Holy Wars Archives | Jammer Direct

Jammerzine’s The Week in #Indie for 3/15/2021

Jammerzine has an exclusive interview with the rockstar juggernaut known as Hueston, formerly of The Blancos. Musician Abe Grossman gives an exclusive interview.

Holy Wars (ft. NOCTURN) – Tainted Love

Holy Wars has released their new video for their rendition of Soft Cell’s classic ‘Tainted Love’. This time with the assistance of producer Nocturn. that initial listen lends to the fact that we do indeed live in darker times. This is a creatively dystopian and electronically original take on such a recognized track that it really, on some levels, becomes a Holy Wars track. This is an accomplishment because, let’s face it, re-recording ‘Tainted Love’ is a bold move because of the instant recognition. Holy Wars does it the right way with said dystopia and highlighting the strong points of themselves: Kats vocals, Nick’s musicianship, and Nocturn’s production. With that coming together you have a re-envisioning and not a simple remake.

The video becomes a vessel for this. That slow burn and buildup found mainly in the movies we talk about the next day. That signature vision from signature visionaries on a mission to make realism into the relevance and show the beauty in the beat.

Check out our other features with Holy Wars HERE.

Tainted love song credits:

Song by Holy Wars
Produced by Nocturn
Vocals: Kat Leon
Guitar: Nick Perez
Mixed by George Dum

Tainted love video credits

Directed by: Diego Vicentini
DP/Colorist: Horacio Martinez
Steadicam: Carlos “MacGyver” Rosas
1stAC: Gabriela Perez
Gaffer: Carlos Suarez
KeyGrip: Manchin Hsiung
MUA: Jessica Hoagland
Production Assistants: Freangel Pacheco
BTS: Francisco Dominguez/Sabrina Ruocco
Gear supplied by Panny Hire LA
Shot at Schecter Guitar Research in LA

About Holy Wars

Holy Wars was founded in early 2017 by frontwoman Kat Leon (Sad Robot) and co-creator Nicolas Perez (The Beta Machine, Kitten, Sad Robot). The feel and sound of Holy Wars are intense, dark, and honest. The birth of Holy Wars began after a terrible loss, the sudden death of both Leon’s parents in 2015. During a time of shock and sadness, music would be the best form of healing for Leon and her pain would be written into a 6 song dedication to her parents titled ‘Mother Father’. Leon found her rebirth and Holy Wars was born.

Holy Wars’ live debut was in front of a packed audience at the Echoplex in Feb 2017. The response from that live show resulted in multiple bookings and music blog reviews stating Holy Wars was the band to watch (LA Times, Grimy Goods, Alternative Press, Huffington Post and more).

The twisting chord progressions Holy Wars employs might at times call to mind Radiohead circa OK Computer; the band’s canon fire riffs and soaring melodies could be likened to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It is as punk in attitude as it is as melodic and precise in musicality.

Kat was added to the “Women Who Rule/Best of Music 2017” list by the Huffington Post.

“…a distinctly heavy synth-rock sound that’s somewhere between Siouxsie and Suicide with a modern production sheen.”
Los Angeles Times

“Hearing Holy Wars on a stream is one thing, but seeing the band perform live is a whole other experience. Kat Leon is an enchanting performer, full of emotional and physical movement — something that needs to be witnessed live.”
Grimy Goods

“Orphan” is a gripping, mesmerizing number that merges elements of doom rock with the cinematic goth-rock of Kate Bush and Chelsea Wolfe. The searing guitars, hardened rhythms, and Leon’s soaring vocals form a wall of sound that pounds on your chest again and again. While the music is dark and heavy, it is a reflection of the pain and anger of a woman who has lost her heart and soul and is now alone. Her lyrics are emotional and hard-hitting”
The Revue

“We’ve had the pleasure of catching (and reporting) on two Holy Wars shows in 2017, but without the knowledge or history behind the music. In both instances, we were captivated by the energy that this band fed its audience. The energy was electric: intense and visceral. However, knowing all of the pain and healing that Kat put into writing the music, and seeing her embody all of those emotions on stage, amplifies that energy 10 fold.”
Blurred Culture

LINKS:
https://www.holywarsmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/HolyWarsMusic
https://holywars.bigcartel.com
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2dTOWcCL0cYviin0Uz1lj4?si=g4oe1jMzQA67awHSFaBa6Q
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/holy-wars/987826411
https://instagram.com/holywarsmusic
https://twitter.com/holywarsmusic
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKpgMRG6ocgGYRS750lo0LA
https://www.iamkatleon.com
https://www.instagram.com/iamkatleon
https://www.facebook.com/iamkatleon
https://twitter.com/iamkatleon
https://soundcloud.com/iamkatleon

Beauty in Chaos ft. Kat Leon – Stranger (Holy Wars – Cruel World Mix)

Beauty in Chaos have teamed up with holy Wars’ Kat Leon and Nick Perez to come up with a completely different and sublimely beautiful reimaging of ‘Stranger’ from the ‘Out of Chaos Comes…’.

The video is a clear departure stylistically from the past videos of Beauty in Chaos. Featuring a more haunting and introverted visual, the video encapsulates with dark precision the mood of the new song, taking a dark turn from the original version in ways that almost hint ‘alternate universe’.

Not quite industrial, not quite darkwave, not quite post-modern, not quite dystopian, the Holy Wars Cruel World Mix of ‘Stranger’ rolls uphill to a dark crescendo with the bravado of original music and the swagger of legends.

Check out our Q & A with Michael Ciravolo, curator of all things beautiful and chaotic, about this new mix below.

How did you and Kat Leon come to work together?

I stumbled on Holy Wars after they opened up for a Schecter band… Papa Roach. I thought Kat had an amazing voice. I checked out a few of their videos on YouTube and just reached out. She and Nick came by and we hit it off well. They are nice, genuine and some of the hardest working people I have met in this business. After Michael Rozon and I did the music to what eventually became ‘Stranger’, I sent it to her and she poured her heart, soul and ‘story’ into the lyrics. It is my favorite track on ‘The Storm Before The Calm’, and I look forward to having her on the next record.

The new video seems to be an even bigger departure stylistically than the previous video. Is that a conscious decision and is the new remixes an influence on that?

I think if you look at all our BIC videos, I think you will see sort of that ‘pattern’. I strive for each video to be as different visually from its predecessor as possible. I had seen Fre’s work on a few Holy Wars’ videos and felt it was a perfect visual counterpart to Nick’s remix. With this in mind, I was happy that I could pull the ‘Temple Of Desire’ video together as quickly as we did as we needed to sit between this new ‘Stranger’ video and ‘A Kind Cruelty’. This new video is also as different visually as it is musically from the original version that closes out ‘The Storm Before The Calm’ vinyl.

Is the current album of remixes showing a hint at what the new album could be or may be?

I certainly love the ‘elements’ that the great and diverse cast of artists used in creating their individual remixes on ‘Out Of Chaos Comes…’. Not sure what of that will seep into the new album yet. I do know that I am looking forward to having both Kat Leon and Cinthya Hussey; who are a big part of this remix album, on what comes next. I think my off-the-cuff description of ‘Bauhaus meets Bjork’ is going to have to suffice…. for now 🙂 .

Check out our other features with Beauty in Chaos HERE.

ABOUT ‘STRANGER (HOLY WARS – CRUEL WORLD MIX)’

Beauty in Chaos announces the third video/single from their ‘Out Of Chaos Comes…’ album – ‘Stranger’ (Holy Wars -Cruel World Mix) featuring Kat Leon. This extreme sonic treatment to the original ‘Cocteau Twins-esque’ version that appears on ‘The Storm Before The Calm’ was created by Holy Wars guitarist Nick Perez.

BIC’s main-man Michael Ciravolo says “Since Beauty In Chaos is not a typical band, our videos are really the ‘face’ of BIC, I strive for each video to be different and as much of a 180-degree shift from the previous as possible! Fre’s video treatment on this video is certainly light years different than ‘Temple Of Desire’ so I can check that box! ‘Stanger’ is one of my favorite songs we have done. This was certainly a popular choice for many of the artists to remix, and I really love what Nick did with the song and his deconstructing approach, injecting sort of Massive Attack / ‘90s NIN sonics to it. As soon as I heard it, I knew it would be perfect for Fre’s editing style.”

Kat Leon adds “The reimagination of “Stranger” by Nick Perez (Holy Wars) is one of my favorites. I love how he restructured the song and made a new arrangement giving it an overall mechanical, dark, and industrial vibe. The music video for this track, edited by Fre Pacheco, compliments the song well with its intense and thought-provoking imagery. The idea to bury one’s self is the feeling in this video- using footage I previously shot waiting for the right track to showcase it and this remix of Stranger seemed to be a perfect fit. I would say the video for this remix was much of a remix itself using footage from my personal arsenal, footage from the original “Stranger” music video, and additional imagery bridging all worlds together.”

“The Cruel World remix is a dark cinematic interpretation of “Stranger”. The original piece was so lush and beautiful that it seemed it would be a great challenge to make it ugly and cold using heavy distortion, industrial elements, and tape”
Nick Perez (Holy Wars)

CREDITS

‘Stranger’ written by Kat Leon, Michael Rozon, and Michael Ciravolo

Kat Leon; voice
Nick Perez: guitars, synths, and drum programming
Michael Ciravolo: guitars
Michael Rozon: piano

VIDEO CREDITS

Created and edited by Fre Pacheco (Flares and Glitches)
Additional footage by Erin Nahifeh and Arden Fisher
Drone footage by Leo Lesh
Original ‘Stranger’ video footage by Leslie Gladney and Eric Thirteen

LINKS:
https://www.beautyinchaosmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/beautyinchaosmusic
https://www.instagram.com/beauty.inchaos
https://twitter.com/MichaelCiravolo
https://www.beautyinchaosmusic.com/music-store
https://www.beautyinchaosmusic.com/bic-blog
https://soundcloud.com/33-3-music-collective
https://beautyinchaos.bandcamp.com

An Interview with Kat Leon (The Week in #Indie Segment)

Holy Wars is a band that is as diverse as it is determined. That is ever more evident in this exclusive interview with Holy Wars’ frontwoman Kat Leon. Kat survives by thriving from her life and putting into her craft. That is a talent I wish everyone had. We would be in a much better world, I think.

And what we learn in this interview is how the music of Holy Wars, as well as Kat’s solo work, are part of an anthology of life. Some of it is dark, some of it light, but all of it real. And what we get in the end is a life in progress. We are all in our own personal holy war, whatever that may be, and what we get through Kat’s voice and the music of her and collaborator Nicolas Perez is a reflection of progression through originality and creativity. This is the very definition of what music is, or at least what it is at its best.

Watch the entire episode of ‘The Week in #Indie’ HERE.

Jammerzine’s The Week in #Indie for 9/23/2019

Jammerzine’s The Week in #Indie for the week of September 23rd, 2019 includes exclusive interviews with Holy Wars frontwoman Kat Leon, 50FOOTWAVE and Kristin Hersh drummer Rob Ahlers, musician, Ragdoll guitarist, and YouTuber Leon Todd, Dalton Dexchain from Dalton Deschain & the Traveling Show, and Diamond Shake. Also are premieres from Cellista, Nigel Thomas, Tony Volker, and Sebastian Straw.

About Kat Leon

About Rob Ahlers

Currently, on tour as part of Kristin Hersh’s Electric Trio, we got a rare glimpse of 50FOOTWAVE drummer Rob Ahlers, who actually talked with us from the road. In the middle of the current tour featuring himself, Kristin, and multi-instrumentalist Fred Abong, Rob was gracious enough to call us and give us the latest information on the current tour with Kristin, his beginnings in the music industry, and how he manages to juggle the life of a touring musician as well as husband and father. Consider this interview a life lesson and guide for all of you musicians out there thinking of making the transition into fulltime.

LINKS:
http://www.kristinhersh.com/
http://www.facebook.com/50footwave/
http://www.facebook.com/strangeangels
http://50footwave.cashmusic.org/
http://twitter.com/kristinhersh
http://www.youtube.com/user/throwingmusic/videos

About Leon Todd

Leon Todd is more than a musician in my opinion. He’s a mentor, a tutor, a reviewer, and a magician of sorts. Also, he’s a Youtuber. And a pretty stellar one at that. He has taken his passion for music and found roughly 5,610,970 (as of 9/12/2019) views from people looking to better their guitar playing or looking for new gear to better their sound. And among those 5 million+ is me. He has introduced me to so many different types of gear and, not just that, ways to experiment with my tone and setup as to make me sound better. To me, this is the very essence of Youtube. To all of you who think it’s a website to find all the funny little things that cats do can go over to Instagram and see what everyone’s having for lunch.

Leon is a full time working musician with his band Ragdoll as well as a teacher of music who has literally taken the career he loves and has made a Youtube channel dedicated to helping those guitarists out there who wish to better their tone and playing. And he does this in such an entertaining way as to not only NOT make you feel stupid (believe me I have felt stupid enough in this life 😉 ) but in a way that makes it entertaining. All good teachers teach their students in a way that is best for them and that way usually is done with a combination of information, determination, and with interest and enthusiasm.

LINKS:
https://www.youtube.com/user/kingcrimsonscourt
https://www.facebook.com/Leontoddmusic
https://instagram.com/leon_ragdoll
https://www.facebook.com/ragdollrock
https://ragdollrock.bandcamp.com

About Dalton Deschain

Dalton Deschain is someone who I hold in high regard when it comes to #indie music. And now, after discovering said music in 2015, I finally get to speak with him. He is a very unique multi-talent, to say the least. In addition to his band, Dalton Deschain & the Traveling Show, he also has a comic book series titled MONOCUL, which has a unique and dark blend of pulp stylings in Dalton’s now-signature appearance.

Dalton and his band also bring that blend and influence, which they describe as ‘pulp-punk’. That style is never more evident in their new single titled ‘Man/Thing’ above. In this interview, we talk about the new single as well as the upcoming album titled ‘Casey’ and the connection between their previous EPs, ‘Casey’, and their future album slated for release. With Dalton and the band, you get a continuation within the music, as you will learn in this interview, which can create a lasting relationship between band and fans.

LINKS:
http://www.daltondeschain.com
https://www.facebook.com/daltondeschainmusic
https://instagram.com/daltondeschain
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-collateral-vignettes-ep/id934670609
https://soundcloud.com/daltondeschain
https://patreon.com/monocul

About Diamond Shake

In this Jammerzine Exclusive is about survival. Not only survival but coming out the other side a better person. That person is Diamond Shake, aka Matthew Hitchens. Matthew has that enviable ability to take the bad aspects of life and make them work for you. You will hear about that in this interview, and it is something you want to listen to because Matthew is sharing his life lesson. And the result is his project Diamond Shake.

His new album titled ‘From Method to Madness ‘ drops November 15 and his new single/video ‘Let it Die’ drops tomorrow. That being said, this is a perfect time to get to know the wizard behind the curtain and learn about him as a person as well as a musician. After that listen, you will be a new fan of both Diamond Shake and Matthew Hitchens.

LINKS:
http://www.diamondshake.com
https://www.instagram.com/thediamondshake
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUT0cqzCanrCsAlqgaZRqhQ
http://www.soundcloud.com/diamond-shake

About Cellista

Cellista brings the listener into her dark, almost cinematic musical universe with her new single titled ‘Confessions’. Starting almost like somewhat of a proclamation, Cellista brings forth her lyrically lucid, musically ethereal and haunting score with a poetically dissonant yet beautiful musical piece that says as much with the music as it does with the words. ‘Confessions’ may be indescribably dark, but the more you listen to it, you begin to see a faint light, and that light brings new meaning to the lyrics, which can be a revelation in the form of a confession.

The album, ‘Transfigurations’, is available now on limited edition CD and at shows and comes with a full-length book and download code. It can be found everywhere digitally, including Bandcamp, where the book is downloadable as a PDF for anyone purchasing the album there. The book is also being released separately via online retail sites like Amazon.

LINKS:
http://www.cellista.net
https://www.facebook.com/cellista.music
https://twitter.com/xcellistax
https://www.instagram.com/xcellistax
https://www.soundcloud.com/xcellistax
https://cellista.bandcamp.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/xcellistax/videos
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3sZ132TtThqqirlRB9BjFp

About Nigel Thomas

Nigel Thomas is back and better than ever with his new album titled ‘Well Well’. Ever since our interview with him back in 2015 I’ve thought that Nigel is one of those rare talents that not only continuously grow musically, but is not afraid to grow. That is actually not all that common in the music industry. An artist might have some major success with a single or an album and finds it difficult to move forward stylistically because of fear of losing that audience. But Nigel embraces the change with 10 tracks of hook-filled original tracks that are as diverse within the album as the album is diverse within Nigel’s catalog.

One constant that I found in ‘Well Well’ is the ‘go left when I thought it would go right’ twists and turns musically that I found pleasantly unexpecting. Right down to the chord changes there are bits and pieces that I would have never expected but they are there and they fit perfectly. Not only outside of the box but, at times, all around it.

LINKS:
https://www.nigelsongs.com
https://www.facebook.com/nigelsongs
https://twitter.com/nigelsongs
https://play.spotify.com/album/1gsC7y3s98eAg4CKk0STFb
https://soundcloud.com/nigelthomas
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/travelling-man/id1078458895

About Tony Volker

Tony Volker gives another stellar performance with his new album titled ‘Where The Light Gets In’. His stylings have always been a bit eclectic, which is something I love, but his pop and hook writing skills really shine on this latest outing. I compare him somewhat to Michael Penn because of that unique blend of endearing quirkiness, originality, and use of instruments from, not only different stylings but different cultures. And they blend so well.

‘Where The Light Gets In’ is out now on all digital platforms.

LINKS:
https://www.tonyvolker.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/musictonyv
https://twitter.com/tony_volker
https://soundcloud.com/tonyvolker

About Sebastian Straw

Sebastian Straw proves that he is a consummate songwriter with his new video for the track titled ‘My Friend’. The song starts off with a brilliant hook that captivates with its beautiful acoustic guitar and vocal melody but then reality kicks in with an out-of-left-field chorus in the style of Radiohead that really takes the song to a different level than expected. Added brilliance with the cello accompaniment and the walking bassline that chugs along and keeps the song anchored.

The album ‘Welcome Yesterday’ will be released on October 18 and will be available across digital stores and streaming platforms.

LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/sebastianstrawofficial
https://soundcloud.com/sebastianstraw
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZgElWHFjCG9gCjXBCQcFbA
https://www.instagram.com/sebastianstrawofficial
https://twitter.com/SebastianStraw

Poster photo by Heather Koepp Photography.

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