martes, 29 de marzo de 2016

Interview: Asalt0 Al Parque Zoológico (Spanish)



1-APZOO es hoy un exponente muy importante del shoegaze en muchos países. ¿Cómo fueron los comienzos de APZOO?

Fer: Al principio fue complicado armar la banda, encontrar los músicos. Desde 2002 me la pasaba poniendo avisos en disquerías y páginas de músicos tratando de conseguir gente que estuviera interesada en el estilo. En 2008, después de mucho tiempo, ojeando un libro salió el nombre de la banda y armé un MySpace con los primeros demos. A partir de ahí, y después de algunos cambios de formación llegamos a lo que es APZOO hoy en día.    

2- ¿Qué errores cometieron que no quisieran repetir?
Lux: Creo que no lo sabemos bien, tratamos de no pensar en eso. Podríamos ser más agresivos en cuanto a nuestras estrategias publicitarias, movernos mas, pero naturalmente rechazamos a los spammers, creemos que si la banda merece algún tipo de atención por parte del público eso se va a dar de una forma u otra.  

 

3--La banda tiene una fuerte influencia a MBV, ¿esto se fue dando naturalmente o lo buscaron?

Fer: Al momento de armar la banda la influencia más importante era My Bloody Valentine, aunque no era la única. Traté de replicar de alguna forma ese sonido que venía escuchando hacía tanto tiempo. Entonces al incorporarse los demás músicos y tocar esas primeras canciones se dio de forma natural seguir en ese camino. A partir de ahí tratamos de sumar nuevos sonidos e influencias, que se van a escuchar sobre todo en nuestro nuevo disco.

3-¿Con qué dificultades se encuentran para poder desarrollarse en momentos donde la economía global está patas para arriba?

Lux: Supongo que donde mas nos afecta es en ir a tocar a otros países. Hay interés de parte de algunos productores independientes, ha habido muchas conversaciones, pero al ser un quinteto los presupuestos se complican un poco. También es más difícil grabar y equiparse.   

4-¿Cómo ven el Shoegaze en Argentina?

Fer: La verdad es que no vemos una escena armada, sino algunos grupos con algunas influencias más que nada del dream pop o el post-rock.  

5-¿Quiénes integran la banda hoy?

Lux: Después de algunos cambios de formación, la banda actualmente está integrada por Fernando G. en voz y guitarra líder, Aló Marina en voz y guitarra, Julián Mazzeo en batería, Gabo Maumus en bajo y yo en sintes, sampler y pandereta.
 
6-Pude ver en su Facebook un arsenal de guitarras y efectos ¿Qué guitarras usan y qué efectos ?

Fer: Soy de usar varias cosas. En general siempre usamos Fender Jazzmaster o Jaguar. Aunque en el disco nuevo también grabamos con otras guitarras como una Jackson Surfcaster y dos acústicas, una Martin de doce cuerdas y otra de seis cuerdas. En cuanto a efectos uso un poco de todo, desde pedales vintage de los 70’s, pedales boutique, algunos pedales DIY hechos por mi y algunos racks, generalmente de los 80’s y 90’s.  
 

7-¿Cuál fue su momento más grande hasta ahora en su carrera?

Lux: Lo de la edición del disco en Japón fue importante para nosotros. En cuanto a los shows en vivo tuvimos la suerte de compartir escenario con bandas que respetamos y nos gustan hace mucho tiempo. Creo que el show que dimos el año pasado en el aniversario del ciclo Music is My Girlfriend en el Konex fue uno de los puntos mas altos. También recordamos fechas que hicimos en Córdoba, La Plata y este año en Mar del Plata con Altocamet. En los próximos días vamos a estar tocando con BNLX, una banda americana de la cual somos fans. En general los mejores momentos son cuando tocamos con amigos y con gente que admiramos.  
8-¿Cómo se complementan con Luxx Noise en vivo? Me imagino que tanto ella como Fer deben hacer un buen coctel tremendo de sonidos...

Fer: Luxx fue sumando mucho a las texturas que vamos produciendo en vivo. Originalmente, los sonidos los disparaba yo con un viejo sampler Ensoniq de los 90’s, pero en general eran sonidos estáticos, loops. Ella fue agregando nuevos elementos como el Kaossilator, filtros y varios elementos dinámicos que hacen las cosas mas interesantes. Todo eso suma mucho a la pared de sonido que tratamos de armar. Entre ella y yo generamos gran parte de los sonidos mientras que los otros chicos ayudan a dar la estructura a las canciones que subyace debajo del ruido.  

9-¿Cuántos discos tienen y comenten algo si vamos a tener disco nuevo a mediano o corto plazo?

Lux: Hasta ahora tenemos dos EPs, el primero homónimo, que editamos en 2009. En 2010 editamos un EP split con Sugar Candy a través del netlabel EPG Records que se llamó “Noise Sweet Noise” e incluye dos temas de cada banda. En 2011 reeditamos el primero remasterizado y con dos temas inéditos y en 2013 ese mismo disco salió en formato físico en Japón.    

9B-Si hay disco nuevo, ¿dónde lo van a grabar?

Fer: El disco nuevo ya está casi listo, falta la mezcla y el mastering. El ingeniero con el que trabajamos es Estanislao López. Se grabó en los estudios MCL, Caja de Ruidos, Pirámide y algunas cosas (más que nada sampleos) en mi home studio. Antes de fin de año vamos a sacar algunos temas como adelanto del nuevo material y el disco completo va a ser editado en formato físico en Argentina, USA y Japón en marzo o abril.
 
10-¿Cómo llegan a editar el disco en Japón y bajo qué compañía lo hicieron?

Lux: Surgió de la propuesta del sello Hands and Moment, en asociación con Tower Records Japón, que se mostraron interesados en editarlo y son ellos también quienes van a editar nuestro próximo disco en 2014.    

11-¿Sus máximos referentes?
Fer: Tenemos varios referentes, a simple escucha cualquiera podría pensar que sólo estamos enfocados en My Bloody Valentine, pero las influencias van por muchos otros lados también, escuchamos desde stoner rock pasando por el metal extremo hasta el pop, ambient o música experimental.    

12-Esta llegando diciembre, y con eso quiere decir que Santa va a llegar a mucho hogares (O tal vez no……seria muy triste) ¿qué piden como banda?

Lux: Esperamos que editemos exitosamente nuestro disco, que sigamos tocando en vivo con bandas que nos gustan y que queremos y llegar a que más gente nos conozca y le guste nuestra música. Hemos logrado muchas cosas, quizás más de las que nos habíamos propuesto y queremos seguir creciendo.

Nota realizada por: Ariel Fernández
Fotos: Pagina web de de la banda.

Luthiers: Calibrar Bajos Fretless


Guitar Geek: Kevin Shields – My Bloody Valentine

Interview: Foreign Television (English)


 

1-how long have you been working together and who are the members of the band?

It's actually a one-man band. My name is Francis Allen and I write and record the songs.

2-This is your first album?

Yeah, it's the first Foreign Television album. I used to record instrumental music under the name 'Snowmobile', but the new sound and the addition of vocals called for a change of name. 

3-Your album its very good, what are your influences?

Thanks a lot! I'm sure there are a lot influences mixed together on this album. In the last few years I've been listening to a lot of stuff by Mark Kozelek, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Radiohead, Mew, Smashing Pumpkins...I've stolen from all of them!
4-in general terms, what are the topics of the lyrics?

That's a difficult question, but I think a lot of the lyrics are about dealing with the fact that time passes and things change. Some about how we remember, how we forget, what we consider to be important and uncertainty about the future. All the fun stuff.

 

5-Do you believe in maintain a style of composition over time or you are open to new changes?

I'm absolutely open to changes and new ideas if they happen naturally. There's no reason to commit to just one style, but at the same time I wouldn't force any big stylistic changes just for the sake of it. I've got some ideas for songs for the next release but I have no idea how they're going to turn out, so I'm looking forward to working on them.


6-this is a game:

I will choose two songs and I want you to talk about them, main concept? what memories they bring to you? everything that comes to your mind.
Do the same but you have to choose 2 songs.

I choose

A-Worlds you drift through 

I wrote and recorded it all in one go and didn't really change it at all after the first recording. Usually I record a demo of the music and then some vocals just to have an idea of a vocal melody, but on this one I was happy with how it turned out when it was only meant to be a demo. The song is about how easily people fade in and then fade out of your life. It's a sad one, but it might be my favourite song on the album. 

B-Beach

I hope it makes a good album closer. I needed to finish the album with something positive and, lyrically, I think it's probably the most positive song on the album, along with 'Rollerblades'. I thought i'd finished the song about a year ago, but when I went back to it I felt it was missing something, so I added the outro and was finally able to call the album complete.

Do you choose?

C- Misremember

It's a pop song! 'Misremember' is about how dangerous it can be to live in the past and think that your best years are behind you. Everyone does it to some extent, and glorifies how things were, but it's probably not a healthy thing to do. Some of the other songs on the album have idealised visions of the past, this song is the opposite of them. 

D- Olympic Christie

The synth part came from me messing around trying to cover some catchy R'n'B song i'd heard. I forgot the cover and started building the song around the synth. I think it was the first song that I had added vocals to. I knew I liked it enough for other people to hear it and so I decided to record vocals on other new tracks that I had. I owe the birth of Foreign Television to this song. 

7-How long it took to record the album and where it was recorded?

It took about two and a half years. I recorded demos of 'Olympic Christie' and 'Rented World' sometime in early 2011 and the album was still being worked on until October 2013! I started recording it at home, in Wales, but most of the album was recorded here in Moscow.

8-What are your goals in a short and long term?

For a long time the goal was just to make an album that I could be proud of. It feels good to have finished it after all this time and not hate it! Of course I want as many people to hear the album as possible, but as for long term goals, I just want to keep making music I enjoy.

9-how do you feel to know that your album comes to Spanish language countries?
Asombroso! The idea of people in Argentina listening to Foreign Television is incredible, so thanks to the internet and thanks to you for spreading the word! 


10-Do you prefer to play small places or large festivals?

I need to put a live band together first, but I would love to do both of those things. 


11-last game, if you could invite a famous musician to record with you, who will be and why?

There are so many possibilities, but to answer this question with anyone other than Bruce Springsteen feels wrong. The Boss it is! I went to watch him live in Cardiff last summer and the concert was so good it was almost confusing. The man is a machine!


Nota realizada por: Ariel Fernández
Fotos: Pagina web de de la banda.

Interview: TUT (English)


 

1-How long have you been working together and who are the members of the band?
We started the band in January 2013, and the band is consist of the band leader Hua-Chun Hu (Vocalist/Guitarist), Ji-Yi Shia (Drummer), Fifi Huang (Vocalist/Guitarist) and Edee Chen (Bassist).
2-Are you from the same city? Where you from?
We are all from northern Taiwan and currently living in Taipei right now.
3-How do you started?
The band was formed January 2013. Hua-Chun and Ji-Yi had a 3-piece band called "Fetish People" back in 2011, but then the bassist left so they decided to have a new band. Hua-Chun wanted to have a female vocalist in the band so Fifi was brought in this band, and then they put and ad on online forum for bassist, and that was how Edee got in.
4-Your band is so good, what are your influences?
Lol thanks. We are deeply influenced by My Bloody Valentine and a Japanese band called Supercar. 
 
5-In general terms, what are the topics of the lyrics?
Fifi and Hua-Chun are usually the ones who write the songs, so their answers are... Fifi: Love, sadness and hate. Hua-Chuan: Love. Yeah, so we are basically a band full of love.
6-Please tell me something about SEND ME?
This song is written by Fifi, and we all have different interpretations to that. Fifi: It's a song to a girl who is lack of confidence. At one night she was suffering from insomnia, she felt so sensitive to every small voices. And when she closed her eyes, she saw the sky of night, stars, forest and lake. She was just drifting and floating there, watching those beautiful things but felt hopeless. Ji-Yi: a weirdo waiting for a dawn. Hua-Chun: Sad people and march song. Edee: peeping tom?
7-How long it took to record it, and where was that?
We did the drum in studio and the rest of instrument in Hua-Chun's bedroom. It took us about 2 weeks to finish this song.
8-Do you believe in maintains a music style of composition over time? or, are you open to a new changes of styles? 
 
We've never tried to put ourselves in a certain shape. We are always trying out new stuffs and our style changes as we expose to other great and interesting music. However in the album we're going to release a few month later we'll make it more as a whole, the style of the songs will be more coherent.
9-What are your goals in a short and long term.?
We are now in the studio preparing for our debut album, and we're hoping to release it in August this year. For long term goal we hope we can get more close to the ideal sound and atmosphere.
10-How do you feels to know that your album comes to Spanish language countries by facebook or internet?
We are glad and excited that more and more people are listening to our music for sure, and at the same time curious about how people there get to know us? 
 
11-Do you prefer to play small places or large festivals?
I think we enjoy both of them. It's like chemical reaction. Songs just sounds different in different venues, and we are excited about this kind of interactions with different gig places.
12-Moving on to another area: Political ideas: Are you interested in political? Any preferences?
We are all involved in the biggest Taiwanese social movement recently, and we are hoping for a more democratic future.
13-What is you vision about global warming?
If everyone can pay more attention on their lives then maybe we can achieve something extraordinary. Turn off the lights you don't need, walk or bike more, do recycle, bring your water bottle instead of buying water. There are actually a lot of small thing we can help to stop global warming, we just need a little bit more attention.
14-Last game, if you could invite a famous musician to record with you, who will be and why?
Fifi: Andrew bird, love his sexy whistling sound and the arrangement of violin in his songs. Hua-Chun: Kevin Shield, he is a pioneer in this style of music. Ji-Yi: James Dean Bradfield (manic street preachers) oh god i love his voice Edee: Bradford Cox, I love the combinations of weirdo and genius, and he is just magical when on the stage.
15-What message would you give to your fans in South America?
Hola, Somos "TuT",la band de Taiwan. Muchas gracias por sus apoyos! Espero que algún día podríamos ir a Sudamérica para tener unos conciertos. Nos encontraremos con ustedes allí~

Nota realizada por: Ariel Fernández
Fotos: Pagina web de de la banda. 

martes, 15 de marzo de 2016

Audio: Diluvia (Mexico)

Audio: DulceSky

Documentary: Electronic music in Mexico


Books: Resistencia (Patricia Pietrafesa)

https://alotroladomusic.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/62110_470005233048142_1680197730_n.jpg?w=650 


pat
Patricia Pietrafesa

Video: Surfer Rosa


Audio: Car Crash Sisters (Mexico)

Movies: Dancer in the Dark


Concert: RIDE