Tag: post-rock

IOISH Plans on Hypnotizing You with “What You Need It For”

On By NickIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Indian instrumental experimental act IOISH has launched a new single from the forthcoming album “In Waves.” The music video for “What You Need It For” is streaming now. You can watch it below.

The single, mixed and mastered by Brett Caldas Lima, marks the 10th anniversary of IOISH.

Commented the founder Vaibhav Bhutani: “I always had a vision to make an audio-visual themed album, but I did not have the resources for it. Now that I am done with my degrees, I can just go for it. For this album, I got some of the best people in India and around the world, like Shantanu Sudarshan, whom I’ve known since more than a decade, and I’ve always considered him as the best drummer in the country. On the bass is Nikhil Rufus Raj, a veteran in the local music scene. I’ve looked up to his music since I started playing. He’s a brilliant musician and a great guy! On this particular track we have Meredith Moore who plays for giants like Paul McCartney, Mumford and Sons, Robbie Williams, and Josh Groban to name a few. I came up with the basic structure of the song and send it to other musicians to add what they can to it. I believe that collective effort is what makes something grow! Also, we have Brett Caldas Lima on the mixing/mastering duties, he’s just an overall legend.”

As a sound therapist Bhutani realized the importance of music in its purest form which is to be instrumental in its existence. 

He goes on saying: “I believe that as there is nothing or rather no one else that can distract one from their thoughts while listening to music without lyrics. Interestingly enough, I noticed how many people are actually scared to feel something and use certain type of music to escape. I just want people to know and acknowledge what they are feeling as that awareness can help us grow a lot as humans, as a collective group of individuals.”

Bhutani already plans on the next single.

He admits: “As I earn from my day job I do need some time in between releases to earn back the investment. The next song is almost ready. Also, this album is divided in three parts (three songs each). This part of the album deals with the emotions that I had to let go of. The next part will be of the emotions I hold on to, and act up in the moment. And the final one will be about the stuff that makes me want to get up and do something with this thing called life. I am working on the projection mapping material for the live set. As I am a huge Amon Tobin fan, you can expect something along the lines of what he does combined with Sigur Ros.”

The new single “What You Need It For” is streaming now. Watch the video below, or stream in on SoundCloud, Spotify or Apple Music here.

IOISH online:

Website
Facebook
Instagram

Background:

IOISH’s sound is a mix of soulful guitars layered with atmospheric textures that are soaked in melodious grooves and riffs evoking a progressive rock feel. The combined elements make for an immersive and moody trip for the audience. One that they can immediately engage with.

Over the years IOISH has played alongside bands like Tides From Nebula, I Am Waiting For You Last Summer, The Ocean Collective, Intervals and As I Lay Dying during their Indian tours. 

Review: Subnoir – A Long Way From Home

On By NickIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Subnoir - A Long Way from Home

Prejudice. It’s something all of us have. As a product of human error, all of us sometimes unfairly judge based off stereotypes and predetermined opinions, musical or not. I have always had a prominent discrimination against something many people love. That something is metal music. My opinion on metal music was harsh and unfair, quickly dismissing it as shallow and insignificant. To me, metal always consisted of repeated chugging chords and strange animal noises replacing actual singing, with cheesy and soft sections interspersed. I thought of metal as a self-indulgent form of music, that served only to please the ostentatious and overblown bands and their ridiculously loyal fans. It was a brutal criticism of a genre I didn’t know well at all, and it served only to damage my listening experience. The worst part was, I believed myself for the longest time. That is, until I listened to Subnoir’s debut masterpiece A Long Way From Home. Rarely can a single album give you a completely different outlook on an entire genre, but the album did it, and if I have one regret about it, it’s not listening to it sooner.

What makes ALWFH differ from other metal albums A.D. is that it’s simply a way in for anybody who doesn’t warm to metal easily. It effortlessly mixes elements of indie rock, sludge metal, post-rock, progressive, and even ambient into its own unique hybridization of genres. However, it’s still recognizable as metal (and some damn good metal at that): its rich and heavy chords and growling vocals are staples of the genre done one better, and its unconventional song structure recalls progressive metal bands such as Opeth or even Mastodon. However, Subnoir remember something so many metal bands seem to forget: to make their music beautiful. When not pounding out chords so rich they seem tangible, the band are creating softly meandering interludes that are nothing short of gorgeous (if in a subtly menacing way). 

Subnoir

In addition to improving on already-established standards of metal, Subnoir constantly find new ways to innovate and expand the genre’s depths. The album is “progressive” in every sense of the word. Subnoir also constantly show restraint on the album; instead of taking the “easy way out” and constantly letting the songs devolve into sludgy jam sessions, the band choose to take longer musical paths and let the songs build themselves to beautiful apexes. The band constantly discard conventional structure in favor of an infinitely more interesting way of building their songs: sometimes subtly disquieting passages will suddenly give way to triumphantly blasting guitar chords, or the band will introduce an unexpected riff, or even give ad-lib nods to other genres. Whatever it is they end up doing, the band always excite and are never predictable, giving the album an impulsive edge.

While they show brilliance in the songwriting category, the band’s members also make it known that they sure as hell know what they’re doing with their instruments. Frontman Kenneth Mellum is the best of both worlds: his singing has a gruff yet affecting edge, while his growling never feels forced or laughably indulgent, like so many others do. His voice fits perfectly with the astoundingly rich chords played on the guitars, and, both his voice and the guitars acting as instruments, the pair is one you won’t likely see bettered in almost any metal band. Subnoir excel in other instrumental fields as well: the drumming is consistently strong, while the atmospheric tones that complement the quieter sections are always placed to near-perfection.

A Long Way From Home is not an album that can be taken apart track-by-track. While each track makes for a fascinating individual listen, the album is best taken as a whole. The length of the album’s songs (the album spans eight songs and 50 minutes) may seem a little daunting for the uninitiated, but the album is easily welcoming for anyone willing to give it their undivided attention. The album is a seductive experience, trading in structure and melody for overall sound and tone. It may not be the most accessible metal album on the market, but it should have any listener quickly scrambling for their future works. I know I will.

Until then support Subnoir by checking out A Long Way From Home on Bandcamp.

New Nosound Announced (Video)

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rockLeave a comment

 

KSCOPE605-6pp-Digi-v2
Forthcoming from KScope.

The ever-fascinating and brilliant Giancarlo Erra just released the new video on social media.  This from Erra:

I’ve never been so nervous and excited about a new Nosound album, probably not even for the first one!

During the last few years a deep changing process happened, with my voice and my music and everything around my career. I somehow started seeing much more clearly who I am and where to go, ‘allowing myself’ to do so.

This album is the closest I’ve ever been to my own musical vision, and Don’t You Dare is one of the outstanding tracks for me, brilliantly interpreted in the full video by Manuel Lobmaier.

You can preorder the album here.

Minus

On By Mahesh SreekandathIn art rock, jazz rock, post-rock, stoner rockLeave a comment

Black Sabbath meets Pink Floyd, in other words it’s heavy metal, but quite psychedelic, atmospheric and drawn-out. Kraków’s Minus exhibits significant post metal and stoner hues too. The album actually progresses from stoner straight into post rock territory. From a three minute album opener to nine minute compositions essentially reflects that trend. From fractious Soundgarden like textures to introspective drone riffs – the journey couldn’t be more seamless.

Mark Hollis, Part II: Aching for Grace

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock3 Comments

tt soe
Ironic or sincere?  1988’s Spirit of Eden.

Yesterday, I had the grand fortune of spending a serious amount of time listening to and writing about Talk Talk.  There are few subjects in the world that give me so much pleasure as does TT. For years, one of my closest friends (and a friend since the fall of 1986), Kevin McCormick (a fellow progarchist and progarchy editor) and I have talked about writing a full-length book on Talk Talk.  We even have a rather strong and detailed outline.  The publishing venues, sadly, are not as easy to find as one might imagine. While Talk Talk has a loyal following, it is a small one.  A few years ago, we submitted a proposal—which, from my biased perspective was really good—to 33 1/3 Books (Bloomsbury).  Sadly, they not only felt no enthuasiam for our project, they deemed it unworthy, even of comment.  Just a simple “no thanks.”  But, Kevin and I are nothing if nothing if not persistent and enthusiastic.  Indeed, some might even say “obnoxious!”

So, if there’s anyone in the reading audience who would like to publish a roughly 60,000 word manuscript on the significance and influence of Talk Talk, please let us know!  We could have a completed book to you within a year or less.

Continue reading “Mark Hollis, Part II: Aching for Grace” →

Review: Glaston – Inhale / Exhale

On By NickIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Glaston

Calling Swiss band Glaston post-rock does this Zurich / Basel four-piece a bit of injustice. They do include plethora of post-rock elements on “Inhale / Exhale,” the group’s first full-length album, but it’s definitely much more than that. Welcome to the soundtrack of emotions, free form and complexity.

Jumping on a bandwagon in 2014 with the release of the “Setting Out” single, the quartet spent next three years in honing and redefining their sound, reaching its climax with the 2017 release. Ten songs of “Inhale / Exhale” show that there is much to the of post-rock than delay-engaged tremolo riffs, what’s ultimately proven with the album opener and one of the strongholds “Game of Tones.” This polarising piece flows manually from very minimal to complex, never exuding any feelings of fatigue. And that is the biggest hallmark of Glaston and this release. Where many bands from the post-rock branch get stuck in proverbial mud of repetitiveness, Glaston manage to beautifully arrange different structures that form their songs. Be it the almost 10-minute epic contender of “Sunnar” or the shortest interlude “This Isn’t Happening.”

Even at their most repetitive, “Ihale / Exhale” doesn’t feel like that at all, as the music here is carefully put together and measured with microscopic precision. It is not to say that Glaston get mathematical, but rather it is the free-form factor of their composition skills and senses that allow them to be methodical and random at the same time.

“Ihale / Exhale” is available on Bandcamp.

 

Album Review: TerraTerra – TerraTerra

On By NickIn progressive rockLeave a comment

TerraTerra - TerraTerra

TerraTerra, an instrumental post/progressive metal one-man band from Russia comprised of multi-instrumentalist going by the name Ayli K., has quite a challenge as with any new band playing this stylistically demanding music. TerraTerra either needs to add something exciting and original to the genre, or be so bloody good at delivering captivating instrumental rock (that visits quite a few genres) in its conventional form that it stands head and shoulders above the oceans of ordinariness that surround the project. While TerraTerra will not win any awards for innovation, the self-titled debut release does in fact rise most convincingly from the latter category, and has enough variation in its eight tracks to keep interest levels high.

Beginning with “Just Once,” TerraTerra expertly marry the sludgy histrionics of “Panopticon” era Isis to the noise rock sensibilities of Melvins. Ayli K. doesn’t joke with long intros, and likes to get on with the business at hand, with only three tracks passing the 6-minute mark. This makes for a more urgent and also provides a much more organic feel to the musician’s playing and performance.

In addition to Isis and Melvins you can undoubtedly hear the massive influence of Cult of Luna, Mono, Mastodon, all the major names, but TerraTerra somehow manages to put a unique stamp on this rather derivative framework.

TerraTerra has risen far above the sum of  its influences, and delivered a very fine instrumental rock album. Check it out!

Interview: SPURGE

On By NickIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Spurge

Drawing parallels to the work of mighty Frank Zappa and David Bowie, as well as Isis, Cult of Luna, the Mars Volta and the Dear Hunter, the Atlanta-based band Spurge seems like a promising act. But delving deeper to their most recent release, an EP simply titled “Four More Songs” reveals plethora of different sounds and vibes.

The creator of the band, bassist Jen Hodges gives us an insight into the world of Spurge, their writing process, and more.

What made you go for the name Spurge?

When I first got players together in Nashville, this was just a solo project and I was releasing material as Jen Hodges.  My musicians were wanting like a “Jen Hodges and something or other” name.  I told them I was down and whatever they picked was good for me.  My drummer at the time had a very endearing lisp and excited called out “Sthpurge!”  We were all kind of unsure what he said at first. He said it again and told us it was a kind of weed.  We all dug the double entendre.  For a while we called ourselves Jen Hodges and Spurge.  We dropped the Jen Hodges this year because the band feels like a total group effort at this point.

How do you usually describe your music?

I like to call it progressive post rock.  Most of the time people have no idea what that means so I end up explaining that we play post rock type textures but add in guitar/bass/drum solos.  I’ve heard people call it neo-classical rock, experimental,  ambient, and fusion before.  I believe someone called us a jam band once as well.

What is your writing process like?

Whenever I’m noodling around on the bass or guitar by myself I’ll come up with a few riffs I dig.  I’ll usually collect 15 or so riffs over the course of six months and start stringing them together using theory to craft transitions.  I record a scratch take with me playing all the instruments and send it out to my band.  My band are all top tier at what they do, so I tell them whatever guitar/drum parts they write is cool with me.  They always come back with some pretty sick stuff.  We rehearse it, record it, then I’ll go back in and record my bass solos as the finishing touch.  It’s an odd approach but I like how loose and open it is.  The creative process is my favorite part of playing.

Who or what is your inspiration, if you have any?

There are a lot of players I admire.  Their music inspires me to contribute to humanity’s little collection of sound.  I’ve never been able to duplicate other people’s styles.  Mostly due to my bass being upside down and backwards.  However, I like being a part of the musician community and hearing other people’s music motivates me to keep writing.  Some of the musicians who influenced me at an early age are Flea, Buckethead, Jimmy Urine, Layne Staley, David Gilmore, John Paul Jones, Victor Wooten, and Thundercat.

Four More Songs

What is your favourite piece on the new EP “Four More Songs” and why?

Oof.  That’s tough.  I like the bass solo best in Amphibian.   I like the verse in Om the best.  I like the piano solo in Rain the best.  I like the guitar riffs in David Bowie the best.  I like Miles’ vocals in Amphibian the best.  I don’t think I can pick an overall piece I like best though.

What makes “Four More Songs” different?

Different than my other albums?  Or different in general?  Different than my other albums because I had an idea about what I wanted before I started writing.  I knew for sure I wanted to write a 7 minute song, a David Bowie tribute, a schizophrenic piece with a metal bridge, and I wanted to finish Rain.  I had been in the process of writing Rain for five years at that point.  It was a reject song from a previous band.   The record is different in general because it’s got my style in it.  All my music is different than most stuff out there.  I am proud about that.  I feel like I finally found my sound.

What should music lovers expect from “Four More Songs”?

Beauty, ugliness, groove.  A lot of texture.  Some experimentation in recording techniques.  We recorded Wayford’s vocals on Om by putting a box fan between him and the mic.  I broke a major rule and stacked 4 bass lines on top of one another in David Bowie.  My poor producer wasn’t too happy about it.  He’s the man though and heard my idea and made it work.   I think this is a record you can listen to all the way through and be sucked in enough not to skip any parts.  There is no filler.  And you never know what’s coming next.

What kind of emotions would you like your audience to feel when they listen to your music?

All of the emotions.  (I just made myself laugh.)  I’d like them to feel content, relaxed even.  I’d like them to forget about their phones and their responsibilities and allow themselves to be taken through the story.  Maybe hype during the more exciting parts.  Entertained.  I’d like them to feel entertained.  Whatever emotion produces that outcome is fine with me.  As long as they are indeed feeling something.  Then I’ve done my job.

Spurge band

Which do you like most, life in the studio or on tour?

I’ve never been on tour where we don’t sleep in the van or on the floor or in someone’s basement so I’d have to say studio life.   I’d love to experience tour where we get a hotel room each night.  That might change my mind a little bit.  Tours have been fun, yet exhausting.  Studios are sacred spaces.  The creative process is my favorite part of playing so the studio is hard to beat.  I know a lot of people can get stressed out in the studio, but I’ve always been comfortable not having control so I just let people be themselves on the tracks.  If I don’t like it, I’ll edit it later.  I think the music reflects the positive vibes in the studio.

Pick your three favourite albums that you would take on a desert island with you.

Wow that’s tough too.  Only 3?  John Prine Live, Dark Side of the Moon, and RHCP Mother’s Milk.  I just looked those choices over for about two minutes and I’m sticking with my answer.

“Four More Songs” is available from Bandcamp. Stay in contact with Spurge via Facebook and Twitter, and visit their website for more information and news.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=4034617188/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/

7Sleepers

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rockLeave a comment

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7Sleepers

So, what happens when you mix one extremely talented musician with one extremely ditzy professor?  You get a notice about some amazing music six months too late!

As I was going through some research papers tonight, I found this package from Ann Arbor, Michigan– a CD (beautifully packaged, by the way) and a number of postcards from 7Sleepers.

Make sure you check them out.  I’ll be reporting on them a bit more in the near future. . . .

In the meantime, my apologies to Robin and to all progarchists!  Also, make sure you check out Iris’s reviews at GrendelHQ.

PET SOUNDS, 1966-2016: Fifty Years of Prog

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock1 Comment

pet-sounds
Arguably, the very first prog album.

Though I’m sure someone could make the case for either REVOLVER or SGT. PEPPER’s being the first prog album, I’ve always turned to PET SOUNDS by the Beach Boys.  I’m sure there’s a bit of the American in me that desires this to be so, so I can’t completely claim to be unbiased.  I know English proggers–understandably–think of Prog as one of their many national gifts to the world, somewhere above the Magna Carta.  And, it is!  Still, it’s conceivable that it came about in California but then was perfected by the English.  Maybe.  Maybe not.

 

As Brian Wilson has noted, he found his own inspiration for the album in RUBBER SOUL by the Beatles.  Is it possible the influence went both directions across the Atlantic?  Most certainly.

Regardless, PET SOUNDS is fifty years old.  And, what an extraordinary achievement it is.  Though one might regard it somewhat probably as a Brian Wilson solo album, it came out under the name of the Beach Boys, and it carries with it many of the trademark Beach Boy sounds and touches.

Continue reading “PET SOUNDS, 1966-2016: Fifty Years of Prog” →