Vix20 is Gary Mills and CJ, two music industry veterans who grew so disillusioned with the state of every element of the music industry that they both walked away vowing not to return…fast forward a few years, now rejuvenated, though no less prickly about the Modern Age, they return, to quote the band themselves, “we’re hard rockers turned to the dark side of pop”. As evidenced in their single, Digital Age, their passion for power-pop (don’t say ‘punk-pop’ to them, it suggests too much jumping around) and dexterity with words combines to become insanely catchy 3-minute thunderbolts. Completing the Vix line up is long time conspirators Rich Norris and Kill, with a busy year ahead the next single is planned for April and the band will appear at the International pop overthrow festival in May at the legendary Liverpool venue The Cavern.
LINKS:
https://www.vix20.com
https://www.instagram.com/vixtwenty
https://www.facebook.com/vixtwentymusic
https://twitter.com/Vixtwenty
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuPABFfRP8fWPKkp6mA9Kkw
https://open.spotify.com/artist/01fEKKUsAN1pp9jguVrTQG?si=0cMw1OI6R6mM2iO_42M6sw
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Klammer – Modern God
Leeds-based post-punk quartet Klammer present their new single ‘Modern God’, the first juicy taste of their new album ‘You Have Been Processed’, slated for release via Under Dogz Records later this summer.
Formed by UK Producer Steve Whitfield (The Cure, The Mission, Terrorvision, Jane Weaver) in 2014, drawing from the members’ shared love for all things angular, dark, loud and melodic. They’ve gone on to release two albums via Under Dogz Records.
Previously described as the love child of XTC and Gang Of Four, Klammer offer an enticing twist on the post-punk attitude, blending in elements of goth rock, punk rock, and darkwave, all with dark pop sensibilities. Here you’ll find plenty of hooks and a dark and edgy broodiness coursing through their sound.
‘You Have Been Processed’ will be the band’s third album, following up ‘Auslane’ and ‘Klammer’ and their debut 7” single ‘Everything Depends Upon The King’. Championed by Steve Lamacq on BBC 6 Music, Klammer’s music continues to excite with their dark themes allied to catchy riffs and anthemic choruses.
“Modern God is a darkly catchy gem of a track, starting with a crunching bassline, hypnotic drumming and classic post-punk melodic guitar riffs. Starts off with a bang and doesn’t let up and the chorus sticks in your head like glue whilst adding layers of emotional wrap by the guitars in the background”
– Louder Than War“Amazing and unnerving…I love what you’re doing”
– Alan Raw, BBC Radio“Haunting hooks and melodies in abundance… Klammer is pushing the boundaries of what alternative music can be but are smart enough to shroud it with a strong melodic sensibility”
– Pulse Alternative Magazine“Yorkshire’s finest exponents of all things Dark, Pop and Post-Punk… strong, clear vocals matched to chiming guitar notes… truly wonderful… it can only be a matter of time before Klammer are heard on a wider scale”
– Rock RegenerationKlammer have been consolidating their position as one of the country’s finest live post-punk acts, having played up and down the country consistently, both as a headline act and in support of other notable artists, including The Skids, The Undertones, Richie Ramone, Penetration and The Membranes, as well as Rebellion and The Great British Alternative festivals.
‘Modern God’ is available across online stores and streaming platforms as of May 11, as well as from Klammer’s own website and Bandcamp. The forthcoming album ‘You Have Been Processed’ will be available on vinyl as well as CD.
LINKS:
http://www.klammer.co.uk
http://www.facebook.com/klammerband
http://twitter.com/klammerband
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsOn5ov6NDaBtgdf-iA3LqQ/videos
https://www.instagram.com/klammerband
https://soundcloud.com/klammer
https://klammerband.bandcamp.com
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/klammer/id579352463
https://open.spotify.com/artist/25buSKBb5QaT31p8vKpxTV?si=JCDN3D5nQniIo0y71ASqAA -
Atmosphere – Drown feat. Cashinova, The Lioness & deM atlaS
The last time we checked in with Slug and Ant was on 2016’s Fishing Blues, the latest chapter in a string of albums showcasing the pair’s evolution from tortured hedonists into settled-down dads making kicked-back rap records. It would have been nice to carry on thinking they were finally at well-earned peace after two decades of extensively documented trials and tribulations. But just because your corner of the globe is peaceful, that doesn’t mean that the rest of the world stops turning.
It’s a different place than it was two years ago, and the seventh Atmosphere album, Mi Vida Local, reflects the ways in which the world–and Atmosphere’s place in it–have changed. The idyllic domesticity of the past few records has morphed into anxiety over keeping loved ones safe during turbulent times. Instead of bragging about backstage misadventures it’s about grappling with mortality. The easygoing collaboration between Ant and Slug has started to feel more like the life-or-death intimacy of two men trapped together on a lifeboat.
At times it’s a heavy album (“I might be the last generation of grandparents,” goes a key line from “Virgo”), but it’s far from grim. There are jokes being cracked, joints getting smoked, a little trash talking and beefing here and there–after all, it’s still a rap record.
And Atmosphere’s never sounded better.
As the name implies, Mi Vida Local is intensely focused on the place it was created–the southside of Minneapolis–where Slug and Ant work tirelessly in their “beautiful basements”, refining their sound without interruption. (Although a handful of friends from the Minneapolis hip-hop community showed up to contribute.) A year of one-on-one collaboration resulting in an album that matches complex subject matter with equally deep beats–ones that show a clear lineage back to the psychedelic funk landmarks from an earlier era where America was going through a post-utopian hangover, and prove that there won’t ever be a time where boom-bap beats don’t sound perfectly of the moment.
Mi Vida Local might be the best album Atmosphere’s ever made. It’s definitely the one they needed to make right now, and one listeners need to hear just as urgently. If it’s sometimes an album about how the fight to find happiness never really ends–even after you get the house and the kids and the artistic freedom to make dad-rap records–it’s also about discovering that there’s happiness to be found just in fighting.
Video Credits:
Director / DP / Editor – Tomas Aksamit
Producer / AD – Kelan McQuinn
AC – Bryce Wandling
Art Director – Jen Sonibare
Gaffer – Jacob Velander
PA – Lucas LangleyLINKS:
https://rse.lnk.to/MiVidaLocal
https://rhymesayers.com/artists/atmosphere
https://www.facebook.com/Atmosphere
https://twitter.com/atmosphere
https://www.instagram.com/atmosphere -
Satellite Ravens – Changes
Hatched in Arizona and with wings affixed in California, Satellite Ravens is as close to a one-man band as you can get without the spectacle of someone with cymbals strapped to their knees and an array of whistles around their neck. The creator is a multi-instrumentalist, Carson Rohde; his vehicle, the many-headed psychedelic funk gull, Satellite Ravens; the album, a mind-expanding zoo of colorful characters from this world and beyond, from yesterday and tomorrow. The hippy vibes are back for a new generation and lift-off is available any time you’re ready.
With Rohdes’ behemoth-like bass guitar skills very much to the fore, “The Equinox” has the shuffling, staggering drums of the 90’s Madchester scene, but with the Day-Glo smarts of US bands like MGMT and early Flaming Lips. From the swooning joy of Suffocated, with its Ween-esque mischievousness to the pseudo-mystical Chili Peppers dream-funk of Encircled, each track builds into an ever-expanding universe, twisting back on itself and latching onto new rhythms, writhing gleefully as it morphs into an entirely new animal. If Space Rock to you is Hawkwind or Spacemen 3, think again – this is the real sound of the cosmos: playful; intriguing but also joyful.
Rather like the deliberately distressed Yes-like album cover, Satellite Ravens have their tongue somewhat in their cheek, but this belies their huge musical talent and often intriguing lyrical content. With elements of jazz, classical, funk, 80s rock and 90s underground psych, this is an album which grows in magnificence with each subsequent listen. Prepare to follow Satellite Ravens in orbit.
LINKS:
https://soundcloud.com/satellite_ravens
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4DWM8jTdcf2wyyWt3a7SzV
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJAay056LCLnCks9ua9Duw?view_as=subscriber
https://www.facebook.com/satellite.ravens
https://twitter.com/satelliteravens
https://www.instagram.com/satellite.ravens
https://satelliteravens.com