House Hounds - Crooked Teeth - Salt Cathedral - BERRIES
House Hounds - Karamel.Background - Forming in late 2013 through a musician classified ad, the boys set out working on material after connecting on the love of shared influences. After a couple of years of gigging and rehearsing, a few singles, radio interviews and airplay, the band started working on their debut EP Saturate.
Written, recorded and self produced over the course of 6 months, the EP was handed to multi-award winning producer Magoo for mixing duties and mastered by Matthew Gray.
"The EP was recorded over the course of 6 months after long nights and days of pre-production and demoing. All songs were written around the same time frame except the first track ‘Bird' which was written two years prior,” says member Keelan Callaghan on the process of writing the EP.
On display on the EP are 70s influenced vintage synths, overdriven guitar layers and creamy fuzz leads, reminiscent of 90s era alt-rock records and a modern take on a vintage compressed drum sound, are all features of the new release.
Lead single ‘Karamel’, layers 70s influenced vintage synth sounds with a mono recorded drum track. The song’s uniquely structured arrangement is standout.
“The EP was named "Saturate" as an adjective to describe the overall sound of the EP. Having multiple layers of guitars and the use of effects and atmosphere... to me the songs sounded "saturated" in colour, tying them together. Lyrically the songs are about life events that I have experienced over the past 2 years,” says Keelan. The Saturate EP by House Hounds is released today, 23rd of June 2017. Facebook here.
The debut EP 'Saturate' comprises of five distinct and high quality songs. Lead single and the third track on the EP is 'Karamel' a piece that typifies the overall quality of the bands indie pop/rock style. Very assessable and refined music.
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Background - The seeds of Crooked Teeth germinated in Glasgow where Rob and Jo met having played the circuit in their own bands For Abel and Evol. A couple of years later they moved to London separately where a chance re-encounter on the streets would lead to the formation of Crooked Teeth. Originally Rob suggested Jo play drums or guitar with him in the new band, Jo suggested synths. Despite Rob’s initial wariness of the setup, they went into studio with his friend Sam on guitars. After a three hour synth-propelled noise pop wig-out the lineup was set in stone. Two years and numerous gigs later and their sound has evolved.
Utilising analogue electronics and guitar-driven psych pop in equal measure, Crooked Teeth’s unique sound has seen them draw much praise, with radio play from Amazing Radio’s Jim Gellatly and Artrocker Magazine. Their debut release, Mirrors, marks their most sophisticated songwriting yet. Recorded, mixed and produced by Jo in his warehouse studio in Manor House, the track captures the uniquely fragmented and cacophonous nature of modern life with its multitudinous anxieties, but Crooked Teeth go one step further than that. In their studiously well-crafted noise pop experiments they’ve found something infectiously listenable and free too.
Taking inspiration from their beloved hometown of London, ‘Mirrors’ is a celebration of individuality in a metropolis that’s becoming increasingly homogenised. Giorgio Moroder style propulsive synth bass and crisp guitar lines give the song a driving groove while the beatific synth leads lend an uplifting poignancy. This is Crooked Teeth at their most life-affirming yet. “You’ll be like no one else” Rob chants as the song crescendos to its heady climax.
A bold assertion of individuality both musically and lyrically, ‘Mirrors’ is a snapshot of Crooked Teeth at this moment in time - thoughtful, unique and playfully experimental. In many ways it’s reminiscent of A Weekend In The City era Bloc Party, both in its brow-beaten cynicism towards modernity, but also in the rapturous optimism that positively thrums within its beguiling freeform outro. Facebook here.
Stylish and rhythmic 'Mirrors' has that classic electro vibe, with enough of a modern twist to keep it fresh. Vocals and guitars add a further dimension, to what is a quite hypnotic song, that gently progresses into something more memorable.
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Salt Cathedral - Always There When I Need You.Background - 'Always There When I Need You,' the first track to be released from rising Colombian duo Salt Cathedral's forthcoming debut album Big Waves // Small Waves. The new album is set for release this autumn.
Big Waves // Small Waves was written and recorded over the course of 2016 at the band’s Brooklyn studio. The self-produced record began with sampling sessions in an effort to bring folkloric sounds into the band’s pop writing. After sketching out their song ideas, the band fleshed out and recorded, keeping most of the original demo vocals. The Jamaican rapper Assassin, reggae legend Lee “Scratch” Perry and longtime friend and collaborator Matisyahu each lend vocals to tracks on the album.
Salt Cathedral’s first full-length follows their 2014 EP Oom Velt, released to critical acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork, The Guardian, The Fader and Consequence of Sound. The band has toured extensively in North and South America as well as Asia, and has shared stages with the likes of Mitski, Christine & The Queens, Hundred Waters, Cibo Matto, Tei Shi and many more.
Salt Cathedral is the duo of Juliana Ronderos and Nicolas Losada, born in Colombia and now based in Brooklyn, New York. Their name is taken from the fabled Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá, a church built inside a salt mine in their native country. Formerly members of Il Albanico, Ronderos and Losada formed Salt Cathedral to experiment with their Caribbean and various world music influences and inspirations, as well as to explore their more existential songwriting leanings. Salt Cathedral traffics in concepts and ideas like individuality, identity and experience.
Following some US & Colombian live dates, the band will announce some UK shows shortly. Website here, Facebook here.
'Always There When I Need You' has fabulous vocals and a bright and beautiful musical arrangement. Totally addictive and genre crossing, this is just right for hot summer days.
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BERRIES - Wild Vow.Background - BERRIES have announced the release of their new single 'Wild Vow' - the first track taken from their second EP which sees the band further explore their unique take on riff-driven rock with even more grit and confidence. 'Wild Vow' boasts big riffs and chorus's and further highlights the clever musicianship, weaving guitar and bass lines and well thought out drum patterns that this exciting three-piece are becoming known for.
BERRIES have had an infectious buzz around them ever since they dropped their first release 'Lights' last year, followed by singles 'Waiting' and 'Siren'. Their tracks immediately caught the attention of BBC London Introducing and they were hastily invited into the studio for an interview with Gary Crowley who openly showed his support for the band urging listeners to “keep an ear and an eye out for them as they have a lot of promise!” The bands tracks have also received regular air play by Jim Gellatly and Shell Zenner on Amazing Radio and John Kennedy on Radio X.
Following the release of their debut EP 'Those Funny Things' the band were approached by a member of Fender’s A&R team who expressed his interest in their unique and energetic playing style. They were endorsed with new gear and included in a playlist of Fender's 'Top 10 favourite new acts' alongside Bryde and featured on Richer Unsigned. Their song 'Siren' was then added to nationwide playlists in Richer Sounds stores, Samsung and Barclays. The band’s EP has been championed by Fred Perry Subculture, Gigslutz, Even the Stars and The Revue along with several other influential taste makers and blogs. ‘Wild Vow’ is their anticipated follow-up single. Facebook here.
Natural and feisty alt rock comes in the shape of 'Wild Vow'. BERRIES just get on play, with passion, power and a fine sense of what makes for a good blast of rock'n'roll.
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