mind blender

Thursday, 19 February 2015

Have A Nice Life

Have A Nice Life is an American post-punk band, founded in Connecticut in 2000 by Dan Barrett and Tim Macuga. The band is known for their unique style of post-punk, which includes several shoegaze, industrial, ambient, and drone elements.

Back in 2013 was my first touch with this amazing band. Their harsh and at the same time so soothing scent helped me distinguish new, never seen before, specters of grey, black and white. Made me feel with my eyes and see with my heart. Truly amazing.

I wish I could turn back time over and over again to listen to their records for the first time forever.

Deathconsciousness, 2008
must-listen tracks: Bloodhail, Hunter

The Unnatural World, 2014
must-listen tracks: Defenestration Song, Burrial Society

Voids, 2010
must-listen tracks: Sisyphus, Destinos

Time of land (EP), 2010
must-listen tracks: Woe Unto Us

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra (previously A Silver Mt. Zion, The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-La-La Band with Choir and Thee Silver Mountain Reveries) is a group led by founding Godspeed You Black Emperor! guitarist Efrim Menuck, together with other Godspeed members Sophie Trudeau and Thierry Amar.

To some extent, A Silver Mt. Zion was born out of a desire on the part of the Godspeed players to work in a smaller musical ensemble; in effect, to escape some of the constraints that often accompany writing and arranging music democratically with nine musicians. As well, Efrim simply wanted a vehicle to realize some of his own musical ideas that would not necessarily work well within the context of Godspeed.

For the band's second and third records, the line-up expanded to six players, including Rebecca Foon, Ian Ilavsky and Jessica Moss, and the band re-named as The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-la-la Band. Scott Levine Gilmore joined the band for Horses In The Sky, and now there were seven.

In 2010, the band was reduced to a quintet : Efrim, Thierry, Jessica, Sophie and new member David Payant.

Where to start?

He Has Left Us Alone
But Shafts Of Light Sometimes
Grace The Corner Of Our Rooms…, 2000
must-listen track: 13 Angels Standing
Guard 'Round The Side Of Your Bed.

Born Into Trouble As The Sparks Fly Upward, 2001
must-listen track: Could've Moved Mountains...

Horses in the sky, 2005
must-listen track: God bless our dead marines

This Is Our Punk-Rock,
Thee Rusted Satellites Gather+Sing, 20003
must-listen track: Babylon Was Built On Fire/Starsnostars

Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light On Everything, 2014
must-listen track: What We Loved Was Not Enough

Mind/soul/heart blowing!

Thursday, 8 January 2015

Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Godspeed You! Black Emperor (formerly punctuated Godspeed You Black Emperor! and abbreviated to GY!BE, GYBE or Godspeed) is a Canadian band based in Montreal, Quebec. Formed in 1994 in Montreal, Canada, the band has been highly influential within the post-rock genre. Working with orchestrated arrangements, the nine-piece group created tracks with wide dynamic ranges, a highly evocative use of instrumentation and sounds and uncompromising long form compositions. Their engrossing use of art and visuals in both album packaging and live performances creates an enigmatic aura.

They are most commonly classified as post-rock, but are just as well recognized outside any established scene and take influences from a range of styles including progressive rock, post-punk, classical music,soundtrack composition and the avant-garde. Each release usually consists of an entire piece divided into movements, mostly between 15 and 25 minutes, sometimes eponymously specified in the liner notes.

Interesting fact: Godspeed You! Black Emperor took their name from a little known 1976 Japanese black-and-white documentary by director Mitsuo Yanagimachi, which follows the exploits of a Japanese biker gang, the Black Emperors.