AÑO: 7 | NÚMERO 63
THE 13th UN A REV I S TA I M A GI N A RI A
BEAUTY IN CHAOS DARWIN CUERPOS CÓSMICOS INDIE SOUNDSCAPES: PURITY RING - HOSTILE TRIBES
INDEX
DARWIN
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CUERPOS CÓSMICOS
16
BEAUTY IN CHAOS
34
INDIE SOUNDSCAPES
44
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[ Interview with Darwin Meiners from Darwin by Diego Centuriรณn. Photographs: Mila Reynaud, Enlight43, Linda Strawberry and David Albizo. ]
DARWIN: CALIFORNIA'S DARWIN TALKS TWO DECADES OF MUSIC-MAKING, DAVID J AND 2020 LOCKDOWN
We present an artist who already has a consolidated career with several works released under the name Darwin over his nearly ten-year career, but who also has more years of work to his credit in the world of music. His career links him at various points to bassist David J (Bauhaus - Love and Rockets) as his manager and collaborator and Victor De Lorenzo (Violent Femmes), among others. But the delicacy and subtleties of the sounds created by Darwin have a particular charm. Before starting I would like to thank you for this opportunity today to ask you some questions. First off, how are you living through these rare times of Covid-19? Thank you for taking the time to listen. ‘Strange days, indeed’ - as Lennon said. This has been a time of fear, anxiety, uncertainty and quite the emotional ride. Certainly one of the most challenging times of my life. My hope is that this time will remind us of how delicate life is and how much value we each have. Perhaps all of this needed to be happening for us to truly address some of the more ugly parts of our history and selves.
made but the first full album I made. It was also the first time I was the front man and main songwriter for a project. We played around locally for quite some time before recording the album in a few days. It was formed with some good friends and I really enjoyed my time in that band. The first release we see on your Bandcamp page is the “Five Beats One” EP, for which you are not yet performing simply under the name Darwin. Can you elaborate on this particular work. That was a short-lived, but very rewarding, project. Again, formed with a group of close friends and was a chance to work with my friend Judah Nagler (The Velvet Teen) in a band environment. He normally is the singer and guitarist so he was interested in playing drums. I was very happy to be back on the bass which is my favorite instrument to play live. There was a lot of musical talent in that band. Another great learning experience for me working with those guys.
You just released a new single that we'll talk about ... but first, how would you describe your music? This is my least favorite question :) - I prefer others to do the heavy lifting on this type of thing. I am always learning, very interested in moving forward so it’s always changing. I have been referred to all ‘post punk’, ‘dream pop’, ‘indie rock’ and many more. I don’t really care what people call it if they get soThen, under your name, you releamething out of it. sed "Starfishing" (2012), "Souvenir" Going back in time, I noticed that EP (2014), "Horrible Cocoon" EP your first recording came out under (2016) and "So Few Comets" (2019). the name of Royal Pine and the LP Tell us about these years. "Clouds Move In" in 1999. What can ‘Starfishing’ was the first time I made an album under my own name. I also you tell us about that album? That wasn’t the first recording I’ve did the majority of the recording and mi-
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xing. A major undertaking for me at the time. I was encouraged to make this album by David J. He offered to play bass and produce it and despite being very nervous about going out on my own I couldn’t decline that offer. About half of the songs were older ones that I thought fit the vibe of the other new ones I had just finished. Having David come to my studio and show me how to produce an album was a great experience. Several of my favorite songs are on that one. ‘Souvenir’ was written on a three-week European tour with David J. I was the bassist and backing vocalist for his tour and went through a whirlwind of shows
across Europe. The experience led to the songs on ‘Souvenir’. It also featured Victor DeLorenzo (Violent Femmes) on drums. I had recently met him and he was so warm and friendly we really hit it off. He agreed to play drums and even flew out from Milwaukee to be in the video for ‘Meaningless’ (along with David J and good friend, Emily Jane White) ‘Horrible Cocoon’ is one of my favorite songs I’ve written. This song was the b-side to a limited 7” featuring David J and The Gentleman Thieves song ‘Gentrification Blues’. This was another valuable lesson in production as I was working with Brian Liesegang
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(NIN, Filter, Billy Corgan) who is a studio master. Watching him work and learning some of his techniques was huge for me. He was very supportive of me and created a very creative environment. ‘So Few Comets’ was a big step for me. This was the first time I sat down and planned out an album in all it’s aspects. Everything down to the art, imagery, sound, lyrics, etc. I also didn’t have any songs prepared and was going to write it ‘in the studio’ as I had read so many of my favorite bands had done. I had recently met Julian Shah-Tayler
and after we worked on one song together I knew he was the one to produce the album. I set up several rules and limitations to the process to force myself to work in ways that were new to me in hopes of getting a spark. We worked for about a year on it and it was a great experience. I’m very pleased with the album and continue to work with Julian almost exclusively since. Now we’re in 2020 and you released an EP called “We Are Matter”, which consist of remixes and live songs from your latest album “So Few
Comets”. But you’ve also just released the new single “Dance Alone” – could we call this a quarantine single? I also ask this because of the video for this track, created by Linda Strawberry. Just as I had released ‘Souvenir’ right after ‘Starfishing’ I wanted to do a follow up EP to ‘So Few Comets’. One of the rules I put in place for ‘So Few Comets’ was that there was to be no attention paid to how these songs could be played live. We were to make the album and then deal with the live part later. Once I started playing the songs with a live band they began to take on a different form. I had been asked to play the Mystic Theatre and thought it would be a great opportunity to get some live recording in that grand venue! Having grown up listening to bands that often put out remixes I like doing that too. ‘Dance Alone’ was written before the lock-down, actually. I had sent a demo to Julian and didn’t have the lyrics re-
ady yet. I was using a lyrical place holder of ‘I don’t feel like dancing / dancing is dumb’ of all things! I often do that when I like the melody but don’t have the right words yet. The goal for this song was to make an outright dance song that was a bit like a New Order song. They are the masters of making a dance tune that is simultaneously happy and sad. Once I got to the vocals we were well into lock-down and the performance, and song, took on a new light. I met Linda Strawberry briefly when she was in Billy Corgan’s solo band for the ‘Future Embrace’ tour. Ironically, Brian Liesegang was also in that band but I didn’t realize it at the time. I formerly met Linda again when she was asked to direct ‘Gentrification Blues’ video. Her artistic talent is obvious but she is also an incredible person and very hard worker. Once I got the idea to have people send in videos of them ‘dancing alone’ I realized I would need
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someone who could make it look somewhat cohesive. I gave Linda a bunch of footage from all over and she was able to make that video. She’s a bit of a miracle worker. Considering your history of collaboration with David J. of Bauhaus and Love and Rockets fame, both administratively and musically, what can
you tell us about the influence he has had on your music? Before I ever met David had already made a big impact on me. I was so into Love and Rockets in high school and particularly him. I loved his image, attitude, bass playing and incredible lyrics. When I went to buy my first bass I knew nothing about basses. The sales person asked me which bas-
sist I liked and I said, ‘David J’. The guy looked puzzled and said, ‘Who?’. I remember really liking that as it made me ‘underground’ or something… ha ha. Since meeting and working closely with him his influence continues over me. Getting to see how he prepares, performs, works with the industry, his fan base, other players… it’s really an endless lesson. The fact that we would become as close as we have is not something I would have ever imagined but something I am continually thankful for. Your music is evocative of a past and future with electronic subtleties, while also maintaining the song structure. What is the process of composing like for you? Do you partially utilize analog instruments or is everything virtual via computer? Thank you. I think I will always have a good part of my formative, musical years in my songs. It’s just the perfect time to have that type of thing really embedded in you. Many of the bands that I loved growing up like New Order, Joy Division, The Cure, Kraftwerk, Love & Rockets, Tones on Tail … got me into all the electronic and drum machines. But I also am a huge fan of political music and great songwriting like The Beatles, The Clash, Tom Petty, Nick Cave, Big Audio Dynamite, Public Enemy, Dub - I guess it all comes out in the wash. I record everything on my Mac but have an analog/tube front end. Everything goes through that before going into the computer. Often times I will take synth, synth bass or drums that I created in the computer and run them out through tube amps and back through the analog front end. Julian and I have a work flow set up that includes lots of passing files back and forth online, lots of texts, calls, FaceTimes, etc. Things come to me in a variety of ways: a lyric, a me-
lody, a riff or part but often it comes from just a sound. I am very much a gear head and am always toiling away trying to create exciting tones and sounds. Several songs on ‘So Few Comets’ literally started with a sound only. Where Julian comes in so well is that he has the ability to do things I simply can’t. So there are ideas I can’t do and some things I would never thing to do that he will come up with. It’s a very good, respectful way of working. Jumping ahead to the near future, despite today’s obvious uncertainties, can you tell us if you will be following up with any new releases anytime soon? Yes. There is quite a bit on the horizon. I have a brand new song and video that is nearly finished. This one was inspired by a short story by my friend Dani Burlison and and is the first time I have written from a character in a short story’s perspective. It’s much darker than the last one :) I have a handful of demos that Julian and I will get to work on eventually, too. We have also been working on a new art project that features myself, Julian, Dustin Heald and artist Mark Gleason. We are working on lots of songs right now but I’m not sure when it will be ready for release. I’m very excited about this one! Thank you for your time for answering these questions. In conclusion, please tell the reader who is reading this interview, why shouldn't they stop listening to Darwin? Thank you again. I would never be that presumptuous! What I will say is that if you intrigued please take a listen. This isn’t a hobby or passing fancy for me and I am going to keep doing this until I can no longer do it. I promise to keep things interesting and sincere.
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www.mutanteradio.com
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www.indiego.com.ar
[ Inteerview with Camille Motto from Cuerpos Cรณsmicos by Diego Centuriรณn. ]
BETWEEN DREAM WORLDS THE CUERPOS Cร SMICOS ARISE
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We have been listening to songs that amaze us for a long time by a band called Cuerpos Cósmicos. Little by little we were getting closer to the sound of this band and we wanted to see what is behind those beautiful sounds and we found her soul called Camille Motto, and we contacted her to get to know this project and this is what she told us ...
Hello Camille, thanks for agreeing and language experience, called thirdto do this interview culture. Hi Diego, thank you for the invitation! But you have a historical The truth is that our mutual connection with Argentina, because friend Nicolás Castello has shown in your bandcamp it says "Frenchme Cuerpos Cósmicos and I was Argentinian" delighted. Yes of course, my mother is Nicolás is the most. As a person and Argentinian and she went to live in as an artist, I like him very France. Therefore, the rest of the family much! I was thinking about how to is in Argentina. Oh, and I am also in describe the feeling I have when I the process of applying for Argentinian receive messages like yours, and it citizenship. gives me the feeling that a letter reached its destination. Or as if I Tell me, how and when was Cuerpos finally get to articulate a phrase in some Cósmicos born? language. The project was born in 2018: it was the year in which I attended an intensive And speaking of language ... If training in sound techniques. It was it is true that you live in France. also this year I went to Argentina for What is your nationality? French or the summer : I had planned to go write Argentinian? music there. It was important to me My ID is French. But the truth is, I that the project be born there. I knew always had the feeling of coming from an Argentine musician, Lucas : he was a fictional area between Argentina and interested in what he was doing and France. Investigating, I found a name we had already collaborated remotely that describes that dimension : the « on some covers and one of his songs, third-culture kids », children who come «Gravedad». When we first met I from at least two cultures and are at showed him «Rain» and he loved it. least bilingual. The mixture of two or We decided to form a duo, he added more cultures forms a separate life backup vocals at the end of the song
and we recorded together the bass at his studio in Córdoba. We lived moments of pure friendship, recording a video clip for this song. “Rain” had a small reputation online, thanks to websites such as Remezcla, The Blog That Celebrates Itself and WhitelightWhiteheat. At the end of the summer I returned to France, and the duo quickly disarmed due to lack of time on both sides. There was a moment of reflection in which I didn’t know whether to continue the project by myself or start a new one. But the idea of simply « abandoning it » made me kinda sad. So we had a chat with Lucas, I asked him if it was okay to continue with the same name despite his departure, and he obviously said yes, that I could continue developing this project further on.
Yes, it is a journey through one's own interiority : an exploration of memory, of what existed in a life, but also of what only existed in the imagination : the lacking side we all feel, such as wishes that weren’t fulfilled, moments and memories that could not exist. Hahaha, is it too dark? Let's say that to make the music you make, there is something dark about your tastes, even if it is very hidden. Yes, I mean this project is also about the feeling of hope, and making the experience of magic. And I picture this feeling in the dark, it is a light in a dark landscape. This way, I think, hope stands out.
Today I was listening to your EP, released in 2018, which is also your So let's say that Cuerpos Cósmicos first work. How or where does the name Cuerpos Cósmicos come is a trip to your own interior ?
from ? It was all very intuitive : Cuerpos Cósmicos was the title of a song. When I created the bandcamp in Argentina, we had to find a band name. I carriedanotebookwithautomaticwriting and lists of titles : Cuerpos Cósmicos, St Marcel, Petit Prince... Chatting with Lucas, we chose Cuerpos Cósmicos. I just saw an interesting video by Jaime Altozano on this subject: In short, his idea was that you could choose any band name, the name would come to life and make sense with the music. "La Oreja de Van Gogh" is a good example he gives : if you already know the band, it’s its sound that come to your mind, and not the painter and his ear. So in a way, this project could have had another name, the words would have captured the essence of the music later.
Cósmicos speaks of an ethereality of the stars that describes a world of sensibilities that one later hears in the songs. Sure, the name is a manifesto in itself. It also refers to a variety of forms, which appeals to me, in order to explore other musical genres under the same name/ project.
Listening to the three songs in the EP, did you think about modifying something ? Hehe, the truth is that I modified a lot. It is a great thing with today's tools: you can make the changes you want, everything is digital. This EP had other songs that decided to eliminate from the project, because the whole vision became much more clear in 2020, in the making of the album. The only song that is really from 2018 is «Rain». But But in a way the name of Cuerpos I tend to do these changes only for
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the selection of the songs. Otherwise, when I finish a song I'm already thinking about the next one. Making changes infinitely would be like not accepting that there is an end (to everything). I learned to see the end of something as the beginning of something new. Now I see that with each song I learn new tools, and that is the most important to me. I have a mantra that is: «I can’t wait to make new and imperfect songs." I am interested in making mistakes, exploring them and turning them into personal touches. DC: Then you release, already in this 2020, before the pandemic or during I guess, the single "Loneliness is a very special place" and you work with Maïwenn Tacher. Tell us about these two songs. This project was born at the beginning of the year: my friend Lou-Andreas Gonçalves made her first short film, "Rén". She lives in Japan and develops her contemporary artwork. She sent me the script and asked me if I was interested in making the music. I really liked her project: it’s about the relationship between two sisters who are looking for their missing dog. While searching for it, they encounter ghostly presences in the forest, at night. It has some tension and unreality like in David Lynch's work. It was important to have ethereal women's voices. I enjoy collaboration, so I invited Maïwenn Tacher, singer and friend: she took singing + meditation classes and has a very personal way of singing. Maiwenn is also present in my other music projects for short films.
techniques, I sent an email to film students to propose them to be an operator, sound mixer or composer. I have done 5 projects so far, and the only one I have published in my networks is ‘Rén’. I did not think about publishing the other ones because they’re too different from CC such as not to be published, but this is one of my current questions: do we have to publish with the same name or compartmentalize projects? What do you think ? Obviously, edit under another name, another bandcamp, hahaha. An artist can have several views on music and not everything should be under the same sky (or ceiling) Sure, I have like 5 or 6 different bandcamp names. This is my question right now, because I'm crafting solar electro-pop now, so I'm thinking about it… At the same time, with the name Cuerpos Cósmicos, we can imagine that there is room for everything: cold and warm planets, small or larger ones…
In May, you released your first album called "Rain". An album full of suggestive and deep sounds where you open a palette of colors as bright as dark ... How was the recording process? I wrote and recorded all the songs at home (except Rain and White Days), during the quarantine. I had my notebooks, my computer and my microphone. My friend was very present on WhatsApp and we talked about what I wanted to transmit with the album. I realized the energetic power of sound. Well, I already sensed Tell us about those music projects it but I decided to connect on a deeper for short films. Where can we listen level with it: I ended up leaving my old notebooks aside, deciding to create to them ? When I did my training in sound new energies. Everything was very
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fast, I wrote some of them in 3 days, and then I took some time to make a decent mix, record newvoices, etc. I want to recognize something important here, it is that it was a privilege to be able to do this during quarantine. The album, and all the albums that exist, are also for a good part of them the result of a series of privileges: having time to train, to write, to have a computer and tools… The songs are arranged in an almost magical order, I imagine you like all the post-production work. Because the result is brilliant. Wow, thanks !! Yes, there is an order, it goes with the CD album booklet. It’s the point of view of the drawn character, a little girl. It's funny that you talk about the magical order, because this work follows a narrative line inspired by the Rider-Waite tarot, and especially the meaning of numbers in the minor arcana.
So "Rain" is the soundtrack to a story? Yes, it is an initiation story. I would like to learn to animate, so I would make an album-movie, following the girl in the successive scenes, traveling through diverse universes and planets, flying over snow deserts… Perhaps one day I’ll dedicate my time to this. My inspiration would be Tove Jansson's Moomins. DC: So now, thinking of "Rain" as a conceptual work: how did you fit the songs into the story or were they based on the story? It was all a job with and from the subconscious. I knew everything was going to fit together, and that's what happened. For some songs it was evident, like White Days or Universe, and for others like Rain and Emily, it was not very clear, because they are two similar "happy" and genuine stage
songs. So, to make a choice, I referred to the meaning of the tarot cards: each number symbolizes something, for example the fifth refers to a stage of conflict. I knew ‘Strength’ was the fifth song. Strange Magic was the fourth: stability; Plus, I saw a 4 when I was making it. And when you finished the album and listened to it. What was your reaction ? I’d say relief! And how are you with the media issue? The selling of the album to the media. I was lucky that a French DIY record label, Choléra Cosmique, proposed to make the CDs: I sent them everything and they carried out the physical project. We already sold half in a month, and it's a limited edition of 50. Some of them already are in Germany, the US, Brazil, China and France. It can still be found in Bandcamp, either on Choléra Cosmique page or mine. Concerning the media, they simply discover it online: I am always enchanted when reading a review about it or blog post. I never send my project to anyone, be media or people, so the discovery feels better on both sides. I don’t like to actively push my project to the people, I don’t really know why.
journey. When I published the EP in 2018, I didn’t think there would be listeners, it was to see how bandcamp looked like, discover the site and make tests with some demos. In the end, there was quite a lot of listening, but that never made me hesitate to do what I wanted to do and publish it again with all the songs and an album format. This is the good thing about being independent: I do whatever I want and don't follow the rules, because I don't even know them! The songs took various forms: White Days evolved (in fact, I have about 15 proto-versions of White Days, up to some from 2014). I did Rain's mix again for the album, and mostly learned some basic mastering principles during these 6 weeks. I see this first album as the starting point for my exploration in the world of sound. I know it’s far from perfect, but I needed to start somewhere, and this is it. I imagine that in those two years of work, not only did the songs change but also yourself, internally. Yes, everything changed! I moved from Paris to a smaller city, the band, which was a duo, evolved into a solo project, and at one point there were almost no Cuerpos Cósmicos due to daily life needs (work, studies). I had to put in extra energy for the project to be reborn. The obsession to continue writing an initiatory sonic tale allowed me not to abandon, and to release this first album to the world. I also have to say that Choléra Cosmique (the label) catalyzed its birth, giving me a due date and expecting something from me. Surely without them, nothing would have gone public!
The songs that are on the 2018 EP are repeated on "Rain", have you remixed them or modified them again? Even the cover is the same, which caught my attention, was it on purpose? From the beginning the project was to make an album that develops a whole story, with stages and an evolution. I It is an initiation to the art of already knew that this cover contained Cuerpos Cósmicos, a portal to your what I wanted to develop in the first own world, because for what you
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tell is a journey in which you are the protagonist, although we are talking about a drawn girl. Pretty autobiographical, right? Because for you it was an initiation too. Yes, clearly. At some level it is autobiographical, but it has its share of dreams and adventures that I discover as I write. It is something to make me travel in the first place. It wouldn't be interesting if I didn't discover news, if I didn't surprise myself.
screens became essential. Here France, everything is returning «normal», I go out everyday to go work, and the period of isolation home seems far away.
in to to at
Are you working now on something new or is this pandemic blocking you, such as it also happens to many people? For now, I'm following Violeta Castillo's song clinic! There are two weekly zoom meetings, with writing exercises. I wrote my first songs in Spanish and French. Something will surely come out this summer. The pandemic has had me extremely distressed by the estrangement it creates between humans, and how technology and
And to close and thank you for this late night that you are doing for this interview, I’ld like you to tell us where we can find all the music of Cuerpos Cósmicos? All of CC's music can be found on the bandcamp: www.cuerposcosmicos.bandcamp. com and also on youtube, soundcloud, Spotify, etc... Thanks to you Diego for the interview !
Beyond these clinics and new songs, what immediate plans do you have for Cuerpos Cósmicos? Now, I don't have, I simply relax. It’s nice sometimes to stop thinking in terms of productivity.
THE SONGS
The 9 songs on the album I was inspired by the Rider-Waite Tarot for the narrative plot: The tarot interests me above all as a support for the psyche projection, and because it presents a set of universal archetypes. I referred to the Minor Arcana, which deals with the experience of the world by a subject. My subject is a girl, drawn in the album script, that crosses universes.
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1. White Days Start, or re-start. A potentiality that depends on us to let flourish.
2. Rain Encounter,friendship;When you perceive something.
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3. Emily Joy, desire something.
and
creativity;
celebrating
4. Strange Magic Stability, solidity, balance and calm.
5. Strength Conflict, crisis: the arrival of an external element that breaks the stability of the 4.
6. Warm Embrace Overcoming the conflict. Between memories of the past and dreams of the future.
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7. Silver Snow Go to the bottom: contemplative work isn’t enough, You have to know how to defend yourself against attacks; Otherwise, the job will be incomplete .
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8. Paris Free expression: there is no longer any obstacle to stop us. Exploring our inner world without fear of straying.
9. Universe Achievement: 9 is the last number in a digit. The series has ended. Overcoming internal contradictions.
www.decayfm.com
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[ Interview with Michael Ciravolo from Beauty In Chaos by BenjamÃn York. Photograpss: Anabel DFlux, Tish Ciravolo. ]
MICHAEL CIRAVOLO REVEALS THE ORDER BEHIND BEAUTY IN CHAOS
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In Issue 50 (December 2018) of our magazine, we conducted an interview with Michael Ciravolo, in which we spoke about the first Beauty In Chaos album "Finding Beauty in Chaos". Now with the release of his new record “The Storm Before The Calm”, we reconnect with the mastermind behind this collosal project. Link to the previous interview:
https://issuu.com/revistathe13th/docs/the13th_n_50/32
Hello Michael! Thank you for agreeing to speak with us today. We’d like to talk with you again about the latest Beauty In Chaos release and collaborations. To start with, please tell us how this current lockdown has affected you, if at all. Always love talking with you guys! Not being a ‘traditional’ live band, the covid shutdown did not derail us like it did many bands. We had the album finished prior. We had actually planned to release the album in February, put in the ‘11th’ hour’ we had some rather unexpected Protools and studio issues before we finished that last few mixes. This delay pushed us up against Michael Rozon’s schedule to work with Al Jourgensen on the next Ministry album. I had to make the decision to push the release back ‘til May. Releasing a record with many out of work due to shutdowns was probably not a great business decision, but all involved thought it was far more important to get new music out to our BIC Family that are stuck indoors. I don’t regret the decision. I had hoped to have a new video out to coincide with the release, but it was impossible to get the locations we wanted. With that behind us, we have shot footage for
‘Stranger’ which features Holy Wars’ Kat Leon, We will have this cinematic clip out in July. While there are many artists who are recording and releasing music under quarantine circumstances, others have chosen to postpone activity. What was it like to release this new music under current limited conditions? Since we don’t depend on live shows to promote the release, it was not really a second thought for us. If that wasn’t the case, I might have thought more along those lines. I do understand why an artist would hold off on releasing. For BIC, it was important to us all to get the new record out for our BIC Family during these unprecedented timed. Between your first album and this new one, you also released "Beauty Re-Envisioned" (2019). Tell us a little about that release and collaborators. ‘Beauty Re-Envisoned’ was a wonderful accident! What I mean by that is that Tim Palmer, who is one of my all-time favorite producers had agreed to mix two songs that were going to be on ‘finding beauty in chaos’, bit in my excitement to have Tim onboard
I didn’t tell him my self-imposed ‘no keyboard’ rule, which Tim unknowingly broke! Instead of telling Tim ‘great mix but can you mute the synths’, the idea of a remix record was born. Honestly, after the amount of blood, sweat and tears poured into ‘FBIC’, the idea of handing over the keys to others was quite appealing. I really do love hearing where the talented crop of artists,
including John Fryer, Kevin Hasking, Statik and Kitty Lectro took the songs. ‘The Long Goodbye’ (Au Revoir) and ‘20th Century Boy’ with Marc Bolan’s son Rolan are amongst my favorite things BIC has done. BIC's music is quite elaborate and Michael Rozon’s production is important, who has been working
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with you on this project from the beginning. Above all, it is important that the producer really knows what you want to capture in each song. I have read that you want your albums to not sound like a compilation and I think it is at this point where the producer is important. I also understand that Rozon plays a role in composition. What is it like to work with Michel Rozon as a producer? Besides being one of my friends, BIC would not have or continue to be
possible without him. It was his belief of say ‘you should do your own record’ that launched this thing. He is not only an amazing producer, but also a crazy talented musician. He pushes me to be better and to not settle. We both are acutely aware that an album with multiple singers can fall into sounding like a ‘compilation’, but I think we have done pretty well to date to avoid those trappings. Most importantly is that we have a lot red wine fueled fun doing what we do!
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I recall Ashton Nyte and Wayne Hussey from the previous two albums. They both return this time to participate in the new album. Although they are part of the BIC family, have you thought of doing any work with them separately or with any of the artists participating on your albums outside of BIC? Besides being a big part of all of our BIC records, I am blessed to call them both friends. I would happily be part of anything they asked of me. Besides being great singers and lyrists, they are both really really good guitarists. I have been asked by Wayne to be part of a ‘Band Aid’ style project called ReMission International. We are recording a new version of The Mission classic ‘Tower of Strength’ with all monies going to Covid-related
charities. The list of artists involved is amazing; including Gary Numan, Martin Gore, Midge Ure, Michael and Jay Aston, Billy Duffy, Budgie, Kevin Haskins, Rachel Goswell, Julianne Regan, Andy Rourke, Evi Vine and more. I am truly blessed to be part of this. The song will be mixed by Tim Palmer and should be out in early July. Particularly I feel that choosing a favorite song from the new album is a difficult task, but "The Delicate Balance of All Things" is my favorite, narrowly beating "The Outside" and "Temple of Desire". If you had to choose a single song that is representative of "The Storm Before The Calm". Which one would you choose? I set out for this record to be a bit darker
and more linear than ‘FBIC’, starting out as a 4-song EP. With that concept in mind, "The Delicate Balance” or “The Outside” are certainly a great representative of the vibe I wanted. As far as my favorite, it has run the gamut and now rests on ‘Stranger’, which should prove to be the perfect segue to our next studio album. This pandemic has seen two outcomes – on the one hand, frustrated or delayed plans and, on the other, time to think about next steps. Which of these is the case for BIC? I’ve tried to really find the silver-lining during all of this. I love having our daughters home, as face-to-face time beats facetime, anytime! They both helped out during our recent ‘Stranger’ video shoot, which will premiere in July. As far as BIC, I always like to have a solid idea as to where I want to see us go next. I know it probably sounds crazy talking about the NEXT record when ‘the storm before the calm’ has only been out a month, but that seems to be how I work best. I really enjoyed the entire process of taking a back seat on ‘beauty re-envisioned’... so, I figured, why not go down that path again! With the pandemic, lots of my producer friends were sitting home idly and jumped at the chance to do something; meaning BIC remixes!
placed on the first record, it was strictly a war I was fighting within myself. Really wanted to see if I could do it. I do think limitations can be a creative catapult. For the new record, there are some synths, but not as much as I thought we would use, as I still really enjoy layering from the electric guitar. If I have a ‘knack’, I guess it is that. To me BIC is an entity that I want to not only revolve but to evolve. As to your comment, I think of Beauty In Chaos as more of a straight line … maybe looking back a bit but always moving forward. To finish, thank you for your time. Do you already have new songs or plans for upcoming releases, in regard to new sounds or videos? I really appreciate you taking this time and I take none of this for granted. As for the ‘what’s next’? After the ‘Stranger’ video, we will be focusing on wrapping the next remix album, currently dubbed ‘Out Of Chaos Comes …’. Barring anything unforeseen, we will release this album on Halloween 2020! In between all of this, I plan on starting new songs, in fact that has already begun. As of now, I’d love to see a new BIC record, or at least a string of ‘singles’ out in early 2021. Really looking into a crystal ball I see picking it up from ‘Stranger’… a record with all female singers. In fact, I’m working on a new song with Cyn M. of Silence In The Snow. Both my wife, Tish and Evi Vine, who have great songs on ‘FBIC’ will certainly be back. And who knows … I’d love to perform BIC live. It’s just a question of who, when, where … and how.
Listening to the new album, it seems it includes keyboards, which were not permitted on the first album. I think it is an album that closes a circle, as if the base of BIC’s music has been finished, and now you have the foundations to build the Thank you Michael and Shameless Promotion PR for bringing us such building. Am I wrong? As for my own imposed ‘limitations’ I brilliant artists!
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[ By Fernando Rivera RodrÃguez ]
INDIE SOUNDSCAPES TODAY: PURITY RING HOSTILE TRIBES
The Delightful Future Of Indie-Pop "PURITY RING – STARDEW”
As we all know, the Music of the 2000s it´s more often defined as a variety of styles where we can find many different bands that incorporate big influences from well-known and iconic bands of past decades, but with their own identity. Within this we also find the classic Revivals of artists showing their love for Post-Punk, Dream-Pop, Shoegaze, Synth-Pop, Dark-Wave, Goth-Rock, Ambient and Experimental Music, etc. but always being original and bringing something fresh and new. Due to this there has also been a feedback phenomenon between present and past bands because the new artists, based on Music born in the 60s until the 90s, have allowed legendary groups may become known again. But, not only that, the Indie bands of yesterday are back in force and they have met again launching new albums with great success like MY BLOODY VALENTINE, SLOWDIVE, THE JESUS & MARY CHAIN, DEAD CAN DANCE, RIDE, LUSH, PIXIES, THE BREEDERS, BELLY, THE OCEAN BLUE, etc. On the other side of the same coin, some bands have also emerged with a distinctive style of this past two decades. They offer a totally brand new sound with few influences to show the next step in Music taking advantage of the new technologies at its maximum level. This is a sign of our times where artists are doing Avant-Garde Music nowadays...that´s exciting!!! One of these great bands is PURITY RING with awesome ideas in mind and every album and song they have released it´s a brilliant trip to discover creating a world on their own. It´s one of my favorite acts because they always propose very well-crafted and amazing tunes using innovating, detailed distorted and attractive sound effects that give sense and consistency to the Music. PURITY RING is a duo coming from Alberta, Canada conformed by the charming vocalist MEGAN JAMES and the multi-instrumentalist and producer CORIN RODDICK. Their first release was the single "Ungirthed" (2011) with favorable reviews caughting the attention of the acclaimed 4AD RECORDS label signing them. As the band´s name suggest, the Music is very pure, authentic and spontaneous without taking too much contact with familiar bands or "the
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outside world". To be more precise they create songs with particular and unique feelings and their style can be described as Avant-Garde Electronica, Future-Pop or Indietronica with touches of Dream-Pop, Synth-Pop, Dark-Wave, Trip-Hop, EDM (Electronic Dance Music), etc. With "WOMB" (2020 - 4AD RECORDS), their latest album released some months ago only, I can define their discography as an impressive trilogy. The debut album is the fantastic "Shrines" (2012 - 4AD RECORDS) which took by storm critics and fans because of the innovation and their provocative new style. This album is very Experimental, Dark and radical with an Indie-Pop vibe. I had a strong connection with the incredible third single "Fineshrine" and it was the song that let me know Purity Ring to start to appreciate their Music. Another great tunes from "Shrines" are "Crawlersout", "Amenamy, "Obedear", "Belispeak", "Lofticries", etc. But the whole album is a Musical journey. "Another Eternity" (2015 - 4AD RECORDS) is the second outstanding release of PURITY RING where we can feel the evolution of the band with a new point of view including beautiful songs like "Heartsigh","Push Pull, "Sea Castle" and "Stillness In Woe". This time they took a turn
to enter a more Pop and accessible terrain without leaving aside its essence and its roots...the best songs here are "Bodyache" and "Begin Again". Finally, after five years, appeared the third album titled "WOMB" (2020 - 4AD RECORDS) with great expectations. We can explore another surreal and charming universe of soundscapes and melodies with more surprises and, like all their records, require many listens to begin to love them. The evolution continues resuming the melodies of "Another Eternity" to create wonderful Indie-Pop songs mixed with the experimentation of "Shrines" but giving a new twist again in a more ethereal way. Highlights are the stunning "Stardew", "I Like The Devil", "Pink Lightning", "Vehemence", "Femia", "Silkspun", etc. The song that seduced me, after a few listens, is the majestic "Stardew", the best song and the first single from "WOMB" (2020 4AD RECORDS), their new album. PURITY RING has made a true contemporary masterpiece that shows their non-stop vision to create worlds of fantasy and dreams. Without no doubt, is one of the better songs in their impeccable career to keep it in mind as one of the most important songs of this decade that is just beginning. The intro of "Stardew" is very hypnotic, Dreamy and Ambient at the same time by the inclusion of xylophone sounds that create a relaxing and mystical aura like a lullaby. Then the song changes into a powerful and cheerful atmosphere with the exceptional and "childish" voice of MEGAN JAMES fused with an impressive touch of Dark-Wave. At the middle of the song we find again the lullaby atmosphere and finish as
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it began...absolutely spectacular!!! Mention apart is the amazing video made especially for the single "Stardew", very rare and beautiful and one of the best and most surreal videos I have seen in my entire life. It´s the most modern technology in 3D computer graphics and also stop-motion animation using dolls and puppets...simply exceptional!!! Let yourselves be taken by the stunning melodies and sounds of this gem entitled "Stardew" composed by PURITY RING and have a great time watching this haunting and triumphant video. Best wishes to all my friends and all the people who love the remarkable world of Indie Music...thanks so much and STAY SAFE!!!...
Remarkable Melodies Synth-Pop and Dream-Pop from Manchester, UK HOSTILE TRIBES: "Passive Acceptance"
There are bands or artists that has a lot of creativity, imagination and fresh ideas to capture those brilliant moments composing and thinking about the process of making Music all the time. They never stand still and wanna turn their efforts materializing them into accords, riffs, piano notes and everything that can cause a motivation or an impression for themselves first and then to an audience. Then, at first glance, they start to find the best elements to create demos or previews that will be transformated into a song satisfying their needs. Finally those finished and polished themes can be part of the release of an EP or LP...this development is really surprising! Generally, within this process, many artists have a single project which grows album after album offering a new vision and in turn they create their own style with a particular name that can identify them. On the other hand, there are Musicians who start their careers in an unusual way, creating different projects and changing their names according to circumstances and styles, but always maintaining their essence and constantly evolving. In this uncommon and outstanding progress we find the lovely music of PAUL BAIRD and his extraordinary brand new solo-project entitled HOSTILE TRIBES. He called my attention for being an skillful Musician and his talent to compose very elaborated melodies that I will talk later. I was pleasantly surprised that he comes from the iconic city of Manchester, UK. One of my favorite and most important places on the Independent Music Scene worldwide. Let's remember that great bands like JOY DIVISION / NEW ORDER and THE SMITHS born there as THE STONE ROSES, THE FALL, THE CHARLATANS, JAMES, HAPPY MONDAYS, AUTECHRE, OASIS, etc. The legendary FACTORY RECORDS label was part of it too...amazing! PAUL BAIRDS´s biography is very interesting with a prolific discography. He started very young, at the age of sixteen, playing in the Post-Punk band BREATHER as the guitarist. Then he conformed the Dream-Pop band GLASS (2004 - SOVIET UNION RECORDS) with an EP of five songs. After that he reissued GLASS on CD titling it as "Teenage Galaxies"
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(2010) with three more songs. His great adventure started when he replaced the name of the band for I SEE ANGELS because he needed a more easily searchable name instead of GLASS that was very generic. The incredible eponymous debut of I SEE ANGELS saw the light in 2011 with favorable reviews and it was the same "Teenage Galaxies" EP from GLASS repackaged with three additional songs to make it a full length album. Their members were Paul Baird in vocals, guitars and keyboards, MARTIN CONWAN on bass and CHRIS NORWOOD on drums. The second album was "Your Memories Are You" (2013) followed by the "Artificial Sunshine EP" (2014). The third big step was the album "The Rest Is Frills" (2015) and the "Nausea EP" (2016). From here
the I SEE ANGELS chapter ends with the reissue of the "Dinosaur EP" (2016) originally recorded in 2005 with Post-Punk, 90s Alternative Music and Indie-Rock influences. It´s very important to say that the legendary SIMON RAYMONDE, bassist and keyboard player of COCTEAU TWINS and owner of the great BELLA UNION label love the work of PAUL BAIRD. I will mention a quote he said: "I SEE ANGELS is one of my favourite bands from the Manchester area - featuring the wonderful vocals of PAUL BAIRD". Among Paul's great projects we continue with JUST EVERYWHERE. In this new phase he created a solo project having all the tools at his disposal in complete freedom. Above all, it´s a minimalist and experimental work full of improvisations and pontaneous melodies without putting limits to his creation. This is a period of transition demonstrating himself how far he can go in his creative odyssey realising the EP "You Will Live On A Beach And Smoke Pot" (2016) and the LP "Silk Of Stars" (2017) showing a Chamber-Pop, Experimental, Ambient and Avant-Garde style. Finally all of this exercises act as a connecting bridge with his brand new soloproject entitled HOSTILE TRIBES. Now PAUL BAIRD has reinvented himself again with his last and fantastic DIY (Do It Yourself) project called Hostile Tribes. He mantains his essence but at the same time is a totally different thing because he offers a Synth-Pop and Electronic proposal with very well-crafted tunes. This new twist is really impressive and consistent as never before. "Ecstasy & Sweet Communion" (2020 - @MIMIC THIS RECORDS) is the great debut album by HOSTILE TRIBES including nine songs with a marked contrast between each other reflecting diverse styles and influences. Every theme is a world on its own going from Electronica, Synth-Pop, Psychedelia, Art-Rock and Avant-Garde to Shoegaze, Dream-Pop and Ambient Music. The intro song of this passionated album is "Passive Acceptance" and my best choice to be part of this article. I will talk about it below. The next theme is the catchy "Une Brave Femme" and the first single. We can feel a mix of Synth Pop notes from the past and today with a New-Wave touch...really haunting! "Locals" is another addictive tune but this time the Electro vibe is focussed on the drums secuences and it´s very tribal. Paul´s voice is distorsionated and powerful. Things change radically with the
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Psychedelic ballad "Perfect Girl" reminding me THE BEATLES and DAVID BOWIE...stunning! "With The Snow" is almost instrumental with a Dark-Wave style surrounded by a lovely and a spooky voice. We continue with "Blood Runs Cold", the most powerful song of the album with many IndieRock, Psychedelia and an Industrial vibe...another amazing number! Turn is now for the brilliant "Everything´s Crowded" with a deep atmosphere and cinematic soundscapes. In the same way we find the Ambient song "Marilyn's Pill Bottles" with keyboards influenced by the KRAUTROCK style and reminiscences of KRAFTWERK. The last cut of the album is the majestic "Bright Flashes In The Dark Sky", a Neo-Progressive song with a Shoegaze and Psychedelic air that starts with a church organ and then it explodes with incessant drums, guitar riffs and detailed textures and sound effects. When I listened "Passive Acceptance" I was surprised in a gorgeous way because of its originality and the beautiful use of the synths giving a fresh Electronica direction. So it moved me and I decided to write about HOSTILE TRIBES and PAUL BAIRD, the man behind this lovely project and this triumphant song. Another factor that excited me to select this song was the unique and excellent treatment of the voice with many depht and reverb. The theme starts with tender sounds in Lo-Fi mode and then appear the magic of nonstop and repetitive drums along it mixed with elegant voices and many electronic soundscapes. Then we found a "stop" effect created towards two thirds of the tune that works very-well creating a expectancy sensation. It continues with more Electronica and after repeated listening we will be immersed in a sweet and charming trip of groovy rhythms and melodies. This song reminds me influences from M83, NEW ORDER, OMD, THE CHARLATANS, TV ON THE RADIO, ULRICH SCHNAUSS, MASSIVE ATTACK, ORBITAL, etc. and is a great contender to be the best song of the year!...really wonderful!!!. For sure you will have an enjoyable time listening the awesome Music from HOSTILE TRIBES and specially the great single "Passive Acceptance". There will be a special place in your hearts and souls for this beautiful theme. Thanks so much to all my friends and stay safe!!!
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http://madwaspradio.com/
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Loose Canon http://www.6towns.co.uk/
Simon's Big New Thursday Thing https://dimitriberzerk.bandcamp.com/releases
The13th
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