica da 4AD aliada ao frieza e a magia sonora do shoegaze, mas o TED só em 2001 chegou ao seu primeiro álbum cheio o magnifico Scream The Sound, 2002 trouxe Red Shift e o EP Aquarium foi o trabalho derradeiro também de 2002.
De lá pra cá foram mais de 20 anos de um hiato que ao que tudo indicava não teria fim, mas o mundo realmente é muito mais especial do que imaginamos e no final de 2015 através da predileta Saint Marie Records, a notícia, o TED estaria presente na já cultuada compilação de fim de ano Static Waves, já em seu quarto volume, Turn Away é a beleza sonora que o TED nos brindou. Sabendo disso o TBTCI foi conversar com uma das fundadoras do TEd, a querida Rebecca Basye, que muito mais do que uma cantora e guitarrista maravilhosa é uma das pessoas mais doces e gentis que o TBTCI já teve o prazer de conversar.
Dentre outras coisas a alegria de ter Scream The Sun e Aquarium reeditados agora em 2016 pela SMR e com material inédito.
Resumindo tudo, 2016 já começa de forma magistral.
Feliz Ano Novo!!!
***** Interview with The Emerald Down *****
Q. When did The Emerald Down start? Tell us about the history.
TED is a sum of the magical people who have contributed their skills and energies to it over the last 20 years. I feel like a talent scout as much as the only original member left trying to hold the fort.
The Emerald Down began as a three piece in a basement in Olympia, WA in 1995. The first real incarnation was composed of myself (Rebecca Basye) on guitar, Jessica Marshall on bass, and Joel Schumacher on drums. All three of us did vocals of some sort. I tried to get four prior bands going of similar ilk in Olympia, but The Emerald Down was the first one to really hold because we clicked together and the other bands had members with other interests and involved in other projects. Maybe too because it took me awhile to figure out how to play my guitar! We had a blast though and played some amazing bills with bands you would not expect. TED owes its momentum in no small part to the warm, supportive music-making environment that was Olympia, WA in the 1990s. Jessica, Joel and I recorded a self titled EP in 1996 with the super Scott Swayze at Moon Studios in Olympia. We only ever distributed it on a few cassettes locally. The material from this first 1996 EP has recently been rescued from an old DAT tape and will hopefully see a ‘real’ release for the first time next year after some surgery and I am really excited about that!
The first TED incarnation gave way to a new one after then-Olympian Jason Markin joined the band on drums and we moved to the fabulous Columbus, OH, where we added Columbus natives Jim Rock and Chad Williamson. We forthwith experienced a kind of rebirth and evolution spawning our second release Scream the Sound (2001) with Andy Bosnak and Laurent Bichara at Engine studios in Chicago. Shortly after, Erik Kang and Bryan Ford replaced Chad on guitar and Jim on bass respectively. Erik assumed vocal duties with me as well. Together we made our third release Aquarium (2002) at both Diamond mine and the Recoding Workshop. We were almost a five piece, as Chad loaned his skills to two of the tracks on the first issue of Aquarium, but separated from the band at the recording session. We were sad about that, but he had other responsibilities he needed to address. As it stands in 2015, TED is now a three piece again spanning two continents.
Sadly, both Scream the Sound and Aquarium’s original releases just simply melted into ether: wrong sound, wrong time, and often the wrong places receiving them. The 1996 self titled EP was a ‘never was but should have been’. The mid 1990s and early 2000s in the US were an unfriendly time for bands with our sound, as some of my Saint Marie Records label mates might agree with me. TED was effectively crushed and buried. At one point, a member of our little community even told me to “get your own sound”. I’m not one to hide my thoughts. That was really painful, and, to be honest, being TEDs spokesperson who took the brunt of it, between that and being trashed by certain media I raised my hands in the air in 2002 and said OK that’s enough. To put it plainly, some were absolutely brutal. I’m sure TED was not alone in such experiences. What I couldn’t figure out is why by the mid 2000s, other bands that sounded similar to us were getting cudos from the same sources while we had been trashed just a few year earlier. Ah, the scene is fickle and sometimes arbitrary. If it were not for those like Tom Lugo of Stellarscope and the folks in Skywave, Highspire, Alcian Blue and some good reviews in Losing Today, The Morning News, Diskant and the like, I don’t think anyone would even know who we are today. But who cares now, we’re back, and, thanks to Wyatt, we are reborn.
Q: Who are your influences?
Can we say everything? I do love bands in ours and related genres that you might expect I would love, but it goes way beyond that. I am influenced by everything from baroque, to punk, to 1970s prog rock and balladeers, to carnatic ragas, swing, etc. I can’t possibility list it all. I think I can safely say the same for the other members, who also have wide-ranging taste in music. Every bit of these influences the way we perceive and create music. I might be thinking of a Carly Simon song, Bad Brains or my friends Unwound, whose co-presence did indeed have an effect on my early playing as evidenced by our first 1996 EP, as much as Ride or the Cocteau Twins, who really began my genre-specific interest when I heard Treasure. I still remember the day, when my friend came barreling into my room in 1985 with a copy of Treasure in hand saying “You’ve got to here this. I really think you’ll love it”. Indeed I did and soon much more like JMC and Stone Roses with a dash of things like On-U Sound label goodness for good measure. I began raving on and the rest was history. I also drew inspiration from the music of those like Consolidated, Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy, Asian Dub Foundation, etc. Like I said, there’s too much to list. Finally, I played guitar in the Mukilteo Fairies, who put out a thing or two on KRS and Outpunk back in the day, so underneath my swirly compositions lies a punk rock heart that tries to assert itself now and again. I brought that energy, overdrive, grind and fortitude straight from the Fairies right into The Emerald Down both literally and figuratively.
Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
Oh the dreaded question. I am going to skip some of the ones you might think I would list and give you a few unexpected ones. A list of five forces me to cut out too much. Don’t laugh! In no particular order, some whole albums Rebecca would say are 100% end-to-end goodness:
Led Zepplin IV - Led Zepplin
Pet Sounds - the Beach Boys
Going Blank Again - Ride
Rumours - Fleetwood Mac
Heaven or Las Vegas - Cocteau Twins
There’s some taste maker somewhere right now thinking, god what an idiot!
Q. How do you feel playing live?
Love it, and miss it a great deal. That is really what it was all about for me and us, and it’s been 13 years for me since I’ve played a gig. TED was very much a gig-oriented band. Our songs were also written at full volume with all effects on. I love the feeling of playing and watching people enjoy our music. The only thing that was tough was working with crappy PA systems at smaller clubs and the occasional sound person who would butcher us. Our elected sound guy was Mr. John Beard.
We played many great gigs with a diverse set of bands from KARP to Skywave in the Pacific Northwest, Midwest and East Coast. Just before our break I was talking with Club AC30 in London and Scotland about coming over here (at the time we were in Columbus), but that never got realized.
I liked playing outside our safety zone, but maybe that’s because I am conditioned to after dwelling in isolation so long as a band. A bit of dumb useless trivia: I can only play guitar with my shoes off so I can feel the pedal knobs, and Jason once played an entire show on drums with a broken hand. The funniest part is he played ultra fast! Erik has had much more practice than Jason and I as of late, since he has spent the last few years touring as a member of Margo and The Nuclear So and Sos. I am glad to steal him back.
Q. How do you describe how The Emerald Down sounds?
I try not to :-) In fact, I can’t.
Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
From what I remember, recording with TED was always a very quick, whirlwind kind of process. We strive to be a one take kind of band. I always liked leaving in all the mistakes. I didn’t believe in fixing things. We often came to the conclusion that these things add to the charm of a recording. Now I kind of wish I could, and there are some things that will be fixed this time around that should have been before. Thirteen years of listening will do that. For me all of our albums have some glaring flaws that gnaw at me day and night. Part of the problem is that we recorded too soon after writing some of the songs, some were written just a week or two before recording, and some were even written in the recording studio on the spot with 2 inch tape rolling! Heavier Than Ether, Lighter Than Air as well as the title track from STS Scream the Sound are such songs. Completely spontaneous, written on the spot live to fill tape! Craziness, but sort of how TED was and is. We usually recorded live together, with only a vocal overdub and the occasional percussive instrument. What you hear on the recording is pretty much our live sound.
As for each session, it’s such a blur but I am slowly remembering all of this as I chat with people. Recording the first EP in 1996 was easy. We recorded at Olympia’s Moon Studios. That was Steve Wold’s studio (now Seasick Steve). I remember being in and out of Moon Studios in a matter of hours. Scott Swayze worked his magic, and I think I remember him using a vintage echoplex on my vocals. Moon had many really cool vintage tools and a righteous mixing board that now lives in Norway. We mixed that down onto DAT.
Recording Scream the Sound was a bit more of a challenge. We has to contend with some internal discord between two of the members, but managed to hold it together and kick it out in two days, one for recording and one for mix down. Then we returned for a little remixing later. Working at Engine was really fun, and Andy Bosnak and Laurent Bichara were fabulous. Laurent is the one who delivers the awesome French monologue accompanying me on the title track. Jim had written some lyrics and asked Laurent to do it rather than singing with me as he usually did. It worked out really nice. Sadly, the original 2 inch reel for Scream the Sound was lost in a fire at Engine in Chicago some time in the aughts.
Aquarium was altogether different. The original release featured tracks recorded at two separate facilities. The upcoming re-release of Aquarium will feature extra songs from that and yet a third recording session with John Bobo. Erik, myself, Jason and Ford recorded some tracks at Diamond Mine, and Chad Williamson joined us at the Recording Workshop for three songs.
Finally I have been doing some TED post-production, vocals and remixes here in Germany (where I have lived for the past eight years) with Jalal of the radio show Popscene with Jalal and the Gazing video show, which has been extremely fun and will be featured on the upcoming re-releases. So it’s kind of new and old material.
Q. Tell us about the re releases that will be made by Saint Marie Records next year...
Yes! We are so happy to be re-releasing both Scream the Sound and Aquarium on Saint Marie Records. Each will be on CD and vinyl. Each will have new and previously unreleased material and remixes, as well as some new edits and mastering of the old. And, hopefully, we will be releasing the virtually unheard 1996 self titled EP as well. Howdy Wyatt! All will have brand new artwork. We are really excited and thankful to SMR for the opportunity to re-out ourselves on such a great label.
Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
I really went into hiding over the last 13 years. I’ll be honest, I lost touch. It has only been very recently that I’ve had the privilege of learning about all these great new projects and bands. I am truly blown away and so happy to come out of my cancerian crab shell at a time like this. You know, I cannot possibly list all the great new stuff I’ve heard, but some I’ve listened to recently that immediately come to mind are Presents For Sally, Strata Florida, Static Daydream, 93 Million Miles From The Sun, Seasurfer, The Churchhill Garden, Bloody Knives, Ummm…I’m probably forgetting many important ones! I can’t possibly list them all. And, I’m just going to say it one more time, Dave Adkins of Looperstar rocked my socks with Soul Destroyer. Holy hell, I want to make a movie just to go with that song. I am also excited to hear what the supergroup Minor Victories is working on. Supergroups are awesome. I am still working my way through the Saint Marie roster, let alone all the fabulous music out there. That being said I would recommend anything on SMR. I feel so inspired. I’ll get there. I’m open and ready to receive, no Animalhouse pun intended.
Q: Which band would you love to have made a cover version of?
We once covered Blur’s “She’s so High”. It is the one and only time we did a cover. Jason prompted it. Ha! Don’t laugh, but I have always had a serious secret yearning to cover Nobody Does it Better by Carly Simon my way, and I think I just might do it if I can just figure out how to make that possible legally. You know, the theme song from the Spy Who loved Me. Don’t all girls like that song?
Q: What are your plans for the future?
I am going to live. But, if I’m not I want to spend my last days playing the music of my heart. I spent part of 2014 and 2015 undergoing treatment for cancer, and, let me tell you, I don’t ever want to be in that place again. Forgive the pop culture reference, but my experience this year working on our music throughout cancer treatment has been a bit like that scene from the Matrix when the Oracle gives the cookie to Keanu and says eat this, and, I promise, by the time you are done, you won't remember all this shit (or something like that). Except Wyatt Parkins is the oracle, I'm Neo, and the cookie is our music, which is now leading me out of a very dark place into the light. I am ready to resume writing, recording and playing. Working on our unreleased material and doing new remixes for Saint Marie Records has truly reawakened the TED, me especially, and once I have completed all tasks related to our up-coming releases I will be working on new material from Germany with the current members of TED and perhaps a few others here on this side of the pond as well. I’m really excited about all these possibilities. Bring on the collaborations and supergroups. I have built up an enormous catalog of ideas in the last 13 years, and I know the others are eager as well. We begin this journey with our first new song in 13 years “Turn Away” on SMR’s fabulous Static Waves 4 compilation. There will be new videos coming as well.
Q: Any parting words?
Yes, let it be known that we’ve never played covers at the Holiday Inn. That gig was just in some asshat’s imagined universe. So, thank you Renato and The Blog That Celebrates Itself for this opportunity to finally speak and share! And thank you to those who have enjoyed TED. I have been shocked and surprised in the last few weeks to learn we actually have long-time listeners. You are wonderful! I hope our new music makes you happy too.
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