Показаны сообщения с ярлыком Shinova. Показать все сообщения
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пятница, 23 марта 2018 г.

Tu Aura Brilla Mas: Let Go/ Nada Surf 15 Aniversario

Tu Aura Brilla Mas: Let Go/ Nada Surf 15 Aniversario (p)2018 Mardev/ Ernie
I’ve been the massive fan of Nada Surf since 2003 when I first observed video of “Inside Of Love” aired by the [best ever] German music channel onyx.tv. This video made me searching for the band’s records, and the first album I purchased the same year it was “Proximity Effect”. I quickly embraced their lyrical imagery and subdued bittersweet undertones that led them to stand tall amongst the short list of my all-time favorite bands. I consider “Lucky” their best effort to date as it includes the set of songs I can personally relate to both melody-wise and lyric-wise the best way possible. However, it was 2003’s “Let Go” that brought them out of the gloomy grunge-obsessed subterranean dungeons of the 90’s right into the bright light streak of the post-millennial indie rock. While their second album (the aforementioned "Proximity Effort") was declined by their label Electra it was released first in Europe. Following this the band was dropped by Electra. With two albums and one massive hit ("Popular") in the back catalogue Nada Surf were set to replicate the fate of zillion of the 90's bands that silently fell into obscurity. But the new album ("Let Go"), new hit ("Inside Of Love"), new label (the Seattle-based indie imprint Barsuk Records) and the new direction (less grunge more power pop) led them into the indie stardom in 2000's.
The band gained the substantial cult following in Europe (especially in non-English speaking countries) thanks to the lengthy tours through the Old World and both Matthew Caws’ and Daniel Lorca’s multilingual abilities. Moreover, they are really concerned of what’s going on with music in Europe. I deeply appreciate this last year's story about Nada Surf members appearing on Ebrovision festival a day before the schedule just to check out Rufus T. Firefly performing, of whom they were told it would be worth it to look at. Their European record-selling headquarters is based in Spain (the Galician finest Ernie Producciones) but anyway I was kinda surprised to know that Nada Surf were going to release the collection of cover versions made by a bunch of Spanish indie bands.
Digitally it was released over a month ago and recently it was released officially on CD. So what could I say… It is definitely one of the best cover albums I have ever listened to. What makes a great cover version great? For me, it’s when a certain band takes someone else’s song and rewrites it into their own the way you could place it into the band’s album and it wouldn’t be sounding as an alien. Thus, the final result takes the best from both summing up the original's best features and the cover maker’s own tricks. Regarding the most of the tracks here, this criterium is fulfilled completely.
For the better authenticity 8 of total 12 songs were translated into Spanish. Even for me as a person largely familiar with the original album sometimes it’s hard to separate what I know from what I hear because, for instance, “No Es Tan Rapido” sounds nothing like Nada Surf’s song – it sounds exactly like a song by Second, as well as “Nubes De Mosquitos” sound exactly like Lori Meyers’ own. The same thing I could repeat for almost every track and every band on the album be it Niños Mutantes with their newfound synth-laden sound on "Blizzard Of 77/ La Tormenta Del'77" or La Habitacion Roja with their classic post-"Ayer" warm pop-psychedelia on "Inside Of Love/ Dentro Del Amor". Be it the lush guitar-driven pop of Anni B Sweet ("La Pour Ca/ Estare Ahi") or slightly fuzzed out alternative rock of Shinova (the Basque band stepped back to the sound of their pre-"Volver" albums to make this version of "Treading Water"). Be it Villanueva's delicate rendition of "Hi-Speed Soul/ Hablemos De Soul" or the Noise Box's version of "Happy Kid" that turns the original power pop hit into the 6 minute long psychedelic pop masterpiece.
I think it’s really great achievement.


четверг, 7 сентября 2017 г.

#Sonorama20. The Report. Part Three

There are some bands whose fans/haters ratio is close to 50/50. This pool of bands is widely known as ‘successful bands’. You know, even some freaky outfits like Ojete Calor or Las Bistecs surely have more fans than haters. But when you start talking about Love Of Lesbian… Indie community is cruel to its former babybirds now flying too high. The commercial success, the recording contracts, the number of gigs per year, the ability to sustain 10000+ crowd – sometimes these things come with their opposite sisters. The most important thing there is – it’s not about envy. There’s some kind of real ‘not commercial/too commercial’ dichotomy: the ones considered 'too commercial' are consequently considered free from any form of artistic aspirations. For me, I’ve got a bent for ‘little’ bands, and one of this blog’s aims is to speak about lesser-known bands. But also I like a lot of commercially viable bands, and, frankly speaking, I don’t feel guilty about it.

11/08/17. The Morning. Locations: Santa Catalina stage, Maria Pacheco, El Charco stage
This Saturday morning Rufus T. Firefly were set to return onstage as 'artista sorpresa' at Plaza Obispo Acosta where the new Santa Catalina stage was arranged. When we came at the place there was only a handful of potential spectators. They were hiding themselves in the shades of the buildings around, as this morning was really hot. But we weren't the last ones to come, and quite quickly the square got full with the people that pressurized us to step into the light. The band partially used the gear of Second who were set to perform here in the next timeslot. Rufus played the [more or less] same set of songs as two days earlier in camping and though they again omitted my favorite song “Demerol Y Piedras” off “Nueve” the satisfaction was 110%. 
Anyway, in the middle of their set I left the venue and made a run to Maria Pacheco stage, where El Lado Oscuro de La Broca were performing at the moment. I had a fear of being too late so this fear forced me to run pretty fast. The Zamora-based quartet played the songs from both of their albums. As loud & noisy as melodic, the strange birds in El Genio Equivocado's roster were successful in transcending their studio shoegaze-on-speed guitar swirl into the live performance. For a couple of songs the band was accompanied by a girl who later revealed to be Maria Mieres, the singer of San Jeronimo whom I like as well. 
When the band completed their set I met with Joan and Rafa (also known as Pin y Pon djs) - the heads of El Genio Equivocado - and then returned to Santa Catalina.
If Rufus got Plaza Obispo Acosta full with the people, Second got it totally overcrowded. The crowd splashed out onto the square’s sidestreets where people were staying without any hope of seeing the band. Fortunately, Tanya managed to secure the great place in two steps from the stage so we were happy to observe the performance from the close distance. Second have got a lot of good songs. They’ve got a lot of great songs. So every Second show is the total pleasure.
When Second's show was over, and the people started walking around to find themselves some beer, we decided to walk away. But when we stepped aside we noticed the guys from Rufus T. Firefly packing their equipment into the van and decided to catch Victor for a photo. But we felt it was the wrong moment to distract him as he looked too loaded with all these pedalboards and other things so we stayed aside waiting for the moment he’d get free. Right before our eyes there was a gap between the vans, and in this gap we noticed another person we’d like to meet and greet: Josete Diaz from Villanueva who stayed at the opposite side of the square. We approached him and hugged him and talked to this nice and friendly person for 15 minutes or so. And what made this moment even greater was the sudden appearance of Javier Ajenjo. Thursday’s night we met him for a brief talk, and he proposed to meet the next day to have a lunch together. But the next day it became apparent that to access him in the middle of the day is rather impossible. I can’t even imagine what amount of calls and messages he gets through the day to keep the festival moving along. Really. It’s huge amount, and our message was somehow lost in this vast ocean. Apparently, Javier also considered it way too optimistic trying to cut an hour at the midday for us, so he asked would it be ok if he reserved a table in the restaurant for us. We said ‘It would be great!’ and he did so. We left Javier and Josete with our heads in the cloud nine.
Then we walked half-round the square to see what’s going on with Rufus. Fortunately, we ran into Victor who walked to the minibus with only a pack of beer in his hand. This moment was right, and we jumped in front of him: “Holaaaa, somos desde Rusia!” De facto he’s one of our favorite musicians standalone, and we’re always happy to see him performing even with other bands (Mucho, Zahara, etc.) When we told him our goodbyes and finally left the Plaza Obispo Acosta, the next POI we had in our schedule were El Mato A Un Policia Motorizado at El Charco stage.
We caught most of El Mato’s performance but we could hardly say we beheld it. Initially we rushed right to the stage to make some good photos, and then started roaming around to find some shade to hide in. But what we really found was the company of Jose, the frontman of Yo, Estratosferico, and his friends Gloria and Alberto. Together we talked for most of the show about different things and rarely paid attention to what was happening onstage.
Suddenly I noticed some persons whose faces seemed so familiar to me passing along in ten yards before my eyes. I couldn’t stand but ran for them to get closer to prove them to be Juan Alberto and Nani from Niños Mutantes. Upon returning to Jose and friends I said: ‘Yeah, that’s really the guys from Niños Mutantes!’ ‘Have you already met them?’ Jose asked. I told, no. And that moment I noticed them returning to our location and standing just in front of us. ‘Do you want to?’ asked Jose. ‘Yes, we’d like to!’ I replied, so Jose walked to them and asked to join us for a minute. We briefly talked and the man who accompanied Juan Alberto and Nani (probably their manager) made the photos on my phone. But something went wrong, and later when we looked into the photo gallery in my LG we saw no photos with Niños Mutantes. What a disappointment, especially taking in mind that we were going to meet them later in restaurant and could repeat the photo session!
The first person we ran into when we entered the restaurant La Cantinaccia was Juan Alberto. ‘We ain’t following you!’- what we could say?!
We felt like we’re stepping into the paradise. Oscar from Delafe right next table to us. Guys from Sidonie just upstairs. Niños Mutantes deeper in the hall. Maryan Frutos, the sister of Sean, passing around. Sean himself… We asked Oscar for a photo, asked Mark Ros and Ramiro Nieto for a photo… Sean Frutos smiled noticing at us at the table. We didn’t ask him for a photo as we’d already made it two days ago.
When we were close to finish our lechazo the doors opened and the guys from Izal all covered with sweat entered the hall. We understood they were today’s concierto secreto.
‘Two years ago, in the VIP zone!’ – Mikel exclaimed, pointing a finger at us when we tried to catch his attention. ‘Sure!’ – we were completely shocked (in the good way) of the fact he remembered us. We tried to tell Mikel that we just wanted to express our respect and love and we didn’t need no photos, but he was like ‘Whaaat, no photos? No way! Hey men, let’s go make a photo with our Russian fans!’
It was a moving moment. It ALL was a moving moment. For such a shy person like me to find myself in a situation like this… I felt my heart breaking free from my chest with my feet off the ground. I asked a waiter for a blank sheet of paper, wrote a heartfelt message to Javier and all the bands there and stack it to the wall there.



11/08/17. The Night. Location: Recinto ferial
We had to omit the actuation of Echo as it coincided with the Viva Suecia performance at much larger venue. Initially I thought that deep, sad and inward-looking music of the Murcian four-piece is not for all and everybody, and I hardly could expect, say, in 2015 that two years later this band would be so embraced by the public. But that’s what it is, and that’s what they deserve for sure. 
Having Facto and Las Flores Azules peeled off, Delafe is still around. He is the greatest performer but all through his show I couldn't escape the feeling the greatest performer was sad. I dunno why but I felt so. 
Then we ran to the VIP zone to observe the mutual performance of Santiago Auseron (Radio Futura) and Sexy Sadie. For me personally, ‘Santiago Auseron sings the songs of Sexy Sadie’ could be much more preferable situation as compared to 'Sexy Sadie play the songs of Santiago Auseron for him to sing' as I’m not the biggest fan of Spanish 80’s rock’n’roll stars. So we escaped the main stage searching for some better life. In 5 minutes we found it at Burgos stage where Kokoshca were performing. This band was one of the previous year’s discoveries for me. Live they were great, the same as their studio incarnation. 
Tierra Vertical became the second biggest discovery for me. I can’t recall now why I was floating around recinto ferial alone, and why I decided to enter La Carpa – but surely it was the moment of blessing, as Tierra Vertical were amazing. As far as I know the guys are in the process of recording right now, and I hope their album will get their live emotion captured. All good bands have some twist in their music that sets them apart from the common pool, and during these minutes in La Carpa I felt like this band has got it.
Berry Txarrak captured us with their groundbreaking music. We occasionally passed along the Aranda stage coming from the marketplace, but stopped and stayed there for the whole set of songs. I have never made my wife to fall in love with post-hardcore, but this Sonorama she sustained two post-hardcore concerts (Willis Drummond and Berri Txarrak) being fully amused with them in the best way possible!
After having some calimocho we headed to the Burgos stage for seeing Eladio y Los Seres Queridos. Eladio Santos and his band didn't play my favorite tracks off "Orden Invisible" but it was no problem as they got a lot of songs to be satisfied with.
Meanwhile, the main stage was under preparation for something special. Earlier we thought the secret show of Los Planetas was being hidden under “Tarta de Cumpleanos” moniker, but when we met JuanMa and Julian from Igloo they told us: ‘No, there would be no Los Planetas’. Nevertheless, there were Los Planetas exactly. The Tarta de Cumpleaños section started from Shinova’s “Volver” as the soundtrack while the stage was covered with the white cloth, and lots of photographs were projected on it from the inside. After the song ending the white cloth fell down, and the well-recognizable silhouettes of J and his partners appeared onstage. After listening to 7 or 8 songs we left VIP zone and headed to Aranda stage to win the first line places for La Habitacion Roja.
For the next hour our only regret was because of the perfect performance of La Habitacion Roja we missed equally great show of Kitai. But it was worth it as Jorge, Pau, Marc, Jose and Jordi were on the peak of their stage form. It was our forth LHR's show and they did it again making us completely happy. Staying right in front of Pau Roca we sent him our remote greetings. Earlier we wrote him a message of love and respect, and he answered hoping to see us on the first line of the audience. And we were there, really!
It was 3 am and only Shinova ahead. They're probably the best band in creating the catchiest singalong choruses #rightnow. As the Next Big Band they're on the verge of becoming 'successful' with all the aforementioned consequences but it doesn't matter when you stand inside the crowd singing along to the best singalong chorus around. And they're the nice guys, we know it, really!
(Unfortunately, we didn't manage to make the good photo of the band as we stood too far).

понедельник, 12 декабря 2016 г.

Best of 2016. Albums 31-40

Previous entries:
Top50. Albums 41-50
Top10 - EPs and mini albums
Honorable mention #1
Honorable mention #2

40. Keep Out "Spicy Mud Cake" (p)Polar
Electrified and contaminating, this album is like the bottle of Molotov cocktail ready to explode thrown into the trash container full of the construction debris and chemical production paraphernalia.

39. Shinova "Volver" (p)Warner
Switching from punching alt-rock to more folk-tinged song constructions doesn't change the main thing about this Basque band: they specialize on hymns, not songs. All these tracks are born to set flames to stadiums. Sometimes this approach leads to the great results.

38. Escuelas Pias "Nuevas Degenarciones" (p)El Genio Equivocado
The synth-driven branch of indie pop that's called 'indietronica' is something of a common place in Spanish music since the first successes of Elefant Records. But some true pearls are still appearing seemingly out of nowhere. This duo is one of these pearls.

37. Modelo De Respuesta Polar "Dos Amigos" (p)self-released
As introverted as gorgeous and as subdued as sublime, the new album of Modelo de Respuesta Polar (initially released via the crowdfunding campaign) presents Borja Mompo's band on a peak of the creating form.

36. Hola A Todo El Mundo "Away" (p)Mushroom Pillow
These are the pop songs. These are the tight guitar-driven pop songs. I'm unaware about the intention but for me this 'away' is somewhere where the R.E.M's "Shiny Happy People" were born.

35. Sidonie "El Peor Grupo Del Mundo" (p)Warner
Call it irony, call it self-indulgence but for Marc Ros and his pals it's a kind of a cheap trick to name their best album "The Worst Band In The World". The bleak Beatlesque melodies themselves can't make me love it as I'm not the fan of The Beatles, but the irresistible lighthearted elegance this album was created with - surely can.

34. Biscuit "Biscuit" (p)La Castanya
"Biscuit" reminds me of Nerf Herder, Against Me! (before gender reclassification of their front[wo]man) and The Hold Steady. But mostly it reminds me of Bullitt's "Sparks". And it's really nice cos I like "Sparks" alot.

33. El Lado Oscuro De La Broca "Poderosa" (p)El Genio Equivocado
The most inflammable band in El Genio Equivocado roster fires on all cylinders in the sophomore release. Just like on the previous album, "Poderosa"'s sound is the sound of a crashing aircraft backed with the most brutal form of post-punk.

32. Les Cruet "Pomes Agres" (p)Bankrobber
I ain't learned about the themes Les Cruet are exploring in their songs cos the lyrics are 100% Catalan. Anyway, this harsh angry shrieky primordial punk album with sratching gnashy vocals is a good soundtrack to the modern society demise despite the things they are singing about really.

31. Doble Pletina "Asi Es Como Escapo" (p)Jabalina Musica
The best ever pop music for those who don't like pop music.


четверг, 1 сентября 2016 г.

Sonorama 2016. The Report: The Best Of... Part Two

Copiloto (Thursday 11th, 19:50, Burgos). For me it was the consistent show, but for the better effect I would like to see some elder songs (such as "Moleskine" or "Marta Y Los Escaparates" from "Un Segundo Luminoso").

The Trunks (Friday 12th, 12:00, Plaza del Trigo). This was amazing, really one of the best shows of this Sonorama! Very loud, very melodic. Rodrigo Valiente is the great showman, and this show was the perfect confirmation of his abilities. Add to that the appearance of 1/2 of Igloo (Beni & JuanMa) onstage for one song, while Berto and Julian were backstage, depicting what was happening there with their mobile phones. One thing about The Trunks I should point out especially - the band sounded live MUCH better than on album. The album ("Bipolar" (p)2015) seemed to me quite overproduced, smoothed down to some kind of the averaged 'rich' alternative rock sound - but live the same songs were the delight to my ears. The songs became really alive.

Papaya (Friday 12th, 15:45, Charco). Yanara Espinoza and her small band were set to perform in the lovely place by the river. We were running as hell from Plaza del Trigo trying to catch her show and quickly found ourselves accompanied by other people that trod the same way. The audience was rather limited but it looked totally devoted. The music was apparently groovier than on the album, it got that vibe that would make you dance to it even if you had no such intention. 

Detergente Liquido (Friday 12th, 18:00, Carson Camping). This cool band didn't manage to gather much people as well, but it's not their fault at all. They were all what I expected from them in the best possible way. 

Amatria (Saturday 13th, 12:00, Plaza del Trigo). Joni started his concert from one of the best tracks of 2015: "Me Falta Algo". In seconds it made all the people on the square go dancing. It was pure fun with all these tracks like "Buhardilla", "El Golpe", "Chinches"... Closer to the final of the latter the members of popular dj duo ElyElla Djs appeared backstage with the pneumocrackers in their hands to make things brighter - and they surely made it as evidenced by the photo below. 

Paciente Cero (Saturday 13th, 19:00, Burgos). This band is hard to market. They play the alternative rock for sure - but their alt-rock has got this twist (some kind of Dredg's quasi-prog twist, I think) that makes them separated from most of the peers. So the passionate music of Paciente Cero hardly can be categorized as commercially viable - but it's ready for the cult following. The songs like "Mentiras", "Llevame" or "Solsticio" could be the hits on the 90's college radio stations - and live they sounded great.

Under the bottomline, I'd like to say the following. The post that I wrote on these bands (the link is above in the header of the section) quickly became the most frequently read post of this blog - this means that it's an interesting topic. To see such bands live is always the most interesting part indeed. Moreover, incidentally finding out the new cool bands is stunning process. It's star-crossed, it's godsend. Please never neglect the opportunity to see something new, and please remember that Sonorama is not about Miss Caffeina and Love Of Lesbian only. The most part of the line up is the bands you might have never been learned about. There's a lot of great stuff amongst them. 

Big Names:
Miss Caffeina (Thursday 11th, 15:00, Plaza del Trigo - concierto secreto). The big names are also important. The first of them appeared before our eyes on the Plaza del Trigo stage. The band played 9 songs including 3 main hits from their 3 longplays: "Capitan" from "Imposibilidad Del Fenomeno", "Hielo T" from "De Polvo Y Flores" and "Mira Como Vuelo" from "Detroit". "Detroit", the last album of Miss Caffeina, more than flirts with electronica - but live the songs sounded more guitar-oriented. For me it was OK.

Love Of Lesbian (Friday 12th, 15:00, Plaza del Trigo - concierto secreto/ Friday 12th, 00:25, Ribera del Duero). The most important thing you should know about Love Of Lesbian - this band got imagination. Their current status allows them to do everything they want. For their concierto secreto appearance they decided to turn themselves into The Cure cover band. It was funny and looked natural for LOL because they're always up to arrange something funny (apart from the cases when they choose more sad and bitter-sweet program to perform). 
For the main stage performance I expected them to be concentrated on songs from their latest LP "El Poeta Halley" but it was rather like '50% Halley/ 50% 1999 & La Noche Eterna...'. There was the huge crowd all around, and for the next 24 hours I thought I knew what band is The Most Important Band Of The Moment. 
After that performance I came to one important understanding: nothing could ever make me to dislike them. Even themselves.


Mucho (Saturday 13th, 19:40, Ribera del Duero). The band recently fronted by Marti Perarnau has oficially turned into 'Marti Perarnau and his friends' band. Does it make them worse? I doubt that, because there's no band in this world can be worsened by addition of Victor Cabezuelo. From my point of view, that show confirmed Mucho's ability to fulfill the later timeslots on the main stage.

Delorean (Saturday 13th, 02:50, Ribera del Duero). It was impossible for us to omit the show of the band most well-known outside Spain. Their sunshine electronica generated the happiness and warmth in our hearts, and what I remember the most is that I was smilling all this hour through standing there on the first line before the Ribera stage. Music's got a hold on me, it's shaking the ground where I am...
The pure bliss.

Cult Favourites:
Nino de Elche (Thursday 11th, 19:40, Ribera del Duero). We missed his performance. We tried to catch at least one last song running from Carson Camping after Clara Plath's set - but we didn't manage to do so. This is my only disappointment from this Sonorama.
Nudozurdo (Friday 12th, 19:00, Castilla Y Leon). After the secret concert of Love Of Lesbian we accidentally run into Clara and Roberto from Clara Plath. They were standing by the wall and drinking whisky with cola. "Are you going to see Nudozurdo this evening?" they asked us (Roberto already was in Nudozurdo's t-shirt), and we replied 'Sure!' 
I still consider "Tara Motor Hembra" one of the best albums Spain ever produced. Frankly speaking, I can't tell the same about their latest effort "Rojo Es Peligro" but I was pretty sure that live they would be louder and edgier than on "Rojo...". And it was exactly so. The plaintive vocals of Leo were supported by his intricate guitar work and the groundbreaking rhythm section of Meta (bass) and Ricky (drums).

Maga (Saturday 13th, 20:25, Castilla Y Leon). Newly reformed band celebrates now the fifteenth anniversary of "Maga (blanco)" and got this album re-recorded with participation of some of the most renowned musicians of local indie community (Ivan Ferreiro, Julio de la Rosa, etc.) These 15 years didn't make the songs like "Diecinueve" and "Agosto Esquimal" worse, and I believe in the next 15 years they will still sound fresh and cool.

La Banda Especial:
Shinova (Wednesday 10th, 0:00, Carson Camping/ Saturday 13th, 14:00, Plaza del Trigo). When Javier Ajenjo announced Shinova's appearance on Plaza del Trigo stage, he named them 'the future of Spanish music'. But before they had their scheduled gig on Plaza, Shinova performed in the General Guttierrez park on the opening night. Both times the Basque band did it very professionally, very emotionally and positively driving. Their kind of melodic alternative rock has got the potential, but what is more important - it has got soul.
Just to remind you: three years ago Izal walked exactly the same way, and look at them - who are they now? The indie superstars. So why not to repeat this?