THE WEEK IN #INDIE

An Interview with The Rah’s (The Week in #Indie Segment)

An Interview with The Rah’s (The Week in #Indie Segment)

It’s always an interesting twist to catch a band in a musical transition. And to get an interview with them during said transition is an absolute lesson in evolution. That band, in this case, is The Rah’s, originally from Prestonpans, Scotland and now in the world.

This interview is also a splendid treat because I get to talk to the whole band. So I get some very distinct answers from a group of individuals that make up a very creative unit.

Stay tuned for some great things from The Rah’s in the near future!

Check out our review of one of their earlier tracks called ‘Sweet Talker‘ and their last video (as of this writing) titled ‘Take It All In’ below.

About The Rah’s
With two previously released EP’s under their belt (Give Me Life 2012) & Living The Dream 2013 and support slots with The Fratelli’s, The View, Chris Helme (Seahorses) & Steve Diggle (The Buzzcocks) the band have been working closely with Roni Szpakowski to produce the perfectly crafted ‘Sweet Talker’ which was released on October 24, 2017 and have additional material ready to be unleashed later this year.

The band was selected by FACEBOOK to do a FACEBOOK LIVE show on February 24th, comprising of an interview and acoustic set that included performing the new single ‘SWEET TALKER’, thus far the session has received over 70k views.

LINKS:
https://therahs.bigcartel.com
https://www.facebook.com/therahsmusic
https://twitter.com/therahsmusic
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCks2udwJN0vKiFpCrezcoaQ
https://therahs.bandcamp.com

Foxfeather Premiere Come and Get Me (The Week in #Indie Segment)

Foxfeather Premiere Come and Get Me (The Week in #Indie Segment)

Foxfeather has made a new video for their track titled ‘Come and Get Me’. In a truly retro-esque anthological style replete with a troubadour’s vision and Americana flare, Foxfeather has truly found and embraced their style that is loved by their fans and adored by music aficionados alike for a multitude of reasons. Foxfeather places a timestamp on what is clearly their time with their music and original ‘family’ take on a beloved genre.

About Foxfeather
Foxfeather is a sultry Alt Americana duo founded in Boulder, CO in 2013 by Carly Ricks Smith (lead vocals), Laura Paige Stratton (acoustic/electric guitars, keys, vocals), and is often supported by various instrumentalists for a full rock sound. They are a local staple in the Colorado Front Range, and also tour nationally.

They released their debut EP, Foul Moon, in 2014. In response to this release, The Marquee stated that “the group is overflowing with talent” and “Carly Ricks Smith has a spectacular voice which lies somewhere between the folky soprano of a young Joni Mitchell and the jazz-heavy range of Lake Street Dive’s Rachel Price. It’s powerful as well as delicate.” Andy Eppler of The Prairie Scholars said “it’s sexy. It’s original. These women have crafted something very special and instantly likable on this album.”

Foxfeather released their first full length, self-titled album in October of 2016, which Rooster magazine described as “time warping…it’s an emotional ride into the forest of folk with low-hanging country branches slapping you in the face without apology… its got a good thing going” (Rooster Magazine).

LINKS:
http://www.foxfeathermusic.com
https://twitter.com/FoxfeatherMusic
https://www.facebook.com/foxfeathermusic
https://instagram.com/foxfeathermusic

Membranes Premiere 'Strange Perfume' on Jammerzine (The Week in #Indie Segment)

Membranes Premiere ‘Strange Perfume’ on Jammerzine (The Week in #Indie Segment)

The Membranes are legendary. Pure and simple. But as many people know and seldom discuss, most legends tend to stay in the pocket when it comes to their new music, if they release new music at all. Not so for The Membranes’ new single and video titled ‘A Strange Perfume’. And that, to me, makes them legends. The song sounds as fresh as a new band and the video reflects the energy and creativity that The Membranes are still in abundance of. A band or artist should treat each new release as if it is their favorite newborn child. The Membranes do this and have done it, for decades. They have treated each song as it’s favorite newborn. And they’re all bastards. Brilliant!

As of June 7, ‘What Nature Gives … Nature Takes Away’ will be available on vinyl and CD, and digitally from stores such as iTunes and streaming platforms like Spotify. There is also a deluxe double vinyl ultra limited edition of 150 copies. This summer, cosmetics company Lush will release a Membranes perfume called ‘A Strange Perfume’ after the album’s opening track. In the meantime, the band will tour the UK in support of their new LP.

About The Membranes
With sixteen epic, powerful and darkly romantic songs on offer, this is The Membranes’ eighth studio album overall and the second since they reformed in 2010 when former support band My Bloody Valentine convinced them to return to the stage for the ATP festival. This album is a game changer in the tradition of Manchester bands like Joy Division.

This album features appearances from vocalist Kirk Brandon (Theatre of Hate, Spear of Destiny) and 84-year-old folk singer Shirley Collins, one of England’s premier folk singers of the ’60s revival. Renowned nature TV presenter Chris Packham also contributes, as does the legendary Jordan, who practically invented the punk look in 1975. Half the tracks also feature the 20-piece BIMM Choir, offsetting a sound laden with dark drones and an atmosphere of melancholic epic power.

The album was recorded at 6DB Studio in Manchester with Ding Archer, a former band member with PJ Harvey, The Pixies and producer of the last nine albums by The Fall. John Robb wrote all the parts for the choir. This release follows up their acclaimed album ‘Dark Matter/Dark Energy’, the band’s best selling release, which received rave reviews and ample radio play on BBC 6 Music and internationally.

‘What Nature Gives… Nature Takes Away’ is about the beauty and violence of nature. This is a very diverse work with dark, brooding cinematic choir-driven songs. Imagine the sound of Hieronymus Bosch paintings to discordant wild songs about crows, demon flowers, strange perfumes, voluptuous petals, voluminous oceans, treacherous seasons and the poetry of life and death set to spooked pulsing musical pieces, ranging from epic choir-driven postpunk songs to dark dub workouts, from throbbing dirty disco dark wave pulses to grinding heavy bass-driven pieces, from apocalyptic visions to choir-driven epic swirls.

“This is the pinnacle of our long and strange journey. This album is steeped in the powerful forces of nature and an underlying emotional undertow that is dark and brooding bass driven postpunk with the epic swirl of the choir and diversity of sounds that takes you on a trip. I put my life into this album musically, lyrically and emotionally,” says John Robb.

“The Membranes was born of postpunk in the late 1970s – a time when a generation inspired by punk rock created music on their own terms. We were immersed in that scene and that world and when we reformed we picked up on those themes and ideas and the diverse fellow travelers that we were contemporaries of like Joy Division, Bauhaus, Einsturzende Neubauten, Nick Cave, PiL, Big Black, and newer bands like Godspeed You Black Emperor, Mogwai, Ulver, and Wardruna – bands who fuck with the template to create an atmosphere and mood.”

Formed in 1978 in Blackpool, The Membranes played classic bass-driven northern post-punk and were part of the same world as bands like The Fall, Sisters Of Mercy, Echo and The Bunnymen and Cabaret Voltaire, all inspired by 1977 to launch their own idiosyncratic journeys. The band released a remarkable series of records that combined their small town frustration with a love of heavy bass and distortion. This ultimately became a prime influence and the precursors to such American noiseniks as Steve Albini, Swans and Sonic Youth.

John Peel and music press favorites, a continual frenzy of releases, public acclaim and touring worldwide with national TV appearances, the band went on hiatus in 1990 until finally reforming in 2010.

The Membranes are Peter Byrchmore (guitar), Nick Brown guitar), Rob Haynes (drums), and John Robb (vocals and bass), a renowned TV and radio pundit, editor of Louder Than War, a key UK music site and national magazine, and curator of the Louder Than Words festival. In autumn, John Robb will also release ‘The Art Of Darkness’, a book on the darker side of post-punk, adding to his collection of best-selling books on punk rock.

LINKS:
http://www.themembranes.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/themembranes
https://www.twitter.com/membranes1
https://www.instagram/themembranes
https://membranes.bandcamp.com

Ummagma Premieres 'Caravan' Video on Jammerzine (The Week in #Indie Segment)

Ummagma Premieres ‘Caravan’ Video on Jammerzine (The Week in #Indie Segment)

‘Caravan’, the new single and video from the Indie-Pop duo known as Ummagma, is a bit of a power-departure from their previous work in that it is more upbeat and, honestly, downright danceable in parts. Is this a stylistic rebellion? I think not. Musical groups, the good ones anyway, naturally evolve and progress. ‘Caravan is a positive sign of such musical movement. Combining more diverse instrumentation such as the varied percussion and clashing guitars, the song shows a more perfect blend of genre-crossing and just plain good old innovation. A lesson for musicians.

Ummagma’s ‘Caravan’ single is out on May 8. The ‘Compass’ LP will be released on June 21 via Leonard Skully Records, available on black vinyl and CD with artwork by Alexander Kretov and also digitally everywhere, including on iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify. In the meantime, it can pre-ordered directly via Bandcamp.

About Ummagma
Indie pop electronic rock duo Ummagma has announced their new album ‘Compass’, to be released in June via Manchester-based label Leonard Skully Records. Their third long-play, this is the duo’s first album in seven years and also the first time the band is releasing a record on vinyl.

Ahead of this album, they present the ‘Caravan’ single, along with a special B-side ‘Ty i Ya’. The title track is an invigorating pop-rock anthem inspired by the musicians’ own journeys and infused with Carpathian gammas and percussion.

‘Ty i Ya’ is a vibe-injected upbeat track, with infectious Daft Punk-esque bassline, that Alexander Kretov composed and performs in his native Ukrainian language. This is the first single Ummagma has ever released in a language other than English, stepping beyond the confines of past songwriting limits.

“Caravan is about a personal journey – one that begins in the mind before any borders have even been crossed,” says Ummagma vocalist Shauna McLarnon. “The trip is so much better when you truly want to be part of it. You map your own destiny in many ways and dreaming is a great place to begin.”

The ‘Compass’ LP is beguiling in its post-genre nature. It is an album of grace and change, of familiarity and exploration, of emotion and euphoria, of sky-scraping cinematic highs and intimate and intriguing lows. This is the sound of a band allowing themselves to jump creative divides, to kick down musical barriers, and rip up the rule book or perhaps just ignore the fact that there ever was one in the first place.

Formed in Moscow in 2003, McLarnon hails from northern Canada while Kretov is originally from western Ukraine. Now based in Peterborough, Ontario, the couple completed this album over the course of five years and multiple moves, ultimately hauling their studio with them across the Atlantic and setting up all over again. With such transience in the real world, how could their sonic world reflect anything other than the same fluidity and movement?

This record follows on the trail of their ‘LCD’ EP with Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins) and Dean Garcia (Curve), and ‘Winter Tale’ EP with 4AD dream pop pioneer A.R.Kane. Both of these were released in 2017.

They say you can tell a lot about someone by the company that they keep, and the same holds true for a band. Ummagma’s collaborations speak volumes. Apart from these three dreampop-shoegaze icons, they’ve worked with Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s Malcolm Holmes, Swervedriver’s Graham Bonnar, and nu-disco kingpin Alexander Robotnick.

Ummagma’s music has always presented an exhilarating positive vision, showcasing their ability to wander diverse musical pathways. Representing Ukraine among 23 countries, they won the Alternative Eurovision on Amazing Radio in 2013, and have been featured in a full-page spread in Rolling Stone Russia. In 2015, their collaborative ‘New Born’ album with Sounds of Sputnik also received a Jagermeister indie award, Russia’s most esteemed music award.

LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/ummagma
https://ummagma.bandcamp.com/
https://twitter.com/ummagma
http://www.youtube.com/ummagma
https://www.soundcloud.com/ummagma

Ryan Policky of Brim Liski Exclusive Interview (The Week in #Indie Segment)

Ryan Policky of Brim Liski Exclusive Interview (The Week in #Indie Segment)

If you are a fan of, or familiar with, Jammerzine and Jammer Direct, you very well know how much of a fan we are of A Shoreline Dream. And now we talk to another group that has strong ties with that band in the form of Brim Liski. Both feature guitarist and co-founder Ryan Policky. What I find is the best asset with both bands is the fact that, while there is a similar aspect to the music, that music is completely different and original each in its own right. That is an accomplishment in and of itself. On many levels. Originality is the key to diversity in all aspects of life.

Today, we talk with Ryan about the process of writing for and collaborating with Brim Liski as well as finding that unique sound that is Brim Liski as well as their new EP titled ‘Duels‘.

About Brim Liski
Brim Liski presents a blend of electro, goth and future pop that is slightly gazey. This is a mixture of the diverse sounds both artists bring to the table, becoming something a bit different than the typical electroclash that is currently out there.

Their music is inspired by epic sounds you might imagine occurring in the cosmos. This is dark, limitless night music perfect for driving down an endless moon drenched highway.

“Like the EP as a whole, ‘A Different View’, is about the challenge of acceptance to new unexplored territories in our lives. Making big changes. Accepting things aren’t working and to move on. I personally had many issues blocking me from being who I wanted and needed to be,” says Ryan Policky.

“I had been falling victim to acceptance to things I should be pushing away, and once those things were fully pushed out of the picture, things became that much clearer. Just like the discoveries of new galaxies, formations on other planets, and other unknowns, the focus is becoming more apparent as technology and time move on.”

Brim Liski may have formed in 2008, but they sound more closely resembles a band from 2024. Their music is about as cosmic and dreamy as Saturn’s Hexagon, which also features on the cover art of their new EP.

Today Brim Liski is a duo comprised of experimental multi-versed digital artist Cacheflowe (aka Justin Gitlin) and Ryan Policky, who is vocalist and producer for renowned prog-gazers A Shoreline Dream.

“I had been working with Justin at an ad agency – working on games for a bunch of entertainment projects for Sony and the like. I found out his passion for music production and we instantly hit it off. He had been working on material and setting up PR for his project, Cacheflowe, and I was working super hard on getting A Shoreline Dream up and going,” says Policky.

“We exchanged ideas and eventually started working on remixes, eventually leading to Brim Liski, which was a side project for both of us, but an important one. One of my dearest girlfriends Michelle Brim had just passed away, and I was torn apart. Brim Liski, named in her memory, became that passion project to get those emotions out, and I was lucky enough to have Justin’s talent help bring it to life.”

With strong initial support from XLR8R and Filter Magazine, it was clear that Brim Liski’s videos feel more like a blurred out dream being torn apart by technology. Their unique and dramatic live shows blend the art of dynamic installations and vivid colors.

LINKS:
http://www.brimliski.com
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Brim-Liski-589032774456227
https://twitter.com/brimliski
https://twitter.com/latenightwn
https://www.instagram.com/brimliski
https://brimliski.bandcamp.com/album/duels
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/brim-liski/334774461
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2D1djVg5W8mSqKuZiMvajn?si=NFlh7qSLQZCmgUl28h9EkA

Jammerzine’s The Week in #Indie for 5/13/2019

Jammerzine’s The Week in #Indie for 5/13/2019

Jammerzine has an exclusive interview with Ryan Policky from Brim Liski as well as premieres from Amo Amo, Burning House, Lartist Yan, Membranes, Saint Sapphire, The Magic Es, and Ummagma.

The Mootekkis Release Against the Ropes (The Week in #Indie Segment)

The Mootekkis Release Against the Ropes (The Week in #Indie Segment)

Tokyo’s The Mootekkis are one of those bands that deliver the musical goods every time. And I mean every time. And this time is no exception with the uber-catchy ‘poptastically’ decadent track that is ‘Against the Ropes’, from their new album ‘Pucker Up‘ (check out our review HERE).

The video above gives the quirky story of love lost, found, and lost again on the epic streets of Tokyo while the band plays on. The video harks back to the glory days of MTV and solidifies the band’s stature as one of those #indie bands that truly get it. Look, and sound like a million bucks and, guess what, you’re a million bucks.

‘Pucker Up’, from The Mootekkis is out now. Get your copy HERE.

The Mootekkis
This booze-loving Tokyo-based 5-piece – Australian, American and 3 Japanese – garage rock’n’roll band was formed midway through 2008 by Jude (guitar) and Mike (vox) and two years later were featured on the front cover of Japanzine after winning the magazine’s nation-wide battle of the bands with their 2010 EP track “Hey…What You Want?”.

More recently a number of their tracks from 2014 debut album “Heckling the Dawn” have been used for the Skateboarding Japan podcast while their tune “The Whiskey” is the theme music for drinkers and skaters delight podcast Got Faded Japan.

Prior to this, in August 2012 they embarked on a 10-day tour of New York where they played Manhattan hot spots Bowery Electric and Piano’s as well as New Haven’s Elm Bar and a handful of basement and loft parties in Brooklyn – before this trip 2 members had never been outside Japan.

Brooklyn’s Ishmael Osekre, an organizer of the festival Aputumpu, had this to say after seeing The Mootekkis at a Bushwick loft party: “This was pure rock’n’roll in a way that most people around here haven’t seen for a long time…it was just amazing.”

The Mootekkis have had the good fortune of having a lot of good people behind them. In 2013 they crowdfunded their debut album and in 2014 they finished in the top 10 of Tokyo’s 126 bands trying to earn a spot at Summer Sonic thanks to immense local and foreign support.

They’re truly humbled and wholly committed to giving rock’n’roll lovers something new with decades of respect for what has come before.

The Mootekkis are:

Mike (vocals)
Jude (rhythm/lead)
Koji (rhythm/lead)
Yo’cchan (bass)
Takahiro (drums)

LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/themootekkis
https://twitter.com/themootekkis
https://themootekkis.bandcamp.com

Callow Youth Release 'Did It Really Matter' (The Week in #Indie Segment)

Callow Youth Release ‘Did It Really Matter’ (The Week in #Indie Segment)

Teenage Mancunian indie gang Callow Youth has released their debut single “Did It Really Matter?” through all digital channels. The track is currently XS Manchester Radio‘s Record of the Week on their “XS Evening show”, so is played every night for the next week.

“The song is a reflection on tricky teenage relationships in a world captivated by mobile devices and social media, with two young teenagers going out for a night, with high expectations, only for it to end in a messy argument” explains frontman Alfie Turner.

Callow Youth is arguably the most hotly tipped young band to emerge out of Manchester in the past year and hail from the city’s suburbs of Ashton-Under-Lyne and Failsworth. Their catchy, melodic, original songs belie their age and time together – and the fact that most of them couldn’t play their instrument and had never attempted to write a song when the band formed less than 2 years ago.

The band are currently recording new tracks with Gavin Monaghan (respected industry veteran and acclaimed producer of The Blinders “Columbia” album as well as records by Robert Plant and JAWS) – they have material lined up for release throughout 2019, and plan a debut album release before the end of the year.

Callow Youth is:

  • Alfie Turner – Vocals, Guitar
  • Tom Hilton – Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals
  • Nathan Wrigley – Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
  • Connor Wilkinson – Drums, Backing Vocals

LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/callowyouth.band
https://twitter.com/Callow_Youth
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/callowyouth/dmpy

Fugitive Orchestra Releases 'Tomahawk Caress' (The Week in #Indie Segment)

Fugitive Orchestra Releases ‘Tomahawk Caress’ (The Week in #Indie Segment)

Portsmouth-based Singer-Songwriter James Tattington began performing as Fugitive Orchestra after reading a passage in a J. G. Ballard novel. Fusing together Beatboxing, Live-Looping and Guitar, Fugitive Orchestra makes music best described as Alternative Jazz-infused, Bluesy Hip-Pop; drawing inspiration from the likes of Andrew Bird, LCD Soundsystem, Talking Heads, Paul Simon, Kate Bush, and the Blue Nile.

Having garnered support and airplay from BBC Introducing as well as being featured on Tom Robinson’s ‘Fresh Faves’ for BBC 6-Music, the release of 2017’s Rules of the Riddle EP marked a departure from an earlier singer/songwriter approach and saw him developing his sound by incorporating full-band instrumentation. Now with the release of his latest single, Tomahawk Caress, Fugitive Orchestra adds Politically-charged Alt-Funk to his already diverse palette of sounds, incorporating influences from classic funk to Vulfpeck and Childish Gambino.

Fugitive Orchestra has supported the likes of Mr. B The Gentleman Rhymer, The Petebox, Jerry Williams, Miles Hunt & Erica Nockalls (The Wonder Stuff), shared a stage with early-naughties heroes Wheatus at the Isle of Wight Festival, and continues to take his exciting live show to ever-growing audiences.

SOURCE: Official Bio

LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/FugitiveOrchestra
https://twitter.com/FugitOrchestra
https://instagram.com/fugitiveorchestra
https://www.youtube.com/user/fugitiveorchestra

Tiny Fighter Releases 'Tell Me' Video (The Week in #Indie Segment)

Tiny Fighter Releases ‘Tell Me’ Video (The Week in #Indie Segment)

Swedish-Australian indie pop outfit Tiny Fighter have announced their new ‘Tell Me’ EP, to be released via Stockholm-based label Bay Terrace Records. Ahead of that, they are previewing the title track, which features stunning deadpan vocals from frontwoman Therese Karlsson.

The new EP was recorded and produced by legendary multi-Grammy, Gold & Platinum Award producer Thomas ‘Plec’ Johansson at The Panic Room in Skövde, a quiet country town in southern Sweden. This collaboration allowed them to further refine and push their sound.

On previous releases, they recorded in Los Angeles and Stockholm with Daniel Rejmer (Foals, Ben Frost, Girls Names), extending on the more melodic moments from their previous work with bands such as Fire to the Stars and Mid-State Orange.

Tiny Fighter offers an enticing mix of indie-rock and berserker chamber pop. Despite the staggering odds against them ever meeting, Therese Karlsson (a truck driver from Kalmar in southern Sweden) and Tim Spelman (a doctor from Melbourne, Australia) met in Stockholm and began collaborating in 2017. Tiny Fighter quickly expanded into a 5-piece with the addition of Tommy Wilen, Marcus Wallberg, and Robin Zimmermann, bringing all the dynamics and volume of their recorded material on to the stage.

“Tell Me is an appeal for clarity – both personally and politically – in a setting where distrust and ambiguity appear increasingly to dominate people’s relationships, both with each other and the broader world in general. It’s about exasperation, about a need for a simple, straight answer – tell me, yes or no,” says Therese Karlsson.

Tiny Fighter has quickly built a strong reputation for their stirring live performances and for their ability to tastefully mix catchy indie-pop with darker themes and arrangements. Sharon Van Etten, Catpower and Agnes Obel number among their influences, as d Gyllene Tider, Mitski, Veruca Salt and Kim Shatturk/The Muffs.

“After starting life as a duo, this is the first recording with a full band, and I think that’s reflected in the stronger, fuller sound compared to our earlier singles,” says Tim Spelman.

Based on the success with their first three singles ‘New Century’, ‘Want Friends’ and ‘Hollow Talk’, Tiny Fighter have grown from an artsy studio project to a full-fledged live band capable of selling out tours and filling larger music venues. Tiny Fighter completed a run of sold-out shows throughout Scandinavia and Europe in the summer of 2018, followed by a North American tour in November 2018.

Tiny Fighter will be returning to North America in May 2019 for a run of the east coast and Midwest dates. They kick things off on May 6 in Toronto for performances during Canadian Music Week.

LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/tinyfighterz
https://tinyfighterz.bandcamp.com
https://twitter.com/TinyFighterz
https://www.instagram.com/tinyfighterz
https://www.youtube.com/c/tinyfighter
https://soundcloud.com/tinyfighter
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0TqpxHIKbhZJzcXreXDEvv
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/tiny-fighter/1338567635

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