Sasquatch Lives

SOULSELLER

2010-05-02T19:43:00.000-07:00

Soulseller take the stage with demure confidence, almost a smugness that suggests they've got a trick or two up their sleeves. Old, haggard bogans of the future are sure to look back and reminisce fondly about their first time seeing Soulseller; the band that saved Dunedin music from falling into a hackneyed spiral of repetition of the inescapable "Dunedin Sound".
Their music is a pure distillation of their three parts, an expression imbued with artful innocence and integrity that could only issue forth from three characters like Damo, Jared and Hayden. The beard-clad, long-haired youngsters show a refined sensibility for riff-worship and bluesy, unadulterated emotion well beyond their years, channelling the spirits of 70s fuzz and psychedelia, reified with youthful aggression and wide-eyed experimentation; the soundtrack to punching, driving trucks, beards, leather, denim and manhood.

Their music (delivered in the form of a ripper of an EP (self-titled) and a glorious fuckfest of a live show) showcases pure rock n' roll fury with wild abandon, tearing a new one in the seat of your pants, barely hinged together in the frenzy of it all; but all converging with a supernatural focus, with great discipline and honorable respect for the one, the unholy awesome bastard of a riff - the kind that induces involuntary head movements, ordering a hand to your crotch and a fist to the air, air-guitaring and spilling beer all over your friends.

Their newer songs, one of which is to be featured on an international compilation alongside veterans Karma To Burn, logically develop and extend from their foundations in the time-tested Soulseller formula, but hint at a maturity and intensity beyond that of their EP, which in itself is one of New Zealand underground rock music's greatest releases and easily one of the best debut records of any kind in recent years.

Serious fans of stoner rock, psychedelia and straight-up rock and roll would do well to keep an eye on Soulseller.

Tunes online...

2010-02-21T20:02:00.000-08:00

ARC OF ASCENT

Have a listen, if you find a few spare minutes. The tracks there are only samples - we didn't want to compromise the audio quality that we and our engineers have worked hard to achieve, so we cut the tracks down and uploaded them at the highest quality we could manage on Myspace.

Our debut record "Circle Of The Sun" will be released worldwide on March 29th (NZ release is slated for March 8th), and will be available internationally from ClearSpot International (www.clear-spot.nl) and StonerRock.com as well as through our page.

Thanks for the interest.

RECENT [bowel] MOVEMENTS

2009-11-23T16:36:00.000-08:00

New Arc of Ascent T-shirts coming soon:

artwork courtesy of Logan Muir III

Our debut record "Circle of the Sun" is currently being mixed by Zorran Mendonsa. We're working toward a February 2010 release; followed by a tour in support of the record, then back into the rehearsal cave to work on new material (four new songs have already reared their heads and, though still in somewhat of a gestation period, are coming along quite nicely...darker, heavier and a lot more psychedelic/hypnotic than the first year's music, if I do say so myself).

artwork courtesy of Greg Hodgson (of Manfred Manslaughter!)

Also, I drew a sasquatch.

artwork courtesy of some bearded asshole

i picked up a pen again...

2009-09-26T05:04:00.000-07:00

Destroy Electronica

2009-09-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

Sora Shima are another young, up-and-coming constituent of the New Zealand instrumental post-rock movement, born from the Hamilton music scene in early 2007. Sora Shima illustrate that the fundamental machinery of heaviness needn't rely on distortion, overdriven guitars or downtuned sludge riffery - but through exercising the musical instrument as an extension of the emotional and unconscious psyche, one can convey and experience the overwhelming weight of emotion in its most visceral form, through the heartfelt and pure melody which speaks to the heart as well as the ears, and inexplicably, through tones and sounds alone, tells a tale of pain, sorrow and grief - or of hope, triumph and majesty.
I personally believe that the mark of a masterful songwriter is in the ability to convey the aforementioned emotions through music without lyrics, without words or vocals (which tell us the story in explicit terms), showing us and gently coercing the listener into a vulnerable state where we can experience the feeling and the story that a song conveys.

Destroy Electronica is the third EP release from the Hamilton quartet, preceded by the Distancing and Spinetingler EPs (both released in 2007), both of which gave me great hope that the Hamilton music scene still had a bright and promising twitch of life in her old bones. Needless to say, Destroy Electronica was eagerly-awaited among the few, but loyal followers that Sora Shima had accrued in their brief journey. The 33-minute release symbolizes the surmounting of that first hesitant step into new territory, and the recognition of the group's potential to boldly step further.

Here Be Dragons opens the record in the form of a slow, lumbering gentle giant which softly but sure-footedly trods forth as the gently swelling soundscape, coupled with delicate melodies (and is that a fucking XYLOPHONE?!) progress toward the crest of the piece. A steady stomp on the bassdrum (which sounds lovely, might I add. Great drum production) introduces the key theme of the track; a building, foreboding bassline converses eagerly with a sweet, gentle melody, which rumbles to an overwhelming swell, cascading into torrents and waves of majestic guitar crescendo that soars atop the driving backbeat and bassline that sit sturdily as boulders beneath.

River City Reversal, guides us, well, backwards through what the artwanker in me would call an artistic deconstruction of the unnerving, wavering balance between the pace and mood of life in River City (Hamilton) and a reinterpretation of the mundane, a rephrasing and reiteration of existence in the margins of this strange, ectopic city by the river.

Calor Humano pays homage to the slow, lurching feel of "americana"/dirge pioneers Earth, where a single, clean guitar riff unfurls and unfolds amidst a developing and building soundscape, meditating over the intricacies of sustain, tone and the mesmerizing qualities of repetition. The pulsing backbeat drumming of the opening track is abandoned for a stroll between the gentle twinkling of cymbals and pattering drum tones, which draws focus to and provides a sonic bed for the simple, emotive riff which would make Dylan Carlson proud. "Calor Humano" translates to "human warmth", and this piece definitely evokes a sense of comfort and warmth as the riffs evolve into ambient swells of rich melody, encouraging a meditative, subconscious state which is equal parts relaxing and invigorating.

Hello Big Sky is an ambitious exercise in ironically, electronica (to use the term very loosely). A pounding backbone of sampled drums and percussion adds tension to an undulating, richly-layered soundscape of moody melodies with no apparent melodic theme; simply a swelling blanket of shimmering tones with a strong emphasis on percussion and the driving tension therein. This piece acts almost as a cliffhanger ending; building and pulsing toward the implied crescendo which never occurs - a forthright exercise of artistic licence, perhaps.

A hidden track follows; but it is "hidden" for a reason - I wouldn't want to go ruining the surprise now, would I? (or maybe I'm just getting lazy...)

All considered, Destroy Electronica is a solid release from these lads - certainly a rich, textured and thought-provoking record, but a big part of me is pining to see the band release an LP, with a more broad scope and space for them to really cut fucking loose. There's no knocking all three EPs (of which D.E. is certainly the most developed), but a Sora Shima album (which will be happening soon, one suggests) is a promising prospect. I contend the same about the band in general - very promising and I have no doubt that they are completely capable of reaching the heights (and beyond) of their New Zealand predecessors Jakob.

Purchase Destroy Electronica HERE or HERE
Download the Spinetingler and Distancing EPs HERE
Visit Sora Shima on Myspace

Circle of the Sun

2009-09-04T20:28:00.000-07:00

My band (Arc of Ascent) and I have spent the last couple weeks tracking for and piecing together the components of our upcoming debut record, Circle of the Sun. We spent a weekend in Devonport tracking the heart of the record - bass, drums and guitars with Kenny Macdonald (Texas, Anika Moa, The Checks) at MacsRoom Studios. We made full use of an odd, cavern-esque (not cavernous...the ceiling had...stalactites?) live room and our masterful engineer made my drums sound incredible - rich, heavy and full of tone. Bass and drums were tracked live together, mostly in one take, then we spent a day working through guitar parts with a fine-toothed comb under Kenny's auspices.
We then shifted operations back to Hamilton, to work with good friend and engineer Dan Howard (The Datsuns, Trinity Roots, Datura) on tracking vocals, sitars, synths, saz, tampora, soundscape and percussion parts. Ahoy, psychedelia. We're hoping to get balls-deep in the mixing process in the next couple of weeks, then onto mastering; which will be taken care of by the brilliant Dave Holmes (Kerretta, Jakob).

Arc of Ascent - Circle of the Sun Tracklisting:

- UNVERSAL FORM
- COSMC EYE
- INNERSIGN
- ABSOLUTION IN LIGHT
- GODHEAD
- PYRAMIDS OF ONE
- MASTER OF THE SERPENTS

Watch this space!

Between the Lines

2009-08-19T16:59:00.001-07:00

A short film I worked on with Christian Parahi in September 2008. This cut surfaced in August 2009, the final form of several evolutions.

Strange Christian Cinema 2009.

Bullhead's Psalm / The Sweetest Curse

2009-08-07T18:14:00.000-07:00

New Baroness track posted today. It's good. I can feel the aggression of the First and Second EPs resurfacing in the music, with a bit of that Georgia sludgy rock n' roll attitude thrown in for good measure. The opening certainly hints at some kind of metal opus power-ballad, but the ensuing heavy triplet-feel groove crashes forth with grit that reflects on their roots in heavy music. Torche-esque clean vocal melodies and Baizley's triumphant roars set a majestic tone, equal parts Red Album and Second.

Check it out here.

In My Lover's Den

2009-08-04T20:31:00.000-07:00

A short film I worked on in early 2009 with my good friend Christian Parahi.
Music provided by Alicia Merz-Parahi.

TRUE WITH A "V" (live Doomriders material)

2009-07-29T00:08:00.000-07:00

On that note...(Doomriders-induced erections)...

Live Doomriders set (29th July 2009) on WMBR Radio (Cambridge, Massachusetts)

Download HERE.

Setlist:
The Crooked Path (from the Disfear split 7")
??? (new song)
Bear Witness (new song)
Come Alive (new song)
??? (new song)
??? (new song)
Jealous God (new song)
Deathbox
The Chase
BLACK THUNDERRRRR!!!!

Darkness Come Alive

2009-07-26T03:40:00.001-07:00

Massachusetts monsters Doomriders have slated a late September release for their upcoming full-length Darkness Come Alive. This news won't mean a lot to most - but the prospect of a sophomore release from one of the best rock n' roll bands in the entire universe left me with a throbbing, engorged rager in my pants.

Dateline: July 25th - Deathwish Inc. hosts two tracks from the record. Heads explode.
Go here (click on the top-right icon) and treat yourself. Doomriders have whetted the palates of their listeners with a couple of split releases in recent years; though roughly four years have passed since the release of Black Thunder, their last full-length record.
Judging by the two-track teaser, one senses that the band have removed their influences from their sleeves and abandoned their simple, stripped-bare approach to what was essentially the dark, sludgy hardcore-punk-rock opus Black Thunder. Darkness Come Alive promises archetypal, magnificent rock n' roll which fucking oozes with heart, soul and emotion in a capacity which even Black Thunder could not achieve. What results is some of the heaviest, spine-tingliest music I've ever laid ears upon - music that breathes with emotional integrity and carthatic bliss - and I've only heard two tracks.
From what I can gather, they have collectively honed the raucous, rowdy and relentless beast into a refined, mature and simply more serious monster that aches with gloom and doom yet still manages to carry those signature Doomriders hooks which leave me singing vocal melodies and humming guitar riffs for days.

Fuck yeah.

Upcoming Events

2009-07-15T00:24:00.000-07:00

ENDER

2009-07-08T20:15:00.000-07:00

ender is the brainchild of Auckland's Jonathan Dakers (also of Pegasus), an impassioned foray into the realm of instrumental post-rock; a vast and varying expanse which in the current day, seems to be littered with the husks of fly-by-night experimentors or seemingly endless queues of hackneyed imitations - faux-Mogwai after faux-Explosions In The Sky after clone, after clone.
Like Pegasus however, ender have transcended their peers by way of originality and creative integrity - an outcome which can only result from an honest, attentive and organic approach to music. Dakers is joined by fellow Pegasus members Brendon Kahi, Mike Hall and Logan Compain (the latter two also of Carthaginian), and Randal Peart.

ender aren't fucking around, either - their baby steps are embodied not in an EP, as is somewhat conventional, but a full-length self-titled relase. The album, with songs simply titled "part 1" to "part 4" occupies roughly forty glorious minutes, which traverse vacuous, cavernous soundscapes through to grandiose, powerful riffs; meditated over with precise repetition which borders on dirge, though a building, suspenseful dynamic still leaves the ears aching for more.

"part 1" conveys simple, emotive chording within a rich harmonic soundscape, which grows as drums gently reinforce a steady rhythm, building toward driving riffs which dominate the clean, gentle notes that precede it, exercising the holy rite of tone, that indefinable archetype of pure sonic weight that any given guitar nerd aspires to, but few achieve. An excellent opening passage, "part 1" introduces key musical themes for the record, but reserves the punchline for later in the piece - which may be trialling for the uninitiated (a word which has far too many "i's"), but is ultimately very rewarding.

"part 2" is a personal favourite, a 13-minute monolith which labours over single repeated riffs as melodic layers are gradually interwoven atop them, patiently yet tensely ascending toward overwhelmingly heavy titans of crunching riffage, which are complemented with "pretty", clean melodies.

"part 3" explores dark ambient textures at length, when an especially moody, dark riff lurches into the sonic pallette, building the dynamic of the piece to thunderous, crushing mass in delightful percussive cacophony. Certainly the darkest and heaviest passage in the album, "part 3" slams to a relatively abrupt halt, creating space for the album's conclusion.

"part 4" is a relief from the tumultous heft of the preceding tracks. Keys and gentle guitar melodies assuage the listener in wave after wave of soothing harmonics which once again pave the way for driving, percussive rhythm - though in this case, the sonic theme feels much more hopeful and peaceful than the dark, desperate voice of the second and third tracks. ender conclude the record on a high note, resolving any sense of foreboding and tension foreshadowed at the beginning of the piece. Cathartic.

"ender" is available for download at several prominent blogsites, and can be heard at www.myspace.com/endersound, though I would encourage the reader to consider purchasing the awesome digipak CD from either ConSouling Sounds (Belgium) or the range of distributors listed on their Myspace.

Arc of Ascent

2009-03-26T01:36:00.000-07:00

My band Arc of Ascent are currently in the pre-production phase of constructing our record, which will hopefully see release late this year. Thus far, we have elected to work with veteran Hamilton engineer Daniel Howard (Sora Shima, The Datsuns, Cornerstone Roots) and we're aiming to hit the studio in August/September. We've settled on a final tracklisting of seven songs, working out to around 55 minutes in length when all is said and done.

We're playing on July 31st with our crew House of Capricorn and Australian 2-piece powerhouse HOTEL WRECKING CITY TRADERS. This shindig is going down at Auckland's Whammy Bar, on K Road. I would highly advise attending, and also checking out HWCT at:
www.myspace.com/hotelwreckingcitytraders

Also, we have t-shirts. about 7 Large and 8 XL left.
As repped here by the handsome Doug of Manfred Manslaughter:

design by yours truly and Logan Muir III

TOWER THE MONOLITH

2009-03-26T01:30:00.000-07:00

Hot fuck on toast this is an awesome rekkid.

Among a massive wave of Cult of NeurIsis clones and the current trendiness of post-rock, Auckland's Pegasus have executed what few bands of this nature manage to do - and that is write music with backbone and some fucking originality. This EP alone is some world-scale shit, and to be honest absolutely decimates most "international" bands who occupy this vague and broad post-genre.
The intro track explores pretty melodies and gently eases the ears into the music, gradually lumbering and lurching through epic and powerful soundscapes, which set the tone for the body of the record. Tower The Monolith conveys serious weight - conceptually and musically. Pete's vocals are drenched with emotion, and though I haven't read the lyrics, the words invoke atmosphere like that of an epic tale. The production is excellent, very grand-scale for an EP; a massive drum sound provides the perfect foundation for low-end riffage and soaring leads and melodies. This is music to satisfy even the most jaded and bored of sludge/post-nerds. Honest, heavy, groovy and unique.

Download it at www.darkroomrecordings.com

P.S. - If you value your ears and/or appreciate music at all, also check out Ender: www.myspace.com/endersound

This City Sunrise: Sings in Unison

2009-03-11T19:59:00.000-07:00

I initially gravitated towards TCS because they captured the middle ground between fun/catchy melodies and jagged, heavy rhythms, and they did it really fucking well. Plus, I accidentally won their debut EP from theset.co.nz and thought I'd better give it a listen, on the grounds that free beer is good beer etc, etc...turned out to be a fucking tasty brew.
For their sophomore release, they convey a heaviness generally uncharted within the musical aesthetic they occupy, and a darkness, an excited rage or frustration which has not been a common thread in the This City Sunrise ethos. Where themes once hinted at "smoke weed, play video games, be a rad cunt", there is now a jaded, jilted desperation, the fantastic psychedelic freakout which occurs when you're finally fed up with grinning and bearing all the bullshit. as a result, shocking swearwords such as "fuck you" features in the lyrics. Swearing rules, so evidently this record rules by association.

After a few rotations, it's clear that these dudes flicked the "feel" switch to "mothershitting epic" and snapped the cunt off.
Through headphones or badass speakers, the atmospheric guitar pervades every sense; my pubes stood on end, my balls tingled, I could taste the melodies, my skull rattled as my brain was soaked with vibes. Bass and drum sound is colossal, which lends itself to layered and complex but still driving rhythms. Epic vocal melodies like some shit straight outta' Queen's "Night at the Opera" made me grin like a mentalist. Though it's certainly darker and more emotive, Sings in Unison is still as catchy as all fuck, and is suited (so far, i've thrashed the shit out of it) for much repeat listening.
Congratulations to some of the best cunts around on a fantastic EP.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?mo0v2z2iynj

Congaline - Self Titled EP

2009-03-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

Congaline have existed in their fundamental form (Zane, Barnaby, Brad J) for fucking ages, and remained under the radar for most of that time, rearing their handsome collective head only sparsely to leave their audience overwhelmed by a tumult of noise, desperation, drunkenness and undeniably heavy grooves jarringly composed with blazing grindcore/powerviolence-influenced tirades.
This band is the four-headed, bastard mutant son of post-hardcore punk, grind and sludge; fucked out on all kinds of pharmaceuticals, decent weed and cheap spirits. With this EP, they exhibit a maturity of conception and songwriting - successfully melding the discordant and chaotic with fucking HEAVY torrents of sludgy groove-riffage, all under the (rather vast) umbrella of the sound that they have forged for themselves.

In all honesty I can't fault this record at all. It's been a long time coming and it surprised me in parts, and warmed the cockles of my cold black heart with warm sentiments of the old days of Congaline, witnessing (and at times taking part in) their beautiful fucking shambles of a live performance. Mike J holds his own on the recording, sounding desperate as fuck, man. Mix and master is also fucking top-notch, especially for the cost ($free).

Buy this fuckin thing.