sábado, 25 de maio de 2013

Starfire Connective Sound


Starfire Connective Sound (SCS) is a single-man project headed by Al Schenkel, who lives at southern Brazil. More specifically, in the city if Criciúma, state of Santa Catarina, and one of the most dedicated noise lovers of these tropical lands. The first apparition of SCS in our poor world happened at mid 2011, with the self-titled EP, featuring 7 self-recorded, self-produced songs based on sonic whirls of feedback driven by programmed drums patterns and, sometimes, electronic beats. The follow-up, named The Sound Also Rises, came not much longer after, featuring an even richer sound than the st. 

At early 2012, the single Where Go The Boats was released, featuring two products of a collaboration between Mr. Schenkel and This Lonely Crowd, in which SCS ventures into new horizons without forgetting to get even deeper on the older ones. However, the project was haulted after mid 2012 due to a serious motorcycle accident, where Schenkel stayed several weeks hospitalized and endured a long recuperation. But he's back on the field now, releasing a 3-track EP called That Melancholy, which consists on songs he started penning while still at the hospital, and will not be featured in the debut full-length that's going to be released soon. It's possible to notice the sonic horizons of SCS expanded and grew  even richer by now, as in the dense and dark-than-deepest sea Shoegaze of Self-induced Heaven, the post-modern Noise of That Melancholy, featuring spoken world poem as its lyrics, and the Drone-ish A Morte Fragmentada, the first SCS' title in portuguese. Those familiar with Sobre a Máquina and Bemônio, two headliners of current brazilian tortuous music, will be readily pleased when listening to this track, I assure you. 


Right below, you can have a taste of Schenkel amazing work. The brand new EP is featured at soundcloud and each song can be purchased freely, while the other releases can be streamed and purchased freely too from SCS' bandcamp. I hope you enjoy it! ;)




2013 - That Melancholy: 


























2012 - Where Go The Boats (single):







get it! (bandcamp)




2011 - The Sound Also Rises (EP): 






get it! (bandcamp)




2011 - Starfire Connective Sound (EP):










quinta-feira, 23 de maio de 2013

Stella Luna

Still working on the "underrated and forgotten gems of the Shoegaze realms", series there we have Stella Luna. I'm wondering why I took so long to talk about them in this space, and why I took soooo long (from 2008 to early 2013) to re-listen to their magnificient work, but that's not the point here. The point is: that's one of the most enchanting and mesmerizing albums of Shoegaze and Dream Pop microcosmos released in the last decade.

Its solo work is called Stargazer (simple but perfect name), released in 2002, when everything Shoegaze-y seemed to be long forgotten, and it contains only 4 songs totalizing less than half an hour of dream-inducing melodies crushed beneath layer and layers and layers of incandescent feedback. The cover album couldn't be more precise about describing the band's music: everything here is blurry, distorted, dark and amorphous, however it's still possible to catch some light points here and there, as if they're swerving in a whirl of thick gloominess. However, the cover and album's name choice is the only thing precise in Stargazer. Everything else seem to be slightly off-paced, laid back, delirant and untouchable, as if it was shifted with doppler effect, early sunday hangover or some kind of acid bad trip in a swerving spaceship. After this work, they've just disappeared from everyone's line of sight and nobody has a single clue of what the band members are doing lately, or if they're still alive. Such a shame, isn't it? It only fuel the enigma surrounding them, much like the post-Loveless MBV era in the mid '90 or the LSD and the Search for God follow-up of the also stellar debut, self-titled EP, as a more recent analogy.

I think there's no need to say anything else but to get it in the link right below, isn't it? 










get it!

quarta-feira, 22 de maio de 2013

Bleach



Hello, everyone. It's been quite some time since the last post. Unfortunately, things were harsh around here lately, and I apologize for such delay. Apologies aside, let's talk about today's post, The UK band called Bleach (not to be confused with japaned Bleach - akaBleach03 - and USA Christian Hardcore Bleach). 


Bleach's origin is Ipswich, England, circa 1989. By the geographical location and year, you must have figured out what the band is all about. Yeah, fuzzy whirls of melted sonic loops. Although Bleach never received a tenth of attention that their contemporaries (Ride, Slowdive, Pale Saints and you know the rest of the list), they made an awesome stream of EPs and albums from 1990 to 1993  that remains obscure and unveiled until now, over 20 years after their releases and with the ever-ascending information technologies, social networks and stuff. 

Sadly, I only came across these guys a few months ago, after doing some research about the "Z-side" of Shoegaze (the more I dig, the more I find underrated and criminally forgotten noisy gems), and I'm blaming myself since then for taking so long to discover these guys. As I don't want to see anyone repeating my mistake, I'm dropping their work for download right below in this humble n' cozy virtual space. I hope you enjoy it too! ;)



1993  - Fast







get it!





1992 - Hard







get it!





1992 - Killing Time 







get it!





1990 - Eclipse EP (first 4 songs) + 1991 - Snag EP (last 3 songs):





get it!

terça-feira, 14 de maio de 2013

Meow Meow



Meow Meow (MM) is a highly obscure art wreck which released a single album (as far as I'm concerned) called Snow Gas Bone almost one decade ago, at 2004.  Apart from the cute-but-silly name, the four-piece lead by guitarist Kirk Hellie is very guitar-driven, flerting with Shoegaze soundscapes very often, although I'm not sure if it can classified like this in its most purist sense. The overal feeling in this album is sunny and joyful, full of easy-listening melodies, however it's possible to notice some underneath darkness creeping deep inside MM's inner realms, as if things aren't quite right as they look like, or as if it's suffering from too much sunshine exposition. Or maybe is it a result from dropping the head while very young? I can't tell. 

That's why I'm sharing Snow Gas Bones with you. Such gem of Shoegaze crossover manifestation, specially at times where the genre seemed to be totally buried and forgotten from the collective inconsciousness, should be spread around every corner of the cosmos. That's your mission of today! 










get it!

quinta-feira, 9 de maio de 2013

The Great Artiste

The Great Artiste (TGA) is a french group whose name refers to a Boeing-based USA bomber who attacked pacific islands held from Japan during 1945 to 1948, and whose name was atributed due to bombardier Cpt. Kermit Beahan talents with bombing (and women, according to wikipedia...)

Well, the history class of today is over, so let's actually talk about the french group itself. The opening track is an obvious reference to the history related to its name, starting with the audio of a military operation and further developing into a deliciously fuzzed Shoegaze. The same tone is imprinted on the following 3 tracks that compose the EP At the Bridge of Dawn, released last March, taking inspiration on classic pre (or would it be proto?) Shoegaze acts like Spectrum and Spacemen 3, although they don't get stick to it and seem to dedicate themselves hardly to carve out their identity. The rythm here is always frantic, somewhat introspective, somehow suffocating and sometimes delirant, as if one's drowning in a flaming pool swirl of melted sounds. 

That's plain great that such great bands are popping up around the world lately. Therefore, just check out the link right below, containing TGA's bandcamp, where you can download the latest EP for the name-your-price scheme and spread the love for noise!


















quarta-feira, 8 de maio de 2013

The Sorry Shop


Born in the southern lands of Brazil, The Sorry Shop (TSP) is one of the nicest surprises that came out in the last few years in the tupiniquim scenario. Lead by Régis Garcia, TSP is dedicated to a sincere and tasteful lo-fi-esque Shoegaze, sometimes sounding sunny, cheerful and laid back, sometimes sounding introspective, oneiric and amorphous. The obvious influences are there, i.e., My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Pavement, the classic brazucas of Second Come and Low Dream, but it's possible to hear they pushed their sonic verve beyond them, as I'm able to notice Ambient, Drone and Dream Pop in their latest work too, called Mnemonic Syncretism.

It's extremly pleasant to see such quality music done here in these tropical lands, despite all the financial struggles, lack of press or public interest as a whole. Together with other greats acts such as Lê Almeida, John Candy, The Concept, Sobre a Máquina, Single Parents and many others, TSP can be added as another strong name in this already-turning-classical scene.

Right below, there's a link offered by Régis himself, as well as their bandcamp, where you can taste their previous works: Bloody, Fuzzy, Cozy (2012) and Thank You Come Again EP (2011). As usual, enjoy!






















get it!

For previous works of TSP, just check their bandcamp!