воскресенье, 23 июля 2017 г.

Escena Catalana: Ran Ran Ran, Os Bru, Karabash




For a narrow-minded person like me it’s tough to have a finger on pulse all the way. I feel like I’ve crossed that line where you look at your CD collection or into the folder with your mp3 collection – and you really know who every given band from this collection is, when you purchased/downloaded the album, and for what reason. No, that’s completely not my story. And if the collection of CDs is more or less still under my control (though I do own some CDs I don’t understand how and when they got into), the pool of mp3’s is not. I guess, two thirds of the band names look absolutely unfamiliar to me. And the situation goes deeper down the spiral cos I’m always trying to get in touch with what goes on and to find more bands to follow. This leads to the unstoppable flow of the names my mind tries to navigate through, and there are always something like 30+ albums stored in the facebook ‘Saved’ section and 20+ tabs of bandcamp pages, soundclouds and anything like that opened in Google Chrome. To streamline the aforementioned I listen to a couple of tracks of the bands that are new to me and if I find it crap (read: rap, mainstream pop or, say, Meneo) – I delete the page. If there’s an infinitesimal probability it could attract me – I save the page or purchase the album via iTunes. Then the new bands or albums come in place of those deleted. So this process is kinda cyclic. And while I’m alive I never seem to break the cycle. The worst thing about it – some names are getting forgotten. I mean, a lot of names. Quite frequently I listen to a band, then go to iTunes and see this album marked as already purchased. I always feel bad about it cos it's wrong when you forget something that really moves you. The best thing about it – I am always on the verge of finding something great. A totally unknown band, an awfully underappreciated album, a painstakingly overlooked track… There’s always a possibility of a miracle. Fact one: all three featured albums are of this kind.

Os Bru "Hvala" (p)2017 Indian Runners
The cover of “Hvala” presents the tail-rich feline animal that jumps over the tiny figure of the human being on the blue field. The music that hides itself behind this minimalistic cover incorporates precisely measured mixture of chamber pop and slowcore with the lush orchestrations sometimes climbing at the post-rock’y heights of grandeur. This music manages to create such the palpable elation you’d barely expect from a tiny band. It rushes and flows upon you making you shiver and covering your body with goosebumps all over.
BANDCAMP

Ran Ran Ran "L'Hereu" (p)2017 Bankrobber
The duo that consists of local scene mainstays Ferran Baucells and Jordi Farreras – delivers more stripped-down music that is both legs in folk and indie pop. Not being the rarest blend of genres – especially for las tierras catalanas – in case of Ran Ran Ran it spatters some new colours to the well-known painting. It is coloured and flavoured with guitar noise (occasionally) and elegant electronica (almost everywhere) without stepping into the circle of the samey folktronica bands. While not impressing me much at the first listen "L'Hereu" has shown the great results in growing on me later.
BANDCAMP

Karabash "D'Humans I Essers" (p)self-released
If Ran Ran Ran’s acoustic core is tinged with the additional noises (both analog and digital) to create some magic around, the members of Karabash deny the supplementary attachments almost completely, they succeed the impressive sonic pressure only with the standard ‘roots folk’ instrumentation through alterations of tempo and dynamics. Sometimes they are rushing forward full-throttle (“Arquitectura Funesta”), sometimes they lean to more conventional song elaboration (“El Pescador”) - every time they make the memorable song out of the habitual things.
BANDCAMP

Ultra-Local Records (BCN, Carrer de Pujades, 113) is a special place. The record shops are going through the tough times. Now to struggle, to live through, to move along as a record shop it means to be special. So every existing record shop is a special place. But Ultra-Local Records is a special place amongst the special places. Run by ever-cheerful Raul Chamorro who, along with his partner Carme Baques, does everything from drawing the ink posters that look more like the examples of the contemporary art to hosting the radio program Hip-Hip Ultra, this local store is the mandatory point of interest not only for any music lover interested in Catalan scene but for the musicians themselves. The list of activities that the venue carries out on a regular basis also includes the acoustic in-store concerts. Moreover, Raul & Carme organize the Microclima Sound festival – the event that goes on the same dates as Primavera Sound and splashes out of the store’s doors onto the quiet Pujades street to represent the local bands in contrary to the Primavera Sound’s huge international superstarz. Fact two: first I’ve learned about all three featured albums via the Ultra-Local Records’ facebook page. So this post is some kind of huge thank you to the people who do their work the best of the possible ways.
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вторник, 11 июля 2017 г.

Diola "Diola"

Diola "Diola" (p)2017 BCore Disc
Built upon the ashes of experimental rock combo Unicornibot (whose last effort "Mambotron" (p)2013 Matapadre) is commonly regarded as a masterpiece), the Pontevedra-based trio diola explores more distinct sounds and more streamlined structures. And if you listen to the album on the run, in the car, or in any other situation where you ain’t fully concentrated on what you’ve been listening to you may think it’s a punk rock record. And, you know, in a certain measure it’s true. But it’s only a part of the truth. In fact it’s a kind of ‘punk plus’ record – it’s a punk rock record the same way the Clockwork Orange’s ‘milk plus’ was the milk. Yeah, of course - but not only the milk. So calling “Diola” punk is the intentional narrowing of the spectrum that cuts most of the sense of it. They are broader than one simple label you may stick to them: they are punk plus the sense of nuance, they are primordial hardcore plus the sense of melody, they are experimental rock plus the sense of humour. Their songs - though quite convoluted with all these quirky changes in dynamics and time signatures - never seem to run out of control.
If you're not familiar with Unicornibot (though it's clearly your fault), you can find the best reference points for diola in the fellow BCore Disc residents Betunizer, Cuello and Power Burkas. So if you like any of them (most probably if you like any of them - you like them all), diola is the new entry for your 'frequently played' tracklist.

The best tracks: Nivel Experto, Charo, Match, La Gozadera


суббота, 8 июля 2017 г.

Havalina "Muerdesombra"

Havalina "Muerdesombra" (p)2016 Ernie Producciones
This is the first Havalina album where, whilst listening, you may go to the kitchen to make yourself some tea and then start brushing your panels after noticing some spots on them, and then to be like: ‘Gosh, I've been listening to Havalina! How many songs I've missed?’ “Muerdesombra” has everything you may want from the band - the great melodies, the intricate guitar work, the sound that can take you far far away, the rhythm section that could beat the shit out, the crisp production – it’s got all you need except nerve. It’s got little emotional lows – and in reverse it’s got little emotional highs. For everyone else it could be the favorite album of Havalina, but for me at the time it’s just too plain being compared to any other release in their perfect back catalogue. Maybe it will grow on me a bit later.

пятница, 7 июля 2017 г.

Rufus T. Firefly "Magnolia"

Rufus T. Firefly "Magnolia" (p)2017 Lago Naranja
When “Nueve” ((p)2015 Lago Naranja) was put out it became apparent it’s a great record. The production of Manuel Cabezali, the sophisticated melodies that never ever come close to the point where oversophisticated turns into clueless, the songs like “El Problematico Winston Smith” (the closest Rufus T. Firefly gets to The Hit) and “Demerol Y Piedras” (my own favorite)… It was really great, but it nearly killed the band as the five-piece combo was successfully cut short to trio right after the supporting tour was finalized. As Victor revealed later in an interview, his first thought was like “Well, it’s not Rufus anymore…” Anyway, somewhere in between “Ø” and “NueveVictor Cabezuelo appeared as the man of many talents being hired by other bands for studio sessions, production duties and live performances – which led to established friendships with many of the scene’s key persons. For our script the most important was one with Marti Perarnau, the frontman of Mucho, whom Victor co-worked with in [at least] Tulsa and Zahara’s live band (maybe in many others - but I name the ones I beheld with my own eyes). When back in 2015 Marti’s primary vehicle was going through the same kind of problems Victor Cabezuelo was one of those to step aboard and help his friend to keep the band afloat. When Rufus was put on the verge of calling it a day Marti Perarnau returned a favor. So the reformed band - Victor, Julia Martin-Maestro (drums) and Carlos Campos (guitars) now teamed up with Marti and Miguel de Lucas (bass, also of Mucho) along with Manuel Cabezali again at the dashboard – started to prepare the material for what should be the next longplay of Rufus T. Firefly.
Coincidentally or not, on “Magnolia” the sound of Rufus T. Firefly has undergone the same changes the sound of Mucho went through between “El Apocalipsis Segun Mucho” and “Pidiendo En Las Puertas Del Infierno”: most obviously – less guitars, more synths. As you might know from the interviews, at least 40 different versions of the tracks were recorded to choose from – at the end of the day the band and the producer have come to understanding that only this soaked-in-the-70’s-lucid-psychedelia version really clicked, really got ready to send the message they wanted to spread.
If the metamorphoses in arrangements were substantial, the structure of the songs has been changed to the lesser extent. Structurally it’s the same Rufus we fell in love with on “Nueve” with the long compositions (that rather sound long - in fact only two tracks on the disc exceed 5 minutes, but when you listen ti them they all seem to be 7+ minutes), unpredictable rhythm changes and non-cyclic progressions that pair the band with the neo prog subgenre. So if you come to terms with the new synth-laden sonic direction - without a doubt you'll be OK with "Magnolia".

A remark: after having listened to the album in the headphones with the noise reduction system you may feel like the protagonist of Pulp's "Sorted Out For E's And Wizz": '...and you want to call your mother and say Mother I can never come home again cos I seem to have left an important part of my brain somewhere, somewhere..." Please don't tell you haven't been warned.

The best tracks: Rio Wolf, Nebulosa Jade, Cisne Negro, El Halcon Milenario

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среда, 5 июля 2017 г.

Exquirla "Para Quienes Aun Viven"

Exquirla "Para Quienes Aun Viven" (p)2017Superball Music
Niño de Elche (Francisco Contreras) is the man of a kind. If you’d observe him from the ‘classic’ flamenco point of view, chances are you'd consider him a young freak who mostly abandoned his roots and now is being allocated to the genre by mistake. But if you would look at him from the point of view of a certain person who’s not both legs into flamenco, he could be the scene’s only singer whom you may listen to. Toundra, on its turn, is by all means the #1 post rock band of Spain. The cooperation of renowned instrumental combo and the flamenco outlaw may sound strange on paper, but in fact it is absolutely enormous. 
With the Niño de Elche's chants over Toundra's groundshaking instrumentations, the strongest feature of "Para Quienes Aun Viven" is the equality of its parts involved. There’s no question what’s more important in this amalgam of two worlds so distant that you hardly might expect their junction before it really appeared – both parts matter equally. There are moments on this record when Toundra members are switching off their walls of sound leaving present only the tiny drops and easy strokes, and all the nerve grows on from the voice of Francisco. There are moments when the singer stays silent, and the emphasis shifts to the galactic-scale crescendos Toundra is known for – but there’s always the clear vision of what they are doing together. Despite the obvious differences in participators’ habitual modi operandi, the album never tends to fall to pieces being torn down by the internal contradictions.

вторник, 4 июля 2017 г.

Havoc "Amado Lider"

Havoc "Amado Lider" (p)2017 Subterfuge
"The ideal pop music for the better world" - that's exactly what I wrote about "Lo Saben Los Narvales", the previous album of Pedro Gracia Perez de Viñaspre aka Havoc. It was released in 2014, and between now and then there was an event that consolidated my opinion on Havoc as one of the most promising indie musicians of the nation: his performance at Sonorama 2015. Back then in August 2015 there was the twinkle of miracle when I decided to escape from the show of Xoel Lopez (whom I really adore) to see Havoc whose show unfortunately coincided with Xoel's in the time schedule. That was one of those decisions you recall for years because Pedro and his band were undoubtedly amazing. So for me personally his new album was one the most anticipated records set to release in 2017.
Now I am happy to declare that my expectations were not in vain. “Narvales” were good but “Amado Lider” is the way better. The first thing I’d like to emphasize is that Pedro walks against the common trend and - while many of his peers are drifting from guitars to synths - he adds more guitars to the mix, thus creating one of the most intelligent noise pop albums I ever heard. Next thing to enjoy is the perfectly balanced sound production: it is clean and shiny, but it's not too polished to be considered overproduced. And, finally - this album consists of the great tunes composed with the precise pop feel. In the better world every single song on this album (with possible omission of "Oh, Master!") could be a hit.
A mandatory listen and one of the best records of the year.

P.S. "Sabotage" really knocked me off my feet.

The best tracks: Sera, Siberia, Cometas, Fluor, Sabotage


понедельник, 3 июля 2017 г.

Top30 albums of 2017 so far. Semi-annual poll

(in alphabetical order)

Aldrin Y Collins "Escuchas" (p)BCore Disc - bandcamp
Arista Fiera "Simetria Par" (p)self-released - bandcamp
Anchord "As A Real Return" (p)Saltamarges/BCore Disc - bandcamp
Black Mirrors "No Colours For Concern" (p)El Hombre Bala - bandcamp
Cala Vento "Fruto Panorama" (p)BCore Disc - bandcamp
Captains "Captains" (p)Jabalina Musica - bandcamp
Clara Plath "Yes, I'm Special" (p)Flor Y Nata - bandcamp
Cosmen Adelaida "Dos Caballos" (p)El Genio Equivocado - bandcamp
Diola "Diola" (p)BCore Disc - bandcamp
Disciplina Atlantico "Gran Oriente" (p)Limbo Starr - spotify
Exquirla "Para Quienes Aun Viven" (p)Superball Music - spotify
Havoc "Amado Lider" (p)Subterfuge - spotify
I Am Dive "Music For The Silent Running" (p)WeAreWolves - bandcamp
Jay "Fuimos Nosotros" (p)Matapadre - bandcamp
Karen Koltrane "Album" (p)Foehn - bandcamp
Les Sueques "Moviment" (p)El Genio Equivocado - bandcamp
Maresme "Golden Coast" (p)Foehn - bandcamp
Me And The Bees "Menos Mal" (p)La Castanya - bandcamp
Niños Mutantes "Diez" (p)Ernie Producciones - official site
Os Bru "Hvala" (p)Indian Runners - bandcamp
Oso Miel Oso "Debut" (p)Discos De Menta - bandcamp
Pau Vallve "Abisme Cavall Hivern Primavera I Tornar" (p)self-released - bandcamp
Ran Ran Ran "L'Hereu" (p)Bankrobber - bandcamp
Rufus T. Firefly "Magnolia" (p)LagoNaranja - bandcamp
Saïm "Accidents" (p)Bubota Discos - bandcamp
Shepherd "Mystic Wave" (p)self-released - bandcamp
Tuya "A War Is Coming" (p)El Rayo Verde - bandcamp
Ultim Cavall "Records De Kyoto" (p)Discos De Kirlian - bandcamp
Vol Menor "Contracorrent A L'Instint" (p)self-released - bandcamp
When Nalda Became Punk "Those Words Broke Our Heart" (p)Discos De Kirlian - bandcamp