eic: violens

Showing posts with label violens. Show all posts

Monday, July 16, 2012

REVIEW: Ice Choir - Afar

8 out of 10

We all love the 80's right? From The Cure to Pet Shop Boys, there was just something about synthesizers that got an entire generation on their feet. The Pop music from that era still seems untouched as far as being the catchiest music you'll ever hear (ever). It's no surprise that that era of music (as well as a bit of the early 90's) is being "reborn". ..OK, I'm gonna be honest, I think there's too many bands doing it right now. It's (Neo New Wave er whatever it's called) sort of cliche and lame now:[ Is this just me, or is anyone else sick of the revamps and homages? Let's experiment more people! That's what I feel most of the time, that is unless, someone really does-it-right (this is a lot harder than it seems). Ice Choir (whom I love) are "that exception" to this rule.

Ice Choir is the Synth Pop side-project of Kurt Feldman (The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart). You may notice that Ice Choir sounds a lot like a long-lost 80's act, I also think IC sounds a lot like Violens (this is a good thing).. I don't know if that's because it's produced by a Violen(ist?) or if these two artists are just that kismet. No matter, it works. "Afar", Ice Choir's debut LP, is ultra-rad/gleaming the cube glorious from the first breath of electronics to the last pulse of air. The production is incredibly shiny, the beats are simple and elegant, the vocals are perfectly form-fitting/mood matching, and everything is just exactly where it needs to be. Pop music as strong as this only comes along ever-so-often and that's precisely why you need to appreciate this now. (once again) You deserve something this nice don't you?

Love this. Recommended for lovers of nostalgic futures.

Standout Tracks:I Want You Now And Always, Bounding, Two Rings, The Ice Choir (yes indeed! the band was named after this track)

EIC's 10Q's w/ Ice Choir

"..ultra-rad/gleaming the cube glorious from the first breath of electronics to the last pulse of air.."

Ice Choir

Polished Enchantment

Ice Choir Bio:

Formed in October 2010, Brooklyn, NY, USA. Somewhere, amongst abstract romantic lyricism and pointilized synthesizer pastiche, the Ice Choir proposes to you, the listener, a most unfavorable “Pop” experience: imaginative songcraft minus the cool factor. Leaning heavily on the crumbling pillars of 1980’s Technopop production aesthetic, this is music that is both distinctly modern in composition and cripplingly esoteric. Waylaying melodies to mislead and seduce. Sentiments both saccharine and surreal. Formless constructs playing you out of that weird dream and into your cold reality. Kurt Feldman (guitar, programming, synthesizers, vocals) / Patrick South (synthesizers, fretless bass) / Raphael Radna (synthesizers) / Avery Brooks (percussion).

Hello, how are you?
(Kurt didn't answer this one, we'll assume he's doing awesome though;)

What are you currently listening to?
Kikuchi Momoko's 'Adventure', Reimy's 'R', and Kevin Dunn's 'No Great Lost: Songs, 1979-1985'

What's with the name, is there a story behind it?
I wrote a song called "The Ice Choir." It's a reference to that song. (the song references other things which I'd prefer to leave open to the listener's interpretation.)

LOVE your debut LP, care to tell us a little bit about it; theme, recording process, likes/dislikes, etc.?
I wrote it over the past year or so in my spare time, mostly while I was on tour with my other band, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. I was depressed and in a strange headspace when I wrote "Afar" and I'm glad it's behind me. It was recorded, piecemeal, in my apartment.

Will you be touring for said release?
Probably not.

In a dream world whom would you like to tour with the most?
I realize I could probably state some really obscure, long-defunct band here, but I'll refrain from doing that because I've toured a lot and it's a very humanizing and demystifying experience. In pretty much every instance I can think of, I'd just rather not see behind the curtain, so to speak. If I had to do a tour, it would be a triple bill with Violens and Chairlift because those guys are my friends, they're great songwriters and they'd be fun to hang around with for a month or so.

Got any other projects we should know about?
Definitely working on a new record with the Pains right now. Besides that, I've been focusing on other people's music lately, which has been really positive. I'm currently producing / arranging / programming the new Evan Only album and also writing some stuff for videogames. I'm scheduled to work on some other projects this summer which i'm pretty excited about.

What movie would work best on mute while listening to your music?
The NeverEnding Story?

You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?
Creed's 'Human Clay'.

Are you living your dream?
No, getting closer, though.

Thanx Caroline and Kurt!

Ice Choir will be releasing their debut LP on July 31st, via the terrific Underwater Peoples label, be sure to check 'Afar' asap!

Sunday, March 11, 2012

A remix sooo good, one might call it "ear crack"..

Young Prisms - Floating In Blue (Violens Remix)

BV recently put out this song, it's one of those rare examples when a remix is actually/maybe better than the original. F%#$ing awesome/(recommended that you) blast this.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

New Violens on the way..

Violens' 'True' comes out May 15th via Slumberland Records.

A few of the tracks featured on this LP (Click HERE for a freebie) were on their recent 9-track album, including (which I'm assuming the album title shares it's name with) THIS gem of a song:
Violens - Totally True

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Check out the new Violens vid..(my fav song from the album)

..here's the MP3: Violens - Violent Sensation Descends

....AND HERE's an interview! :o

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

If only I lived here..

OK so mainly/only for Violens and Wild Nothing, but still, I would definitely go.

Monday, October 4, 2010

EIC'S10Q'S w/Violens

"..a cross between 80's Pop/Synth Pop, Dream Pop, Shoegaze, "Oldies-vibe-esque" (it's a word, trust me) music, and Metal (yes, Metal)..only with a slightly stronger focus on the "Pop".."

Violens
Nostalgia From The Future

Violens Bio:
Violens are a New York-via-Miami four-piece formed in the fall of 2007 featuring members Iddo Arad (synths/vocals), Ben Brantley (bass), Jorge Elbrecht (lead vocals/guitar) and Kris King (drums). Their music imagines a place where The Zombies & The Byrds meet Wire & The Violent Femmes, and Crass meets Angelo Badalamenti & Prefab Sprout.
Violens songs conjure descriptions of nightmares, the passing of time, speculations on spiritual messages, and accounts of psychedelic hallucinations. Even their most frenetic guitar work and aggressive rhythms are draped in a gauze of reverberant, harmonized vocals and synths which create a sense of creepy, artificial comfort. A fitting characterization, lyrically and musically, for a group whose name is a melding of the words “violence” and “violins”.
New York-based, Florida-bred Violens is fairly new to the music scene in its current incarnation, the quartet having come about as they are now in late summer 2007. There’s not much to be found if you Google the psychedelic indie pop rock band, and currently, they don’t even have 250 MySpace friends, but rest assured, it won’t be this way for long.

Hello, how are you?
I'm great, thanks so much.

What are you currently listening to?
I just started listening to an album by the band Viraemia, it's pretty insane.

How did you come up with the name “Violens”
I remembered an interview with Alejandro Jodorowsky I saw in college where his pronunciation of "Violence" sounded like "Violens" and then thought the word would be a funny hybrid of Violins and Violence. I mainly liked the way he said it though, so hopefully everyone who says our name will try to say it with thick Chilean accent?

What is the overall theme on your debut album “Amoral”? Did it take long to put together?
The overall them would probably be taking the idea of amorality and applying it to the thought process in making a record, or playing guitar, producing a song, writing lyrics, etc. The general feeling in 'Amoral' is intended to be about a kind of horrific giddiness, if that makes sense. Yes it took a while.

I love the mixtapes that you do (the meshing of Washed Out w/Slowdive was particularly amazing),how long does it generally take you to put one of those together?
Thanks so much. It comes together pretty quickly. Maybe a few hours. Also depends on the idea.

If you could score any movie of your choice what would you choose?
I'd love to make a movie and score it. It would be a horror movie called "Coke Booger."

Is Lansing-Dreiden done or..?
Nope, L-D still meets regularly and we are planning a pretty large-scale project involving dogs and robotic wrought-iron. It will probably be done in a few years.

You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?
Necrophagist '"Epitaph".

Are you living your dream?
Yes

Thanx Jorge!

Violens debut LP "Amoral" comes out in less than a month, much touring followed right after..

REVIEW: Violens - Amoral

7.5 out of 10
Find it here.

What seems like at least a decade a go I worked at a record store. (Remember those?) One day while "working" I stumbled across a band called Lansing-Dreiden (I liked they're album artwork). Being that I worked at a record store I took as many chances as possible with random music. Once I picked it up wellll.., I still haven't quite put it down. It was (and is) exactly what I needed at the moment. Imagine a cross between 80's Pop/Synth Pop, Dream Pop, Shoegaze, "Oldies-vibe-esque" (it's a word, trust me) music, and Metal (yes, Metal). Fast forward to now and you get L-D's "sister project" Violens. "Amoral", the band's debut release, continues on with "similar" L-D attributes only with a slightly stronger focus on the "Pop". If you're already a fan of Lansing-Dreiden, "Amoral" is a no-brainer for you. You must own this album. For those of you still unaware of L-D, take a moment and get yourself acquainted (..I'll wait..). Now that you're back and wanting to shake my hand for showing you the aweseome-ness that is you can somewhat know what to expect from Violens.

I'm gonna keep this one somewhat short.. "Amoral" presents some of the best/most solid production values you will hear on any "Rock" album this year. I think you should just trust me when I say buy this now. (your loss if you don't)

Imagine driving a White Ferrari that travels through time and alternate dimensions.. (great visual isn't it) "Amoral" will be your co-pilot. Somewhere between Oasis, My Bloody Valentine, The Big Pink, Duran Duran and The Byrds lays Violens. RECOMMENDED.

Standout Tracks: Full Collision, Until It's Unlit, Violent Sensation Descends (LOVE this track), Trance-Like Tum (sounds like a good "Prom song"), Generational Loss