RUST-Magazine-Issue-2v1

Retrospective Issue #2
We only cover the best.
ANGELA
PERLEY
AND THE HOWLIN’ MOONS
Michael Beach - Golden Theft
PLUS: Best of 2012 • Hidden Legacy • Peter Lindahl • The Wailers
Star and Micey • Red Temple Spirits • Hey Ice Machine • Makar • Telegraph • Serpent Throne •
Acid Mothers Temple • Southern District • Dot Dash • SIRSY • Bobby Mountain • Donna Hopkins
• Hawk and Dove • Markey Blue • George Gruhn • Notekillers • Von Shakes • Barrett Elmore
+more at rust-magazine.com
crafted in the USA
Acid Mothers Temple • La Novia LP • Prophase Music
artist endorsee
Chris ”topher” Derry
RUST Magazine Back For Round 2!
For this second retrospective issue of RUST Magazine, I’ve chosen Angela Perley and the Howlin’ Moons as our cover band
because - for me - they embody everything that’s great about rock and roll right now. This is a young band with a lot of enthusiasm
and they’re just out doing it. That’s it in a nutshell, and that’s it in a greater philosophical sense. They’re taking chances and hitting
the road, and they’re also putting miles on the information superhighway with a lot of effort posting and promoting online. That’s
really the key today, and it’s one of the things that AP and the Moons have been doing that are keeping them relevant.
artist endorsee
Kalani Das
When we met up for their photo shoot, the band members were enthusiastic and they had creative suggestions and ideas of their
own that really made the final photos special. And RUST Magazine always shares everything we shoot with the bands directly, at
no charge. We’re here to support the music community as a whole and individually and sharing the pictures and videos and audio
recordings we capture has been a cornerstone of what we have done since day one.
The results have been amazing. Though our name might not be on the images, our photos have been used again and again for
album covers, concert posters and social media and the footage has been used for band documentaries and special promotions.
Probably over 90% of the RUST materials out there are not on the RUST sites. For bands like Moon Hooch we’ve shot special
announcements. For bands like The Jigsaw Seen we’ve helped compile music videos. For Angela, we downloaded the photos to
her laptop on the spot and she’s been using the images everywhere.
These are real world things that RUST can do to help bands, and it’s mutually beneficial. As I am writing this, and halfway through
compiling these issues, it’s been just one year since we got a “real” camera and started doing still photography for bands. It’s
been the most amazing year of my life, and I have been uniquely gifted with cooperation from some of the most talented artists
of our time. It’s motivating and rewarding and the future looks brighter every day.
So keep reading, check out our pages and channels and stay tuned!
kopfpercussion.com
All material ©2014 RUST Magazine
www.rust-magazine.com
Eric Petersen
[email protected]
Southern District
January 11, 2014: Lo Key and J from Southern District
strike a pose for us in the Krog street tunnel in Atlanta.
facebook.com/SouthernDistrictDynasty
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Heidi Happy - On The Hills
March 19, 2013: Switzerland’s Heidi Happy is a renowned, awarded singer and
multi instrumentalist who has played live and gotten radio airplay internationally. A
continuously growing fan base has been drawn to her catchy, yet un-conventional
pop music and her infectious stage presence. Originally planned as a ‘record in a
week’ with her piano player Ephrem Lüchinger, the band and a string trio ended up
joining in, and throughout the record, you can really feel the joy with which everyone
involved was recording. “On The Hills” presents Heidi Happy at the peak of her
career as an artist. Think Mazzy Star meets Bettie Serveert with a little Flaming Lips
thrown in and you start to get the idea.
The Beach Boys SMiLE Sessions
October 31, 2011: Not only is the remastered box set of the SMiLE Sessions a release
of almost unparalleled historical significance, but it provides a new window into a
defining moment in the development of one of America’s most treasured bands.
Meticulous remastering brings the listener to a new level of intimacy with The Beach
Boys. A must-have for any audiophile or Beach Boys fan.
Rolling Stone has called SMiLE “the most famous unfinished album in rock & roll
history” and after 40-plus years it is being released now as a series of box sets.
Original Beach Boys Al Jardine, Mike Love, and Brian Wilson have - for the first time
- collected and compiled the band’s 1966-67 sessions, now presented in fantastic
audio fidelity. It’s not just a re-released album, it is a collection of materials providing
a totally unique and endlessly fascinating window into the creative process and song
writing genius of The Beach Boys.
The story behind SMiLE has been the subject of speculation, rumor and mystery for over four decades. In numerous sessions between the
spring of 1966 and the summer of 1967, The Beach Boys recorded a bounty of songs and drafts for an album, SMiLE, that was intended
to follow the band’s 1966 masterpiece, Pet Sounds. Through a combination of licensing issues the master tapes were ultimately shelved,
and The Beach Boys’ SMiLE has never been released... until now.
Drawn from the original masters, and produced by Brian Wilson, Mark Linett, Alan Boyd and Dennis Wolfe, the SMiLE Sessions presents
an in-depth overview of The Beach Boys’ recording sessions for this enigmatic album. The first disc contain the original 19 tracks intended
for the album, including ‘Good Vibrations’ as well as eight bonus tracks and the second disc has thirteen demos, out-takes and alternate
versions.
Heidi Happy’s “On The Hills” is one of those magical albums that stops time and
takes you to another dreamy place. You can’t help falling under it’s spell and being
taken farther and farther down the rabbit hole. “On The Hills” combines playful
songs, catchy melodies, unconventional instrumentations, elaborate arrangements
and a warm, direct sound into a soothing, hypnotic journey. Country-folk meets
electro pop here, made more complex with humorous organs and Heidi’s trade-mark vocals.
On a personal note, in addition to writing reviews for RUST I perform as a dj exclusively at art galleries, and this album is really notable in
being a good fit for that kind of environment. Spring is almost here and I will certainly be playing several tracks from this album at upcoming
performances, and I’m really looking forward to introducing arty people to this fresh and fun musician.
“On The Hills” succeeds in being comfortable and familiar at the same time it is unique and original. Both contemporary and classic, each
song takes you into a special landscape. It’s a journey. It’s a dream. If you’re ready to take some time and allow music to transport you to
somewhere chill and far away, “On The Hills” is the album to do it. Very Highly Recommended.
heidihappy.ch
The 2 CD lift-top box set includes a collectable poster, a 32 page booklet and a SMiLE pin, there’s also
an available double vinyl LP, and a digital album available in iTunes LP formats. An expanded, boxed
edition of The SMiLE Sessions will also be released physically and digitally, featuring the main SMiLE
album tracks, plus four CDs of additional audio from the legendary sessions, a double vinyl LP set,
and two 7” vinyl singles. This deluxe box will also contain a 60-page hardbound book with rare and
previously unseen photos and memorabilia from The Beach Boys’ archive and newly-written essays by
Beach Boys Al Jardine, Mike Love, Brian Wilson, and Bruce Johnston, as well as by Beach Boys historian
and author Domenic Priore and many other inner-circle participants.
Star and Micey
For the most dedicated Beach Boys fans SMiLE is being offered in limited edition ultra-deluxe sets that
include pairings with a SMiLE t-shirt, an autographed lithograph, an autographed box set with a lightup SMiLE Shop window on the lid and the ultimate... everything paired with a custom-made SMiLE
surfboard by Hobie.
starandmicey.com
November 7, 2012: RUST Magazine talks to the guys
from Star & Micey while playing Eddie’s Attic on tour to
support their new release I Can’t Wait. Watch the video
on our YouTube channel.
The Beach Boys will celebrate the band’s 50th Anniversary in 2012 and few
things could be as exciting to their fans than to have SMiLE finally available
in such a carefully prepared package. No corners were cut and no expense
was spared in the effort to revitalize and release this treasure.
SMiLE sounds amazing and it’s a thoroughly unique experience to have
access to all the separate song elements... it’s like you are actually IN the
recording booth with The Beach Boys. Not only does SMiLE expose their
youthful enthusiasm, innocence and passion but you also get a deep
insight into their technical methods and recording techniques. Better late
than never, this project will captivates people’s ears, hearts and minds for
generations to come.
Tedo Stone
June 21, 2013: Tedo Stone meets up with RUST
Magazine at the White Tiger restaurant in Athens,
Georgia. Watch the video on our YouTube channel.
tedostone.com
thebeachboys.com
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SIRSY - Coming Into Frame
March 5, 2013: Recently, RUST Magazine met up with Rich and Melanie from
SIRSY as they toured their way through the southeast supporting their new
album “Coming Into Frame” and we were able to talk to them and get a video
interview that you can see on our YouTube page. SIRSY is a pop-rock duo that
kicks out the jams with a lot of energy and a really well developed overall band
vibe. This album is actually their 5th release and they took a new production
approach with this album by bringing in Grammy-winning producers Paul
Kolderie and Sean Slade. The result is a really phenomenal get-up-off-yourseat rocking album that’s fun, energetic and just plain cool.
“It’s hard when you describe yourself as a pop band to people” says guitarist
Rich Libutti “because pop is such a broad term, and because it’s changed so
much over the years. When we think of pop we think of the Beatles, and that’s
the kind of sound we would describe ourselves as having, but today the term pop is more often attributed to someone like Lady
Gaga, who we definitely don’t sound like. We love Lady Gaga but our sound, and our whole approach is so different, yet it’s hard
to differentiate ourselves when we’re all lumped in together as pop acts.”
SIRSY is basically on a never-ending tour, and has been for years and the result is a band that’s - literally - seasoned. Their sound
and their way of doing things have stabilized and they come hard with music that’s just right for them. “Pop has almost become
a dirty word in music” Rich continues “it’s like people are ashamed to be a pop group, like you’re not being a real artist or you’re
just trying to get famous, but we love the music we make, we love being a pop group.”
“Doing this album we tried some new things by bringing in producers” says Malanie “and there’s this impression that when bands
get the big producer treatment it ruins - maybe I don’t want to say that - uh, changes their sound. But the process didn’t change
our sound, we sound like we always have, it
was just a different process to get to that sound.
And it was an interesting experience to see how
they do things versus us just self-producing out
last 4 albums... I’m really happy with how it all
turned out.”
“Coming Into Frame” was just released and it’s
easy to see why the band is excited when they
talk about the album, it really is a great rock
and roll jam session with original writing and
performances... and great engineering. Though
just a duo, SIRSY put out a complete sound with
depth and complexity, and their unified concept
of what they want to do makes it all work.
March 25, 2013: RUST Magazine talks to SIRSY at Smith’s Olde Bar in Atlanta
Having met them and talked with them,
it’s easy to see how their naturally-positive
personalities and down-to-earth work ethic have kept them strong as a group and facilitate their creative process.
This album will have you standing up tall and proudly declaring that you’re a pop band fan, Very Highly Recommended.
sirsy.com
See all the RUST Magazine videos at
youtube.com/rustzine
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Red Temple Spirits
3-CD Limited Edition Set
June 11, 2013: Red Temple Spirits is a psychedelic post-punk band from
L.A. who released 2 albums in the late 80’s, both of which are remastered
here, along with an extra disc of bonus tracks and demos. It is impossible to
overstate how fantastic this set is. The music is extreme in it’s excellence,
the care and attention that went into the remastering it all is astounding and
the hand-printed limited edition packaging is without peer. All together it
adds up to something much more than a collection of music, it’s a unique,
timeless artistic statement.
This release also marks the beginning of a reissue program of the extensive
back catalog from Independent Project Records. Founded in 1980 by Bruce
Licher, the label is now re-launching and the Red Templa Spirits set is the first of many upcoming new and re-releases on digital and vinyl.
Upcoming re-releases will include Savage Republic, Scenic and For Against.
“Independent Project Records was started as a UCLA fine art class project while I was studying under provocative conceptual artist Chris
Burden, and has been my passion and creative outlet ever since,” said IPR Founder Bruce Licher. “What started out as an avenue to record
my own music and release it in artistic packaging, not only with Savage Republic but also with my later band Scenic, grew into a label that
released new music from other bands I loved. It’s a great feeling to be able to reissue these records years later on compact disc, vinyl and
digital formats as well.”
Here Lies Empty Orchestra
Empty Orchestra (the English translation of the Japanese word “karaoke”) is a band from Flint, Michigan that features
Stephen Wisniewski and his close friends out on the road and in the studio. Bringing a new-Americana sound from the
heart of the rustbelt in Flint, Michigan this band brings the styles of Woody Guthrie and Bruce Springsteen into a new
contemporary form. With emotional resonance, quite moments and hard-rocking jams Wisniewski uses the songs as a way
to document the events and experiences that he feels doomed to forget, but also to ask questions about how memories
and history are made and re-made through the process of songwriting. Similar, but not derivative of Wilco, Empty
Orchestra explores a unique, but familiar sound that makes significant statements on many levels. Definitely worth the
effort to find - highly recommended.
thinkerthought.com
Licher’s innovative packaging is a masterwork. The CD release features an oversized 4 color hand-letter pressed jacket with full color lyric
inserts and gilded letterpress-printed glassine inner sleeve. It’s gorgeous. At a time when physical media is all but disappearing, this project
shows the value of “stuff” when it comes to accompanying, and merging with the music into a thing of it’s own. So much love, attention
and intention went into every part of this project, it really is superb in every way. I have to break from convention here and speak personally.
Before I was a music writer I did (and still do) print production and graphic design. I can tell you from a professional perspective, with well
over 20 years of real world experience that this is hands down, this is the best packaging of any music title that I have ever seen.
The Great Tribulation
The Flood Brought The Fire
May 6 2011: The Great Tribulation’s full length debut, The Flood Brought The
Fire, is more than a great album, it is a crystalline moment of emergence in the
new American Rustbelt Sound. With elements of traditional American country,
folk and rock, the foursome of Jeni Lee Richey, Fred Beldin, Tom McCartan and
Cory Snavely have exposed the heart of today’s American rural soul.
Not only that but the 3-cd set will be limited to 1000 numbered
copies. This is THE most collectable set we have ever seen - it’s that
special.
Out-of-print for years, Red Temple Spirits’ two albums, originally
released in 1988 and 1989, sound like nothing else from the
period, deftly blending gothic post-punk sounds with pagan
tribal psychedelia. Their debut has been described as a haunting
masterpiece of psychedelic post-punk, laden with exotic musicianship
and a deft blending of Native American and Eastern mysticism. While
shimmering guitar textures weave patterns over heavy hypnotic
rhythms, the enchanting lyrical imagery of vocalist William Faircloth
brings a trippy, shamanistic quality to the proceedings. Easily some
of the most mesmerizing and vital post-punk music ever created, Red
Temple Spirits play with an austerity, grace, and pureness to form
that remains fresh over two decades after it was originally recorded.
Disc 1 containes their first album Dancing To Restore An Eclipsed
Moon plus the bonus track bonus track New Land and disc 2 is their second album If Tomorrow I Were Leaving For Lhasa, I Wouldn’t Stay
A Minute More... and disc 3 has 4 more original demo recordings. All together this is an amazing total package featuring fantastic music,
painstakingly revitalized and gorgeously presented. It’s a timeless collection of great, significant music and well earns the RUST rating of
Essential.
facebook.com/redtemplespirits
With a little help from their friends Paul Delamater and Mark Wallace, The Flood
Brought The Fire sounds less like a debut and more like the work of a family that
has been together for generations. What The Great Tribulation delivers in this
stunning album is the emotion, feeling and tradition of the great performers of
our nations heartland and golden age. Its Route 66, not interstate. It’s roadside
diner, not fast food. It’s whiskey, not light beer.
Perhaps more significant is that “Flood” is part of a new regional sound from
the long shadows of Detroit, exemplified by bands like The Blueflowers and Empty Orchestra whose music reflects our society’s search for
identity in a time of decline. As the so-called recession becomes the new normal, the excesses that defined a generation are now gone
and people are searching for their identity without the crutch of brand labels and are rediscovering the ways that America expressed itself
in previous times of struggle.
It’s a return to basics with a stripped-down approach that allows quiet moments to resonate and reflect. The performances across the
board are pitch-perfect with Jeni Lee Richey’s vocals lingering long atop steel guitars, and Cory Snavely deserves real credit for drums
that never press the tempo. It’s a great team effort from people who have a clear idea of the music they want to make and do it lovingly.
Assembled over two years from sessions at Jim Diamond’s Ghetto Recorders, Jim Roll’s Backseat Productions and Tim Pak’s Woodshed
Studios, The Flood Brought The Fire is a work of intention, thought, beauty and sadness. Essential.
greattribulation.bandcamp.com
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Angela Perley & The Howlin’ Moons
Hey Kid
December 27, 2013: The line to give Angela Perley some well-deserved respect
forms to the left and RUST Magazine is camped out like a superfan. Her debut album
Hey Kid and single Hurricane are about to hit the streets, and both here in the US
and in Great Britain there is a grassroots fan base waiting with baited breath. The
reason is simple, this group of artists is the real deal, delivering contemporay rock
and roll that’s spiced with a healthy dose of good old fashioned southern flavor.
27 year-old Angela Perley hails from Ohio and with her co-horts in crime Chris
Connor, Billy Zehnal and Jeff Martin they are bringing the real heartland rock sound
on their debut. It’s a crazy mix of rock, glam, jam and honkey-tonk with a nod to
bands like the Georgia Satellites with shameless good times and guitar-forward songwriting. This is a great new group.
The RUST Magazine Photo Shoot
May 17, 2014: Angela Perley, Chris Connor, Billy Zehnal and Jeff Martin
stopped by our favorite Walking Dead photo shoot location to pose for
us while out touring to support their album Hey Kid.
angelaperley.com
Hurricane is the featured single off the album, and it’s just one of a bunch of great single-worthy songs. Positioned at track number two
Hurricane is immediately followed up by George Stone which is a straight-up barn burner in the classic souther rock style. The whole album
is great and the individual songs let the band members explore different moods, and this band has that intangible “oneness” that can’t be
imitated or manufactured. They are locked-down solid as a single music machine and the performances are all so good it’s almost seems
to have been a bit of a competition between the players. Following up George Stone is Ghost, another great track which features a super
intense jam via Chris Connor that chews up your brain like a giant buzz saw - in a good way - and they hit you with then Howlin’ at the
Moon which sees the band in a more patient and thoughtful space.
From there the band slows it down a little, then turns it back all the way up, keeping the groove throughout. The songwriting is unique and
complex and the performances are natural and energetic. Angela Perley really handles her business on the mic, delivering power and tone
and she dynamically projects herself into each phrase. Track eight - Bad Reputation - could be the track that gets her the most attention
with a serious Runaways vibe and just the right twist of the tongue. Roll On Over follows that up, and it’s a bigger-than-life anthem that
could go all the way, with Billy and Jeff laying it down like a tons of bricks hitting the floor.
Angela Perley and the Howling Moons debut album Hey Kid is a timeless rock and roll album with a signature style and energy to spare.
Working as a combined unit, this fearsome foursome is all about handling their dirty rocking business. There is real substance and talent
at work here and Hey Kid should definitely be on your pre-order list - like right now. Very Highly Recommended.
Trevor Hall
Live in Atlanta on August 1, 2014
trevorhallmusic.com
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The Wailers
October 16, 2014: Much love and thanks to Melvin “Rasmel”
Glover (rhythm guitar), Basil “Bennow” Creary (drums),
Dwayne “Danglin” Anglin (lead vocals), and Aston “Family
Man” Barrett (bass) of The Wailers for taking the time to pose
for us in Athens, Georgia. wailers.com
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Serpent Throne - Brother Lucifer
August 21, 2013: Several years ago, before RUST was even RUST, we got Serpent
Throne’s White Summer - Black Winter CD and it was one of the first (and many) great
albums that the nice people at Prophase Music have sent us to review. So we were
pleased on many levels to see the new Serpent Throne LP Brother Lucifer in our mailbox.
Of course, we wanted to hear it, but we were also happy that this great band had not
only survived to make another album, but that it was available on vinyl.
Hey Ice Machine
August 2, 2012: OK, so as a music writer I try to live by 2 rules. The first is not
referring to myself in a write-up and second is not comparing bands to other
bands. But we’re breaking both of these rules for Hey Ice Machine’s new selftitled debut full length album.
So when I got in touch with Hey Ice Machine, I knew nothing about them. They
had seen the Rick Berlin article and - after a brief email Rick Berlin love fest - I
put their album on and immediately thought that, though they were a little more
rockabilly - they were direct descendants of Jefferson Airplane and Blind Melon
(not the bee song Blind Melon posers know from MTV, but the ‘real’ genius
indie band that was Blind Melon) and they were in a similar stratosphere to
Radiophonic - who RUST reviewed recently.
Blasting out of my speakers with a funky, dirty twang was a thoroughly united
band with a total understanding of what kind of music they wanted to make. Call it alt, indie... doesn’t matter, Hey Ice Machine makes their
own kind of music without consideration for anything but laying down sizzling old school rock and roll tracks without compromise.
Now what I do when I get a new music is to listen to it while I note which songs I want to move over to my ‘best-of’ DJ performance
collection. I have way too many albums to put them into iTunes or anything like that, and I’m festidious about quality so I cherry-pick the
tracks that I want, then move the wav files to my hard drive. For most albums I grab one or two tracks. BTW I only perform at art galleries
or art events. Some of these are tweed jacket and chardonnay events, others are borderline punk rock riots.
So I sat down and started noting which tracks were so good that they HAD to be in my ‘best of’ collection. Track 1 “I’ve Been Told” starts
off with an outlaw simplicity and grows into a rich, vibrant vocal celebration - check. Track 2 “Trees” leads off with a slowed-down classic
alt thing that develops into a string-breaking guitar jam - check. Track 3 “Look On Your Face” is a song with a message. I’m not sure what
the message is but it’s awesome - check. By the time I got to track 4 “Oh Please Don’t” which picks up the pace and continues to define
the HIM sound with original writing and a great mix of vocal and instrumental passages, I started to wonder.... how many tracks were going
to make it to the best of collection?
We had no idea when we put that delicious piece of hardened petroleum on our
turntable that Brother Lucifer was not just going to be a great album, but that it was
going to a legendary, amazing, timeless work of musical intensity and integrity. This
album compares to the best classic hard rock and heavy metal from the best bands in
their prime. And, on occasion, beats them handily.
One subject we keep bumping into at RUST is that bands get labeled and pigeon-holed
into a narrow audience, and that this labeling relegates bands to second-class status.
The issue is that when a band gets called a great pop band or a great metal band, that
the insinuation is that they are great only within a limited space. And the message that
readers of the modern diluted music press get is that you would like this band or that band IF you like this style or that style of music. It’s
like there’s a built-in disclaimer that limits the public’s expectation of a new album or artist.
So what we have tried to do at RUST is to appreciate bands on their individual merits, not on a pre-established sliding scale of comparison
to other bands. This is particularly relevant to Brother Lucifer as, yes, it is a heavy metal album, but it’s so damn good that it almost doesn’t
matter what lineage it has sprung from and it doesn’t matter what kind of music fan a person is to be simply stunned by how excellent it is.
Musicians today struggle to be heard. We talk to them all day long and though there are financial realities and dreams of stardom still do
come true... sometimes, all musicians want in this world is for people to hear them. So when an album comes out like Brother Lucifer, it
defies genre classification and it’s not appropriate or fair to compare them to other bands.
Serpent Throne’s 4th album Brother Lucifer is simply amazing. The musicianship is transcendental, meaning that it is excellent on it’s own
merits, and is not just a good album within a narrow style description. You could say that this one of the all-time greatest-ever heavy metal
albums, and that would be true. But Brother Lucifer is one of the all-time greatest-ever albums period. It’s just plain legendary. Essential.
prophasemusic.com
Track 5 “Make Me Feel Good” is probably my personal favorite, really telling a story - check. Tracks 6 through 10... well by track 5 I was
already a die-hard fan... the question now was whether any of the songs would NOT make the list.
Drumroll please... Every one of Hey Ice Machines
10 songs on their debut album not only “made
it” into my best-of collection but they were ALL
must-haves. This is a first, and I doubt if it will
ever happen again. This perhaps should not be
a surprise as Hey Ice Machine is made up of
musicians from some of Boston’s best bands
of recent past with Tom Novotny from Mittens,
Winston Braman from Fuzzy, Consonant, Come
and Thalia Zedek, Brett Saiia from Frank Smith,
and Jonathan Ulman from Common Thrill and Muy
Cansado.
So now the only question is whether the world will
notice - or care - that there is a new legendary
band on the scene. One of the most painful things
about being a music writer is shouting as loud as you can that people MUST check out this artist or that artist... and nobody listens. Maybe
this will be different. I’m putting the world on notice that Hey Ice Machine are the new legends. The highest rating RUST can give an album
is Essential, and never has this rating been as literally appropriate as here.
heyicemachine.com
Rusted Root - The Movement
Rusted Root is back with “The Movement” their first new album in three years,
and - like seeing and old friend - it feels like they were never away. But that’s
got a lot to do with the fact that “The Movement” is actually their 8th album
and this is band that has toured extensively in their 20+ year existence. Their
blend of world, native and rock music has garnered them fans worldwide,
and though this new album is made of fresh material, it’s got a comfortable
‘greatest hits’ feel to it. This is perhaps intentional as “The Movement” has
been described by the band as a tribute to their fans.
“The title itself is a testament to the community surrounding our music” says
percussionist Liz Berlin. Fan interaction is key to what this band has done - and
is doing now - and this album was made partly with fan-funding contributions.
Even before the album was out, the first single “Monkey Pants” was part of an
online submission where fans could send in their own Monkey Pants dance
and possibly be a part of the official video.
If you’re already a fan of Rusted Root, you’ll find them exploring new sounds and rhythms in “The Movement” and if you’re not a fan *yet*
you’ll discover a band with human positivity, global awareness, and great jams. This is radiant soul-dance music that warms your body and
spirit like soaking weightless in gentle sunshine, Very Highly Recommended.
rustedroot.com
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Discovery - Psychedelic World Music
October 16, 2012: The folks at Trail Records have become well know for bringing
obscure - or at least regional - archival recordings to the contemporary listener, and
they have done a fantastic job with such groups as Sky Cries Mary, In The Labyrinth
and Beyond-O-Matic among others. Their new collection of Psychedelic World Music
“Discovery” is something of a new approach for them as it presents contemporary
artists from around the world, not remastered archives. They recently released a
whole new album from Swedish psych-rockers Barrett Elmore, so “Discovery” is indicative of a new vibe coming from this label, which has become known for excellence in production. Now instead of looking back to find great music they are giving
current artists the deluxe treatment, and it’s an exciting and fresh approach.
“Discovery” is a compilation of new recordings by young and relatively unknown
musicians hailing form different parts of the world. These artists combine their
cultural roots with a more contemporary tradition of “psychedelia” to create a sound
for the infinite journey of self (re)discovery. This release is a dedication to Music as a universal language that brings people together and helps
them share their psychedelic experiences and spiritual transformations and it’s a flat-out winner.
Each of the artists on this release brings something unique, and all of the artists present fully developed material. It’s an album where each
song is strong and leaves you wanting to hear more. It’s really a rare occasion when a collection has such a consistent level of quality and
intensity, and it shows both the progressive research from the label and a dedication to delivering the best music in the best way.
The 9 tracks feature artists from Germany, the UK, China, Italy, Russia, the US, Armenia, Belarus and Belgium and most of the tracks are
previously unreleased. The album is available as a Limited Collector’s Edition with mastering and editing by the talented George Dugan.
Without a doubt, “Discovery” is a great album. With consistently fascinating, insightful and powerful music it works as a whole as well as
an introduction to the individual nine groups. Both timeless and timely, this collection is well worth seeking out, Very Highly Recommended.
trailrecords.us
Tripwave
September 15, 2011: Trip Wave is a retrospective collection of Russian
psychedelic/progressive music from Trail Records who have also recently
released a similar collection “Petrogylphs” from St. Petersburg-based band Ole
Lukkoye. Spanning over 20 years, there are 11 songs from 11 different groups
on the album, giving the western listener a window into parallel, concurrent and
divergent musical development from across the globe.
Trail Records is best known for their remastering and re-releasing of psychedelic
music, and their offerings also include full length releases from Beyond-O-Matic,
Kiuila, Vespero - also from Russia, Siddhartha from Turkey and several albums
from Seattle’s Sky Cries Mary, and an album like this could not be in better
hands. Mastered by George Dugan with research and acquisition from Alexander
Tsalikhin and Vlad Milyavsky it presents a unique and fascinating collection that sounds exotic and fresh.
Russian psychedelic music has an extensive history and Trip Wave attempts to present some of the more notable and relevant players.
Though not well known to the Western listener, Ru-Psych developed over a long time, and Trip Wave includes compositions, many
previously unreleased, recorded over a 20 year period by very different bands from different parts of Russia.
Musical originality was the main object of the selection process and the tracks are placed chronologically so that it’s easier to get a
retrospective idea of the genre’s development. Though the term psychedelic might suggest a hippie-esque vibe from the 1960’s the
sound here is much harder and more current. In fact the earliest track on the album came a full 20 years after the 60’s so the approach
is contemporary and thoroughly original.
Available as a collector’s edition cd featuring an enhanced sound quality, this is sure to be a prized possession for connoisseurs of
unconventional music anywhere. Hopefully Trip Wave will open Western ears to new ideas and new bands as our world shrinks and flattens.
Another excellent achievement in trans-cultural conceptual pollenation from Trail Records - Very Highly Recommended.
trailrecords.us
Ole Lukkoye - Petroglyphs
November 30, 2010: Petroglyphs is actually a 20-year anniversary
collection from the St. Petersburg, Russia rooted psychedelic ethnic band
Ole Lukkoye. Their music is a fusion of ancient shamanistic Siberian folk
with modern contemporary traditions and Trail Records is introducing
them to western audiences in this limited collectors edition. Great
remastered sound quality, an amazing combination of electric & acoustic
music with a tribal beats and unusual ethnic instruments combine for
a very unique and exciting sound. Though the description might sound
a little “folksey” Ole Lukoye delivers a very contemporary sound more
suited to clubs and discos with big bass, thumping beats and sounds that
will move your mind and body. It’s world music for today’s world and in
addition to the remastered tracks, Petroglyphs also features some new
tracks exclusively written for this compilation.
trailrecords.us
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Kyle Andrews - Brighter Than The Sun
August 26, 2013: To understand why RUST Magazine was so interested in
Kyle Andrews’ new album Brighter Than The Sun takes a little backstory. We’re
based in Atlanta, which has been in a monsoon pattern since spring. It has
rained virtually every day for months on end. Heavy, drenching tropical waves
of humidity have blanketed the sky in low clouds week after week. It’s been literally - the year without a summer.
But then we got word of Kyle Andrew’s new album, and it was like a ray of
sunshine had broken through the darkness. When we got the whole album,
it was like an a golden blast of brightness banishing the clouds - no matter
what the weather was like outside. Brighter Than The Sun could be the most
accurate, relevant album name ever because this album generates megawatts
of musical beauty and energy.
Acid Mothers Temple - La Novia
August 21, 2013: RUST Magazine was super happy to get our hands on an LP copy of La Novia from the vanguard
psychedelic collective Acid Mothers Temple recently, and everything about this album is just fascinating. For us, it
served as an introduction to this group which was first formed in 1995 in Japan. Much more than a band, AMT is a
community of creative people who are keeping the flame of pure psychdelia alive and vibrant.
Mixing up vibes from the dance-pop-disco space, and using everything from built-in laptop mics to top-of-the line studio set ups to
compose and record his tunes, Kyle Andrews is probably best known for his 2010 hit “You Always Make Me Smile,” which was featured in
a worldwide ad campaign. Chris Grainger also gets credit as a co-producer with mastering by Jim Demain at Yes Master and this album
sounds fantastic technically as well as artistically.
The album itself is gorgeous. The limited pressing of 1,000 comes in four different color combinations and we got
a starburst green pattern that was so beautiful we immediately had to get our camera and take a few pictures...
and make it our Facebook header. The gatefold features art by Kawabata Sachiko and photography by band leader/
guitarist Kawabata Makoto and all together it’s truly a unique piece of tactile art.
The whole album is strong from start to finish and it has this complete ‘soundtrack to your life’ feeling to it that makes you feel like part
of a community. It’s as if you just know that somewhere out there there’s another person feeling the same way right now listening to this
music and feeling the same way. This sense of community and love is what makes Brighter Than The Sun the great album that it is. It
evokes more than feelings within yourself. It’s like the whole world just came in your door for a party.
Particularly over the last few years, the development of vinyl pressings into an extreme art has accelerated very
rapidly. La Novia is a fantastic example of a vinyl pressing being a whole project, a package where every part of
it makes a statement, and it all works together - the music, the visual and the tactile. To many, music today has
become a digitally dis-embodied entity. Though it could be said that music is a thing of its own, and that it is separate
from any type of transfer media, what AMT has accomplished here is to release music that is part of a greater art
piece. Perhaps it could be said that they have re-united the soul with the body.
Beneath the dazzling surface, there’s real musical craftsmanship going on here, which sets this artist apart from the beat machine pack.
There’s complexity of concept, development of idea and enthusiasm for the smallest of details. One thing that just blew us away here
was the bird chirps on Crystal Ball. They’re just so right you almost don’t notice them, and they give you this sense of being outside on a
springtime day. This is just one of the fun little things that add up to an overwhelming celebration.
The music itself is pure psychedelia. It has the piercing intensity and unabashed outrageousness that shocked
people in the 1960’s. It’s the essence of that first wave of rebellion and expanded consciousness that is rediscovered
over here. The sprawling 40 minute title track is based on an Occitanian (SE European) folk tune, and shows a deep
respect for the traditional folk form, even as it progresses into deep space fuzz.
La Novia is a great raw and refined sonic and personal experience.
It shows a band and culture united in exploring and progressing
while rediscovering what is timeless. The limited edition LP’s go
beyond just being collector’s items. And this one release is at least for us - just one window on a collective of artists that
have been working for almost 20 years. There’s significance in
the great and small details. We could not recommend this any
higher for anybody who appreciates the analog arts.
acidmothers.com
Brighter Than The Sun is one of those albums that changes things. It will change a gray, dreary day to one with the bluest of skies and crisp
horizons. It will propel you through the city night with bright lights flashing. It’s totally fresh and infectiously uplifting. You just know that
there’s someone else out there feeling the same way. Brighter Than The Sun is its own musical social network. Very Highly Recommended.
kyleandrews.bandcamp.com
Dwight Smith - Plumed Serpent
December 6, 2011: Twin Lakes Records just released Plumed Serpent, a 2-song
EP, from Dwight Smith who joins fellow TLR artists Michael Beach (who RUST
filmed on tour recently) Electric Jellyfish, Closely Watched Trains and MYTY
KONKEROR.
Dwight has been building up a trove of songs over the past few years while
traveling, working, and living in Brooklyn, Chicago, Guatemala, Ecuador, Alaska,
and Connecticut. Somewhere in his travels across two continents, he seems to
have developed hands with a touch like Nick Drake’s, a voice as powerful as Marc
Bolan’s, and a lyrical ability all to himself. He is currently writing and recording
his full-length debut, due out some time in 2012 on Twin Lakes. The short form
debut, a virtual 7-inch titled Plumed Serpent, is officially out on December 6,
2011, and can be downloaded at dwightsmith.bandcamp.com but you can listen
right now to the title track!
dwightsmith.us
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Graveyard Lovers - Dreamers
Marco Argiro - Love
August 15, 2013: Graveyard Lover’s new album Dreamers shows a band where the
seeds of greatness have sprouted into a vibrant and mighty tree that reaches to the
heavens. Rooted in modern alt-rock the three members intertwine into a trunk of
incredible solidity from which delicate, intricate and extreme musical phrases spring
forth. It’s the balance between power and detail that makes Graveyard Lovers the
band it is, creating a massive, sturdy foundation, then spiraling off ideas and emotions
in higher and higher levels of development.
August 3, 2013: Check your calendar for September 24th and make
sure it’s free because you have a date with Marco Argiro. That’s
the day his new album “Love” will be released. Sure, this artist is
hip, cool and smooth but what makes him special is that he’s so
damn sexy. Like sizzling hot sexy. It doesn’t matter is you’re a boy
or girl, Marco Argiro’s musical sexiness will certainly seduce you
like a whirlwind night in the big city taxi-ing from club to club with
champagne flowing in the back of a stretch limousine.
Though you might not recognize the name (yet) “Love” is not only his
second release (he had a solo debut in 2005) but he’s also made a
name for himself internationally in the ultra melodic power-pop band
Le Mood, as well as the transatlantic anthemic rock group The Killing
Floor. Not only that, but he caught the eye and ear of Marky Ramone
in 2010, who tapped him to take over as lead vocalist during the kickoff of Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg European tour.
For Argiro, a lifelong Ramones fan, it was a dream come true. The experience inspired Love’s closing track, “Will You Remember Poison
Heart?” and Ramone has continued to support him and The Killing Floor, personally selecting them as openers for a recent show at The
Bell House in Brooklyn. He also has a friend and supporter in Hollywood legend Joel Schumacher who directed (and Argiro produced) the
music video for The Killing Floor’s “Star Baby.” The director praised Argiro’s “hunger, energy, passion and a fresh new artistic perspective.”
This combined experience - plus influences such Revolver-era Beatles, Tom Petty, The Kinks, Elliot Smith, and The Traveling Wilburys - all
adds up to a tour-de-force of passionate performing and wise songsmithing. “Love” is an incredibly solid collection of songs that pierce
your heart and soul and make you realize that he is one of the timeless talents or our modern moment.
And that’s what really makes “Love” a special album. It’s got the fresh sound of right now combined with the permanence that comes from
experience. This is clearly an album that will stay relevant and significant as time passes because it’s not just good, it’s good because the
artist has been able to merge his own personality with well-earned skill and educated perspective. You must have a solid foundation if you
want to build to the heavens, and Argiro reaches fantastic heights with “Love.”
There is as much to experience in their music as you can find within yourself. Graveyard
Lovers put a mirror to our modern era and stares deeply. Bringing a somewhat regional
sound out of their NYC home base you can feel a Springsteen vibe at one minute,
then Manchester, then 80’s Los Angeles all funked out with a southern sweat. There
is a confidence and an authenticity to their presence that speaks of several years
performing and touring together. Dreamers is their first full-length release and it’s just
plain lethal from beginning to end.
Comprised of guitarist/singer Zach Reynolds, drummer Tricia Purvis and bassist Orion Wainer, this is a power trio that has the patience
to slow it down, then the reserves of energy to smash everything in sight. It’s a barely controlled musical riot protesting, rebelling and
redefining what it means to deliver authentic rock and roll. Deftly produced by Will Benoit, the whole album sounds great, with the technical
framework suiting the artists just perfectly.
Graveyard Lovers new album Dreamers puts them squarely on the map. It’s a really awesome rock record with a fresh signature band
sound. Taking familiar tones into new iterations, this collection of musical statements will surely stand the test of time because of the
impregnable solidity of the band members. They’re like a young boxing contender stepping into the ring with nimble footwork and
devastating punches. Very Highly Recommended.
graveyardlovers.com
Marco Argiro’s new album is simply entitled “Love” and his own love of music, and the passions of the people he has chosen to work with
are united in their motivation to create truly excellent music. This is a significant release on a global stage and it’s an album that will be
relevant, fresh and vibrant both right now and forever. Very Highly Recommended.
facebook.com/MarcoWithLove
Three Hour Tour - Looking For Tomorrow
It’s actually been a few years since I got this album as well as ‘B Side Oblivion’ and since then both of these albums have grown quite a
lot in my appreciation. This is a super solid band with great songwriting and a very good concept of what they want to be and how they
want to accomplish it.
Three Hour Tour delivers fun, upbeat songs with energy and very memorable musical phrases. These central Illinois alt-rockers’ style is
power pop with permanence. Catchy tunes populate an album that is solid from beginning to end. Darren Cooper heads a lineup that
includes Adam Schmitt, John Richardson, Paul Chastain, Kent Whitesell, Brad Elvis, Ric Menck, Terry Wathen and Brian Sindler who hit the
nail directly on the head. Songwriting, performances and production come together with a sense of fun and emotion to make a pop album
that is indispensable, not disposable.
One other thing to be noted is that there was another band using the same name and it turned into something of an online mud-slinging
fest on the part of the band without the legal paperwork. This is incredibly common and a reminder to register your business and property
titles no matter what business you are in. So ignore the sour grapes and drink up the sweet wine that is Three Hour Tour!
martianrecordcorp.com
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Gikuyu Chinganji Wamuiru
July 11, 2014: RUST Magazine met up with writer and
poet Gikuyu Chinganji Wamuiru in Nashville.
facebook.com/gikuyu
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Broken Anchor - Fresh Lemonade
Tom Shaner
Ghost Songs, Waltzes, and Rock & Roll
August 30, 2013: Broken Anchor’s new album Fresh Lemonade is a snapshot of this
minute, right now. It’s timely in the sense that it sounds relevant to this exact moment
in music and culture. There’s an immediacy to this album that grabs your attention and
makes you realize that today is special. It’s special because of all you have had to endure
to get here and it’s special because the future is full of unlimited promise.
Fresh Lemonade mixes new material with songs from EP’s Broken Anchor Volumes 1-3.
Singer-songwriter Austin Hartley-Leonard has built an excellent reputation as a solo
performer and his music has been featured on “Private Practice, “Burn Notice”, “Hart of
Dixie,” and “The Jersey Shore” so this *debut* album has a comfortable, patient feeling.
For this album Hartley-Leonard teamed up with producer Brad Gordon and the tone and
depth of the sound is really amazing.
Moving from introspective spaces to fuzz-pop anthems, Fresh Lemonade features big
music coming from a big heart. It’s all about the songwriting here, and there are complex
themes changing and developing and growing... just like you. It’s personal music, understanding that the emotions of the day can range from the
darkest to the lightest and each intensifies the other.
This album is a potent mix of laughter and tears and it’s on par with the biggest bands on the mega-fest circuit. Broken Anchor has the substance,
the intensity and the subtlety to take the world stage.
Broken Anchor debuts with a super-relevant and intelligent collection of pop anthems with “Fresh Lemonade.” Featuring fantastic songwriting and
skills earned through previous projects, this album comes from an artist that has had a taste of the big time and this is his moment to cross over
into permanence on the world stage. It’s a precarious moment, but there’s a confidence and strength of personality that defies the nervousness.
This is why “Fresh Lemonade” is so easy to relate to. We all struggle daily. We remember the pain that has made us who we are, and we dream
of fantastic things. Sometimes these dreams come true. This album is clearly a dream come true for an artist who has given his all to chase that
dream. Very Highly Recommended.
brokenanchormusic.com
October 23, 2012: Lately here at RUST we have been getting some truly great alt-rock
releases from amazing artists like The Scenics and Rick Berlin, and Tom Shaner’s
debut solo album “Ghost Songs, Waltzes, and Rock & Roll” fits right in with these
contemporary classics. All three of these albums share similar alt-rock-folk-punk
flavors with intensely personal songs written from a matured, if not perhaps worldweary, point-of-view. These are people who have earned the scars, and who have
collected a mass of life experience that fuels the music they make now. Youthful
enthusiasm may have been beaten down by the years, but this has just exposed the
resilience - perhaps the inevitability - of making music in this particular space.
“Ghost Songs, Waltzes, and Rock & Roll” shows so many influences, you can’t pick
any one, or compare Tom to other artists without doing a dis-service to his uniqueness
as a musician. Tom Shaner is thoroughly American, completely New York, 100% right
now, and this is an album that simply must be heard. This full-length is a follow-up to last year’s “Get Real or Get Gone” EP and previously
Tom made 3 albums and toured with the band Industrial Tepee, his music has been featured in TV, movies and theater, plus he directs his
own music videos. This is a guy who knows what he wants to do, how to do it, and how to do it well.
Helping Tom be Tom are - among many others - cohorts Danielle Howle, Claude Coleman Jr and Emmy Bean, and producers Tom and
Charles Newman. Actually, looking at the liner notes, you realize that almost every song has different combinations of people performing
with a collective pool of about 2 dozen musicians. This album might have the sound of an individual artist, but it’s really the result of a
group collective.
In the case of a really great, unique album like “Ghost Songs, Waltzes, and Rock & Roll” the more you say, the less you say. It’s an album
that really deserves to be heard and appreciated. It’s a celestial alignment of ideas, people and energies. It’s an all-time great album, from
a rarified artist. Essential.
tomshaner.com
Rarefaction
November 15, 2011: Brooklyn based experimental post-punk Rarefaction’s moniker
is a reference to sparseness and minimalism. The new 3-song EP ...the dancer, the
dance... kicks off with the super-intense, haunting “SlowFall” and then explores
unique space in a searing, signature style. Their slow burn builds up relentlessly,
and with a real focus on the direction of energy. With a limited archive of releases,
Rarefaction has actually been active for about ten years and it shows with intention
and individuality.
Jerold H. (bass/guitar/programming) is the singular creative force behind Rarefaction
though the live band has seen a variety of configurations from a trio (guitar/bass/vox
with backing percussion tracks) to an instrumental trio (guitar/bass/live drums) to a
string duo or just bass w/vox. Jerold has also performed solo quite a bit on electric
bass guitar, which is the instrumentation he’s been using lately to write most of
the new material. Surprising some people about “dancer” is that there were no synths or samplers used, most notably on SlowFall it’s all
guitars & bass, excluding the drum-machine snare. “Solo instrumental music is already challenging just to keep it interesting & engaging,
doing that on an instrument not widely considered to be a solo instrument makes it more so - that’s part of why these tracks are short;
trying for elegance in brevity.”
Rarefaction says more with less and “dancer” is a strong EP that establishes a core identity and teases things yet to come. There will be
some longer, 6+minute pieces on the next release, but until then RUST definitely recommends the new Rarefaction EP for it’s originality
and concept integrity.
rarefaction.bandcamp.com
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Makar - Funeral Genius
November 9, 2011: Makar does what so many other bands try to do, but fail.
They combine indie, pop and rock with catchy lyrics, and they do it very, very well.
They make well written songs with a distinctive sound, mixing irreverence with
seriousness, layering complex arrangements under likeable melodies. In a lot of
ways they’re similar to Radiophonic - recently reviewed by RUST - in that there’s a
real excellence and uniqueness in every small element of what they do, and their
album “Funeral Genius” immediately breaks through to best-of, must-have status.
Coming from the left of center, with distinctive presences from both Andrea DeAngelis
and Mark Purnell “Funeral Genius” takes elements of the 60’s and everything since
and weaves together a complete full-length album that is strong from start to finish.
For “Funeral Genius” this husband and wife pair are supported by bassist Mark
Nilges and the mighty, legendary NYC drummer Dawn McGrath, and the result is an
album that makes you stop whatever else you’re doing and LISTEN to it. It grabs,
holds and rewards your attention and you realize that this is one of those all-time-legendary releases that will define this musical moment
in your memory.
With ten years of time together, during which Makar impressed audiences at top venues around the New York area, this album definitely
sounds like a unified presentation from an experienced team. The press has been kind to them, and a feature on MTV got them a deal with
Sizzleteen Records. “Funeral Genius” is the result of that deal, and it has actually been the result of a lot of long-term work. Recorded at the
Seaside Lounge Recording Studios in Park Slope, Brooklyn, “Funeral Genius” was three years in the making. As Mark recalls, “We recorded
the first 11 songs on the album in one day at Seaside out in Brooklyn getting the drums and bass down and then “Devil in a Dream” was
recorded in one day out at Andrea’s parent’s house in Mendham, NJ on a handheld tape recorder.
Mark Purnell has been compared to a young John Cale, and the band shares vibes ranging from Bjork to Bowie to Blondie with strong
60’s roots. There is strong retro-esque songwriting similar in both feel and excellence to the Brian Jonestown Massacre, but this is not a
“retro” band. It’s a folky, punky, indie mix that presents a team of unique and talented people, and that’s the real take-away here. Makar
accomplishes a sound and feel that many, many other bands try to achieve and usually fail because they’re not talented songwriters and
performers whose music comes from experience and authentic talent. Spoiler alert: this is an album that will have you throwing away half
a dozen other “wannabe” albums from your collection.
So get ready to make some space on your shelf or playlist for “Funeral Genius” and pick it up right away. It’s going to be one of your mostloved albums of all time. Essential.
makarmusic.com
The Most Powerful Telescope in the Universe
The Moonlight’s Fair Tonight
September 22, 2009: Notable as much for the circumstances of it’s recording and
distribution as much as the beauty of the music, TMPTITU is truly a unique musical
project. Once a year, diverse musicians come together like migratory creatures,
turn a woodland cabin into a makeshift recording studio, fill it with instruments, and
spend the weekend writing and recording from scratch. Available only as a 12” vinyl
or FREE MP3 download at datawaslost.net, these psychedelic albums are destined
to be collector’s treasures.
datawaslost.net
Ha Ha Tonka
November 19, 2013: RUST Magazine catches up with Ha Ha Tonka at The Earl in Atlanta.
hahatonkamusic.com
Zac Nelson - Wicked Work It Out
Wicked Work It Out is a unique album that heralds back to the psychedelic era
of rock when artists and performers both had patience to develop non-linear
ideas through experimentation. This cd is a solo project from Zac Nelson who
plays drums, guitar, bass, electronics, and performs all the vocals and he’s
able to present fresh ideas throughout the whole album. Sometimes disjointed,
then organizing out of randomness into harmony, the album explores the inner
consciousness of Nelson’s thoughts.
The structures are stripped down, disintegrating and recombining into passages
that blend together into an expansive series of musical concepts. At times
playful, there’s a mystic undercurrent and a unique use of sound tools that take
you to a vibrant dreamy place. Nelson presents a signature style across diverse
arrangements and there’s a subtle complexity consistent throughout the diverse
approaches. The recording quality is excellent and Ben Greenberg of Z’s masters
with Zachariah Dellorto Blackwell of Danava making a special guest appearance.
RUST also takes a look at some of Nelson’s work with Chll Pll and Trawler Bycatch in our full-length article about Porter Record’s
Experimental Vinyl and though “Wicked” is being released as a cd and digital download it carries through the same approach and we
recommend all three albums. All of these projects capture a moment in music that’s happening right now - a moment when the sound-bite
philosophy of unified media is being rejected by artists who are looking inward and making music that challenges the listener to accept
new and non-uniform ideas.
Zac Nelson is clearly at the forefront of this emerging experimental music movement and Wicked Work It Out is not just an interesting
and complex album, it’s symbolic of a rising counterculture the likes of which have not been seen for forty years - Highly Recommended.
PorterRecords.com
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Luke Mosling at Porter Records has been integral in bringing these
releases to the public and RUST thanks him for contributing these
comments:
Porter Records Experimental Vinyl
For those that don’t know, Porter Records is an independent label with
some very unique artists and albums. Perhaps more relevant is that it’s
a label that offers many of its titles on vinyl and three of their recent LP
releases (Trawler Bycatch, Dawid Sczecsny, Chll Pll) are indicators of a
rapidly changing musical environment. In this article we’ll take a look
at some of the relevant factors that make these albums noteworthy not
just for the musical content transmitted via the media, but how they
mark a point in a changing world.
There has been a lot of talk in the music world about the increase in
LP sales (despite beloved institutions like Criminal Records closing)
and though the major media tends to allocate this to vinyl “sounding
better” that is an over-simplification. Vinyl does sound better, but for
a generation that has grown up with digital media, this can have a lot
more to do with making a fashion statement. Vinyl records are cool,
and sound quality aside, it’s often a case of “dressing to impress.”
For those who used to buy their music on vinyl, it’s a return to a
ceremonial method of art. The album itself is a physical thing that
can be enjoyed through sound, sight, touch and even smell. It takes
work and involvement to play an LP versus a digital format. You have
to actually take the album out and place the needle in the groove and
when the side is done you need to get back to the turntable relatively
quickly. You can’t go jogging or snowboarding with a record player. The
result is that you have to work to listen to the artist and that means
an investment of time and attention plus a limitation of activity while
listening.
Music has become a background element of our lifestyles over the last
20 years. It’s become integrated with everything else we do, but now
music is beginning to regain some separation and the result is that
people are relearning to appreciate it on it’s own.
The digital revolution changed the form of music consumption just as
the way that people took in music has often changed along with the
media. The Sony Walkman, satellite radio, and before that the car radio
all changed the “how” that we got music and then artists responded
by tailoring their art to fit the format. Listening to music via a cd or
on iTunes you can just press a button and skip a song or portion of a
song. The result is that attention spans and tolerance for lengths of
music that aren’t exactly what people want or expect means that they
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get skipped. Add to that the merging of media where music, television
and advertising are all one and we’ve become accustomed to living in
a sound bite world. Sure, you can listen to just one song on a record
player, but listening to an LP generally means listening to a whole
album.
The music that these artists are making is also different from the
standpoint of sound quality and artistic freedom. Vinyl records do have
limitations and different production methods deliver different results
so it’s not a simple case of vinyl sounding better than digital. It’s
just a different artistic space - not necessarily better or worse - and
musicians are re-learning how to make the most of it. Without overgeneralizing, I am describing the music that is being made for these
albums as experimental. That term has some connotations that might
not be accurate to some of the traditional arrangements here, but what
I am trying to get it is the idea that musical ideas and techniques are
now being explored in a different environment. This new performance
space is spawning a new generation of analog performers who are
going to be the next musical movement.
LM: Chll Pll “Aggressively Humble” - Most of the time a record is
pitched to me in a finished or demo state. Not the case with this
release in which I really wasn’t sure what the finished album would
sound like. I had worked with Zac Nelson (1/2 of Chll Pll) with his solo
project Hexlove “Your Love Of Music Will Be An Important Part Of Your
Life” (2XCD) and really enjoyed working with him. I knew Zach Hill (the
other half of Chll Pll) from his work in the band Hella and I had always
been a big fan of that band and Zach’s numerous side projects. Zach
Nelson asked me if I would be interested in the duo project and of
course I said “YES”. The finished project is amazing. Not sure what
I was expecting but it turned out to be a lot more (for the lack of a
better word) “musical” than I thought it would be. There are some great
harmonized vocals and the just right amount of experimental aspects
and accessibility.
LM: Trawler Bycatch “Schlep’m” - The older I get, the more I find myself
listening to 60’s and 70’s progressive and psychedelic rock. Especially
the more experimental bands like Magma, Osanna and Amon Duul II.
So I’ve always wanted to take the label in a more rock direction. Zach
Nelson (aka Hexlove, Chll Pll) had become room mates with Zechariah
Dellorto Blackwell (from the great band Danava) and they along with
fellow roommate Rus Archer had started jamming together. The result
was the prog/art/psych rock infused Trawler Bycatch. From a textural
standpoint this album works very well for me. Each song is unique but
there is still a common thread that draws it all together. They cover a
wide range of emotions from dark and moody to heavy and light and
playful. You can tell they take themselves seriously but not so seriously
that they can’t have fun... hell, just look at the cover.
LM: Dawid Sczecsny “Luxated Symmetry” - Dawid, who was from
Poland and now lives in Berlin, was one of the first musicians to
contact me who I didn’t already know on a personal level. I was
instantly captivated by his music. While his approach of cutting up
music and reconfiguring in to new forms is certainly nothing new,
I really enjoy the minimal approach he takes in creating his music.
The individual sounds can really breath and they create a wonderful
repetitive trance inducing state.
These three albums are just examples of the great stuff that Porter
Records offers and if you’re interested check them out at www.
porterrecords.com
In particular RUST recommends:
Remy LBO: Peeling In The Drum
Kona Triangle: Sing A New Sapling Into Existence
Dublab: Echo Expansion
The Misled Children: People’s Market
The Misled Children Meet Odean Pope
Earpeace EP (Featuring Dawid Sczecsny)
Whether we have endorsed it individually or not, we have become a
sound bite culture. You can blame it on the mass media, technology
or ADD, but our sound bite addiction has developed along with digital
media. We’re all looking for that “quick-fix” immediate gratification, and
there are times on these vinyl albums that you would be tempted to
skip ahead, but you can’t. You’re forced to be exposed to the music on
the terms it is intended, and what I noticed was that as I “stuck” with
the songs that I might have normally skipped ahead - that I was having
a new music experience where the artist was speaking to me on their
terms, not catering to my immediate wants and needs.
So perhaps what’s really behind the vinyl resurgence is a return to a
way of listening to music where it’s not subservient to the listeners
immediate wants and desires. The pendulum has swung back to
a place where the artist has the method to present their ideas in
their own style. In a disposable culture, these performers have
created artistic statements - not just music - that have a relevance
and permanence worthy of expensive and complicated production
processes as well as being worthy of the listener investing an
increased level of their time and attention.
CASCADE MICROPHONES Call 360.867.1799
Or visit-www.cascademicr0phones.com
RUST Magazine
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5. Dancin’ in the Moonlight
8. Johnny the Fox meets Jimmy the Weed
Ahhhh…. A favorite of mine, cheeky lyrics that paint a picture every
teenager across the globe can relate too. Catchy chorus too. Not to be
confused with Toploaders – Dancing in the moonlight! An obvious and
reoccurring iPod nightmare at parties.
Back to wake you up and stop kissing your girl, this reggae / voodoo
inspired tune is so out there.
6. Massacre
Genius entrance, Downey starts pounding the drums before Moonlight
has completely ended. Again hear the history lesson by Philo. Also
notice for the first time-ish on the album the obvious clarity in the guitar
harmonies between Gorham and Robbo. Lizzy were Pioneers of this
sound and idea – employed later by all metal universally to give the
drama. Minor 3rd’s and major 5th’s. Etc. Sick!
7. Still in Love with You
Song by Song Featuring Von Shake’s Patrick Brazel
Thin Lizzy: Live and Dangerous
Originally a fast song, the swagger off this live version would wipe the
grin off Burt Bacharach’s face. A song we cover in fact at times when
we need to chill. Gorgeous words and an insane guitar solo by BOTH
guitarists.
9. Cowboy Song and The Boys Are Back in Town
So, Lizzy go straight in to “The Boys Are Back in Town” from “Cowboy
Song”. First time I’d heard anything like that. End on an “A” why not start
with a song that starts with an “A”? Cool as hell. Now “Back in Town”
is arguably the lads’ biggest hit. And what a hit in fuckin’ fairness like.
Guitars squealing and vocals soaring with hooks everywhere.
10. Don’t Believe a Word
Ah this is class as well. Quick. To the point. And again Phil’s cheeky yet
clever lyrics would make any girl double guess her squeeze.
There are 4 or 5 more songs on this record. I mean it’s a 4 sided LP.
However, I think you should make your mind up on the rest. Spotify it,
youtube it, iTunes it. You won’t be disappointed.
August 23, 2013: RUST thanks Patrick for taking the time to give us his thoughts here. We love this album,
we love this hot new band and we’re doubly happy to be able to provide Patrick a direct platform to share his
personal thoughts and experiences in his own words, unedited and authentic.
facebook.com/vonshakes
ONE of my favorite albums has to be Thin Lizzy’s Live & Dangerous.
Admittedly by the Lizzy boys, the album was only 80% live and 20%
studio but what is 100% live these days? I know percentages haha. Phil
Lynott, the front-man, is from Dublin, Ireland - specifically Crumlin - but
in his later years he moved to Sutton/Howth where I am from. So picture
this, a 13 year old (me) hearing a some Nirvana, Neil Young and Thin
Lizzy in one day via his cousins mix tape. I say mix tape but I do mean
USB key. I nearly wet myself. Hence the next day I started playing guitar.
“Robbo” Robertson from Scotland. Lemme’ tell you about the songs on
the album.
When I found out Phil had lived near me and is buried behind my school,
you could say I was little bit obsessed. Now Lizzy never got huge in the
States due to typical rock n’ roll irony’s and mishaps but are admired by
many big names. Of course, “The Darkness,” a British band with some
success in the U.S, had their guitarist wear a Lizzy T–shirt on stage and
Mike Myers had Dana Carvey have a Lizzy poster in his room for Wayne’s
World. But from Ireland across Europe, to even Russia and Australia, Thin
Lizzy were bosses.
Phil was a romantic, and romanticized about Ireland’s history. A lot of
this came through in some songs. I attribute him to be the first to sing
about this stuff. Later adopted by Iron Maiden, Metallica (Lizzy fans who
of course covered Whisky in the Jar) and metal in general.
And so began the journey of buying every Lizzy CD there was. I knew
the Live and Dangerous album was a gem, in fact voted No.1 Live album
of all time by NME, but only when I listened did I understand. It’s raw,
it’s, clever, it’s original and it’s honest. This album features the classic
Lizzy line up. Brian Downey on drums and philo on Bass and vocals as
usual but on guitars – Scott Gorham from California and the young Brian
4. Rosalie
Von Shakes - Bohemia
September 19, 2013: Recently Von Shakes’ Patrick Brazel took the time to write a
Song by Song article for us here at RUST Magazine, and among other really interesting
things he had to say was the story about how he started playing guitar. So the story
goes, he was introduced to Neil Young, Nirvana and Thin Lizzy one day, and the next
he started playing guitar. Hailing from Dublin, it turned out that Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott
was from the same area, and was even buried behind his school. This geographic
coincidence turned into a personal relationship with Thin Lizzy’s music, and Von
Shakes’ debut album Bohemia picks up where the Liz left off, doing their hometown
proud and presenting a fresh signature sound to a new generation the listeners.
1. Jailbreak
What an opener. Sirens going off as you can imagine. And boom – pure
boisterousness emerges to the stage.
2. Emerald
3. Southbound
Such a chill song. A song expected to be heard midway through the set
but no. It’s gorgeous. Another reason this album kills, it’s unpredictability.
“This is a number recorded by Bob Segar, a number called Rosalie” –
mutters Phil in his deep voice. I mean, a cover only four songs in? A
cover better than the original at that? AWESOME! I’ve just put it on full
blast in fact.
Smart and tight are the two words that best describe Von Shakes’ sound. They have
heart and soul mixed with street toughness and style. With inspired songwriting and a
back-alley team of bare knuckle brawlers Hugh O’Reilly, Cillian McSweeney and Ryan
Normandin filling out the roster, this wrecking crew is about to do some damage on a
global scale. Because they’re that good. Because they’re that memorable. Because what the world need now is an in-your-face old school
rock and roll band with pint full of youthful rebellion thrown in your face.
But don’t think that Von Shakes is stuck in a retro vibe or is simply rehashing a previous formula for success. There is substance to
everything they do and a real care and consideration for their craft. They balance a hard work ethic while flirting with chaos. They are
anthem writers on the battlefield raising their flag and declaring victory.
Von Shakes’ debut album Bohemia is an attention-grabbing work of inspiration and dedication. It reminds us of a time when rock gods
walked the earth and it delivers a “bigness” that is truly unique. Von Shakes has a sound that’s so bright and so fun that it could never be
contained in any one geographic area or artistic description. It’s world music well deserving of a reserved spot at the table of legends. Very
Highly Recommended.
facebook.com/vonshakes
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Dot Dash: Winter Garden Light
September 1, 2012: When Dot Dash released their first full-length album
Spark>Flame>Ember>Ash last year many mused that they could be the best band in
D.C. With the release of their new album Winter Garden Light it’s become evident that
Dot Dash is not just the best band in D.C. - they’re one of the best bands anywhere.
Blending punk, pop, indie and rock elements, Dot Dash strikes a balance between
influences and defines their own high-energy space. Original writing, great
instrumentation and the patience to let concepts develop all play a part in making their
music so great. Guitarist/Singer Terry Banks has a very forward vocal presence that
leads, but never competes with the rest of the band. There’s a strong UK vibe here
with post-punk attitude all mixed up with an authentic enthusiasm and freshness. With
Guitarist Bill Crandall, Drummer Danny Ingram and Bassist Hunter Bennett, Dot Dash
has become a tuned, unstoppable music machine.
There’s a tightness and toughness to Dot Dash’s sound, earned from their numerous nights at venues like DC9, Artisphere, Black Cat, Fort
Reno, Sidebar, The Dunes and Quarry House and that stage energy is carried very well over into the studio for Winter Garden Light. And
Branden Funkhouser definitely deserves credit for his great production. The album has a freshness and clarity to it that really represents
the band well. Recorded over several days at Lord Baltimore Studios, Dot Dash clearly was ready for the session and came in on a mission.
Make no mistake, Dot Dash is the real deal. This is a band that you need to know about right now and Winter Garden Light is the album
that’s going to blow them up everywhere, Very Highly Recommended.
Photo courtesy of Dot Dash
August 21, 2014: RUST Magazine has covered Dot Dash since we both were just starting out, and these guys have been getting better
and better with each album.. kind of like us! They’ve been called the best band in DC and we can;t wait to hear what the do next!
facebook.com/dotdashdc
Dot Dash: Spark>Flame>Ember>Ash
September 1, 2011: What Dot Dash does, and does so well, is to achieve that
perfect balance between individuality and allegiance to a particular sound. In
this case it’s the classic underground *punk* vibe that would sound totally right
with maxed out volume on a wimpy record player in the 80’s. The reckless
harmonies and rebellious stance definitely bring that period to mind, but Dot
Dash does more than just salute a type of approach or a particular period, they
make great music that’s their own.
Start to finish Spark>Flame>Ember>Ash rocks out old school style. They have
a toughness mixed with a likeability all while thumbing their nose at anything
and everything. The compositions are somewhat traditional, but there’s a
uniqueness to the approach and tight performances that keep the energy high.
There’s a fun, playful personality to their aggression and an enjoyment of what
they’re doing. This is not a moody, surly group. There’s just enough alt-pop
infused to bring a lightness to this, their debut album.
Core songwriter Terry Banks recorded the album in three separate sessions with Bill Crandall, Hunter Bennett and Danny Ingram. Recorded
by Eric Tischler, the band is based out of Washington DC but where they’ve been getting most of their action and good press has been
across the pond. This could have something to do with their Buzzcocks-esque-ness, or it could be that these guys are just a great band
and they’ve just broken through more over there.
Wherever they’re from, wherever their fans are, Dot Dash is a band with a killer debut full-length album out that hits all the right notes.
It brings to mind the pre-digital era when being underground meant something. Whether you’re looking to revisit those ill-spent days of
youth or experience one of today’s freshest off-the-grid rock bands Dot Dash’s Spark>Flame>Ember>Ash will satisfy and surprise. Highly
Recommended.
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Dot Dash - Half Remembered Dream
September 16, 2013: Here at RUST Magazine there’s not much we could say about
Dot Dash that we haven’t said before. That’s because we’ve already reviewed two
albums from them, and their third - Half-Remembered Dream - builds on their
strengths and keeps their signature enthusiasm going strong. This album delivers
more of the great songwriting and teamwork jams that we have gotten to love about
them, and adds a next-generation smoothness to their overall sound and vibe.
Half Remembered Dream is a totally fresh album that has a familiar feel. There’s
an undeniable Buzzcocks-style to Dot Dash, but not in a derivative or imitative way.
It’s something like a time trip to when indie rock sounded different and important.
There’s nothing like the excitement of hearing a new band breaking out and making
a memorable, unique statement in any era but Dot Dash brings back the memories
of when doing so was significant. And now, the band has smoothed out their edges
and has aged just enough to keep the rebellion... with style.
Dot Dash has been called the best band in DC and through live gigs and studio work
they have honed their sound to a razor edge. Their debut album was really strong,
and they’ve consistently cranked out the freshness ever since, with Half-Remembered Dream delivering pop-punk fun like a giant vending
machine. Every track is a winner. More importantly each song sounds like a Dot Dash song, which is an admirable feat in itself.
What makes Half Remembered Dream their best album is that there’s a relaxed confidence and easy feel to it. The band has gotten past
their first recording sessions and has had the stage time to work out the things that “don’t fit.” It’s just self evident that Dot Dash has found
their point of balance and every little detail works to propel the band ahead. They never fall behind - or get ahead - of the beat and every
note is in place.
With Half-Remembered Dream, Dot Dash has solidified their legacy as one of the best bands - not just in the DC area - but anywhere.
It’s an album with energy, intelligence and intensity. Blending pop, punk, rock and alt into ten masterfully crafted tracks, there’s an
international level of greatness that will *hopefully* blast these guys up onto the world stage. They deserve it. They’re that talented. Very
Highly Recommended.
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Steve Hill - Solo Recordings Volume 2
June 25, 2014: The operative word when talking about scorchingly hot blues
guitarist Steve Hill is Heavy. Not necessarily heavy like heavy metal, but more in the
sense that there is a weight to everything he does. There is a density… a mass, and
a gravity that means that what he does carries significant, weight and relevance. His
talent is deep and his vision is wide, and it all pours out like molten gold in his eigth
album Solo Recordings Volume 2.
Awarded, accomplished and renowned, Steve Hill has been active for 20 years from
his home base in Canada, though his impact and reach have been truly global.
Completely self-performed and produced, with Steve on all the instruments, Solo
Recordings Volume 2 is an album to be taken seriously. It’s a twisting path into the
center of the soul of Steve Hill. And it’s heavy in there.
This is an album that captivates you. The licks are delicious. The jams are earthshaking. It’s the shit.
Solo Recordings Volume 2 realizes that shared idea of “that guy”… that blues man that takes the music to a whole new level. Whether
it’s in a smoky bar with half a dozen dead-enders drinking away their suffering or a stadium with 20,000 fans all feeling the same vibe,
Steve Hill is the guy that can make the moment special. And it’s all because he writes and performs from a place deeper within himself
that others can see or imagine. He feels it, and through his talent, you feel it too. It’s his abilty to provide a music and a voice for things that
were only emotions before that truly makes him special.
And that is what the ultimate expression of music is, finding a way to say things that have not been said before. Steve Hill has used his
technical skills to craft a collection of music that people can truly relate to and feel. It’s an impressive album from an admirable artist with
a signature style and a heart of molten gold. Very Highly Recommended.
RUST Magazine wanted to talk to Steve about the path that has led him to this point in life. Along the way he’s worked with, toured with,
and recorded with some of the true heroes of modern music. So we reached out to Steve to talk to us about some of the people that have
helped him along the way, and here’s what he had to say:
RUST: Steve, thanks for talking to us. Your last few albums have been solo albums with you on all the gear, but as the phrase goes, no man
is an island, so we were wondering if you could tell us about some of the people that you’ve worked with, and what it was about your time
together that helped you get to this moment in life. Let’s start with Jeff Beck, ZZ Top and Jimmie Vaughan?
SH: These are all artists with whom I’ve been the opening act. I’ve also opened for BB King, Ray Charles, Steve Winwood, Santana and
so many others! I was very fortunate to meet, play with or share the stage with a lot of the old Bluesmen like Albert Collins, Buddy Guy,
Koko Taylor, Pinetop Perkins, James Cotton, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Hubert Sumlin and the list goes on. These were amazing learning
experiences. I guess what I’ve learned the most out of that is that each and everyone of these artists have a different musical voice, a
different sound which is what makes them great. And it does not have anything to do with the gear that they use.
Bobby Mountain
December 5, 2013: RUST Magazine met Bobby Mountain at the old Ellijay water pumping station on a gray and rainy day in the hills of
North Georgia for a session. The videos are on our YouTUbe channel and we have more photos on our Flickr page.
bobbymountain.com
As an exemple, when I played with Hubert Sumlin, a hero of mine ever since I bought my first Howlin’ Wolf record at the age of 15, his
manager handed me his guitar for me to tune and asked me to set-up the amp for him, as Hubert is not really good with these things! I
opened the guitar case and found a cheap Squier Stratocaster, something you could get anywhere for $250. The amp at the venue was a
70’s Fender Twin, not an amp that I would ever want to play through and yet when Hubert started playing, it sounded exactly like on Wolf’s
records. I had been wondering for years how he got that sound! I’d look at pictures and he never had the same guitar! That day, it was
proven to me, sound is a matter of soul and personality, not equipment. I knew that already but this was really an awakening moment. I
believe we all have a different voice, different style, different sound, unique in every way, buried deep down inside. It can take a long time
to find it. It’s very tempting to copy one’s heroes. But the reason why the greats are heroes is because they have found their own thing!
You just got to close your eyes and play and play until you get a glimpse of what it is. It can take a long time and for others it’s probably
instantaneous.
Really, if you focus on it and work hard for years, you’ll find it, that place deep inside of you, where you can access the real you, your soul,
different from everybody else’s, as distinctive as a note played by BB King!
RUST: Thanks Steve!
stevehillmusic.com
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Neomythics - New Corporate Resistance
Pale - In The Time of Dangerous Men
October 23, 2012: Delivering a multi-layered sonic and conceptual experience,
Neomythics debut album New Corporate Resistance is as fresh as it gets. Building
on a retro-alt foundation, Neomythics define their own postmodern rock sound with
an ear lent to ska and punk. It’s a mind-based sonic manifest with Matt Montgomery
and Gregory Howe being joined by legendary guitar innovator Harvey Mandel
(known for playing with The Rolling Stones and Canned Heat), and drummer Lumpy
from Throttle Elevator Music. Together it’s a tight, exacting team with a unique,
recognizable sound.
April 26, 2011: Perhaps the best way to communicate what this hard-rocking, veteran
foursome are about is a quote from guitarist Robb Moore about principle songwriter
Calvin Stanley’s “Keen knack for writing songs that don’t sound like a carbon copy
of our influences.” And that’s it in a nutshell. It’s like Pale has re-imagined the last
20 years in alt-rock, taking the best elements and bringing them together with a
memorable confidence and band synergy.
This debut album on Ex-Fed Records is a rock-solid 12 songs showcasing a variety
of styles and approaches ranging from the stripped down and funky to maximum
hard-psych. Addressing many of the socio-economic issues of our times, Neomythics
succeeds in being relevant without sacrificing the music for the message. For
people of a certain age it will remind them of the time when the terms independent
and alternative meant something and rebellion and non-cooperation with the system was something done without corporate sponsorship.
The rock roots of Neomythics is obvious with songs like Barefoot Bandit (about Colton Harris-Moore), Beautiful Blackout, and Leah; but
occasionally New Corporate Resistance adventures out into rawer edges with tracks like Climbing Out, GTFO, Now We Know, and Phoenix.
Yet, the album still maintains some clarity and sarcasm with tracks like Hemipherically Challenged, Roller Coaster and Brackish, about Talk
Radio.
“New Corporate Resistance is a musical journey focused on making a genuine contribution to both the collective conscious and unconscious
as paralleled by concepts and sounds. Or plainly, songs that are felt, articulated, and which speak to our times,” said Howe. “Though it is
difficult to identify which ideologies will manifest as the predominant archetypes of our age, a response to the current corporatist structure
seems inevitable and our artistic direction inspired and apropos.”
Neomythics defy both convention and description. Their debut album New Corporate Resistance honors those who have always used music
to fight The Man, and it reminds us that the fight continues with a ‘now’ generation empowered by new tools and techniques. It’s an album
that would fit in just as well a generation ago, and will still be relevant in another generation. If you’re not going to take it any more, New
Corporate Resistance is for you, Very Highly Recommended.
ex-fedrecords.com
Naive - Illuminatis
November 6, 2012: We just got our hands on this fresh new release from our
friends in France (yes, we have friends in France!) and it’s a really noteworthy
big, hard rock assault that is definitely worth the trans-atlantic trip. It’s music
without limits with elements from vicious-delicious metal domination to
synthetic, psychedelic and trip-hop. Based in Toulouse, it’s been three years
since Naive released “The End” and it looks like the time in between has
been spent honing their sound and building a collection of inspired tracks.
Mixing languages, cultures, instrumentation and approaches, Naive
succeeds in maintaining their intensity across a very wide range of tempos
and emotions. The album has a great audio presence, especially on the low
end with heavy resonating bass and each performer is given their space to
express thoughts of violence, combat, contemplation, sadness and joy.
Illuminatis is a totally fresh album that has both the sound of today and a classic permanence. It forces you to take notice of this new
powerhouse on the hard rock scene. Now you probably won’t find this in your local US record store, but click the link below to go to the
bands website where you can listen and order. Highly Recommended.
What really impressed me about Pale was their ability to mix tempos and colors, they’re
the anti one-trick pony. The whole album rocks, but it’s the diversity of emotions that
distinguishes them from a crowded and over-hyped pack. Few groups can venture into
as many varied territories and still maintain their overall sound and personality. And
this is not just for the album as a whole but in individual songs that transition fluidly
from space to space, growing, exploring and developing in surprising new ways.
A lot of this has to do with the length of time Pale has been together, plus, in the words of Clint Eastwood “It’s not the years, it’s the miles”
they have toured and performed live extensively. Having released Here in 2004 and Mandatory Ambulance in 2007, “Dangerous” has
been several years in the making during which the band obviously had time to craft a well-thought-out solid statement. Recorded during
a 2 month sequestration and produced by Grammy® winning producer Steve Christensen, “Dangerous” sounds great and Pale delivers
intensity without resorting to loudness to make their point.
Having just finished a seven week nationwide tour with Fuel and special guests Man Made Machine and Park Lane, the band has been
getting rave reviews for their live shows. If you missed them on their latest tour you can catch them December 1st at Stereo Live in Houston.
palerocks.com
Siddhartha - Trip To Innerself
By Eric Petersen
Before publishing RUST, I had been performing as a DJ and got in touch with Trail
Records to do some video reviews. One of the albums they sent me almost 2
years ago was Siddhartha’s Trip To Innerself. I thought it was a great prog album
and posted the video below. To make an analogy for western audiences I would
compare this album to Rush’s 2112.
What happened after that really surprised me. Though the view numbers are not
that high, I started getting messages from the band members plus friends and
family of the people on the project. The band is out of Turkey and they really didn’t
have much of a presence online and people were thanking me for doing the review
and commenting on how much they love the album and how hard the band had
worked to make the recording. People were coming out of the woodwork sending
me Google-translated messages from all across Turkey, Russia and Europe.
I’ve gotten more messages from that one video than any other, and everybody was grateful that someone had taken the time to give this
band some online attention. All the people had the same thing to say, that the band members had sacrificed and labored to an extreme to
make this album and had poured everything they had into it.
And it looks like I’m not the only person to appreciate this remastered gem as Trail Records has sold out of the first pressing and have just
issued a second collector’s edition pressing. Congratulations to the band and the folks at Trail as time has proven that their hard work to
bring this album to a world-wide audience has been a success.
trailrecords.us
thecryingcommunity.com
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The Handcuffs - Waiting For The Robot
August 9, 2011: Alright, let’s get right to the point here, this is a great album. It’s
a stripped-down DIY take on alt-glam with the breakout track - instant party song
all-time classic - Everybody Waves Hello being the crown jewel in a sack bursting
full of gems. Essential.
In your face and loud about it, this is the third album from core members Brad Elvis
and Chloe F. Orwell. To complete their line-up, Brad and Chloe have welcomed three
powerhouse musicians to help them, bassist Emily Togni, Ellis Clark on guitar and
Alison Hinderliter on keyboards. Embodying the spirit of rock music’s uninhibited,
sexy and overbearing appeal, they’re a kick-ass blend of style and energy.
They work rock’s familiar territories in original ways with authentic enthusiam, and
their signature vibe pours through in fantastic fidelity. The recording and mastering
is spot-on with Mike Hagler (Wilco, the Pulsars, Neko Case, the Mekons) at Kingsize
Sound in Chicago making it happen behind the booth. It’s a combination of a band
with a great sound, sounding great.
And the word is out about The Handcuffs, they’ve been featured in movies and tv shows and you’ve probably already heard them. If you
haven’t, this is definitely a band worth looking into. They’ve got a carefree likeability and pop appeal that other bands work for years to fake
half as well as they do naturally. You can’t help but like them - resistance is futile! It’s like The Handcuffs live in something of an Austin
Powers-esque alternate world with clubs every night, trashing hotels rooms and emptying liquor cabinets as security throws them out.
Michael Beach - Golden Theft
Timeless, timely and fresh, Waiting For The Robot is an instant classic. The Handcuffs define their space and own it. It re-imagines the best
of the retro rock scene with a hint of disco glam and sparkles like sequined dancers. A must-have.
TheHandcuffs.com
August 16, 2013: Several years ago RUST Magazine was lucky enough to film one of Michael Beach’s live
performances, and we grew an immediate appreciation of this very talented soul. Stripping down the essence
of rebel psychedelia to minimal phrases, then destroying them in a noise punk apocalypse is just the shallowest
description of what this artist brings.
He’s part time travel, part poet and completely immersed in the moment. He’s one of the few people in this world
that have a tangible effect on the environment around them, changing energy and - with the simplest of tools communicates the most lofty and indescribable thoughts and expressions of being human.
If I were to suggest one thing that makes him so special it’s that moment in his songs when the structure is
abandoned. That point is what defines him. It’s where understanding and predictability give way to the inevitable
chaos and random energy of the universe. It’s not a limitation of technical musical skill, it’s an artistic statement of the
eventual breakdown of any presumptive structures our logical minds build being destroyed by spiritual illumination.
You just can’t review his new album in any concrete way. It’s absurd to give it any number of stars. Our ears hear
genius and the unfolding of eternity. For Golden Theft, Beach again teamed up with drummer Utrillo Kushner (Comets
On Fire, Colossal Yes) and engineer Phil Manley (Wooden Shjips, Barn Owl.) Recorded at Manley’s Lucky Cat Studios
in San Francisco, the album features mostly brand new material and a few remastered songs from previous EPs.
Mastered by Bob Weston, it’s an intimate project almost untouched by exterior forces and uniquely private.
RUST Magazine was very lucky to get a cd to review but there will be a limited (Very! 270 copies) pressing of vinyl
in gatefold packaging, with a free poster and download code for the real true believers. Golden Theft comes out on
August 20 on Twin Lakes Records and the same day Michael Beach will kick off a US East/West Coast tour.
Michael Beach’s Golden Theft is simply outstanding. It’s pure. It’s unique. It is the universe reflected in a pool of water.
This is one of those albums that will live on in legend, and deservedly so. Essential.
twinlakesrecords.com
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Donna Hopkins
January 21, 2014: Donna Hopkins braved chilling weather to pose for our cameras and do a front-porch rendition of her new
song Sendin’ Love for us in Atlanta. See the video on our YouTube channel.
www.donnahopkins.com
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Spyder Darling - Illegal Holidays
Volte Face/Corbeaux Split EP
The Meeting Point
October 12, 2012: Unknown to most US music fans, there is an emerging music
scene quickly growing internationally, and especially in Europe, of Post Rock.
Insidiously hard to describe, Post Rock takes the emotional content of rock music
and exposes it’s extremities by slowing down the beat and developing concepts
patiently with a spare (but rich) framework. Then, crashing and powerful passages
take the concept to it’s maximum volume. It’s the quiet before the storm, and then
the storm. Generally instrumental only, these musicians say what they have to say...
without saying it. They’re powerful and peaceful at the same time.
This all might sound something like an riddle, wrapped in a mystery, obscured by an
enigma... but with great groups like Parallel Lines, Canyons of Static and LTDMS on
labels like Germany’s Oxide Tones coming out with a whole new space in modern
music, this is a mystery well worth investigating. Adding to the overall coolness of
this burgeoning scene is a new split EP featuring France’s Volte Face and Corbeaux. Though just 5 songs, it’s a really strong venture into
the Post Rock space and excellent work for debut artists.
It’s extremely hard to talk about performers like this because you can’t say “Well, they sound like a cross between...” and without a catch
phrase to remember, it’s difficult for these artists to stand out. But that’s not the point. The motivation and the type of people working in
this genre are doing it out of their own inability to compromise. They are making the music they want, they way they want, and the level
of personal expression here is off the charts. Intensity is the key, but these are people who recognize that emotional intensity is not linked
to being loud.
If this sounds at all like something you’d be interested in, this album is a really worth a look. We recommend it Very Highly. Additionally,
we were really interested in the story behind this release and asked the performers for some input. Translation irregularities aside, here is
what they had to say in their own words:
We are a Post Rock/ Electro band from Rennes, France. Antoine plays guitar and keys, Franck is on the drums and mpc, and Tom
plays bass and keys. Antoine and Tom met during their studies at the ESRA, which is a “sound engineer school”. Volte Face was at
first Antoine’s solo project he started in his bedroom, aside from his studies. Tom has played some bass parts during studio sessions
with Antoine. After some of our friends heard his music and really liked it, he decided hire Franck on the drums to transform the solo
project into a 3 members band.
In the early 2012 we released One Night Alone with a video clip, produced by Antoine and Tom. During spring of 2012, we have been
approached by Mick of the band Corbeaux, asking us if we would like to do a split album with them. We said yes! We absolutely didn’t
know each other, so it was a total blind bet (or date!).
The recording process of the split has been pretty banal. We have organized a meeting in Rennes during a week-end last summer,
we jammed a lot, and The Meeting Point was born. For the rest of the songs, each band has been working on his own, without
listening to each others songs, so it would be spontaneous. We attach particular importance to production. We compose, record and
mix our songs on our own.
Then Corbeaux have set up a studio session in Quimper, their hometown, to record the shared song The Meeting Point. We decided
to record it live, because this song is a very “live” song. We tried to recreate the environment of a show through the sound takes.
We thought it wouldn’t be good for the song to have everybody recording his own part the one after the other... it wouldn’t had the
same feeling. We did a release party in Rennes last november to mark the achievement of this journey, and the begining of another
one: touring with Corbeaux to promote this split.
blackwave-promotion.com
See and download hi-res images at
Spyder Darling lists his address as the Chelsea Hotel in New York City.
Spyder Darling is a Rock Star.
Spyder Darling is 52 years old and he’s been there and done that on the New York
scene since... well, since forever. He’ll drink you under the table and steal your smokes
and finish your drink while you’re passed out. The local blood donation centers have
pictures of him on the wall with large print warnings in red ink. This guy is sketchy as
hell. He hasn’t updated his wardrobe since 1979. He hasn’t bathed in almost as long.
Spyder Darling sent me his album Illegal Holidays (pressed on a home-made cd) and,
like a street dealer handing out free samples in Washington Square he got me hooked
with one taste. The Rolling Stones, Lou Reed, Sex Pistols, Blondie and a dozen other
glam-gutter rock bands are shamelessly shadowed here, but it all works. It all works
because Spyder Darling is the real deal. Listening to this album is like being in a dive
bar during a beer-fueled punk rock riot. Nothing ever felt so good, and though you
might feel a little ashamed afterwards - and you’ll hope nobody respectable saw you there - you’ll be back for more next week.
Spyder Darling makes Honey Badger look like a responsible citizen. Illegal Holidays is twelve tracks of time travel to an era when drugs
were fun, sex was safe and everybody owned a record player and nobody owned a car. The riffs and the statements come fast and funky,
still coated in the gutter grime from half a block down from CBGB’s. I’m guessing that Spyder Darling raided the local docks for drunk
sailors to serve as his band and recorded this on his girlfriends answering machine... well, one of his girlfriends ;)
Spyder Darling’s Illegal Holidays is a great album, make no mistake. It’s rough and sloppy, but that’s what it is supposed to be. Too bad
RUST is in Atlanta and not New York, because seeing Spyder Darling on stage is obviously where it’s at. But if you’re not going to make
it to one of his shows, this album is as good as it gets. Most respectable folks will probably want to admire him from a distance anyway.
The whole album is solid, and the real winning track here is Roses Over Manhattan which sounds like an anthem from, well... the golden
days of rock anthems.
Spyder Darling has accomplished something pretty admirable with Illegal Holidays. It’s a NYC collage that robs everybody - ever - but it is
unique, original and energetic, coming straight from the lowest depths of a scarred heart. And, even better, when you buy Illegal Holidays
you get to deal with the man himself. No stuffed suits or label middlemen here. That’s probably because most big label people would be
too scared to actually go to Spyder Darling’s neighborhood, and if they did, Spyder Darling would probably put on a mask, pretend to be
somebody else, and rob them after they left his show. Very Highly Recommended.
The CD is available with a cool-ass button for $12 via paypal, cash, check, McDonald’s coupons or liquor trade by writing to the man
himself at [email protected] though RUST Magazine takes no responsibility on what he will actually send you back.
Kona Triangle
Sing A New Sapling Into Existence
August 25, 2009: Like the scent of a beautiful flower carried on a tropical breeze,
Kona Triangle crafts organic beats and visionary musical moods in this ambient/
electronica release. Available as 12” vinyl as well as CD and MP3 download,
Kona Triangle is comprised of a beat-making duo (enigmas Tom & Matt) and
this is their only release as KT. Simply put, this is a beautiful, dreamy album
with unique organic sounds filtered through a downtempo electronic mindset.
Both relaxing and inspirational, “Sapling” is a delight with many layers. Original
and fresh, sometimes off-tempo electronic elements come together with natural
sounds and environments to define a stimulation and soothing album.
porterrecords.com
flickr.com/photos/rust-magazine
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Hawk and Dove Interview
March 9, 2014: RUST Magazine thanks the members of Hawk and Dove for taking the time to chat us up in
the industrial district of Gainesville, Georgia as they were they were on their way to SXSW, and just about to
drop their new album This Yesterday Will Never End. See the interview on our YouTube channel.
hawkanddoveband.com
Elijah Miller, John Kleber, AJ Sausville, Joan Chew, Max Hodes and
Caitlin Becker pose next to Thomas, their trusty tour bus.
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Margot MacDonald - Canvas
April 21, 2014: Here at RUST Magazine we wish we could take credit for discovering
the amazing talent of Margot MacDonald - but lots of people already know, especially
NPR listeners among whom she is a favorite. Her fourth album, Indiegogo-funded
Canvas is out now and it’s a noteworthy release from one of our modern era’s most
talented, stylish and unique performers.
You might just listen to Canvas and enjoy it as a great collection of alt-rock songs
without thinking about the loop pedal that Margot uses to layer her own voice. She’s
regarded as one of the best “loopers” as well as being a multi-instrumentalist and
songwriter, and Canvas is a 12-track album that showcases her many, many talents.
We were so taken with her that we made her our Featured Artist of the Week for
April 21, 2014.
And we’re not the only ones who have taken notice. In her home town of Washington,
D.C. she is an 11 time Washington Area Music Award winner and a recipient of DC’s “Power 30 Under 30” award. This isn’t much of a
surprise, coming from a woman who began her music career with Washington National Opera at age 10, and released her first album of
original material at 12. We might have picked her as Artist of the Week but that pales in comparison to her being the Washington Area
Music Association “Artist of the Year”, and being as Artist-in-Residence alumna at the Music Center at Strathmore.
Canvas is a master-crafted album from a truly unique performer, with rock, classical and operatic elements smoothly blended and filtered
through the voice and presence of Margot MacDonald. It’s like a window into another place and time, a world populated with bright colors
and the wonder of nature. With notes flickering like butterflies in a woody glade, and huge movements of emotion rising like mountains,
this is a place where everything is new and pure. Canvas is a ticket to Margot MacDonald’s magical world and it’s a trip not to be missed.
Very Highly Recommended.
margotmacdonald.com
Indie post pop from Belgium
VOLVER
- Beautiful Sad StoriesNew album out now
«Ce mini-album
marque une profonde évolution.
La mélancolie ultra-présente
sur ce Beautiful Sad Stories
ainsi que les arrangements
mélodiques ont gagné en maturité.
Cette musique intimiste produit une
bulle dans laquelle s'isole l'auditeur.»
«Shoot Me Again»
volvertheband
&
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RUST Magazine: Best of 2012 Awards
BEST ALBUM OF THE YEAR & BEST NEW BAND OF THE YEAR: HEY ICE MACHINE
Boston newcomers Hey Ice Machine are actually made up of veteran rockers, and the result is
something really memorable. Their self-titled debut is rock solid from beginning to end and it
brings a fresh wave of energy similar to Blind Melon’s first album. These guys might be off the
radar but they’re totally on-point when it comes to rocking the house with flair and a sense of
fun. We’ve had their album on the RUST site as a FREE download and will continue to keep this
link up (as long as the band lets us!) in the hopes that word gets out and these unknowns get
recognized as the supergroup they are.
BEST SOLO ALBUM OF THE YEAR: JARED GRABB’S PULLING WEIGHT
The timeless analogy of a whisper being heard above a room full of shouting has never been
more appropriate than with Chicago’s alt-folk hero Jared Grabb’s Pulling Weight. With an
amazing diversity of emotions and energies, all grounded in the heart and soul of a wise and
gentle man, this album is simply gorgeous. Available on vinyl (with some very limited quantity
colored vinyl released through So Say We All) and digitally through Thinker Thought, this is an
amazing collective of work. Joined by some of his friends like Chris Anderson, Heather Rose and
Thomas “Atomic” Satterfield, the hallmarks of this album are stunningly beautiful songwriting,
poignant performances and an amazing richness and depth of artistry.
CRITIC’S CHOICE AWARD: MAKAR’S FUNERAL GENIUS
Husband and wife team Andrea DeAngelis and Mark Purnell are joined by Mark Nilges and Dawn
McGrath on this indie-rock masterpiece. Mixing poetry, piano, rock, rebellion and a good whiff
of their NYC home streets, the result is hands-down the ultimate hipster album. Irreverent and
absurd at times, at others biting and witty, there’s something a little “off” about MAKAR, but
that’s what makes them so perfect. They’re a little flaky, and a little kooky, but before you know
it, they’ve just kicked your ass with a previously-unimaginably tight series of ideas and phrases
that leave your head spinning while trying to catch up with what they’re saying next. If you don’t
remember to pick up this album right now, that’s ok, you’ll be hearing about it for years as other
bands point to it as inspiration.
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RUST Magazine caught up with Markey Blue in October of 2013 for a jam session and again in June of 2014 for more
photos and this is definitely a band to watch! Core members Markey Blues and Ric Latina are both experienced touring
and session musicians and they have been gigging extensively around their Nashville home base while working on their
debut full-length Hey Hey. RUST Magazine loves Markey Blue. Oh, yeah, and Steve Cropper loves them too!
Watch RUST’s
Markey Blue videos at
youtube.com/rustzine
markeyblue.com
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Double Naught Spy Car: Western Violence
October 16, 2012: It’s the late 60’s. You are a b-list movie star. You’ve been cast in a
knock-off of a spy movie being filmed on some obscure European back lot. The film
is underexposed. The starlet forgets her lines. But the music is great. The music is so
great it makes the whole movie cool. The soundtrack to the movie is Double Naught
Spy Car’s “Western Violence.”
Tina Sparkle
On Tour
Though most people outside of the
central Illinois music scene haven’t
heard of them, the three piece altrock band Tina Sparkle has actually
been around for about ten years as
a side project and five years in it’s
current lineup. Brother and sister Tom
and Marsha Satterfield are joined by
Chris Anderson and they are touring this summer to promote their recent Thinker Thought label release “Welcome To The No Fun House.”
Double Naught Spy Car’s new album “Western Violence” is an era and genrewarping collection of homage-esque tracks that combine elements of surf, funk,
vintage hollywood, lounge and retro rock into a signature sound and identity. It’s both
undeniably modern and curiously anachronistic. “Western Violence” is a fresh, fun
album that brings retro cool back in a big way.
Having already released two other full length albums since forming in 1994, Double
Naught Spy Car is the combination of the stinging Stratocaster of Marcus Watkins, the
Telecaster and spooky steel of Paul Lacques, the nihilist/classicist bass of Marc Doten,
and the all-knowing unyielding drums of Joe Berardi. All four of the individual members are in demand session players as well as pioneers
of new sounds associated with L.A.’s Silverlake and Echo Park scenes. The band and members have scored several feature films, a History
Channel documentary, numerous plays, placed songs in dozens of films and TV shows, and recorded/toured with Bo Diddley, Nina Hagen,
Johnny Halliday, The Fibonaccis, The Bonedaddys, Stan Ridgway, I See Hawks In L.A., and countless other artists.
The real genius of this band, and this album, is in making music that both has a recognizable sound and also has an individuality. Hearing
both the conceptual source in each song, and hearing that song as it’s own expression is what this band does *perhaps* better than any
other out there. Double Naught Spy Car’s “Western Violence” is both a trip down memory lane and new memories in the making, Very
Highly Recommended.
The new release follows up their 2007 full-length “All Around Champion Screw-Up” and the 2008 7” release of “Ladybugs And Firecrackers”
which the band has been touring on for the past several years, traveling as far as Nebraska, Colorado, Texas and the east coast. “We all
have day jobs” explains drummer Tom ‘Atomic’ Satterfield “so we have to schedule our touring in vacation-timed periods. I work in a call
center, Chris at a local college and Tina helps at a center for the developmentally disabled so we’re usually limited to performing regionally
on the weekends.”
doublenaughtspycar.com
The 2011 tour is going to include dates throughout the Midwest and Southeast including Detroit, Chicago, Nashville, Little Rock, Panama
City, Atlanta, Athens and Raleigh-Durham over a two-week period. “We’re lucky in that Chris has a nice SUV with a trailer otherwise we’d
be in my old car praying it didn’t break down between shows” says Tom “but with gas so expensive we’ll probably lose money on this tour.
We really wanted to go to SXSW but it just didn’t happen with all our schedules so we’re concentrating on making the most out of the time
we will be on the road.”
Jim Coleman - Trees
Luckily Tina Sparkle has the support of Thinker Thought Records out of Chicago and has a long-standing relationship with label owner and
co-musician Jared Grabb. Jared and the Tina Sparkle members have shared projects such as Scout’s Honor and make appearances on
each other’s albums such as “Where Do You Hide Your Love Songs” and this support is evident in the good production quality on the Fun
House album. With such limited time to tour, the band can’t really make a name for itself on the road, but hopefully the good press that the
band has been receiving and the tour will help garner awareness for them.
On previous tours Tine Sparkle has had particularly good luck in Omaha linking up with bands like Little Brazil, Landing on the Moon and
John Klemmensen and the Party and on the Peoria scene they pull a lot of gigs with the Dripping Slits and Take Care. “Omaha has always
been a great place for us and every time we go there, it’s just been a great time.”
When asked what else the band members do in their down time, Tom laughs and says “Well, you’d think that there wouldn’t be much to
around here do but there are a lot of great bands making music and quite a lot of events. We really like to get out and be on the road, but
it seems that every time we leave town we miss something really cool.”
Tour dates are still being coordinated, and there will be fresh information about Tina Sparkle posted at ThinkerThought.com and
TinaSparkleRocks.com plus if you want to listen to one of the tracks from Welcome To The No Fun House click here to Listen To Tina
Sparkle.
tinasparklerocks.com
March 19, 2013: Somewhere in the deep space floating between post-rock and
ambionica, you’ll find Jim Coleman’s new album ‘Trees.’ Meditating upon and
exploring the nuances of simplicity and finding the underlying complexity, this
collection of audio concepts takes you on an inner journey as far as your imagination
can take you.
This debut release from Coleman - an ex Cop Shoot Cop member - features Kirsten
McCord on Cello, Phil Puelo on percussion and wood flute, Dawn McCarthy on vocals
and Ellen Fullman who play her own self-designed long string instrument. With
classical piano and French horn training and substantial work composing scores
for films, each song on ‘Trees’ takes a soundtrack blueprint and builds layer upon
layer until it becomes a thing of it’s own. Mystical, spiritual, dreamy and visionary,
experiencing these works is both soothing and stimulating.
There has been a real movement in the last few years roughly described as postrock where music is stripped down and slowed to expose ‘the space between the notes’ and though ‘Trees’ definitely fits this category,
there is much more going on than a “slow version” of an idea. It’s a masterfully crafted collection of intimate and endless concepts. Like
ever-changing clouds growing, morphing and passing in the sky, you are at one with the experience, allowing it to be what it is meant to
be in it’s own time and never anticipating the next phase.
Jim Coleman’s ‘Trees’ is one of the very best works ever in cinematic ambionica. It is peaceful, powerful, immensely complex and
soothingly patient. It’s a rare jewel, and an album well worth the effort to seek out. Essential.
jimcolemanmusic.com
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time getting a label to listen to them, especially in such a niche
market like Post Rock, so why not do some small production runs to
promote the bands, the store and ultimately the genre?
By that time I had a few contacts amongst bands and musicians,
and although the deal with Collapse Under The Empire didn’t work
out immediately, there was enough positive response to get going.
The first release to actually be produced was Who We Were by
Circadian Eyes, a Post Rock and Electronica mix, which was quickly
followed by another new band, Until Sunrise, which in fact turned
out to be the first release that sold enough to cover the actual costs.
Oxide Tones Founder Adam Homfray
August 1, 2012: RUST Magazine recently reviewed Canyons of Static’s new album Farewell Shadows, and shortly thereafter
a discussion evolved with Adam Homfray from the Oxide Tones label and we found a lot of philosophical similarities in our
approach. RUST is all about giving artists a thorough assessment that they can use as a reference while it still matters, and
Oxide Tones cooperates with bands both commercially and creatively to enable them in ways that other labels would never do.
We saw that there was definitely a story to be told about Oxide Tones, so we asked Adam to tell it in his own way:
My name is Adam, and I run Oxide Tones. What started out as a
hobby and a way to fund my own music needs, actually has it roots
way back in my childhood. I was born in the UK, and both of my
parents were music lovers. Unfortunately they, and I, noticed at an
early age that I have a distinct lack of musical talent, and the guitar
lessons I took turned into a disaster. Thus I was forced to focus on
listening to music rather than playing it. I went through my parents
collection by the age of 14, everything from my Dad’s more eclectic
taste (Pink Floyd to Barclay James Harvest or Elton John to The
Velvet Underground) as well as my Mums more, well, female taste,
Barbara Streisand probably being one of the only ones I dare to
mention.
By that time we were actually living in Spain, in a tourist focussed
area where it was impossible to get any music, unless it was in the
Spanish charts. No bueno.... friends and family that came over to
visit were sent lists with up to 50 albums, and as I weaned of my
parents taste, the UK indie, goth, and shoegaze scenes grabbed
my attention. It was only much later when I visited Germany for the
first time that I discovered the wonder of modern record stores: Go
in, grab 20 albums that somehow appeal to you, listen to them and
then decide what you want to buy. How amazing!
Fast forward to the mid 00s, and find me resident in Berlin, but
suffering from a lack of music! The world, and the internet, alive
and buzzing with recommendations, especially electronica and Post
Rock which I had grown into at that point, and yet at the record
stores I wouldn’t find anything except the largest labels and bands.
And I would pay $17 for a CD! My ears and brains were yearning
58 RUST Magazine
for more and more music, but I couldn’t get it in Germany, unless it
was so commercially viable that a label/distro could afford to charge
ridiculous prices.
Enough was enough; I turned to the web and started buying CDs
from US/CA/JP bands or labels directly, or from CD Baby. And lo and
behold, it worked. At some point after that, it occurred to me that if
I had had troubles getting music, others would have too. So instead
of buying single CDs from abroad, why not buy 5 and sell 4 on? That
way shipping and taxes would be less per CD, right? Right! so in late
2004, I opened Oxide Tones. The goal was simple... buy stuff that I
wanted, and sell it on at a fair price to like-minded fans. It actually
worked out quite well, and my stock levels rose and rose, as did my
customer base. By late 2005 I had dropped electronica from my
store, and started to focus purely on Post Rock and related genres.
Fast forward again to late 2010. A couple of guys from Hamburg
(Collapse Under The Empire) that I had been in touch with previously
wanted to meet up for a beer and to talk about an idea. They had
finished recording an album, and were looking for someone to help
them get it out there. They had previously used a label that was
owned by friends of theirs, and it was more of a favour than anything
else. This time around, they wanted more... more promotion, more
control, more freedom to do things their way. What turned out to
be a very long evening with a lot of beers, and if I recall correctly,
assembling a table at 3am whilst drunk, actually planted the seed at
the back of my mind. Why not try and replicate the idea behind the
shop (making music accessible for fans) and help bands get a “foot
in the door” so to speak. Small and unknown bands have a difficult
Working things out with those 2
bands was a great experience, and
both were really helpful during that
time. I’d never written agreements
with musicians before, and it was
an iterative process that they really
helped me get through until all sides
were happy. It was very clear to me
from the get go that I would a) not sign
a band for a timeframe or amount of
releases and b) not be able to pay
them a lot to get the rights to produce
CDs. So the agreements that musicians have with
Oxide Tones are for specific releases, giving the
bands the flexibility to do what they want in the
future. If they outgrow Oxide Tones, that’s awesome.
If they stick with the label, that’s awesome too! In
terms of payment, I ended up giving them CDs...
that turned out to be a great idea too, as they then
had music, at no cost to themselves, to sell at gigs.
Those first few “deals” actually paved the way for the
following releases on the label, and at the time of writing this, we
are at our 27th release as a label, with about 5 more in the pipeline.
By summer 2011, Collapse Under The Empire were back on my
books, with a split EP called Black Moon Empire, with the Russian
Post Rock giants, Mooncake. This was the first release I worked
on that needed more than just production. It took some special
attention to coordinate with both bands who also collaborated
on the title track but we got it done. We put a website in place
(black-moon-empire.com) and even got a video in place for the
title track that underlines the haunting melody so perfectly. All hell
broke loose, at least from my perspective! Oxide Tones was getting
attention from what seemed to be the whole Post Rock scene as
both bands were well known, and I was starting to get swamped
with requests... Promo requests, interview requests, and even some
weird requests from other bands. I knew it was time to step up the
game or to leave it altogether.
Around that time I got an email from Ross from Canyons of Static.
He had heard of the label, and wanted to know if I was interested
in their next release. I mean, come on, Canyons of Static! Hell yeah,
was I ever! I explained that I don’t sign bands, I sign releases, and
asked Ross for some demos. By the time the fifth track (Drift) was
over, I was hooked. Canyons of Static have their own very distinctive
sound, that many fans don’t appreciate. They don’t sound or feel like
your standard Post Rock set up, they use melodies very effectively,
and their sound has an almost warm and organic feel to it. Farewell
Shadows reflects that perfectly, each track in itself a gem, and Drift
being one of my favourite tracks ever. Yes, they do crescendos, and
yes they build up epic walls of sound, and hell yes, they transport
a lot of emotion with their music. Farewell Shadows actually took
a long time in being released (Feb ‘12) because we wanted to
make sure we had everything arranged as well as possibly. Promo,
website, streams in advance, videos, the works. The most
difficult thing about Farewell Shadows was having the
mastered files sitting around for months - loving the album
to bits - but having to keep it under wraps for so long! It
was like a complete breath of fresh air when the reviews
started to roll in, with almost all of them being positive.
About a month before the Canyons release, I put out
the second album by German band, Condre Scr. As with
many bands, they had put out an EP/album previously (Jar
Marsen) and then seemingly disappeared
completely. They were a band that I knew
of, but had never had contact with. All of a
sudden, they were asking about their new
album, and as they were from Berlin, we
met up to talk about it some more. So we
met, we discussed, we agreed, and You
Are Genius was released. The guys from
the band have a very minimalistic and
dark style, and aim for individuality. When
thinking about CD packaging and artwork,
they knew they wanted to do something
different, so they came up with a double slipcase, 4 colours (shades
of grey) and both matt and gloss at the same time. That turned out to
be an amazing idea as almost all of the reviews and comments from
customers mentioned not just the music, but also the packaging.
And nobody believes us when we tell them that they were all made
by the band!
So where does Oxide Tones stand nowadays? Well, I’m working
on OXIDE027 which will be out this summer, and I have a few
surprises up my sleeve yet, too. The label is gathering a fan base,
the musicians appreciate my approach, and I still get surprised by
some of the bands that approach me: eaststrikewest, Eric Quach
from thisquietarmy for his side project Parallel Lines, with Ryan
Ferguson from Sianspheric & Electroluminescent as well as Pascal
Asselin from Below The Sea & Millimetrik, Masaki Hosotani, a
Japanese artist who has done some amazing stuff with Miso-Soup
as well as a lot of music for advertising, Tunturia, This Patch of Sky
or The Echelon Effect, just to name a few. I don’t believe in trying to
put their creativity into some sort of label enforced restriction, I want
to support them in what they want to do, and as that has worked for
me and the label so far, it’s what I’ll continue to do.
oxide-tones.com
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Monsters Build Mean Robots
WeShouldHaveDestroyedOurGeneralsNotTheirEnemies
July 1, 2011: Monsters Build Mean Robots third album brings a more accessible sound, you might say, with vocals and choruses giving
this iteration of Post Rock a more mainstream feel. Based in Brighton, England, the Coldplay comparison comes to mind first, but only in
a general direction. Emotional, patient arrangements play out in time, growing from sparse to full in this 5-song album. Wonderfully suited
to private listening, one can only imagine the intensity of MBMR in a massive concert setting.
Made up of foursome Pete Lambrou, Tim Walters, Andrew Selby and David
Smith what began as a side-project for members of Last Days of Lorca and
Court of Hidden Faces quickly turned into one of Brighton’s biggest and best
Post Rock bands. Since releasing their debut album on Nice Weather For
Airstrikes Records in 2007, and Psalm 57 (Or) All That Gold Did Not Help Your
Soul! in 2010 the band have extensively toured the UK and Ireland, but have
yet to become well-known stateside.
MBMR is a truly contemporary British pop-emo-rock band that has intensity
and intelligence. They’re distinct, well developed and - unlike most Post Rock
groups - they have a mainstream crossover appeal that could break them out
of the secluded PR fan base and position them as a potential supergroup.
Their music reaches for the heights and into the depths of being human. With
the knowledge that big things have small beginnings, what starts as a thought
turns into a storm of overwhelming power and hopefully this group will get the
recognition they deserve outside of both their physical location and obscure
classification.
The Sun Aesthetic - Thicker Threads
August 24, 2012: Recently RUST interviewed Adam Homfray the creative force behind the Oxide Tones label and we were very
happy to get an advance copy of their latest release “Thicker Threads” the third album by The Sun Aesthetic. We’ve previously
looked at releases from Canyons of Static, LTDMS and Parallel Lines from them and this label focuses on post-rock and ambient
projects with a very high level of artistic integrity and technical excellence. This is a label to watch, and “Thicker Threads” is a
release well worth investigating.
Thicker Threads is an amazing aggregation of individual tracks, each one strong and moving. With aspects of electronica, Post
Rock, and even classic, the album works its way into the listeners mind, providing soothing musical fragments to brighten up the
darkest of days. The Sun Aesthetic provides a sound scape for urban areas, the digital world of glass cities blended into organic
sonic fields, reminiscent of modern day times where we battle for rest and excitation simultaneously. An expertly woven album
that is as individual as it is ready for consumption, the perfect sound track to leave the hustle and bustle of a busy day, lie down
in a park to watch the clouds meander by, and remember that there is more to life than day to day stress. This is an album to tip
the scales on “life” in the term “work life balance”.
The Sun Aesthetic is the project of Anthony Raad, from San Jose, California. He aims to create organic sounds through electronic
means with ambient and post-rock influences. Though the project as it is known today didn’t come to life until 2010, the heart of
his music took root much earlier. At age 11, Anthony picked up his first pair of drumsticks and found his home. As he spent years
teaching himself how to play, he added a number of instruments to his repertoire. Today, he is equipped with the ability to play
drums, guitar, bass, and piano, and has developed a thorough understanding of the synthesis of sound— all of which influence
The Sun Aesthetic’s music in one way or another.
While he finds inspiration in the compellingly melodic themes of bands like The American Dollar and Near the Parenthesis, The
Sun Aesthetic has given rise to an entirely new sound; composing music that dances through an array of emotions and melts
into colors of tones, The Sun Aesthetic aims to create organic sounds that move the listener, and the whole album succeeds in
achieving that goal. Unfortunately misunderstood, the post-rock movement suffers from vagueness of description and lack of a
big-name band comparison, but as more artists add to the collective pool of material, more and more listeners are discovering
them as a refuge from the overly commercial and overly loud offerings plaguing major media. With no movie soundtrack or fast
food tie-ins, and songs with development cycles many times longer than a typical tv ad, post-rock is thriving and growing without
funding from second parties and that alone should be reason enough to start paying attention.
This album is available on 12” vinyl as well as CD and download, and - of course - RUST recommends you take a minute to give them a
listen. MBMR is literally a hot new band breaking onto the scene and they have the skills and have put in the hard work to earn their space
on the world stage. A lot of people are talking about vinyl coming back and the new philosophy of bands like MBMR is to make special
limited edition runs of their albums, and this adds a personal connection with listeners. Albums are a physical link to a band, and those
lucky enough to get one of these before they sell out (which they will do shortly) will be rewarded with something that will enrich their world
in a very special way. Very Highly Recommended.
mbmr.bandcamp.com
Masaki Hosotani
Breakfast At The Twilight
April 19, 2013: Masaki Hosotani is a Japanese-born composer living in the UK whose
company Just Becoming represents an independent collective of musicians and
sonic artists. His album “Breakfast At The Twilight” is an acoustic, ambient collection
of passages that are peaceful, intriguing and infinite. Post Rock exposes the deeper,
more complex elements of music by showing that it is the space between the notes
where the music is. This really is a beautiful album, mature and patiently realized. In
an overly simplistic explanation of his style, you could say that he is taking electrified
instruments into acoustic space. Minimalism containing infinity. Intelligent ambient.
The Sun Aesthetic’s Thicker Threads is an album of beauty and complexity which serves no master and simply exists in it’s own
space and time. Rich and thoughtful, insightful and peaceful, this is an album not to be missed. Very Highly Recommended.
“Breakfast At The Twilight” really is one of the best albums I have heard in a long
time. It’s a complex collection of concepts that warrant re-examination and the re-consideration over time of any great work of art. Masaki
Hosotani has defined himself as a globally significant artist who has made a timeless album with “Breakfast At The Twilight”. Very Highly
Recommended.
facebook.com/thesunaesthetic
facebook.com/masakihosotanisound
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I’m Now: The Story of Mudhoney
February 19, 2013: Legendary Seattle band Mudhoney gets one of the best rockumentary
treatments ever with their new DVD “I’m Now.” What makes this movie so good is that
the story of the band is supremely well told via the focused, relevant things that the
people interviewed had to say. Band members, label people, other musicians and the
music press comment on their place in music history as well as the changes in the music
world during their lifespan.
Intelligently compiled and informationally dense, this movie has a lot for both vintage fans
and new listeners. Tracing the band through their formative years on the Seattle scene
in the late 80’s and early 90’s and through the explosion and collapse of the Grunge
movement - and beyond - “I’m Now” tells us the human story behind the perceived
public story. You really get a sense of the people here first and foremost, and that’s what
matters. After 20 plus years, we get the benefit of hind-sight regarding their business
and personal decisions as well as a good dose of both serious and funny stories.
For better or worse the music world experienced possibly it’s most intense moment of
public exposure ever in the early 1990’s and this movie provides a point of view of that
place and time that is truly unique... which says a lot after so much has been already covered. These intertwined stories are deftly explored
in “I’m Now” giving attention to the music, the band, the people involved and the overall story of the times. This is a text-book example of
how to make a great documentary, and it features one of America’s best bands during one of the most tumultuous times in modern music,
Essential.
mudhoneymovie.com
Waves of Fury - Thirst
October 30, 2012: Are you feeling horny? No, not that kind of horny... the other kind. As in big brass horns blasting your hair back in a
frantic ska attack. Yeah, that kind of horny. Well if you are, then Waves Of Fury’s new album ‘Thirst’ is made just for you.
‘Thirst’ is the debut album from Somerset based Waves Of Fury, but this is a band
that has already toured internationally and they’ve been named the Guardian New
Band Of The Day and their single ‘Businessman’s Guide To Witchcraft’ earned
them a Q Track Of The Day. It’s like these guys have bought themselves a giant
musical blender, added everything from Motown & Stax to The Stooges, Sex Pistols,
Spiritualized & The Mary Chain and then added some Mighty Mighty Bosstones and
Skatellites and hit the high speed button.
Sidney Travis
May 28, 2014: Ex-Green Light member and MTV
showcase host Sidney Travis poses for us at The
Masquerade in Atlanta.
facebook.comSidney-Travis
It’s a fun, frenetic maelstrom of action and energy with the emphasis on fun. It’s
also something of a technological wonder as the core members Carter Sharp,
Bim Williams, Fil Ward, James Macphee and Jamie Bird were able to add session
musicians on an almost nonexistent budget. The album is also very much about
technology says Carter “For example, a few years ago, I think if a broke indie band
wanted to have real horns on a record, it would have been really hard. They’d have
needed a rich label funding it. Now with things like Protools and good studios being
affordable and session players easy to find, we were able to make the record we
wanted on a tiny budget. Which hopefully people will enjoy.”
With smart lyrics and an authentic passion for their style, Waves Of Fury’s ‘Thirst’ delivers a unique and fresh sonic experience. Distorted,
fuzzed-out and maxed-out, Waves Of Fury takes their tight rhythms and piercing high notes all way down into the gutter and gets really,
really dirty with them. It’s sweaty, crazy and oh-so-good... Very Highly Recommended.
alive-records.com
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Haley Bowery: Born Strange
Scott McCord and the Bonafide Truth
June 19, 2012: Born Strange the debut full-length album from Haley Bowery &
the Manimals comes on strong with a new-retro-glam-punk sound and double
stacked with kilowatts of energy. RUST just got our hands on an advance copy
and it’s really a well-produced, well-performed overall project built around Haley
Bowery’s signature vocal and songwriting talent. Just breaking out, Bowery is about
to get the obligatory comparisons to Chrissie Hynde, Joan Jett and Debbie Harry
but those “sounds like” analogies never do justice to performers like her that really
have their own original strong sound. It also doesn’t properly consider the team
effort including Patrick Deeney, Joseph Wallace, Attis Clopton and Matthew Pop.
Produced by Andrew Krivonos with the Manimals at The Brewery Recording Studio
and mastered by Kevin Carafa at APS Engineering, the whole album sounds like a
remaster of a lost jam session from the analog era.
September 18, 2012: Scott McCord and the Bonafide Truth have been picking
up top awards at festivals such as the Memphis Blues Challenge and the Toronto
Blues Society for several years now, and the reason for this is simple... they’re
flippin’ awesome! This self-titled full length album is actually their third release
since 2009 and it’s a non-stop collection of rock-soul-ska tracks accentuated
with a crazy cool horn section.
What “Born Strange” delivers is a new take on that classic FM sound when straight
rock-and-roll went from the studio to the stage with a minimum of production and a
maximum of raw emotion. With an abundance of over-the-top performance energy, Haley Bowery doesn’t just emerge on the scene here,
she takes it over! Save your pennies, “Born Strange” will be available soon, and if you’re in the NYC area, you gotta catch her on the stage.
This album is going to resound with audiences thirsty for musicians willing to put their performance ahead of production. It’s raw, one-onone music that’s so good it makes you wonder... where have the bands like this been for the last 30 years?
haleybowery.bandcamp.com
See all the RUST Magazine videos at
youtube.com/rustzine
Radiophonic - I Could Have Been A Rocket Scientist
Radiophonic’s album “I Could Have Been A Rocket Scientist” clearly proves that the recent reports of the death of rock-and-roll have been
greatly exaggerated. It’s impossible to overstate the excellence of this album and this band. This amazing collection of new classics will
surely be talked about and re-examined for generations.
Taking elements from the last 30 years of the indie rock scene, this album plays like a trip down memory lane. It reminds the listener of all
the great musical discoveries that really stay with us, then you realize that listening to “I Could Have Been A Rocket Scientist” for the first
time is a memory in the making.
Radiophonic is the answer to the question “Where are the great bands now like I remember?” Merging elements of classics like Wilco,
U2, REM and contemporaries like Band of Horses and Franz Ferdinand, the writing,
execution and overall energy is first-rate. Every single track is great, this is not a
mixed bag of winners and throw-aways, and you’ll be doing yourself a disservice if
you just pick up any of the singles and not the whole album.
Guitarists Brian Aldsworth and Graham Duncan (who also played on Beth Cahill’s
recent release) plus Michael Galante and Daniel Loyd make the line-up of the band
with Katherine Maurer supplying some additional lyrics. Recorded at Soona Songs
Studio with engineering by Brian Pinke and Graham Duncan, and mastering by John
Scrip at Massive Mastering the fidelity is equally fantastic as the performances.
Duncan, who is being referred to as a ‘guitar god’ quite regularly now permanently
cements that reputation by his work here.
This is one of those albums that defies categorization other than the fact that it’s
so very good. It’s some of the best music America has had to offer the world in the
last few years. It’s a rare jewel among a landscape of rocks. If you buy one album
this year, make it Radiophonic’s “I Could Have Been A Rocket Scientist.” Essential.
soonasongs.com
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This is an unstoppable machine with a smooth grooving flow that comes at you
from every direction. Like an out of control runaway train that barely holds on
to the tracks, you’re in for a wild ride with these guys around. They’re maybe
the best get-up-and-party band we’ve heard in a while here at RUST and that’s
because they build a rock solid base, then use it to reach for the stars.
Scott McCord himself brings a signature, classic vocal presence that’s perfectly
matched to Simon Craig’s guitar, Charlie James’ bass and Bryan Humphreys
drumming. That alone would compromise a formidable team of rock stars, but
when you add an outrageously hot horn section that includes baritone saxophonist Todd Porter, trumpeter/flugelhorn player Steve Dyte and
trombonist Christian Overton, the combined result is a legendary line-up of eight hit men.
Old school cool meets new school heat on every track of Scott McCord and the Bonafide Truth. The eight members all work together
beautifully and bring their own personality to every note. It’s one of the best albums we’ve heard in recent memory and it’s a timeless
collection of winners that transcend genres and eras.
We’re calling it: Scott McCord and the Bonafide Truth are the Hard Eight. Very Highly Recommended.
scottmccordmusic.com
Parallel Lines - Infinity
The first thing we at RUST noticed about Infinity, the third album from Canadian
three-piece Parallel Lines was how similar it was to last year’s self-titled debut
album from Washington DC’s three-piece Dark Sea Dream. Though Infinity is toned
down by several shades vs. DSD, both bands explore psych-jam spaces for an
unbelievably long time, growing their concepts and delving into changing themes
that shift like sand beneath your feet. Both albums are rare treats for those thirsting
for real musicianship and an absolute lack of compromise to the whims of others or
the fads of the day.
Everything in Infinity exists on a different time scale. It’s another place altogether.
Conventions, once discarded can now be seen as never necessary. Parallel Lines
( /// ) is a Canadian improv-instrumental jam band comprised of Eric Quach
(Destroyalldreamers, thisquietarmy) on guitar, Ryan Ferguson (Sianspheric,
Electroluminescent) on synthesizers, and Pascal Asselin (Below The Sea, Millimetrik)
on drums. The concept is simple: whenever the occasion arises during their busy
schedule – they jam & press record. Their first 2 releases which were recorded and improvised live in front of an audience, without any
safety net. This style now carries over into the studio and the results are dramatic. Infinity is like a deep drug that captures your entire
awareness. You are powerless to resist being taken down the rabbit hole into it’s alternate dream world.
Like the changes in seasons or the imperceptible growth of a living organism, the tracks of Infinity simply exist in a state of perpetual
development. Of the seven numbered, un-named tracks three clock in at 11-15 minutes long with a couple more at 8 minutes. Similar
themes are explored and the division between songs is blurred by long passages of emergence and sustained retreat. The fourth member
of the band is the ambience created by their unison.
At times crushingly intense, at others passively present, Parallel Lines’ Infinity is a must-have album for people with an appreciation of the
formlessness that fades between the edges of their consciousness. At it’s core, there lies exposed the talent of three amazing musicians
who simply exist zen-like in a state of expression somewhere between dream and reality. Unquantifiable. Very Highly Recommended.
parallellines.bandcamp.com
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Hidden
Legacy
A real-life Superhero
Hidden Legacy at Georgia Tech
September 20, 2012
66 RUST Magazine
While in Atlanta, Hidden Legacy
performed Guessing Game live on the
streets of west downtown. This video
was chosen as an official selectio of the
2012 A3C Film Festival.
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Hidden Legacy: The Interview
Spoken word artist Hidden Legacy (born Frankie Soto) has been a fixture on the NY scene for years, has toured internationally and has found
success as a unique voice with significant observations on race, culture and humanity. RUST was able to talk with him just as he is about to
release a series of new recordings integrating live performances from session musicians.
RUST: First Frankie, can you give us some more information about
the people on the album?
Hidden Legacy - Road To Superhero
April 18, 2012: Spoken word artist Hidden Legacy’s new album “Road To Superhero” challenges the ideas of what differentiates poetry
and music - or if there is a difference at all. It’s a hybrid project somewhere in the space between rap, hip-hop, spoken word, folk music,
fireside storytelling and social commentary. “Road To Superhero” is on track to be the most intellectually significant album of the year.
Several months ago RUST had the privilege of interviewing Frankie Soto aka Hidden Legacy, who has been active as a spoken word
performer nationwide from his home base in New York. At that time he was in the studio working on “Road To Superhero” by using studio
performers to craft the musical accompaniment to his poetry as a unified effort. The results are simply fantastic. This is not someone trying
to match a beat. There is not a limitation to either the voice or the instruments as is often the case. This is a free-flowing river of ideas
both lyrical and musical. This is what hip-hop aspires to be and it exposes the bankruptcy of dozens of current performers.
It’s a stunning achievement. At the same time it is so close and so far away from rap that
it forces a re-evaluation of what it means to be a rapper. Hopefully the work that Hidden
Legacy has done here will redefine the idea of what a poet is to a new generation and
provide a bridge for others to cross over to a broader audience.
Hidden Legacy is not just insightful and intelligent, and he’s not just a talented poet, he
has the capability to merge those traits into something greater than the sum of the parts.
Now, he has added elements of other performers, both vocal and musical into this project,
and it’s a complete success. Many people who hear this without prior knowledge will think
it’s a rapper defying modern conventions and making a signature statement. Little will they
know that it’s a poet defying modern conventions
and making a signature statement.
“Road To Superhero” not only challenges
the production methods that have become
standardized in *urban music* but it also
challenges the commercial methods that are
built to deliver that music in a sound-bite-sized
advertising-friendly package. There’s no corporate
sponsor here. It’s art for the sake of art and it’s not
subserviant to outside influences.
This album is joyful, fearful, painful and beautiful. It
comes from a place of pure inspiration, and every tiny
element is there for it’s own sake. The artists elevate the
listener to a new level of awareness, and by doing so it
exposes the rareness of integrity. Essential.
hiddenlegacy.org
HL: Themi at Metronome Music School was the engineer behind
this project and he was just an absolute facilitator of creativity
with no bounds and a musical intellect that is far and few in a
generation. His guitar tracks, bass drops and knack for responding
to my rhythm and my tempo with perfect harmony and exact
timing was something that could not be planned, scripted or
discussed. The chemistry in studio working with Themi, the beats
he was able to create, the instrumentals he was able to contribute
was a breath of fresh air. It was like he read my next thought, idea
on a musical track before we even discussed it. We were thinking
on the same page and when you are on a level together like that
the only thing left to do is create and let it flow naturally.
Mike Topping aka Overnight Poet a long time friend and one of
the best song writers I’ve come to know, was able to bring a
soulful melodic style to compliment the lyrical content, adding
along verses of his own storytelling it was alot of effort and work
collaborating but in a way that felt effortless since we’ve been
writing and creating unpublished tracks since teenage years.
Mckinley Stacker was just a force in the studio. His musical ear
is just uncanny and is an absolute perfectionist in the booth. It
was one the defining moments in the studio for this album when I
started to see the vision for the album unfold.
Alexandra Hellman was just a rejuvenating energy. Her voice
filled with so much passion and emotion it told its own story.
In collaborating with her, it was like a back and forth challenge
pushing each other to do even more, put that more more
emphasis on the pronunciation of a word, that much more
strength and soul in a note. I found myself learning so much more
about my own abilities as an artist and the true significance of a
great collaboration goes beyond just the result in the recording,
it is formed in the practices and the pre-edited roughs before the
masterpieces comes. Was a great experience working with her.
Will “Edy” Martin, a true student of hip hop, and as professional
as they come in the studio - it was a blessing to have on the
album. One of Long Island’s best upcoming rappers, he has a
way of utilizing his word play to blend with almost all genre of
music - which is rare. A founder of Major Scale Entertainment
and releasing his own solo project in the near future you most
definitely want to keep an eye out for him.
RUST: Tell us about the addition of music into your performances
and recordings, is this something new?
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HL: Actually no, but yes. I studied music during my teenage years
but never fully committed to it because in my mind as much as I
was in love with the idea, the realistic view in my eyes was that
I was never going to sound like Boyz to Men or sell millions of
R&B albums. Music has never strayed far from my affections
though so when I was laying the ground work for my project, It
was imperative in my mind to incorporate my influence of music
from years of being an avid fan of soul and R&B & using my lyric
content as the main foundation and structure but finding a way
to integrate a powerful message in accompaniment of music and
soulful sound.
Of course it’s not like there’s a big separation in the arts - where
does poetry end and singing start? There are artists with all kinds
of different amounts and types of music mixed with voice and
before I did the spoken word I tried matching lyrics to beats, but
the way that I’m approaching it now is new for me in the sense,
I’m applying what I’ve always imagined a beautiful mixture could
sound like and not backing down in fear of being genre less or
not fitting the media format society has become accustomed to.
Change is inevitable so why not be a pioneer in it.
RUST: How’s that?
HL: A complication I’ve observed in many talented wordsmiths,
poets, and lyricists is an “identity crisis”. What I mean when
I say that is not that the artist doesn’t know who he/she is; I
mean in the sense that the transition of combining one art form
with another is extremely tedious and can become difficult if not
surrounded with the right musical minds that have the pedigree in
the business and experience. The worst assumption in my opinion
is that an artist can just lay down dope lyrics on a hot beat and
that translates to successful song. It couldn’t be farther from the
truth. In my attempts to cover beats with poems, pieces that were
highly successful at slams & shows I kept running into the same
obstructive complication. It did not possess the natural rhythm,
tempo or melodic mesh to be something that would bridge the
gap between relevant sound and penetrative, insightful words.
It felt forced, like having an awe dropping Mercedes Benz, but
then trying to fit 6 people in it. The idea is tempting but in the
end I found the best idea was to collaborate with an engineer,
producer who wanted to create something from the ground up.
I approached several producers who are extremely talented &
successful at what they do, but the chemistry and the mutual
vision wasn’t there. Now what I’m doing is working with live
musicians & working with one producer/engineer in Themi whose
brought a renewed optimism, enthusiasm and confidence in the
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69
work we are creating together. He is an absolutely brilliant musical
mind who has dedicated his entire life to music, lives it, breathes
it & that’s the mirror image of how I am with poetry and words, so
the chemistry was instant.
RUST: What about working with “Themi” makes the new approach
work better?
HL: The comfort level that we’ve built together. The trust that
takes place within the studio knowing that his expertise and ear
for music will produce a sound that compliments my lyrics and
delivery perfectly. Knowing that when I bring my 110% to the
table, his 110% is already there waiting.
RUST: Who are some of the
musicians in the studio with you,
what do they bring?
HL: I have been so blessed recently
to work and meet some individuals
& artists who are just phenomenal to
work with. I worked on Superheroes,
the track for my daughter with a
fantastic singer Mckinley Stacker
& Guitarist Chris Nicola. I had Mike
Topping on Hood Life & Alexandra
Hellman, a bright and lovely spirit,
and an extremely talented singer on
The Sound of Beauty track.
RUST: Where are you recording?
What is it about the particular studio you like... how are you
getting the sound you want there vs. other spaces?
HL: I am recording at Metronome Studios in Middle Village Queens
with Engineer Themi. It’s actually a studio and music school. If
you’d like to check it out his site is MetroMusicschool.com. Goes
back to what I said earlier, the trust and comfort level of the
studio. Knowing we are going to work our behinds off to complete
a track that is full of so many different sounds and feeling. The
open discussion we have on what we do is good, what can be
better and what shouldn’t be included at all. We are two deeply
passionate artists so when we are in the studio it’s all about
creating something meaningful and beautiful and working as hard
as possible. That’s all I could ask for and expect.
RUST: Tell me a little about the creative process, do you start with
a written idea or does it develop with the music?
HL: It always begins with a written idea. In my testing the waters
and venturing out into music with my pieces I haven’t changed
my philosophy in how I write, or the developing process of my
poems. The music always comes after the written piece. It’s how
I’ve always done it, so don’t feel a need to change. Not to say if I
heard a great inspiring musical beat I couldn’t or wouldn’t write to
it but generally speaking the poem is always the originator of the
creative process and it goes from there.
RUST: You’ve actually been experiencing some growing pains
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as an artist as far as the people you’ve been involved with not
following you into the new sound, right?
RUST: Who are some of the people you really like that deserve
some recognition?
HL: I guess you could call them growing pains. Having been
living and working around New York for so long I’ve been played
on the local stations and have gotten to know the people on the
scene here and they’ve come to appreciate my style, and become
fans of my work. I’ve sort of run into the bridging of musical
transformation that our society and environment comes across
about every decade where the sound doesn’t fit one exact genre
so it leaves people eager to experience it, but walking on egg
shells in promoting it fully. It’s similar to how when hip hop started,
the best venues were open mics and ciphers on the playground
in neighborhoods with everyone
huddled around the artist, and now
twenty years later its dominating the
radio, music television and created
a culture. So honestly I enjoy not
conforming to a specific genre or
title. It actually gives me a sense of
worth and motivation to be a pioneer
of change and introduce a newer
format and sound.
HL: Wow, umm great question, but honestly too many to name all
of them. A few that come to mind off the top of my head, is Wil
“Edy” Martin a rapper from NY, Alexandra Hellman the singer that
I collaborated with for Sound of Beauty, Themi my engineer, Adam
Bowser “Shadokat” my group partner for Words With A Pulse
which is my poetry group and so so so many more artists.
As any artist, we seek validation
whether through a twitter msg
quoting you or a magazine
interviewing or someone emailing
you and saying your work was
moving. It discourages me when I see so many of the young
aspiring artists who have talent not doing it for the right reasons.
Fame is all conducive to perspective. How you see yourself will
reflect in your work. So I always urge younger artists to remember
what you think about you bring about. So if you bring negative
content and do it for finance and not for the love it will be reflected
in your productions.
RUST: But that’s not all bad as long as people like what they hear,
right?
RUST: You get outside of the city and tour quite a lot, especially the
colleges?
HL: Yes I do, and I really like it. I feel so blessed to be able to
travel worldwide and meet so many different people; encounter so
many stories from all types of individuals you meet along the way.
There are the moments when you’re sitting in your hotel room in
awe that your living your dream, then you’re on stage for an hour
fulfilling it and then you’re right back into your room afterwards
with this over abundance of energy and that’s the part that can be
less eventful.
RUST: So you’ve got new tracks and you’re in a new space, what’s
next for Hidden Legacy?
HL: The next step is going to be releasing my album “The Road
to Superhero” in early Spring and then shooting the videos for a
couple of the tracks on the album & continuing to tour nationally
at universities, colleges and venues. The video process is definitely
going to be a challenge since I’ve never participated in any videos
for my work, but I always welcome new opportunities, it’s going to
be an exciting journey being able to experience it. That’s why there
are people who are professionals at different trades to work with.
RUST: So no booty shaking in the video?
HL: Ha! No, No, No. But I am working with some people and we’re
trying to get a good concept where maybe I can involve some
other artists. Maybe a dance troupe where they can bring their art.
A music video is really a visual format and people enjoy being able
to associate words with visual.
RUST: OK last question, you’re really active socially via
volunteerism. Is there one organization or cause that people
should stop for five minutes out of their day and check out?
HL: Probably more than I could even write out, or promote.
I’d say all the autism walks, cancer benefits, relay for life. Any
HIV conferences, visiting burn unit wards, bake sales for a
worthy cause, anything that helps our community. Anything that
encourages us to care about our peers and to be involved in
helping others whether it be something locally in your town, city, or
state or nationally. Get on board, life is too short, to live it and not
share the blessings.
For more info go to hiddenlegacy.org
Check out Frankie’s
2013 book “A
Weed in a Garden
of Extraordinary
Flowers” available
online from Hidden
Legacy or Boone
Dock Press
HL: Well whatever people might call it or categorize it as; I think
a lot of people who hear my new stuff don’t even realize they’re
listening to spoken word. And the response to the new stuff has
been overwhelming and quite humbling. Maybe they never really
listened to that kind of art before and having the music there
makes it more acceptable or easier to become interested in what
I am saying. I can complain for days about the state of modern
music, but if you don’t like the direction something is going in you
can either get upset and complain forever or create a new route,
another outlet in the road. You must first be the change you hope
to spread to the world.
RUST: You’ve been a fixture on the NY scene for years, what do
you see there right now.
HL: A lot of hungry young talent, artists coming up. A lot of fixtures
in the poetry scene over years continuing to do it out of love.
RUST Magazine
71
Sansyou - When We Become Ghosts
September 27, 2011: Sansyou’s debut 5-song album is a patient, visionary
journey into instrumental dreamspace. Describing themselves as weaving
atmospheric guitar textures into songcycles and tonepoems, Sansyou succeeds
in crafting a unique personality in a genre often cluttered with indistinguishable
experimentalism. But there’s a focus and vision at work here. The songs have
solid base concepts. There’s reason and intention behind the arrangements and
the overall execution is clearly the summation of long periods of development
and thought.
This is a group to be taken seriously as they are intentional and predetermined
in their expressions. The result is an easy listening experience with complex
layers and memorable phrases that linger in your mind. They have that elusive
“familiar but unique” quality and genuine instrumental talent that exposes the
beauty of simplicity.
Photo by Tenzing Palden Mentrul at Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia
Stephen McCorry
August 21, 2014: RUST Magazine has been following BC’s Stephen McCorry for a while, and he has just
released his debut EP Gliding Amongst The Crows, and it’s a peaceful, deep voyage that flows and rolls like
a wide river under changing skies. Several years ago Stephen set out with nothing but his guitar and quickly
became known on the Vancouver scene busking and appearing at the local venues. With his time on the
streets and the scene, he has developed a signature style of gentle instrumentation and patient composition.
His music is thoughtful, insightful and personal, and we’re super happy to see him put out his first release so
the whole world can hear him. This is an artist with a natural sense of music and a unique sense of writing.
His lyrics are wise well beyond his young years and he has a beautiful sense of instrumentation. What really
makes him special is his individuality and how his music projects a singular, unique presence. His whisper is
the one that will be heard in the proverbial noisy room, and we’re very happy to have heard it ourselves.
stephenmccorry.com
Sansyou has performed in Washington DC since 2006 with acoustic-oriented lineups before establishing their current electric sound
with David Nicholas on guitar and Matthew McGarraghy on guitar, percussion and piano. Recorded at Asparagus Media Studios by Steve
Steckler “When We Become Ghosts” unearths an expansive instrumental landscape. The sounds and songs were realized in warm analog
fidelity by Taylor Deupree at 12k mastering.
There’s more substance to David and Matt as civic artists as well. They have been involved in several fundraisers such as making a stand
for scientific literacy in 2010 at the State Theatre fundraiser in Falls Church, VA to successfully save the Arlington planetarium and curating
a 2011 fundraiser performance at the Marx Café DC to benefit Red Cross Japan. Inspiration from the culture of Japan is reflected the
band’s name and they also use Fosco Maraini’s 1962 pearl diver photos for the album artwork.
The five songs on the album pack more thought, energy and expression than most bands can muster in twice the length. Peaceful,
illuminating and thought-provoking, Sansyou deliver a distinct, fresh spectrum of emotions with “When We Become Ghosts” - highly
recommended.
sansyoumusic.com
Notekillers - We’re Here To Help
November 9, 2010: No-Wave rockers The Notekillers have reunited for an
instrumental noise jam album punctuated by tight phrases and a unique
combination of rebellion and experience. After a nearly-30 year hiatus the original
trio of David First, Stephen Bilenky and Barry Halkin reunite to teach an old-school
punk lesson to a new generation. Now, following an acclaimed archival release on
Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace! label, the Notekillers complete their leap out of
the shadows and land solidly in the present with We’re Here to Help - a brand new
LP with material developed exclusively during their second life. With focus and style,
these guys bring a controlled demolition of musical intention. Barely documented
during their entire existence, the Notekillers now deliver a must-have jewel with a
fresh and unique sound. Available on both cd and lp.
It’s been almost 2 years since I got my hands on this album and it’s really held up
well. The signature noise-punk sound of the band stays in your head and beckons
you to come back and re-explore the fractured landscape. Showing that time has
wisened, not lessened their intensity, The Notekillers deliver a semi-controlled
musical demolition derby with ‘We’re Here To Help’ and it’s definitely an album
worth seeking out.
prophasemusic.com
72 RUST Magazine
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73
Barrett Elmore - Woodlands
June 1, 2012: Whenever we at RUST receive an envelope from Trail Records, we
know something unique, spiritual and excellent is going to be inside it. Barrett
Elmore’s “Woodlands” was all that, plus there was an extra surprise. Trail Records
has made quite a name for itself by remastering and re-releasing psychedelic rock
albums and collections - many from groups unknown here in the US - but this is a
brand new release. Some of Trail’s previous projects that have really impressed us
were projects for bands like In The Labyrinth, Sky Cries Mary, Beyond-O-Matic and
Ole Lukkoye, so we unpacked the cd, put it on and - expecting another archival rerelease - immediately began wondering who Barrett Elmore was and what the story
was behind the album.
It turns out that Barrett Elmore is not an obscure group (to American ears) from
times past, but a Swedish band that was founded in 2008. It started out as a trio
and at first but when vocalist Mikaela Eriksson joined Claes Mikael Svensson, Max Karlstrom and William Friman they found their signature
sound and style. Recorded in a secret location dubbed Potent Pharmacy Studios with Per Angkvist engineering and mastering by Trail
Record’s resident George Dugan, “Woodlands” delivers a contemporary take on a classic space. Revisiting those retro vibes reminds us
about what was great about psychedelic music pioneers but Barrett Elmore is it’s own band and creates it’s own space originating from
the deep forests of Northern Europe.
Sure, there are shared elements with other psych-rock bands and Pink Floyd is obviously one of the big influences (as stated in the band’s
name) but there is more variety added to the sound. Overall there is a soothing ambience and nature-mystique in the music, reminiscent
of the endless Nordic woods, the theme of the album, further emphasized by the elements of melancholy Swedish folk song. Some songs
are in English, others are instrumental, and there is a strong overall sense of cohesion and completeness in the theme development.
“Woodlands” is like a finely aged wine - rich, complex and balanced. And it’s very satisfying to hear something like this coming out now
from fresh talented artists.
Barrett Elmore’s “Woodlands” is available in a Limited Collector’s Edition CD and it’s an excellent technical achievement in addition to
introducing a fascinating new group of inspired musicians to the world. Pink Floyd recently released their entire catalog of music after
a massive world-wide effort and many fans are now rediscovering what they loved by re-experiencing their music and for those people
“Woodlands” is a must-have. It’s an album that cements Trail Record’s reputation for excellence and diversifies it’s identity. Barrett Elmore
is clearly a band with passion, vision and admirable musical ability and “Woodlands” is an amazing first album that stands shoulder-toshoulder with some of the best and most memorable albums of our modern era. Highly Recommended.
trailrecords.us
The Dowry: The Circus and the Sea
January 26, 2011: The Dowry is uniquely comprised of two pairs of brothers and
their beautiful and intricate album “The Circus and the Sea” is a masterfully crafted,
timeless musical poem. This is first full-length record from Sean and Matt DiLeonardi
along with Philip and Jonathan Damery and it is a very unique thematic album which
narrates the tale of a lonely and desolate sailor searching the seas for aesthetic
truth and someone to share his sorrow with. Formerly known as Aslan, they released
the Shipwrecked EP with Armada in Flames Records in 2005, which subsequently
sold out. They have had the opportunity to share the stage with great names such as
Denison Witmer, Unwed Sailor, Early Day Miners, Fear Before the March of Flames,
Scouts Honor, The Forecast, Spitalfield, Emery, Dead Poetic, and many others. Their
album has moments of quiet spaciousness and focused emotion which expose layer
after layer of vision and imagination. What distinguishes The Dowry is their patience
and complexity in writing and performing and this album can reveal as much as the
listener wants to hear. Truly an artistic statement that will appreciate as the years
pass. thinkerthought.com
74 RUST Magazine
Photos courtesy of Peter Lindahl
Peter Lindahl Interview
Peter Lindahl is the creative center of swedish psychedelic folk/prog rock band In The Labyrinth, who just
released a new cd collection through Trail Records. One Trail To Heaven features remastered tracks from
several albums in the 1990’s. Assisted by numerous friends and other musicians, the English-language
project features exotic instrumentation and a cross-cultural mix of east and west, old and new.
inthelabyrinth.com
RUST: Peter, you’ve been somewhat off the radar for a while. This
collection is from 90’s releases, why the gap?
PL: There were several reasons that I dropped out of the system for those
years. Mostly I’d had it with illegal downloads, and the whole scene just
got overcrowded. There are a million bands pushing to get noticed and I
just didn’t want to get into a shouting match with them.
RUST: How did One Trail To Heaven come about?
PL: Well, it wasn’t that complicated. Trail records approached me early
last summer and after talking with them, I sent some CDs packed with
unreleased material and different versions of already released songs, and
they chose the tracks that fit in with the concept they had in mind. After
that I sent them a very large amount of material, both on the visual side
as well as audio, plus factual information.
RUST: You sent a lot of imagery as well?
PL: Yes, I also sent images showing them one of my paintings which
represents a John Bauer-like forest with a red hut and a fisherman and
I also gave them lots of photos featuring those who participated or still
take part in the project. In the end they chose slightly similar paintings by
the Russian artist Valeria Troubina for the cover art, which I think works
brilliantly with the concept. And though I had sent them all those photos,
they got dismissed along the way which I also think was a fortunate
decision. For never before has anything by In The Labyrinth been released
in a package so neatly and beautifully designed as this!
RUST: This has been a busy year for you, as you have another album
coming out?
PL: Yes, it’s been busy. Throughout the summer, while I was assisting
Trail records in trying to choose the right tracks and getting things down
in the right way for One Trail To Heaven, I was also helping the guys at
Record Heaven with preparing the forthcoming reissue of our first album
‘The Garden of Mysteries’ so all in all, it was a very busy summer for me
this year!
RUST: Has the feedback on the collection been good? We loved it.
PL: Feedback - or the jungle drums - as I call them, are already banging
out the message and more and more mostly positive reviews are popping
up from all over the place, while a friend living in New Jersey told me
today that Kinesis have already sold out, which is quite unbelievable!
RUST: Critical opinions are one thing, are you satisfied with the final
compilation?
PL: To have a compilation is something I had never expected in my wildest
imagination! In fact, I thought it was over and goodbye for In The Labyrinth,
which is why I’ve been laying low for such a long time, so just the fact that
someone releases a compilation is so gratifying! And honestly, I think the
album turned out to be way above any of my expectations, mainly because
of how cleverly the Trail record managers Vlad and Alex combined the
order of the tracks.
I think they have a very clear vision of how to make things work, something
which is most notable also in how many labyrinths they managed to
incorporate with the design of the fold out sleeve. Even though, for a
while both they and I were a bit lost in the dark concering which songs
to be used and in which order, until things finally fell into the right place.
I’m also very pleased with how the reportoire begins, with the once
discarded long intro to ‘Lost in the Woods’, which is how our third CD
album ‘Dryad’ actually should have started. But also some other (partially)
alternate versions of songs help refreshen my own impression of these
recordings.
RUST Magazine
75
In The Labyrinth - The Garden of Mysteries
RUST: How was the experience of revisiting
your material?
PL: Since Trail records wanted me to show
them lots of unissued material, I found it
very exhilarating to start and dig into my
archives, which I did half of last summer. In
fact, I sometimes had to remind myself not
to get too engaged or I’d never stop! And
to revisit those songs, which have already
been released on the three original ITL
CDs, though in slightly divirting versions,
becomes ever so more exciting once they
had been placed in a completely new
order. Because, as Alexander puts it, it’s
highly essential how one song flows into
another, not least when they have been
spliced together to form suits.
But the only thing that wore on me for a
while was the lack of songs coming from
our second album, ‘Walking on Clouds’,
though Alex and Vlad did choose perhaps
the best song from that album called ‘Over the Wall’, of which one of its
verses actually appears inside the fold out sleeve, beautifully written as
if by hand, this being one of many details making me feel so proud of
this album. But if “Clouds” isn’t so well represented, I can understand
why this is since that CD album probably departs a bit from what Trail
records had in mind when they started putting it all together, simply for
leaning a bit too much on India and its music cultures. After all, it would
have made for a shattered impression if they had squeezed too many
styles in with what they were trying to achieve.
Rust: Tell me a little about sound engineer George Dugan and his
involvement on the project.
PL: George did a marvelous job at getting all the bits and pieces together
right at the end. I asked of him not to overdo the mastering since the
songs had already been given this treatment before, partly by me and
several other sound engineers here in Sweden, to which he accordingly
agreed.
But what really amazes me is how he was able to follow Alexander’s and
Vlad’s ever changing directions without messing things up! He must be
a technical wizard to manage so well with such a difficult task!
RUST: What have the other musicians felt about the collection?
PL: To be honest, there has never been that much of a band apart from
in the 80s when the first incarnation of ITL called ‘Aladin’s Lantern’ was
an actively performing and recording unit, so nowadays I’m rarely in
contact with most of the musicians and singers who have participated
in these recordings, some of them actually having moved away, even to
other parts of the world.
But there is a core of enthusiastic musicians surrounding the labyrinth,
76 RUST Magazine
such as Robert Eklund, who plays a large
number of string instruments including
lutes, celtic harp and various types of
guitars, also Stefan Ottman with whom
I’ve been working for many years on a yet
to be accomplished and hopefully released
ITL album called ‘Samas Antaral’, while
there is Håkan Almkvist, who was my main
collaborator, especially on ‘Walking on
Clouds’ and with whom I hope to create
some more ITL albums in the future. And
then there’s Helena Selander, whose
angelic voice has contributed to lots of ITL
recordings over the years.
Robert just loves everything about the
album while Stefan still hasn’t heard any
of it as he lives in another part of Sweden.
And Håkan, who is now in India, said he
reckons it turned out just lovely - and with
more sitar work from his side than he
had expected, while Helena seems to be
thrilled at being quite a prominent figure
with her high piched angelic voice featured on quite a lot of the tracks.
RUST: You have a connection to another band that Trail Records has
released right?
PL: Oh, yes, I’ve always been a big admirer of Ole Lukköye, which Trail
records feature as one of the bands in their catalogue. In 1999 when my
wife and I visited St Petersburg, we were going to meet them there that
winter but missed them by an inch. And so later on we made an exchange
via postal services instead, them sending me one of their albums and
me doing the same by giving them ‘The Garden of Mysteries’.
RUST: So you seem to be really happy with the experiences around both
of the albums this year. Has revisiting your past changed your plans for
the future?
PL: Well I wouldn’t say that, because after The Garden of Mysteries has
been released as a reissue, I’m still aiming at finishing the long term ITL
project called ‘Samas Antaral’ and after that, another album called ‘To
Our Rescue’ which has also got roots well back into the early to mid 90s
when we layed the first tracks.
But if you mean emotionally, then I can go along with that! Because this
unexpected uprising of In The Labyrinth does help spur a huge amount
of energy and motivation, not only in me but also in some of the others
with whom I collaborate.
Peter Lindahl has had a very busy year. The center of psychedelic progressive band In The Labyrinth has overseen two remastering projects, the first
being “One Trail To Heaven” which is a compilation released on Trail Records (and reviewed here by RUST) and the other being the re-issue of their
very first album “The Garden of Mysteries” on Swedish label Transubstans. Peter also took time out of his busy schedule to talk to RUST Magazine
about both releases and we just got our hands on “The Garden of Mysteries.”
Several tracks are the same on both releases and the audio quality on both is fantastic. While the Trail release takes a look at the band’s overall
lifespan, “The Garden of Mysteries” is a re-issue of the band’s debut album recorded from 1993-1996 and it presents a more focused, unified
collection of themes. The signature, timeless east-meets-west identity of the band is fully formed and wonderfully explored in every track with exotic
instruments and visionary audio landscapes. It’s like a sound track to an ancient epic and romantic fable.
Being that the source material is almost 20 years old at this point, listening to this album exposes that very few other projects have done so well in
this particular space, and everything sounds both new and timeless.
It’s also a case of business affecting art and this album was out of print for more than 10 years due to contract issues with two different labels. Peter
Lindahl himself has also been somewhat out of the picture for those same ten years due to a disgust with online piracy, and during that time, this
album has been illegally downloaded over 30,000 times. But now that those issues have been worked out, listeners can finally get this beautifullypackaged classic album as it was meant to be, with the people behind it getting their fair share.
This is definitely a case where a dedicated group of people made fantastic music once and have done a
fantastic job again in bringing it back before the public. Tobias Svensson of Transubstans (Record heaven)
and the rest of the people at the label all put in a lot of time and effort to give an almost-forgotten (and
almost unknown outside of Europe) project a new life. RUST highly recommends “The Garden of Mysteries”
and encourages listeners to seek out this rare and beautiful gem.
In The Labyrinth - One Trail To Heaven
The Story of One Trail To Heaven is as much about the label as the artists. Coming from Trail Records, a
label that specializes in remastering and re-releasing progressive and psychedelic music, you expect great
things and this album definitely delivers in style. Recent releases include the Russian-Psych
Tripwave and the must-have Sky Cries Mary Taking The Stage Live 1997-2005 collections. Other
notable releases from Trail include Ole Lukkoye’s Petroglyphs and Siddhartha’s Trip To Innerself
and with this collection they focus on one of the brightest representatives of the Swedish
progressive psychedelic music scene.
Artist and musician Peter Lindahl founded psychedelic folk band “In The Labyrinth” in the
mid 1990’s and recorded a number of engaging albums in which Northern psychedelic folk
blends harmoniously with Middle Eastern music. The band’s new compilation album “One Trail
to Heaven” includes some of their most fascinating compositions as well as some previously
unreleased material and alternate versions of songs from Peter’s exclusive personal archive.
Trail sought our Peter Lindahl with the idea of the project and made him an offer that resulted in this collection. The final track selection was distilled
from over three hours of source material that was provided by Peter. Mastered and edited in the NY Trail Records studio, the remastered audio quality
is completely superior to the original releases. After listening to the remastered tracks, everybody was totally blown away by how much better the
audio quality was.
Peter Lindahl plays well over a dozen different instruments including electric guitars, mandolin, synths, flute, darbouka, saz and zither and along the
way he is joined by Hakan Almkvist and about ten other supporting musicians and vocalists. The results are as varied as the instruments with exotic
flavors and a cross-cultural medieval feel. It’s one part Lord of The Rings and one part Prince of Persia with the music suggesting golden palaces
in times past. Rich and multi-layered, peaceful and powerful, each song is it’s own journey to a new and mystical place. Though Swedish in origin
and trans-cultural in roots it’s perhaps important to note that English is the spoken language here. The lyrics are a poetic, telling classic, timeless
tales of old.
One Trail To Heaven deftly mixes elements without being an overt experiment in anachronism or falling into the belittling fantasy category. It’s a
beautiful, spacious album that takes the very best from an archive of dedicated, visionary musicians and makes it available to contemporary audiences
as a limited collector’s edition cd with improved sound quality. It’s a timeless album with resounding permanence, very highly recommended.
trailrecords.us
RUST Magazine
77
Telegraph – Rewind EP
June 17, 2014: Nashville-based Telegraph is not only one of the great new bands claiming
that city as their home town, they’re also one of the crazy good new talents coming from
that city that are anything but country. They’re crafting new pop music with an 80’s vibe
and a fresh take on shamelessly good songwriting. Taking cues from the post-disco, preMTV top 40 space and mixing it with fresh sounds of today, Telegraph delivers groovy,
dance-able music for drop-top days and hot summer nights. It’s the kind of music that
makes you want to stop anything you’re doing and head directly to the nearest dance floor.
Telegraph’s path to Nashville started in Northern Virginia. The band had been working there
as Sing Me Insomnia when brothers Marshall and Red Cunningham, along with best friend
Wes “Rocco” Beale decided to relocate and relaunch as Telegraph. The move seems to
have worked. Telegraph has a really clear band identity and signature sound, and people
everywhere have started to notice. Their infectious songs earned them one of four prime
spots in Belmont’s Rock Showcase, and their Rewind EP has just hit the streets.
For young listeners today, or people who remember when MTV was new, Telegraph is a
band that will fulfill your pop dreams. They’re original. They have a great sound. Their songs are well written, performed and produced and they all
have that magical energy of enthusiasm and inspiration. And this is not an imitation band or an homage to any period. They’ve taken some of the
best bits and pieces of classic pop music into new, personal spaces that cannot be imitated.
One of the things that makes Telegraph stand out to us is the way they’ve owned their concept space. This is a group of artists that have a real idea
of what they want to be, and how they want to sound, and they’ve gone for it by forging a new path for themselves with a sound and a vibe all their
own. Having that retro-pop feel goes a lot deeper than the surface, as Telegraph clearly builds their songs from unique musical ideas, and this is
what makes them so timely and relevant right now.
RUST Magazine really encourages people to check out the new Telegraph Rewind EP. They’re a high-energy band with super-solid songwriting skills
and style. They present songs with a groovy, classic pop sound, refreshed for today. Featuring an original sound and a fun stage presence, Telegraph
deserves a lot of respect for putting it out there and rocking it the way they do. Very Highly Recommended. WhoIsTelegraph.com
Telegraph Nashville Shoot
July 12, 2014: RUST Magazine visits Telegraph in Nashville to talk about moving from Washington DC, their
new album Rewind and their friends on the scene. Watch the video on our YouTube channel.
whoistelegraph.com
78 RUST Magazine
RUST Magazine
79
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George Gruhn
October 21, 2013: RUST Magazine met George Gruhn in his private office in Nashville to talk about life,
love, music... and pythons. Though known as a world-famous stringed instrument dealer, George is also
passionate about snakes and he talks to us about his background in Zoology and about his collection of
non-venomous boas, pythons and rat snakes. George is seen here with his 6 year old hybrid California King
Snake X Red Rad Snake. Watch the video on our YouTube channel.
gruhn.com
Ricoh Imaging Americas Corporation 2014 © | us.ricoh-imaging.com | ricoh-imaging.ca | photography: Kate Turning
80 RUST Magazine
In the next issue: Slim Wray
The other guys just cover Rock and Roll history.
RUST Magazine MAKES Rock and Roll History!