[gig reviews] PAUS live at Fnac do Chiado in Lisbon, 21st June 2010

The gig started with an unforeseen situation: the band didn't have their EP there [the gig's aim was to present it], because Fnac had some problems and couldn't make it on time.
With that fact put aside, the gig went well. Joaquim and Hélio sure know how to play drums and are most of the time well synchronized. I also like the concept of the "siamese drums".
Makoto Yagyu played bass most of the time and on one or two occasions, he played synth. João "Shela" fills the air with his sort of "new age-ish" synths. The 4 band members make music that isn't very easily labeled.
However, most of the crowd enjoyed the gig and the band set the volume higher, to "provoke" Fnac, since they didn't behave very well.
Unfortunately, I didn't film because I left the camera's batteries at home [shame on me].
Here it is the band's myspace.

[Interview] Floating Colors

Yesterday I made an interview through myspace with Floating Colors. Their music seems to me intense and chaotic but still really appealing. I won't speak much about them, because all of this interview has got enough info to satisfy most of you:
Most of the interview, it was the band member Stephen Palke answering the questions.
The interview went like this:

1. How and when did the band form?
Floating Colors came out of the ashes of a now defunct band whose name I choose not to mention. This defunct band started out as a two-piece with me and a guy whose name I choose not to mention, we improvised ambient soundscapes with keyboards and guitar. Eventually, Chase, joined this defunct band as a drummer. We had a couple of good shows and good moments together. We played with some really cool acts like The Crypts, Head Molt, Religious Girls, and Leo Heinzel, who now goes by Flesh Control nowadays. Unforunately, general fuckery transpired, and my musical partner in this defunct band, and I went our seperate ways, and so the band broke up in early July of 09. Shortly after, Chase invited me to spend time with him and his wonderful family, at his late grandfather's farm not too far from Ocean City, Maryland. Chase and I spent two weeks there, watching good films, helping out at the farm, shooting targets, drinking shots of whiskey at night, going to the beach. We talked alot. We walked alot. We found that we really respected and trusted one another, and related to one another in a special way. Our friendship became really strong. This was the musical partnership that was suppose to happen. We were both excited about starting something new, with no baggage from the past. Eventually, we both settled on the name Floating Colors. We liked Floating Colors, because it didn't pin us to any genre, and that it would be more or less true to whatever evolution we undergo as a band in the future. Chris Vincent and Alex Forck joined our band soon after. It's been really good.

2. What are your influences and favourite genres?
Stephen Palke: Broken Social Scene, John Frusciante and Jim O'Rourke have always been favorites of mine. Lately, I've been listening to Grouper, Broadcast and Beach House alot lately.
Chase Gilbert: Influences- Frank Zappa, Bill Bruford, Les Claypool
Genres- Trip Hop, Progressive genres, and Jazz.
Chris Vincent: You already covered Claypool for me....definitely Tom Morello as far as guitar goes and Crimson...Radiohead, Portishead obviously...and genres are also trip hop, progressive, stoner rock, and electronica.

3. Do you prefer to produce music or to play live?
Playing live is the headspace we're more into. We improvise every show, so playing live is the focus rather than making recordings.

4. In the future, will your music change or will you keep an uniform direction in your evolution?
In a year or in a month, I could never say. Who knows how things could change.

5. What instruments do you use to create your music?
I play on a microkorg, some guitar, and found sounds. Chase plays on a Premier drum set. Chris plays on guitar. and Alex plays on bass guitar.

6. If your music could have an environment, what would it be like?
A really rough dive bar or a cathedral.

I have here some live recordings, courtesy of the band. Click here, to obtain them (it has around 70 megabytes - but is sure worth it!).
If you're more curious about Floating Colors, visit their myspace.
If you're more interest now in this band, send 6 dollars North America or 10 dollars via paypal to stephen_palke@yahoo.com to purchase albums, or for digital copies, go to floatingcolors.bandcamp.com.

[gig reviews] Soft Circle at Galeria Zé dos Bois' rooftop

Ok, last sunday, by a pre-dusk part of the day, I filmed Soft Circle (Hisham Bharoocha's project, since he departed from Black Dice). It was a cool gig, that started more or less by 17h:45min. Hisham uses loops with modern music technology, then looping again with his guitar's help and some pedals and finally, he sings and plays drums, while these loops set a dazzling beat, with rhythmic cycles that hypnotize the viewer. Hisham, himself, seems like a spiritual person. A great musician, that excells in good timing while playing his drums, this project that started around 2007 seems to promise us a lot of good music. Soft Circle's second album, with Ben Vida, is scheduled to be released by Spring of 2010.
For more info on Soft Circle, click here.

I'll upload the entire gig, if I can spare some more time... By now, I uploaded this short one:

[upcoming bands] Youthless

Alex, from this duo named Youthless said in Muso's guide: "Youthless is Sab and I. I play drums and sing and sometimes I play synth lines with my free hand. Sab sings and plays bass through two amps which he alternates between using a footswitch. We also use a bunch of weird FX boxes and other toys. It’s a bit of a strange set up but somehow, amidst all the confusion, we manage to bang out some rockin’ tunes."
Like they've said in some interviews, they don't like to be labeled, since it doesn't give them that much freedom to record whatever they want.
They're a great promise and are going to launch this month, October this is, a new single through Enchufada records.
You can hear next [click on them] the following Youthless' songs: "Golden Age" and "Blondie".

Below is a videoclip of their song entitled "Monsta":

Liars "Liars"

Liars consist of a three-piece experimental rock band that was born in New York (its early years were lived at that urban cage). Currently, these Liars are living in Berlin, Germany. The band's members are: Angus Andrew (vocals/guitar), Aaron Hemphill (percussion, guitar, synth) and Julian Gross (drums).
This is their 4th album and their latest one (it was released in 2007). Mute Records released their album. I think it's more accessible than most of their albums, but its really good at the same time. The songs featured in it are trippy sometimes ("Plaster casts of Everything"- watch the videoclip too) and other times they convert themselves into eccentric sound waves that wash your brain with a peculiar and semi-ambiguous mix of emotions ("Houseclouds", "Sailing to Byzantium", "Protection" and "The Dumb in the Rain").
The album's lenght is 39 minutes and 6 seconds. The producers are the following: Liars and Jeremy Glover.
You can get the album here - have fun.

The three wise men are above.

The videoclip of the song "Houseclouds":


The song "Sailing to Byzantium":

Thom Yorke does a new song

Thom Yorke, the worldwide famous Radiohead vocalist, has done recently (10 days ago or so) a new song - actually it isn't "new", since it's a cover. The musical piece is called "All for the best" and is a Miracle Legion's cover. I have got the opportunity to hear the original version and I assure you that both are undeniably good.

Hope you like Thom's new song: