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koiyyo · 5 years ago

Note

hnng i want to request a lot of things but i’m scared to but!!! how would the classes play animal crossing and/or their favorite villagers if it wouldn’t be too hard! thank u

hi, mod kiwi here! thanks for the ask, anon- don’t be afraid to ask us whatever!! :)

(also me and irusu r really cool and helped) -mod corn

here we go! animal crossing time!

dr1 cast!

makoto

- plays daily- his favorite villager is probably poppy- his favorite special villager is shrunk- silly axolotl man- got really confused the first time one of his tools broke- almost started crying- invites every animal he meets into his island no matter what- does EVERY favor villagers ask of him - actually likes bunny day and thinks the eggs are adorable

kyoko

- only got it because makoto BEGGED her to get it- her favorite villager is judy she’s hella cute- her favorite special villager is sable - just chilling- tons of purple flowers on her island - doesn’t like peppy villagers, feel like they’re too hyper for her- puts a lot of care into her villagers doe- likes going to a mystery island and just investigating,,, unless it has tarantulas

byakuya

- surprisingly really likes animal crossing- acts like he doesn’t- his favorite villager is raymond… of course- his favorite special villager is tom nook- chased around makoto holding an axe one time- makoto was literally crying- makoto thought that you could actually kill people with axes in animal crossing- byakuya found this amusing

sayaka

- actually enjoys ac a lot- her favorite villager is chrissy, she just has awesome vibes- her favorite special villager is mabel cause she’s,, blue,, - loves taking videos/pictures of villagers singing- tries to hum along,, fails- her islands are always covered in tons of flowers (mostly blue!!)- enjoys inviting people to her island and showing them around

junko

- takes ac too seriously- her favorite villager is definitely audie cause she’s an embodiment of fashion statement- her favorite special villager is sable cause who doesn’t love clothing- harasses mukuro to come to her island anytime she plays- will dig holes everywhere whenever someone visits- her house should be in a magazine it’s so pretty,,- new outfit for everyday of the month- hosts fashion shows religiously with her friends or anyone she can get her hands on

mukuro

- doesn’t really play just sits back and watches junko- plays on her save every now and then doe- favorite villager is vivian since she reminds her of junko- favorite special villager is sable- doesn’t like talking to villagers, feels like they're judging her- if a villager pisses her off she makes plans to kill them- she can’t, so she settles for bonking them until they leave

chihiro

- avid ac fan- favorite villager is sheldon, he can respect the hustle- favorite special villager is isabelle cause she’s precious- cries if he accidentally hurts a villagers feelings- is hella rich- loves decorating around the villagers’ house as best he can- his island is more nature themed,, its just more relaxing- takes tons of scenic pictures, mostly with mondo and taka

mondo

- “i would never play a BABY game”- next thing he knows, he’s up at 3 am whispering how cute the villagers are- favorite villager is tex he’s so chonky (and his taste in fashion is top tier)- favorite special villager is k.k cause Damn He Vibes- will constantly run over his flower and almost throw his console- asks chihiro for advice constantly- “h-how do i get.. good fish..”- quality bonding time- doesn’t tell people he plays but gushes about it in private

taka

- claims he doesn’t have time for it- he actually does,, and plays it any chance he gets- favorite villager is kid cat cause he’s so funky- favorite special villager is blathers since he teaches him a lot- can’t handle lazy villagers, they didn’t do anything wrong he just feels like they will slack off in his uptight town smh- doesn’t really care about designing his town, mostly completing tasks he needs to- likes having red flowers everywhere tho- will cry if he doesn’t get all the fish/insects he needs on time- beats up any visitor that leaves something on the ground

toko

- attempted to buy Doom instead- favorite villager is coco, she’s just so cute/creepy- favorite special villager is jack he vibes- hates interacting with her villagers cause she feels like she’ll mess it up- tried to get byakuya to let her on his island, or for him to visit hers- is very thorough about decorating her island- tries to have a story behind it so it feels more unique- always ugly sobs when her flowers end up gone

jill

- attempted to buy AC instead, she won- favorite villager is lucky, feels like he has serial killer vibes- favorite special villager is jack- runs over any flowers that toko tries to plant- tries to make the island scary themed- if any villager “looks at her wrong” she harasses them daily- leaves them gruesome letters even tho they cant understand

hiro

- doesn’t even know how he got a copy he just does- favorite villager is sherb- favorite special villager is wisp since he likes getting stuff, he likes harvey too- doesn’t bother putting effort into designing his island- only plays while high so he thinks the villagers are kinda scary- “why are they,, staring at me like that,,,”- has never repaid his debt to tom nook

hina

- her brother was the one who introduced her to the series, loves it- favorite villager is ketchup cause shes cute and can swim!!- favorite special villager is gulliver since he’s goofy- loves fishing anytime she can- always plays when she wakes up early in the morning and before bed- anytime she gets something new she acts like a child on christmas- thinks all villagers are cute and got pouty when she couldn’t have them all on her island- can never outrun tarantulas ):

sakura

- loves playing when hina is around- her favorite villager is maddie, reminds her of hina- favorite special villager is daisy mae she’s just really cute- hina helps her decorate her island since she doesn’t care that much- gets sad if she accidentally hits a villager- enjoys playing at night since it’s relaxing- constantly being stung by wasps pls help her

celeste

- favorite villager is portia she’s fancy as hell- favorite special villager is celeste duh- likes taking slow strolls through her museum to see her progress- her house is very victorian-esque- lots of tables with tea around her island- likes designing gothic clothes- anything on her island that can be black is - has a crime scene hidden on her island just for the hell of it

hifumi

- favorite villager is snooty, wants her to step on him- favorite special villager is isabelle- his island is only anime themed- has anime girl “posters” all over his house, and on his clothing- always gets stung by wasps and claims that it’s unfair- no one interacts with him

leon

- didn’t think he’d be into ac- favorite villager is leonardo- favorite special villager is k.k- doesn’t play this game very religiously- his island shows that smh- says he’ll break his console if he gets another sea bass- likes having a relaxing walk while playing to calm him down doe- outfit is just a baseball jersey

komaru

- favorite villager is felicity- favorite special villager is isabelle- likes playing with makoto and toko- her island is very cute, whenever someone tells her this she gets vry flustered- the shine in her eyes gets 10x brighter when she catches a big fish- loves staring at her aquarium- all her clothing is pastel and cute- has every type of tree on her island,, for the vibe

dr2!!

hajime

- enjoys ac- gets confused every 2 seconds doe- one time chiaki make rosie move out of hajime’s island as a prank. he will never forgive her for this- his favorite villager is rosie cuz she’s just adorable,, also vibes with kabuki- his favorite special character is flick. funky chameleon boy- grumbles about how he misses rosie constantly- loves tangy doe,, calls her orange juice

nagito

- loves to play with hajime and chiaki- only villagers that he likes ever move into his island bc of his luck- one time rosie moved into his island. hajime was fucking pissed- his favorite villager is ruby because she was one of his first animals to move into his island- his favorite special character is jack- likes having green flowers everywhere- got every fish he needed too cause of his damn luck

chiaki

- had her hands on it the second the game was released. plays constantly- always has an absurd number of bells and nook miles- her favorite villager is lolly :”)- her favorite special character is blathers bc funny sleepy owl man- has never seen daytime cause she sleeps during the day- even if she’s lazy her island is gucci as hell- invites hajime to her island just to bonk him and leave him to fight wasps

ibuki

- camped outside of gamestop till it opened, screamed when she got her hands on a copy- her favorite animal is definitely bella- favorite special villager is k.k., attends all his concerts, and has all his songs- anytime she makes a mistake she’ll just yell “NO!”- is actually pretty calm playing- will give all the villagers wacky voices, ends up in snort laughter- doesn’t like fishing cause she always pulls the rod in to early- loves having colors EVEYRRYWRHERE

mikan

- favorite villager is fauna- favorite special villager is lable- anytime she gets stung she’s on top of it, has tons of medicine- cries when she does anything wrong- worries if her villagers judge her- sucks at fishing- all of her clothing has at least one (1) bandaid included cause why not- her actual villager has a bandaid on its face for the aesthetic™- loves when she’s sitting on a bench and a villager joins

mahiru

- has so many random photos of nature or villagers- favorite villager is tasha she’s vry cute!!- favorite special villager is pavé since HES flamboyant and good for pictures- her island is very aesthetic- tons of pretty flowers everywhere, and everything place is just aligned perfectly somehow- loves touring others islands, especially hiyoko’s- her outfit has a drawn on camera for the vibe

peko

- avid fan of animal crossing- if you cant interact with real life animals then games >>- favorite villager is all of them (but favors marshal more,, reminds her of fuyuhiko)- favorite special villager is isabelle- has never bullied or hit one (1) of her villagers, cherishes them too much- will send them letters saying how much she loves them from time to time- her island is very pretty and all her villagers are decorated outside- forgets to eat dinner or sleep cause she plays it so much

akane

- “how many things in the game can i eat”- favorite villager is katt cause she’s so INDEPENDENT- favorite special villager is jingle, always makes her excited- has a makeshift restaurant on her island- all her outfits have food somewhere on them- every fruit tree she can get she has, she requires food 24/7- constantly threatens to fight tom nook for putting her in debt

fuyuhiko

- FAV VILLAGER MARSHAL 100%- also pashmina cause she reminds him of natsumi- natsumi was the one who convinced him to get it, showed it to peko- now they play it every night together before bed- yells at villagers anytime they get in his way then apologizes profusely- peko has to help him design his island he just doesn’t get it- takes her on ac dates, they just stargaze or look at their aquariums- likes to talk to the villagers as if they can hear him,, will blush and deny if peko points it out

sonia

- favorite villager is tia because she “looks fancy”- favorite special villager is pavé- has tons of outfits related to disney princesses- her island is very modern looking, prefers stone things than wooden- has tons of fashion shows- everything about her island is clean and aligned- lets gundham visit a lot to check in on her cute villagers- hella rich has that bell cash money

kazuichi

- compliments sonia’s island everyday even if he hasn’t been allowed on it- favorite villager is freya, loves her colors- favorite special villager is harvey cause he vibes- screams anytime he gets a big fish- island lowkey looks like trash but sonia gives him advice amen- is pretty smart about wasps, but lacks iq with anything else like tarantulas- unironically celebrates the villagers’ birthdays- even if he’s feral he likes to take a chill pill and play ac

teruteru

- ew- favorite villager is merengue- favorite special villager is isabelle- tries to flirt with villagers through letters- all the villagers on his island are wamen- tried to buy nude qr codes,, failed- always has an apron on and has a little cafe on his island

imposter

- favorite villager is keaton since he’s funky- favorite special villager is blanca- scoffs anytime they miss an insect or fish- dedicated to ac after they said they wouldn’t be- their island is actually pretty well decorated, they enjoy having flowers everywhere- until they run over them and regret living

hiyoko

- favorite villager is soleil, tiny and cute- favorite special villager is jack- mahiru suggested ac to her and then she got obsessed- always bullies her villagers, its a miracle they haven’t moved out- pitfall seeds buried all over her island for poor, unsuspecting visitors- her island is akin to hell no one wants to visit her- its a shame since its so pretty tho- likes visiting places with mahiru and letting her take photos- enjoys spinning to pretend she’s dancing

gundham

- his favorite villagers are all the hamsters- his favorite special villager is daisy mae- has played since the first game, religious fan of it- never been rude to one of his villagers- takes designing very seriously and it pays off- despite his very colorful island his outfits are pretty dark- walks around sonia’s island a lot and they stargaze sometimes- played it for 24 hours straight once, almost died- goes on to ac forums and starts flame wars with anyone that bullies their villagers (mainly hiyoko)

nekomaru

- plays every now and then, loves it a lot- favorite villager is kevin since he vibes- favorite special villager is jingle, gets him hyped- anytime a villager starts singing he’ll yell “YOU’RE DOING GREAT”- doesn’t know how to decorate,, at all,,- his house is just another storage room to him- is in tons of debt due to tom, would rather buy expensive stuff with his bells- yells when fishing. doesn’t matter if its a big fish or not, he just does- will hype up someone when he goes to their island

dr v3!

shuichi

- kaede convinced him to get it and loves it- favorite villagers are punchy and beau, he just thinks theyre funky- favorite special villager is flick cause he’s laid back- waterfalls all over his island, says its a memorial to the waterfalls of tears he loses every night- visits his friends islands a lot- has tons of blue flowers and hasn’t ruined them once amen- kokichi ruined them once though. he cried- island is very aesthetic since it’s mostly nature themed- cries happy tears when villagers do ANYTHING- cherishes anything his friends gift him- except for kokichi, he sent him a threat and a shirt saying “nerd”

maki

- doesn’t tell a lot of people she plays it, very shy about it- favorite villager is cherry- favorite special villager is celeste- everything on her island is red and pink- even if she’s tough on the inside she loves having a cute island- has a place specifically to sit and watch the stars (mainly for when kaede and/or kaito is with her)- gets overly defensive when people ask why she loves her villagers so much- “I JUST-” sobs “DO”- gets bullied by kokichi for anything she does while playing- resulted in a broken arm and trampled flowers. F

himiko

- only plays at night until tenko convinces her to wake up earlier- favorite villager is bob- favorite special villager is k.k- just likes vibing doesn’t take anything to seriously- tries her best for her outfits to resemble a magician- preforms “magic” shows ( it’s really just her throwing down items and claiming it appeared magically )- tenko and angie drag her all across their islands daily, acts like she doesn’t love it but its the main reason she still plays- anytime she gets something new she just shrugs- doesn’t like zipper and tenko has to assure her it isn’t a murderer tracking her location

kaede

- favorite villager is bianca- favorite special villager is k.k, unironically likes his music- has a piano in every room of her house- pretends to play said pianos for friends that are visiting- rainbow flowers everywhere- except red because she gives those all to maki- convinces people to have fashion shows with her, no actual winners, but they all win in her heart- plays it a lot in her free time, kind of addicted- likes to hum along with singing villagers- everything about her island is just hella cute

rantaro

- “whats an animal crossing”- and ever since that day he’s been a religious fan, amen- favorite villager is chief, likes making “that ain’t it chief” jokes- favorite special villager is k.k, will listen to his music whenever he’s staring off into space- his island is lazily made but still looks so good??- will just stare at butterflies before remembering he should catch them- “what’s the point of an ocean if i can’t sail it bro..”- loves playing at night cause of shooting stars- always wishes for kokichi to stop sending him hate letters

kirumi

- favorite villager is whitney and tia since theyre,, cool n chill- favorite special villager is isabelle- her house and island are 100% CLEAN- has a zen garden behind her house- anytime someone visits her island she offers them tea- treats the villagers like her own family- likes sending them letters with perfect grammar, just pleases her soul- has never gotten stung by a wasp her iq is large- her outfit looks like a maid amen- kokichi always ask her to clean his island, never happened

ryoma

- favorite villager is rasher- favorite special villager is kicks- doesn’t get the appeal of ac- will play it for like 5 minutes tops- enjoys the fishing aspect doe- anytime he visits someones island he will just sit on the shore and stare out into the ocean- thanks god that his villager is the same height as all the animal ones, now he isn’t short (:

korekiyo

- body outlines, blood, and bloody summoning ritual circles everywhere on his island- favorite villager is lucky- favorite special villager is jack and blathers- keeps scary looking fish in his house- said house is dark and probably has an occult book somewhere- curses his villagers in an unknown language whenever they forsake him- every screenshot of a villager he has includes him behind a tree staring menacingly at them- doesn’t invite people to his island, people don’t even wanna come- if he somehow ends up on somebody's island he’ll stalk them- became an urban legend on all the ac forums

angie

- her favorite villager is ankha- favorite special villager is isabelle and jingle- anytime a villager moves in she says “atua has blessed angie with a cute villager!”- likes yellow flowers- her outfit is just a smock with paint on it amen- sends people and villagers letters wishing them good health every. single. day.- likes tagging along with tenko and himiko whenever they do something- loves chasing butterflies

tenko

- was very hyped over the game since everybody else hyped it up- favorite villager is nibbles and cookie they’re just VIBING- favorite special villager is isabelle (screams anytime she is on screen)- will wake up himiko or angie at 3 am to flex the big fish she just got- got rich just to buy them gifts- anytime a guy is in her presence she bonks them with a net- this is the reason she has no male villagers, and no males invited. periadt.- has matching outfits with da girls- grows lots of flowers (mainly to give to her friends amen)- cherishes this game cause it gives her an excuse to spend time with da girls

miu

- favorite villager is olivia - favorite special villager is shrunk- constant sex jokes- her outfit looks like a stripper deadass- harasses people about not knowing how to play when she, herself, does not have a damn clue- almost ruined her console cause she’ll spit out her drink when she gets a big fish- everything she does is feral- never stops running so she doesnt have flowers- kokichi steals any flowers she may have anyway- decorating? whats that? just throw random stuff on ur island

gonta

- his favorite villager is joey cause he’s funny looking and trying his best- his favorite special villager is blathers- island looks pretty natural, just dirt paths every now and then- will hunt down an insect even if he has it already- was sad he had to give up his insects to blathers, then realized... he can catch them again!!- has a garden and always gets excited when butterflies fly around- golden net to show off how much of a pro he is at collecting insects- gets shy anytime someone visits but his islands so cute,,

kaito

- favorite villager is apollo because he’s named after the apollo 11- favorite special villager is harvey, can respect his vibes- likes walking around with maki and shuichi- tries his best to play it but he’s kinda dumb,,- whenever gets something new he loses all his brain cells in excitement- will probably never pay tom nook back. he is clueless about even being in debt.- mostly plays before bed cause he stares at the stars- will send maki pictures of shooting stars even if its 2 am- island is pretty natural since he forgets to decorate it,,

kokichi

- favorite villager is pietro cause he always compares him to people- loves all the mouse villagers- favorite special villager is jack and blanca- all over his island is just. holes and pitfall seeds.- has fallen into the holes plenty of times himself- sends all of his friends letters, which just consist of him making fun of them- tons of carnival things around his island since “ur invited to the circus clown”- his house looks like jail for no reason- clowns others for having poor taste in fashion when he just cosplays a RAT- also has an outfit that looks like a trash can xoxo

kiibo

- favorite villager is ribbot, they’re practically the same- favorite special villager is snowboy and blathers- anytime he reads text its so robotic,, hella funny to whoever's playing with him- everything also confuses him- “what is a .. c+??”- is actually very efficient and paid off his tom nook debts in no time- respects his villagers a lot and will give them gifts- his favorite part is chasing butterflies, usually misses tho- accidentally shot a gift balloon over water, searched for it for over 10 minutes- anytime someone does something he just does a happy emote @ them,,

tsumugi

- favorite villager is tasha she’s a bad bithc- favorite special villager is blanca- has so many different outfits as different anime characters- her island is so well decorated- loves taking aesthetic screenshots with her anime outfits- takes commissions for designing clothing amen- runs an ac instagram just to flex how pretty her things are- actually enjoys the game a lot, especially with other people

i fucking hate tumblr formatting - mod irusu who edited this

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thesunlounge · 5 years ago

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Reviews 315: Inre Kretsen Grupp

Sea-soaked guitars wavering in moonlight, basslines bouncing through playful echo panoramas, marimbas and vibraphones sparkling amidst tropical cloudforms, woodwinds calling out towards a spiritual sunrise, and skeletal rhythms moving between slow-motion dream funk, balearic boogie, exotic jazz, and dopamine dub…this is Dorisk Ordning, the debut 12” from Inre Kretsen Grupp. Though minimal and dominated by spacious, almost ghostly mixing, the music here is deeply transportive...the kind of immersive sonics that carry the mind towards sunset beach rituals, rainforest dance ceremonials, and cabana lounges on some hidden island. And given how cinematic and multi-colored everything is, you’d be forgiven for thinking Inre Kretsen Grupp is actually an ensemble. But despite the name, every sound here is sourced by a single soul named Martin Blomberg…a multi-instrumentalist from Mälmo with a deft command of that illusive balearic vibe. As well, Dorisk Ordning marks the welcome return of Fasaan Recordings, a chameleonic label working through the more outsider realms of dance music and deep listening that has featured such favorites as Prins Emanual, Golden Ivy, Free Arts Band, and Bufiman.

Inre Kretsen Grupp - Dorisk Ordning (Fasaan Recordings, 2019) “Loggia” sees cymbals tapping and reverb-soaked bass guitars slapping through funk motions while vibraphones fade in like morning mist. Kick drums and snare give the beat momentary shape before everything cuts away and in the remaining silence, pan-pipes blow spiritual ocean spells while mallet instruments lock into sparse yet affecting chord cascades...as if each hit is splashing through a tide pool haze. When the drums return their slow motion boogie glide, a dazzling melodic progression spreads out across multiple instruments, with pan-pipes leading to slap bass leading to sea-spray marimba chords…all while tremolo picked guitars fade in and out like some ghostly ether. There are moments where the rhythms cut away, resulting in witchy moonlight ceremonials of beatless funk ambiance. And towards the end, silvery streaks of string synthesis waft through the mix…these starshine tracers repeating like a siren. In “Campo Santo,” hi-hats tick and hand drums pop as howling winds carry laser-generated birdsong. Basslines sounding like a contrabass from another dimension bounce through drunken delays and soon after the track begins, the rhythms fade away in favor of mystical humming tones, virtualized jungle sounds, and lonely guitar meanderings, with sliding echo riffs reminding me of Fabror Resande Mac. Swaying chords waft in as the drums return to their tropical bop…a sort of moonlit dance of jazz exotica with ethnological percussion flashing all around the mix…and during another bass and drum fade out, these incredible orchestrations diffuse through the stereo field…with woodwinds and strings playing a bewitching sunrise incantation amidst ritualized vocal drones and Hawaiin guitar reveries. Then, as we morph majestically back into the beachside hypno-groove, fusion-colored organs alight on equatorial dream journeys.

The title track opens side B with distorted bass pulses working through lullaby motions amidst a multi-layered panorama of sundown guitar riffing, with interlocking licks generating meditative polyrhythms and waves of deep earthen warmth. Kick drums keep a rural pulse and lead guitars play themes for spaghetti western vistas and surf rock sunrises as the music brings my mind to the work of Douglas McCombs and Pablo Color. Deep in the mix, psychosonic electronics filter wildly, though their effect is barely perceptible, and some of the guitar fx are so naturalistic…almost vocal…creating the effect of someone blues scatting through layers of crystalline guitar fog. Elsewhere, we devolve into weirdo bass sequencing, stick clicks, and typewriter mutations…a strange passage of ambient abstraction before building back towards folksy psych-guitar majesty. True to its name, “Dubbad Dougong” presents Blomberg’s vision of dub, starting with gemstone arps and hand percussion leading a romantic intro groove through a cloud of reverberating sea-foam. Lofi riddims of kick, snare, and hissing hats diffuse in as synthetic trumpets soar over brassy e-piano percolations. During a sharp cutaway, guitars and angel pads sing together and big woozy basslines start grooving through delirium delays while starshine dubchords echo into the void. As the rhythms resume a dubwise skank, the body sways on currents of psychotropic groove transcendence while basslines slip and slide through time-shifting fx tapestries. Elsewhere, the kaleidoscopic dub jam devolves into spiritual ambiance, with guitars and mermaid choirs intertwining and reggae stabs breathing white noise into the mix. And as the track builds back towards an ever-shifting dub riddim zone out, synthesizers tuned like melodicas sing sea-shanty folk songs.

(images from my personal copy)

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screamingforyears · 7 years ago

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BEST OF 2017: TOP TEN

The TOP TEN, a collection of my 10 favorite albums of the year. These were the albums that demanded the most of me and the ones I found myself repeatedly going back to again & again…

CIVIL LUST

‘CONSTITUTIONS’

SELF-RELEASED

CIVIL LUST combine, then blend, all the aesthetic pleasures that make a great Goth Pop record on their debut LP ‘CONSTITUTIONS.’

The Salt Lake City based duo (Christian Riley and Isaiah Michael) are masters of their craft, who nail the details to a tee. 'Constitutions’is an exercise in classic post-punk tropes, but ones that have been further refined by years of study and more than capable craftsmanship.

The Cure bass lines, the Ian Curtisian vocals, to the Tears for Fears exuberance, Civil Lust create art that is sinewy yet soft (take one listen to “Receive” and tell me I’m wrong).

“Even Further” literally pulls you further into Civil Lust’s majestic ways with an echoed drum machine beat, tingled guitar lines, and Riley’s longing while the slow groove of the sensual “A Man You Will” is the type of sound the group perfect. The devil’s in the detail.

‘Constitutions’ and its able bodied creators construct a seamless 7 track album and further enrich an already fertile modern goth landscape...

DEATH BELLS

‘STANDING AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD’

BURNING ROSE / FUNERAL PARTY

DEATH BELLS, the Sydney based group of: Maurice Santiago (Bass), William Canning (Vocals), Aron Postolovic (Guitar), Rimas Veselis (Guitar), David Gauci (Synth), and Luca Watson (Percussion) seem to understand the power of gloomy guitar based indie, the kind that held court throughout the genre’s most influential decade and like many of the amazing groups mining these fields, they seem to understand the importance of detail and the need to move beyond mere homage.

DB’s beautifully bleached William Canning is a frontman to be reckoned with, as he parlays the looks, voice, words, and bravado into a force that demands attention, but not at the expense of working as an important cog to his band’s sturdy wheel. A singer is only as good as the foundation that surrounds him, so luckily for us the rest of the Bells are a top-notch unit.

‘STANDING AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD’ is a pure guitar record through and through, one that borrows equally from paisley jangle, arena reaching grandness, and moody post-punk while being executed with aplomb by Veselis & Postolovic’s dual attack.

“Only You” finds guitars loudly pinging over a steady rhythm section, allowing the coldly effervescent vocals to take center stage. The group hold court and have once again presented a lively, yet somber piece of buttoned up pop with “Only You.”

Death Bells sound hopeful yet weary on their engaging debut album, coming together as a cohesive & bold unit unafraid to reach big while retaining all the detached cool of their forebears...

DRAB MAJESTY

‘THE DEMONSTRATION’

DAIS

DRAB MAJESTY, the project created and fronted by premiere goth alien Deb Demure, returned in 2017 with their second proper LP.

‘THE DEMONSTRATION’ sees Drab Majesty doubling down on what they do so well, finely tuned new wave goth, but better. Demure’s former LA based bedroom experiment (which has morphed into a two-man group with the addition of Mona D) has seen its profile & popularity rise, after successful tours supporting the likes of King Dude and Cold Cave.

Drab Majesty are the torchbearers for a certain strain of Goth, where the dark wave crashes full on into brooding Reagan era new wave pop. Demure captures a specific sound, whereas every production trick is precise and aesthetic rules the land. This attention to detail, along with Deb’s unique and heavily treated guitar style, is what sets Drab apart from the sea of Goth indebted groups.

The guitar tones captured throughout the album are phenomenal, as witnessed on the sci-fi waltz of “Not Just A Name.” Reminiscent of Duran Duran’s more subdued moments, only way fucking spacier.

Drab Majesty are masters of ethereal Goth, steeped in dated production tricks, while literally reaching towards the cold vastness of space. What was once a solo affair has morphed into a full fledged entity, and as the popularity grows, so to does the quality of the Drab output....

FEARING

‘A LIFE OF NONE / BLACK SAND’

FUNERAL PARTY

The kind of dark, brooding, and equally booming rock music that FEARING create on their EPs ‘A LIFE OF NONE’ & ‘BLACK SAND’ has been sorely missing in recent years.

Fearing are exactly what I look for in a great gothic rock band, they capture a mood & essence that rings true while blowing past any attempts at modesty. And while I enjoy when things are minimal & low-key, I can’t help but gush when a band, especially one steeped in gloom, comes along sounding all huge. Which is precisely how fearing Fearing operate, they create big sounding rock songs that take elements from post-punk, 90′s Alt-Rock, and deathrock and combine them into one brutalist take on Goth.

“Beyond Light” sticks to the aggressively dark template of chiming guitars, thick bass, and wallowed out vocals while “Other Life” opens up with big thunderous drums, rolling bass, and moody synths before linking with a pinging guitar and layered vocals. “Other Life” shows a growth in Fearing’s songwriting, with sprinkles of piano notes adding new depth and has easily become one of the finest entry’s in the group’s catalog.

The EP format is surely the way to go in our modern times and the Oaklanders have taken full advantage of our attention-deficits by breaking us off a nice four track stretch, as they satisfy our itch and keep us wanting more…..

GRIZZLY BEAR

‘PAINTED RUINS’

RCA

Grizzly Bear, survivors of: the Brooklyn Sonic Boom, side projects, Indie Rock’s halcyon days, expectations, New York Magazine spreads, NYC itself, personal turmoil, indie labels, adulting, Taylor Swift, and most improbably…..themselves, have triumphantly returned with their first album in 5 years titled ‘Painted Ruins.’

‘Painted Ruins’ shows the no-longer-in-one place based group of Ed Droste, Daniel Rossen, and the two Chris combo of Taylor & Bear expanding on their already impressive sonic palette, while turning the focus inward. Grizzly Bear is the perfect example of “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” and for a group consisting of 4 very distinct musicians/personalities it’s really saying something. As corny as it sounds, when these four get together in a room, something special happens.

Album standout “Mourning Sound” is the straight ahead rocker we’ve been waiting for, a no BS thumper filled with gorgeous guitar work per Rossen. Truly one of the best things the group has ever penned as it manages to combine wistful regret (”I made a mistake….”) with a thick groove while deploying a goosebump inducing twinkle of synth.

Like most great albums, ‘Painted Ruins’ is a grower, with each subsequent listen revealing a new hidden nugget. The foursome known as Grizzly Bear have ended their 5 year absence with something meaningful, powerful, and refreshing…

HUMAN LEATHER

‘LAZY KARAOKE’

CERCLE SOCIAL

HUMAN LEATHER, comprised of Adam Klopp (Choir Boy) & Chaz Costello (Sculpture Club), are a self described “shitty version of Tears for Fears mixed with Depeche Mode,” but don’t let the humble self-deprecation fool you, because the duo tap into something so pure and unfettered that you simply have no choice but to succumb.

And I hate to be the bearer of bad news to those who feel the need to cling onto originality, but everything’s been done already, so get the fuck over it and stop missing out on some truly great modern acts.

The Salt Lake City duo aim to break your fucking heart on their debut LP ‘LAZY KARAOKE’ which is chocked full of Reagan era bangers and aesthetically dripping odes that nail every aesthetic detail.

“Ugly Sister” is a pure synth-pop ditty cloaked in the aforementioned Tears for Fears (who at this point are impacting this generation on some Joy Division type levels) influence. The devil is in the detail, something Klopp & Costello clearly understand, as the intricate production alongside the airy & emotive vocal courtesy of Adum (who recalls Wild Beasts’ Hayden Thorpe) is something to behold.

‘Lazy Karaoke’ was easily the most talked about album within the goth/post-punk community and with good reason.

“Everything is fucking scary……”

JOHN MAUS

‘SCREEN MEMORIES’

RIBBON MUSIC

Well……..the wait is officially ended as JOHN fucking MAUS returned in 2017 with the long awaited album ‘SCREEN MEMORIES.’

The Minnesota (by way of the the World) based project never ceases to capture the imagination and does this by creating unfuckable with Goth Pop. Maus is the undisputed master of the deconstructed gem, and will remain so by adding the aesthetically pleasing extra mile in everything he touches.

‘Screen Memories’ is a fluid & fantastic listen proving that Maus hasn’t lost a single step since we last heard from him years ago. Maus, ever the pop-deconstructionist, is so well adept at creating nuanced pop songs, steeped in goth, that you almost take him for granted at this point.

While a melancholic crop of songs litter the album, the taut “Walls of Silence” allows Maus’ reverb drenched chant to roam free atop a bed of driving bass, eerie synths, and compressed snare snap. Limber, yet driving, this slice of gothic minimalism benefits from not only its creators expertise, but gains so much power from its brief 2 minute and 23 second run-time.

If you’ve been sleeping on Maus, well shame on you, it’s time for you to wake the fuck up, press play, and soak up his mile-a-minute brilliance…

NEW TODAY

‘BETTER THAN DEATH’

SELF-RELEASED

Goth comes in many shapes and sizes, from cold wave to guitar driven gloom rock and everything in between. NEW TODAY, the under the radar post-punk duo of Dante Palomba (Casuistry) & Daniel Srungaram (Two One Six), fall into the latter camp with their latest LP ‘BETTER THAN DEATH.’

The group bring the big 80’s post-punk ala the Sound, the Chameleons, and Love & Rockets, while pairing it with minimalist detail. Taking Interpol-like guitar work, which at its best has always been minimal yet evocative, while juxtaposing it with substantial movements and huge vocals that take their place in the front. Dante Palomba’s voice is a viable instrument and the group treat it as such, which is exactly why New Today fall into the Romance/Trad Goth grouping.

All the preceding beauty culminates on “The Years” in the form of an icy synth that reaches for the ether, while being reminiscent of Interpol’s slower moments (which is basically how the XX got paid) but with far greater feeling and veiled optimism. “The Years” is an emotionally moving piece, the kind that builds yet sustains, and revels in its stark beauty.

At an even 10 tracks, New Today seem to know that leaving us wanting more is the key and ‘Better Than Death’ is one of the most fully realized and expertly executed albums I’ve heard in quite awhile.

It’s good to be goth….

PROTOMARTYR

‘RELATIVES IN DESCENT’

DOMINO

PROTOMARTYR triumphantly returned in 2017 with a new Long Player titled ‘RELATIVES IN DESCENT.’

This is a guitar rock record, which I know sounds like an oxy moron, but holy fuck the standard 4-piece is done proud throughout‘Relatives in Descent.’ This is the sound of an already great band furthering their footing and flexing their well defined muscle. Each member is in supreme control of their respected instrument: from the sharp lyrical prowess and spot on vocal take of Joe Casey, to the skeletal guitar riffs that blot entire song stretches via Greg Ahee, down to the powerful rhythm section courtesy of Scott Davidson’s driving bass and the chaotic (beyond time keeping) pace of Alex Leonard’s thunderous drums.

The groggy “My Children” takes its time with a slow build of doomed kinetic energy, before opening up and falling into a rangy Proto groove of guitars, rhythm, and wordsmith diatribes. “My Children” builds and builds into a melee of guitars/drums/bass until the clouds part and the song opens up offering a chill inducing moment while Casey commands the room. The track’s guitar work in the final third is awe inspiring and note worthy.

By doubling down on what’s made them so great, while stepping out of their comfort zone, ‘Relatives In Descent’ finds Protomartyr at their finest, proving once again that the sons of Detroit are in it for the long haul....

SEXTILE

‘ALBEIT LIVING’

FELTE

The Los Angeles based death-squad known as SEXTILE have triumphantly returned with the pristinely raw ‘ALBEIT LIVING.’

Sextile are the teeth, the brute truth, the harsh reality, the gritty glitz, and the creators of the mad mad world party record we need. The harbingers of bleached catharsis, consisting of the ridiculously attractive & stylish group of: Brady Keehn (vox/guitar/synth) Melissa Scaduto (drums), LA Eddie Wuebben (synths), and the newest addition Cameron Michel (guitar/bass), are trending upwards and with great reason.

That primal drive comes from Melissa Scaduto, not only through the floor shaking beats, but through her guidance, visual appeal, and aesthetic vision. Simply put, she’s the beating heart of the group, one that’s rounded out by Brady Keehn’s Cobra Kai-like bad-boy charisma, and Eddie Wuebben’s art damaged cool.

“Sterilized” is sinisterly delightful. A manic & breathy beast, where deathrock and new wave meet late at night to perform unspeakable acts upon one another. I found myself demonstrably head bobbing upon every listen (“can’t shake it”) while looking for the nearest dance floor thanks to the boogie down bass & drums. “Sterilized”allows Keehn to do what he does so well, that uptick coda (think “Can’t Take It.”), the melody of which is so fucking strong that I find myself walking around panting “Come on and sterilize me.”

Sextile have raised the bar for everyone on ‘Albeit Living’ as they establish themselves as Felte’s flagship group through hometown-hero sincerity and a cohesive album that never overstays its welcome...

***BONUS***

DEATH OF LOVERS

‘THE ACROBAT’

DAIS

2017 closed out with a tender aesthetic bang thanks to DEATH OF LOVERS’ ‘THE ACROBAT.’

The New York based group, boasting no less than three members of the emotional-gaze band Nothing and keyboardist CC Loo, create timeless New Wave ran through a gothic dream-pop portal. It’s not a disservice or slight to say that Death of Lovers created the long lost John Hughes soundtrack that we’ve been waiting on, it’s simply that good, that infectious, and that sugary.

“The Absolute” exudes a feeling of warm nostalgia, yet teeters with an anxiety inducing nervousness that’s coyly deployed over an upbeat arrangement of giddiness. The compressed echo beat, airy synths, and razor sharp guitar lines create a solid foundation for Domenic Palermo’s up in the clouds vocal (with a harmonious assist from drummer Kyle Kimball).

Death of Lovers are keen architects of the smooth delight, as “The Absolute” is five minutes of pure stylized bliss and that’s long before the sound of an aesthetically pleasing saxophone buries it’s reedy goodness into your brain which slides in well next to yearning moody bummers like “The Lowly People” and “Divine Song.”

This is what it sounds like when Hardcore vets find their inner New Romantic (take notes Head Automatica).

Seriously, that sax tho….

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soundspotting · 7 years ago

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Trentemøller - The Last Resort

Trentemøller’s music is a revelation to me, he’s one of those artists who master their art gracefully and solemnly and who work persistently at improving their skills and at pushing the boundaries of their art. His finely crafted cinematic sound, intricate and eclectic, rightfully bears the mark of Scandinavian authenticity, while remaining in a timeless global and essentially human form of cathartic expression. His music folds and enfolds like the North Sea waves. His ethos permeates everything, from composition to choosing vocals, to album art, to his mind-blowing live performances.

Trentemøller’s debut album, The Last Resort was released 12 years ago, but ever since I discovered it maybe 9 years ago, it remained one of my favourite albums. As Trentemøller himself recounted in an interview, the album’s release followed a time of self-doubt and then of reinvention, and I feel this personal trajectory is truthfully pieced together into the sound journey that is this album, a beautiful blend of natural and industrial, of organic, mineral and metal. A contrast of light and dark, of sweet and bitter, of gentle innocence and harsh realities. Thrill and discipline balanced carefully by the minimalist touch of the Copenhagen born musician.

The Last Resort begins unassumingly, in a stream of consciousness style. An 80s synth pop line progresses with elements which announce Trentemøller’s style on this album: dark cello and violin notes, feminine moans and whispers, building up like a flurry of butterflies in a rainforest clearing, to drop, anti-climactic, into a minimalist beat, clean and elegant like the smooth lines of Danish architecture. Western-like guitar riffs, natural sounds and mellow bells mark Take Me Into Your Skin and this album. In a calculated step, you’re taken into the depths, under the sea, to the real beats beneath your skin, the ones your very cells vibrate to and even deeper. You’re then brought back up gently, to a cityscape with lights slowly fading and bells swaying in the early morning wind.

This album has been my shaman through the struggles and perils of writing my master thesis a few years back, and Vamp is one song that really helped me get those thoughts in line. It’s a dark, but more upbeat melody, maintained by a catchy bass line, joined gradually by jazzy soft rock lines in almost imperceptible crescendos and decrescendos, while the bass line grows stronger and stronger. There’s an element of surprise that’s a gift unravelling itself to your ears and your mind. Crank up the volume, wiggle in your chair, bob your head in your cubicle, whatever works. Let your hair down metaphorically for a few bars, then go back to the basics.

It’s midnight in the forest, your heart is pounding in your ears. The darkness is teeming with life, screeching, crawling, creaking. The city and its restlessness fading into the background, you dare delve deeper into the Unknown. There is something raw, primordial about this Evil Dub, ignited as it is by tribal drum beats refined in the long nights of the northern latitudes.

When you listen, when you really really listen, you discover layer after layer of sound like soft peels of translucent smoke that Trentemoller carefully weaved along the path of this misty journey. To go further means to turn your steps inwards and let the music flow through layers upon layers of perception, down to the root of your being.

Along this inner track, you’re lullabied by Always Something Better into an exploration of a sort that takes you back to Orbital, Daft Punk and Little People all at once. The drop is well worth the industrial, thorny track through the abandoned building site leading to it. Albeit a well-calculated, disciplined drop, coming from a skilled, self-aware touch.

While The Cold Winter Waiting follows naturally from the previous piece, just like the seasons succeed each other in nature. Trentemøller skillfully paints through his music bleak, cold mornings in the midst of the Danish winter. Days of dappled seaborne clouds, when the trees seem to retreat into a mineral state, leafless and dark, taking that journey back to the source of life, appearing lifeless only for a while. As a counterpoint, beautifully interwoven amongst the empty mornings, are the warm evenings indoors, candles lit, passions tempered, hopes held close and nurtured. Within the bleakness, there is a spark, a hope, a seed. We are the pain and also the way out of the pain. Breathe in, feel, breathe out, relax, merge with the cold waves and surrender to the enveloping warmth.

‘Music is a big prayer’. Time for the Nightwalker, a reference perhaps to the character from Japanese mythology so wonderfully and magically depicted in Studio Ghibli’s classic ‘Princess Mononoke’, the dark and ruthless but equally beautiful and fragile face of the Forest Spirit. The mystery of the god that is both good and evil. The light in the dark – the hope, the fire in the middle of winter. Placed almost at the middle of the album, Nightwalker is an exquisite musical metaphor for the time of the year when sunlight is at its lowest in the Northern hemisphere and perhaps introspection at its deepest. One of my favourite pieces on this album.

At this point along the path, the haze of melancholy and reverie wearing out, you may find at the core of this album the pain of separation. Thunder drums and cymbals sound out a bad omen, the cello mourns an empty space. In style and feel, Like Two Strangers takes me back to Unsaid of Little People, another beautiful bittersweet recount of personal memories through the impersonal filter of samples.

The Very Last Resort washes over the remnants of these memories with its entrancing acoustic guitar picking. A lyrical depiction of the wonders of the human brain, able to fuse past memories with present regret and melancholy as if no time has passed at all. Sounds, wounds, voices become muffled. It’s as if you’re witnessing the memory of a couple’s argument fished out of Dumbledore’s Pensieve. The argument, the melancholy, the regret reverberate through the mind, blurring and stretching images and sounds, like reflections in a distorting mirror. An overarching sense of finality lingers. The beat returns just in time and brings you back to the present. In the end it all fades into the dark pool of forgetfulness.

Onto story laden scar tissue fall delicate sounds, some close and clear, some faint and muffled, like winter’s first snow fall that begins slowly, shyly, covering the noise of abstract rush. Pause, look, feel, admire, let your eyes be amazed, let your heart and your ears follow the soft intermingling of chimes and drums. And be prepared to welcome The Beat into your musical veins. Snowflake is a nine minute conversation with the snow fall, in which the almost frantic discourse of the main line, like an interior flow of consciousness, comes up against the quiet evanescence of the ice crystals, making their way to the ground.

From snow covered ground to deep sea water, you’re taken on a dive way below into the ocean rifts, into the realm of the plankton and bioluminescent sea worms. Your heart pounding in your ears, you’re dazzled by the richness and rhythm of fluorescent life. There’s a growing ominous presence sinuously whirling around you, just that bit out of reach, like a hidden Kraken of sorts, or the mother of sandworms on Dune, a sort of mythical Chameleon.

Once you’ve grabbed that chance to get close to that elusive Chameleon, you can now carry this chance home, back through the forest. The emotions welling up towards this point receive their well-deserved relief. Into The Trees unravels the tension through an upbeat house vibe, while blending perfectly in the larger painting that is this album, such that it all becomes a continuous ebb and flow of the same exuberant story.

As if to help bring you back to your usual more mundane endeavors, Moan starts out with a symphony of echoes and fragments of everyday life, which converge towards the main line of the song. It’s a gentle, touching, yet powerful melody telling of woes, wonders and past events. It ends in a classical manner, with an almost imperceptible wisp of wind blowing across sand.

From this fine touch of sand grains on the skin emerges Miss You – with subtle touches of pan drums, with soft piano and sobbing violin. It’s one of the most beautiful bittersweet pieces of electronic music I’ve listened to, full of both elation and sadness, so much like the feeling of longing - the pain of the separation mixed in with the warmth of the memory of closeness.

[This is just the piece for a soulful flowing dance such as a bunch of artists have put together here (In fact if any of you know who made this video/where the footage comes from, please write in your comments so I can credit them properly, I haven’t been able to work this one out).

The mash up of Miss You by Trentemøller and Teardrop by Massive Attack is a fantastic example of a skillful blend of dedicated artists, classic beats and beautiful movements, a meta mix through decades of electronic music. The sinuous body movements, the faceless dancers covered in silky sheets, resembling characters in Magritte’s paintings and the beats in Teardrop perfectly complement the pan drums and the softness in Miss You.]

youtube

The Last Resort is masterfully complete with this last piece. The album is rounded and rich in experience and in feelings, and it’s intricate like an impressionist oil painting. What’s more, by being the best version of itself, it’s infinitely delightful and inspiring (even the album cover art left such an imprint onto my subconscious that one day I painted [this], at the time consciously unaware of the source of my inspiration). A fine balance of melancholy and burning spirit permeates The Last Resort, transforming the cold impersonal feel of electronic instruments into natural, organic sounds which give Trentemøller’s music life, warmth and character.

#trentemøller #thelastresort #myfavoritealbums #lightinthedark #musicisabigprayer

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souslejaune · 5 years ago

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Folio 2: Listen to All my Words

“Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me” – Job 42:3 i

The changes came slowly. I was the same incurably curious boy, same over-loud voice, same stamping laugh, but I felt a shadow over me.

It started with a stabbing pain in my chest the night after GeeMaa spoke to me in the kitchen, a woodpecker drilling into the forest of my being. I woke up, clutching my left breast and screaming. My father burst into the room; he arrived in his half-closed dressing gown, his penis dangling in the pale light streaming in from the corridor. My mother trailed in after him, a tie-and-dye cloth wrapped expertly around her chest. She fixed the belt on my father’s gown for him. Naana was already by my side, holding my hand, wide-eyed and trembling.

“What’s wrong?” My father’s voice was deeper than it was during the day.

“I’ve had a heart attack.”

“Ebo,” he glanced at my mother, who had taken Naana’s place beside me and put my head in her lap, “you can’t have a heart attack. You’re ten…”

“What happened?”

Everyone turned. GeeMaa stood at the door in a faded green and orange cloth tied round her body and knotted behind her neck. One of her arms was rested against the doorframe. The now-flaccid flesh from her triceps was made sharp again by the light in the corridor behind her.

My father responded. “Ma, he said he’s had a heart attack, but…”

“It’s OK, Kojo.” She waved my mother and father towards the door, but my mother didn’t move. Her grip on me tightened.

“Sarah, I’ve seen this before. I’ll look after him.”

My mother caressed my forehead. My father stopped near GeeMaa and said my mother’s name softly.

“Sarah…”

I felt her look up, heard her inhale.

“Sarah, she’s a nurse.”

My mother exhaled the breath she had taken, smoothed my cheek with the back of her hand and eased my head back onto my pillow. I still had a hand on my chest but I could no longer feel any pain. I watched my father put his arm around my mother’s waist and rub her side like a good luck charm as they went back to their room.

GeeMaa turned to my sister. “Naana, please get me some hot water from the kitchen.”

“Yes, GeeMaa.”

I shifted to lie on my side and looked up at GeeMaa.

She leaned over, rubbed my back and started talking. “Oh, mi bi, did it hurt badly?”

I nodded.

She sat where my mother had been and looked around the room. Nobody had thought of turning on the light so the room was in half-darkness. The ceiling fan hovered like a bored watchman. My mounted spider was a stain on the wall.

GeeMaa started humming then stopped. “Sometimes you can stand in a storm but it won’t rain until you notice the clouds.”

I shifted my head to peer at her. My eyelids felt like clay.

GeeMaa made another statement. “Sometimes you make a new friend and then begin to run into them everywhere you go.”

I latched onto the familiarity of this new observation. “Yes, that’s how it was with Ato Table. After I played football with him for the first time I started seeing him at the plantain seller’s and Auntie Aba’s, even on his way to school. Then I found out we lived on the same road.” I paused. “GeeMaa?”

“Hmm?”

“GeeMaa, what’s wrong with me?” I put my right hand on my left breast. My mother had warned me several times about leaving the fan on and not wearing a shirt, but I wasn't wearing one. GeeMaa took my hand away and put hers there. I heard the kettle's whistle in the kitchen.

“There’s nothing wrong with you; your uncle Narteh had this before he started working, then it stopped.”

I peered into the shimmer of GeeMaa’s pale brown eyes, confused. “Who is Uncle Narteh?”

“One of my cousins’ sons. In the mountains.” She sighed and held my face, her fingers below my chin. “Did it hurt badly, mi bi?”

“Yes, GeeMaa.”

“Oh, maybe I shouldn’t have told you…”

Naana arrived with a bucket of hot water. GeeMaa didn’t speak after my sister returned. Naana stood by the blue plastic bucket, framed by the corridor's rectangled glow, until GeeMaa waved her to her bed. She wrapped her covers around her and watched us. A grating sound cut the silence as GeeMaa pulled the bucket closer. She reached into its depths, with her back turned to me, until her elbows were covered. She stayed hunched over the heat for a while without flinching, then took her hands out and turned me onto my front. Naana sneezed.

GeeMaa turned to her. “Naana, lie down. You’ll catch a cold sitting like that under the fan.”

Naana burrowed into her bed and GeeMaa placed her hand on my back. Under the coaxing of GeeMaa’s hot palms I hovered on the borders of sleep. She massaged the area between my shoulder blades slow and hard, so that, although it was comforting, it was impossible to fall asleep. She hummed as she briefly placed her hands back in the bucket to warm them, then kneaded my lower back and the area of my back directly behind my left breast. Her arms were heavy, her hands nimble. A floating image of my heart appeared beneath my eyelids and I drifted into a mild slumber. I saw a self-lucent ferruginous diamond of pain eject from my heart in slow motion and parachute its way down. I followed it by flying with my mind until I got caught in a tree awash with webs and red ants. I started screaming.

GeeMaa slapped my back, waking me. She put her finger to her lips and inclined her head towards Naana who was curled up like a chameleon’s tail, snoring softly. GeeMaa turned me onto my back again and put her hands in the blue bucket. I expected the water to be cold, but when she laid her hands on my chest they were hot. I shrank into the mattress in surprise. GeeMaa shook her head and smiled. Her teeth shone. In the murkiness of the room the glow from her ivory hair looked like it was suspended in air. Her eyes were drugged fireflies. Outside, an owl hooted and I tuned into a wealth of nightlife I had never explored: the muted beats of dogs prowling the street seeking challenge, chickens sleeping beneath bushes and on low branches, cockroaches scouring kitchens, trees swaying, worms and snakes sliding across the earth, tides in, fishermen out to sea. Everything was alive and vital, assaulting my ears and skin. I felt like I was dreaming again, but GeeMaa was right there in front of me holding my eyes with hers. She removed her hands from my chest, and the night turned quiet again.

She stood up, held out her arms, then reached across with her left hand to pinch the flesh under her right arm.

My right arm jerked and I winced in pain. I looked at GeeMaa, puzzled.

She approached my bed again, leaned over, hugged me and whispered. “Remember, your father is my son; he is also your mother's husband.”

I frowned, uncomprehending.

“Tomorrow, when you go to pass water there’ll be some blood. Don’t worry.” She straightened up and left.

I woke up disoriented and hungry. Sunlight had invaded my room from the windows on the side wall and through the open door. For a while I looked around me, seeing nothing. Eventually, the pale blue expanse of wall above Naana’s bed gained definition. The periodic table she had stuck on it when she moved in became a clear block with individual squares. Naana’s bed looked as though a pack of dogs had ran through it. I heard her voice from the kitchen, singing, If you leave me I go die oh, in harmony with GeeMaa, trying to drown out my father’s Sunday jazz record, which was all horns, bass, keys and drums. I knew without moving that this was not one of the Sundays when we went to church.

On church Sundays, my mother shook sleep out of us with firm hands and hounded us with toothbrushes and spoons. We brushed our teeth with the enthusiasm of zombies and sat at table to eat our rice or maize porridge with two thick slices of sugar bread. We rushed to the bathroom – Naana first because she spent more time picking clothes – then got dressed and piled into the car. By 7.40 am the Datsun was on the road, streaking a navy blue gleam across the streets of Accra to Adabraka, where the church was. There was no banter, no cross-house battles. There was no music – for the tuneless singing of the Methodist old ladies could not be called music – and no dancing.

I preferred the no-church Sundays, when my father got up early to clean the inside of his car and then went to turn on his jazz. Head bopping, he jived to the kitchen to make freshly squeezed orange juice for my mother who emerged on cue, waved good morning to my father, then went to the toilet to urinate. She returned to hug him, jive with him to the living room where he handed her the juice and sat beside her with his eyes closed. Then GeeMaa, Naana and I woke up and the music battles began.

Of course, it wasn’t always like that. Sometimes my misdeeds were uncovered. Like the time when my father decided to have a brandy while listening to jazz and found the bottle’s contents to be lower than his last mark. That Sunday I got a resounding beating from a father who claimed he was doing the Lord’s work for him.

But this Sunday was fine. I could tell by the intensity of the sun that it was about 10 am, and no one seemed rushed. I stretched and swung my legs out of the bed. I reached for the yellow T-shirt I had dumped on the little table between Naana’s bed and mine and headed for the living room. I didn’t wear the T-shirt; I just held it.

The living room was small. A black three-seater cane settee and two small matching armchairs on a woven raffia carpet. My father’s record player was to the right of the door by a bookcase and a drinks cabinet. The armchairs faced the door and there were three sheepskin cushions that lay at random on the floor beside them. The settee was to the left. That’s where my parents sat, holding hands in stillness.

“Morning Dad, morning Mum.”

“Morning Son.”

“Are you feeling better?”

“Yes, Mum, GeeMaa gave me a massage. I feel fine now.”

“Your eyes are red again.”

“I’m OK. I feel fine.”

My father hadn’t opened his eyes. A Yusuf Lateef sleeve lay on a coffee table beside him. I stood for a moment as a sign of respect; so he wouldn’t think I didn’t appreciate his music. But I was famished so I couldn’t hold on for long. He spoke as I turned to go, his eyes still closed.

“So, no more heart attacks?”

I smiled and kept walking. I heard him chuckling as I went. My mother slapped his arm. He turned the music up as Naana and GeeMaa broke into a new song.

I headed outside, towards the orange tree, where I offloaded the rose urine GeeMaa had warned me about. I stood watching the pool gather at my feet wondering what it all meant.

—–

continued >> here <<… | start from beginning? | current projects: The City Will Love You and a collection of poems, The Geez

#niiayikweiparkes #fiction #short fiction #novel series #novel #series

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ponanoblockguide · 8 years ago

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NBC-001-225 Mini Collection

· NBC

NBC-001 Emperor Penguin

NBC-002 Clown Fish

NBC-003 Bottlenose Dolphin

NBC-004 Budgerigar

NBC-005 Hokkaido Dog

NBC-006 Giraffe

NBC-007 Japanese Tree Frog

NBC-008 Alpaca

NBC-009 Cockatiel

NBC-010 Dachshund

NBC-012 Polar Bear

NBC-013 Pig

NBC-014 Sika Deer

NBC-015 French Bulldog – Black

NBC-016 Budgerigar

NBC-017 Grand Piano (Black)

NBC-018 Violin

NBC-019 Giant Panda

NBC-020 Koala

NBC-021 Duck

NBC-022 Meerkat

NBC-023 Electric Guitar

NBC-024 Drum Set

NBC-025 Jack-O-Lantern 2010

NBC-026 Santa Claus 2010

NBC-027 Snowman 2010

NBC-030 Rabbit

NBC-031 Maneki Neko

NBC-032 American Shorthair

NBC-033 Red-eared Slider

NBC-034 Red-and-green Macaw

NBC-035 African Elephant

NBC-036 Horse

NBC-037 Electric Guitar-Red

NBC-038 Synthesizer

NBC-040 Jack-O-Lantern 2011

NBC-041 Santa Claus 2011

NBC-042 Snowman 2011

NBC-043 Xmas Tree 2011

NBC-044 Dragon

NBC-046 Daruma

NBC-048 Berkshire

NBC-049 Hippopotamus

NBC-050 French Bulldog

NBC-051 Electric Bass

NBC-052 DJ Set

NBC-053 Grand Piano (White)

NBC-054 Sheep

NBC-055 Greater Flamingo

NBC-056 White Tiger

NBC-057 Lion

NBC-058 Nile Crocodile

NBC-059 Eurasian Eagle Owl

NBC-060 Toy Poodle

NBC-061 Mallard

NBC-062 Jack-O-Lantern 2012

NBC-063 Santa Claus 2012

NBC-064 Snowman 2012

NBC-065 X’mas Tree

NBC-066 White Snake

NBC-067 Maneki-neko Black

NBC-068 Magellanic Penguin

NBC-071 Christmas wreath 2012 George’s Ltd.

NBC-072 Christmas Tree 2012 George’s Ltd

NBC-073 Christmas Boots 2012 George’s Ltd

NBC-074 Christmas Teddy 2012 George’s Ltd

NBC-075 Cockatiel Soramachi Limited

NBC-076 Fox

NBC-079 Alpaca Cream

NBC-080 Red Panda

NBC-081 Green Sea Turtle

NBC-082 Great White Shark

NBC-083 Manta Ray

NBC-084 Giant Squid

NBC-085 Green Spotted Puffer

NBC-086 Fiddler Crab

NBC-087 Moon Jellyfish

NBC-088 Spotted & Splendid Garden Eels

NBC-089 Chipmunk

NBC-090 Oarfish

NBC-092 Kangaroo

NBC-094 Giraffe (New version)

NBC-097 Jack-O-Lantern 2013

NBC-098 Santa Claus & Reindeer 2013

NBC-099 Santa Claus & X’mas Tree 2013

NBC-100 Snowman & X’mas Tree 2013

NBC-101 White Horse

NBC-102 Fukusuke

NBC-103 Hina Doll

NBC-104 Bengal Tiger

NBC-105 Zebra

NBC-107 Koinobori

NBC-108 Whale Shark (Osaka Aquarium)

NBC-109 King Penguin (Osaka Aquarium)

NBC-110 Sea Otter (Osaka Aquarium)

NBC-111 Tyrannosaurus

NBC-112 Triceratops

NBC-113 Stegosaurus

NBC-114 Brachiosaurus (skeleton model)

NBC-116 Bluefin Tuna (Japan Aquarium = JA)

NBC-117 Bottlenose Dolphin (JA)

NBC-118 Clownfish & Palette Surgeonfish (JA)

NBC-119 Small-clawed Otter (JA)

NBC-120 Schnauzer

NBC-121 Chihuahua

NBC-122 Sloth

NBC-123 Drum set – Red

NBC-124 Jack-O-lantern 2014

NBC-125 Java Sparrow

NBC-126 Santa Claus on bike 2014

NBC-127 Santa Claus chimney 2014

NBC-128 Sheep 2015

NBC-129 Shishimai (Lion Dance)

NBC-130 Hina Doll 2015

NBC-131 Koi no bori 2015

NBC-132 Capybara

NBC-133 Spotted Seal

NBC-134 Common Octopus

NBC-135 Rockhopper Penguin

NBC-136 Orca

NBC-137 Hammerhead Shark

NBC-138 Bald Eagle

NBC-139 Camel

NBC-140 Cockatoo

NBC-141 Cow

NBC-142 Peacock

NBC-143 Chameleon

NBC-144 Grey Wolf

NBC-145 Hedgehog

NBC-146 Grand Piano

NBC-147 Electric Guitar Ivory

NBC-148 E Organ

NBC-149 Contrabass

NBC-150 Frankenstein’s Monster

NBC-151 Giant Isopod

NBC-152 Whale Shark clear

NBC-153 Surfing Santa Claus

NBC-154 Snowman 2015

NBC-155 X’Mas Tree 2015

NBC-156 Santa Claus in the Bathroom

NBC-157 Santa Clause Fishing

NBC-158 Giraffe

NBC-159 Giant Panda

NBC-160 Alpaca

NBC-161 Tree Frog

NBC-162 Mother & Baby Monkey

NBC-163 Ebisu

NBC-164 White Tiger

NBC-165 Geoffrey ToysRUs

NBC-166 Ring-tailed Lemur

NBC-167 Budgerigar Green Opaline

NBC-168 Golden Retriever

NBC-169 Old English Sheepdog

NBC-170 Lion

NBC-171 Electric Guitar Red

NBC-172 Drum Set Blue

NBC-173 Dragon

NBC-174 Unicorn

NBC-175 Phoenix

NBC-176 Pegasus

NBC-177 ? (please let me know if you know this one)

NBC-178 Squirrel

NBC-179 Rabbit

NBC-180 Pelican

NBC-181 Bengal Tiger

NBC-182 Dinonix

NBC-183 Pteranodon

NBC-184 Allosaurus

NBC-185 T-Rex Skeleton

NBC-186 Mammoth

NBC-187 Irish Elk

NBC-188 Dodo

NBC-189 Anomalocaris

NBC-190 Great White Shark

NBC-191 Pacific White-Sided Dolphin

NBC-192 Nautilus

NBC-193 Coelicanth

NBC-194 Red Panda

NBC-195 Chimpanzee

NBC-196 Kangaroo

NBC-197 French Bulldog pied

NBC-198 Astronaut

NBC-199 Orbiting Solar Observatory

NBC-200 Santa Claus

NBC-201 Christmas Bear

NBC-202 Sanada Yukimura

NBC-203 Meerkat

NBC-204 Flamingo

NBC-205 Electric Bass White

NBC-206 Ukelele

NBC-207 Rooster

NBC-208 Daruma Red

NBC-209 Daruma White

NBC-210 Kokeshi Doll

NBC-211 Japanese Pancake Devilfish

NBC-212 Spotted Jelly

NBC-213 California Sea Lion

NBC-214 Beluga

NBC-215 Ragdoll

NBC-216 Hamster

NBC-217 Hamburger

NBC-218 Hot Dog

NBC-219 Birthday Cake

NBC-220 Sushi

NBC-221 Pony

NBC-222 Grizzly Bear

NBC-223 Wakin Goldfish Red

NBC-224 Wakin Goldfish Black

NBC-225 Popeyed Goldfish Red

#nanoblocknanoblock list #list

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thepatricktreestump · 8 years ago

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Pretty Odd. (ask challenge)

PRETTY ODD. ASK CHALLENGE Tagged by @emoxxtrash my beloved fren

WE’RE SO STARVING: LAST THING YOU ATE? I went to Starbucks and had a Coconut Milk Mocha Macchiato and a sugar cookie NINE IN THE AFTERNOON: WHEN DO YOU USUALLY SLEEP/WAKE UP? Well I have insomnia so I go to bed anywhere from midnight to four a.m. it just depends. This week I’ve been going to bed around two in the morning. And I wake up at six a.m. to seven a.m. but on weekends I usually pull all nighters lol. SHE’S A HANDSOME WOMAN: WHAT FAMOUS PERSON DO YOU FIND THE MOST AESTHETICALLY PLEASING? A lot of people come to mind but mainly: Johnny Depp, Carrie Underwood, Tim Burton, Lady Gaga DO YOU SEE WHAT I’M SEEING?: DESCRIBE THE WEATHER WHERE YOU ARE RIGHT NOW Well we just had a fucking tornado a couple days ago where I’m at lol so uh lots of rain and gray skies. THAT GREEN GENTLEMAN (THINGS HAVE CHANGED): HOW ARE YOU DIFFERENT FROM HOW YOU WERE TWO YEARS AGO? Um two years ago I was in a super dark place in my life, I had extremely bad depression, self-harm issues, an eating disorder, it was just very bad. I’ve gotten a lot better since then. I’ve also gained a lot more confidence and have better friends. I HAVE FRIENDS IN HOLY SPACES: HAVE YOU MET ANY FAMOUS PEOPLE? WHO? I don’t know if any of you watch Dancing With The Stars, but I came super fucking close to touching Val Chmerkovskiy and I was freaking the fuck out I was like five feet away from him. I know I’ve like DMed conversations with Riley Bria (American Idol) and Anthony Amorim (Youtuber) so yeah idk if that counts. NORTHERN DOWNPOUR: WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? I was watching Moana yesterday and yeah, Disney movies got me with all the feels and emotions. WHEN THE DAY MET THE NIGHT: DO YOU PREFER SUNSET OR SUNRISE? I love the sunset! Where I live there’s lot of trees and forests and lakes and the sun filters through the branches and reflects on the water and it looks so pretty and the skies turn yellow to orange to pink to purple and it’s so gorgeous I take so many pictures. PAS DE CHEVAL: IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY ANIMAL FOR A PET, WHAT WOULD YOU PICK? I want that little chameleon from Tangled, that little dude Pascal, like he’d be pretty swaggy to just carry around in my pocket or someshit like that. I’d love that. THE PIANO KNOWS SOMETHING I DON’T KNOW: DO YOU PLAY ANY INSTRUMENTS? I play acoustic and electric guitar and I dabble in the bass. BEHIND THE SEA: WHAT WAS YOUR LAST DREAM? So um, I have this thing, it actually exists and a lot of insomniacs actually have it. It’s called Nightmare Disorder and so I have really bad dreams at night. Last dream was being trapped inside this auditorium and being held hostage by a terrorist organization and having some of my friends tortured in front of me in order to get information. Um, you can ask @ani001011 my dreams are like weird apocalypse, horror, thriller, adventure movies or something like that and they often scare the shit outta me. It’s not really the monsters or “bad guys” that scare me, but it’s the thought of losing or hurting the people I love that terrify me the most. FOLKIN’ AROUND: DO YOU HAVE A REGIONAL ACCENT? IF SO, WHAT KIND? Nope I’m just an American SHE HAD THE WORLD: IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, IN ANY TIME PERIOD, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? Idk I really like the European Renaissance or Medieval Era, but I also adore the American 60’s and that kind of stuff, but honestly I’d just want to go a couple years back and be able to attend the Twenty One Pilots, Panic! at the Disco, and Fall Out Boy concert from the Save Rock and Roll era FROM A MOUNTAIN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CABINS: EVER BEEN CAMPING? DID YOU LIKE IT? Yeah we go camping every year and it’s always great, there’s a hella ton of people and we stay up all night all week long and just cause trouble and run around and just, it’s amazing. Especially when my best friend comes. MAD AS RABBITS: WHAT DOES “REINVENT LOVE” MEAN TO YOU? Actually lol my soulmate/bestfriend and I are going to get matching tattoos of “reinvent love.” I think the phrase is beautiful and personally I think of it as saying that each one of us see the world try to sell us this concept of perfect love and a lot of times, it’s not what we perceive it as. It’s not perfect body, love at first sight, cliché coffee dates and valentine day presents, no fairy tale prince charming or princess, not a romantic chick flick high school sweetheart, nothing like that. Our own love is personal and defined only by ourselves and that other person. It’s unique, it’s different, it’s not standard. We break our own hearts searching for what we’ve been told all our lives and driving ourselves crazy trying to find what we’ve been told the definition of love is, but we need to first understand to push those concepts aside and recreate our own version, in order to truly find the person that our heart belongs to. We must “reinvent love” in order to find our own. If that makes any sense.

*okay this was fun! Rollercoaster ride :) I’m going to tag @chubbybrendon because she’s a fucking Panic! queen and she basically owns pretty odd soooooo

#send me asks #challenge me #questionairre #ask me shit

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fishihavecaught · 7 years ago

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2017 Year in Review

Continuing my year in review series from 2014, 2015, and 2016 I have kept track of every fish caught by day and location. I have compiled and crunched the numbers are here are the results.

372 total fish 83 different species 57 new species 52 saltwater species 31 freshwater species Month with most fish - February (119) Month with least fish - January & June (0) Fished 34 different locations Caught fish on 38 different days Total days fishing - somewhere around 40 Fished off personal boat – 0 Fished off pier – 3 Fished off party boats – 1 Fished off private charter – 2 Countries fished - 3 (Mexico, Costa Rica, United States) States fished - 3 (Florida, Georgia, California)

My numbers are down again this year, but it was an epic year of adventure and I finally crossed 200 species with a record 57 new species. Highlights of the year, not necessarily in any order.

1. All the different people I got to fish with this year. I got to fish with Ben in Mexico and in California, Pierce twice in Orlando, Bryan from Washington state while he was here for the AFS, Dirk - species hunter from the Netherlands, and even got to fish with Pat again as the year was closing out. Of course my primary fishing partner was Meghan but we are going to have to work on her numbers haha.

Ben and I on the shores of Lake Chapala, Mexico.

2. Our expedition to Mexico with Dr. Lyons across multiple Mexican states was epic and involved many highlights within the trip itself. Highlights of the trip include:

Breaking down and riding in the van on top of the tow truck.

Fishing at over 10,000 ft elevation.

All of our roadside food and drink stops.

Guachimontones prehistoric site.

Fishing in our restaurant

2 days of fishing in Acapulco.

The Acapulco Crew.

3. Costa Rica fishing. It wasn’t a fishing trip and I didn't get my rooster, but I did get a chance to get some new species, including the strangest fish I have ever caught - the Foureye Rockskipper.

4. Clown hunting in Delray Beach. I finally got my Clown Knifefish - this fish has been on my dream list for a long time. Meghan, of course, caught one right after I did.

5. California Fishing. Cool little trip I took out to San Diego with Ben as my guide. It was very interesting to learn how the other coast fishes and to rack up some new species. We had quite the fish taco feast after a great day of rock-fishing. I also caught my first ray!

San Diego at night

It was a good year and I actually broke my goal of 225 species with a total of 240 for the year. Setting my goal for next year at 275 - with an eye towards 300.

Species Count

Pigfish 5 Gulf Toadfish 1 Southern Puffer 1 Pinfish 17 Lane Snapper 5 Convict Cichlid 1 Two-spot Livebearer 16 Jeweled Splitfin 2 Blackfin Goodea 2 Picotee Splitfin 4 Barred Splitfin 1 Butterfly Splitfin 12 Blue Tilapia 17 Cuitzeo Splitfin 2 Yellow Shiner 1 Acapulco Damselfish 4 Beaubrummel 4 Chameleon Wrasse 2 Finescale Triggerfish 7 Calico Lizardfish 1 Spotted Cabrilla 1 Pacific Red Snapper 18 Panama Graysby 2 Banded Wrasse 1 Cortez Rainbow Wrasse 2 Longnose Puffer 1 Panamic Sergeant Major 1 Mexican Night Sergeant 1 Tinsel Squirrelfish 1 Pacific Jack Crevalle 6 Black Skipjack 1 Spotted Sunfish 8 Coastal Shiner 3 Eastern Mosquitofish 17 Sheepshead Minnow 1 Largemouth Bass 13 Butterfly Peacock Bass 4 Clown Featherback 1 Atlantic Needlefish 1 Brown Bullhead 1 Golden Topminnow 16 Dimerus Cichlid 6 Warmouth 2 Yellow Bullhead 2 Redear Sunfish 1 Seminole Killifish 3 Bluegill 24 Redbreast Sunfish 21 Southern Studfish 3 Spotted Tilapia 2 Mayan Cichlid 1 Jewel Cichlid 2 Jaguar Cichlid 6 White Grunt 8 Spottail Pinfish 1 Panamic Frillfin 1 Foureye Rockskipper 3 Green Jack 4 Rivulated Mutton Hamlet 1 Golden Snapper 3 Spotted Rose Snapper 3 Spottail Grunt 1 Mahi-Mahi 1 Bigeye Trevally 2 Chili Sea Catfish 5 Tomtate 12 Hardhead Catfish 1 Walking Catfish 1 California Scorpionfish 1 Pacific Chub Mackere l8 Opaleye 15 Yellowfin Croaker 1 Spotted Sand Bass 2 Diamond Turbot 1 Barred Sand Bass 1 Rockpool Blenny 2 Calico Rockfish 2 Vermilion Rockfish 5 Squarespot Rockfish 3 Halfbanded Rockfish 3 Flag Rockfish 1 Largemouth Blenny 1 Haller's Round Ray 1

#yearinreview

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mattsunflower · 8 years ago

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Tagged by: @queeniwaizumi and @yeahaba omg thank you <33

Rules: Tag 9 people you would like to get to know better.

Relationship status: I’ve been with my goof of a boyfriend for 3 years now!

Favorite color(s): I love the colour green. Especially the darker shades!!! But I also really love yellow and orange

Pets: I have a floofy cat named patches and I love her with all my heart

Last song listened to: Teenaged Rebel - Chameleon Circuit (i was feeling nostalgic for doctor who)

Favorite TV show: I don’t really have a favourite current tv show right now (not since anime consumed my soul) but I really liked Grey’s Anatomy, The 100, Dexter, Doctor Who,,,,,

First fandom: Harry Potter. I love Harry Potter.

Hobbies: I play Ultimate Frisbee!! I also play bass and am learning sign language (if that counts as a hobby?)

Book(s) : The last book I read was The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson. It was HILARIOUS and really easy to relate to. I highly recommend it!

I’m tagging these nerd~ @matsinko, @goddamnyuzuru, @novocaine-sea, @spaceboiiii, @babechouu, @burningocean

#will i ever tag new people?#that's a mystery #also @MK stop changing your url i was trying to remember your last one for 3 minutes so i could tag you #before realizing that you were yeahaba and had tagged me #also ur url is so funny pls im actually laughing #thanks for tagging me homies <3 #obvs you don't have to do this but pls im nosy

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noiseartists · 5 years ago

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PREMIERE: Shoegazers REV REV REV's new Album 'KYKEON'

Italogazers Rev Rev Rev are one of our favorite band. We collaborated with them in October 2018 to present the band and their music. You can read this very detailed piece at the following Link. They are now coming back with a second Album and they honored Noise Artists with the premiere. Thanks guys.

Following a recent trip to the US for a run of shows at SXSW and the announcement that they’d signed to London-based label Fuzz Club, Italy’s shoegazing noise-rockers Rev Rev Rev are now gearing up to release their highly-anticipated third album, Kykeon – the follow-up to 2016’s Des Fleurs Magiques Bourdonnaient.

Due for release September 20th, the band say of the new record: “Kykeon is about exploring the obscure. It’s a ritual descent into the underworld, but also a flight through the cold spaces amid the stars. There’s stripped-back song structures, trance-like drumming, fuzzy reverberated guitars, abrasive atonal sounds and tonnes of feedback.” In support of the album, this October Rev Rev Rev will set off on a run of dates around the UK and Europe. The tour-dates can be found below.

Kicking off the album with a relentless torrent of noise is ‘Waiting For Gödel’ and ‘Clutching The Blade’: two cuts of blistering psychedelic noise-rock that take no prisoners. The band say of the latter: “Clutching The Blade’ is a good snapshot of our sonic virulence. Among the new songs, it’s the one that truly conveys the energy of our live show. The song itself is about being trapped in the quicksand of a certain situation and the appalling feeling that the more you struggle, the faster you sink.” This sense of danger and losing control runs throughout the album, manifested perfectly in the claustrophobic noise-rock of ‘Sealand’ and ‘Egocandy’: primal and piercing, both tracks are dominated by screeching feedback and

slabs of unforgiving fuzzed-out guitars that are more than capable of blowing both amplifiers and eardrums.

Kykeon isn’t always quite such an intense affair though. Tracks like ‘Summer Clouds’ and ‘Adrift In The Chaosmos’ deal in a sublime Loveless-esque shoegaze sound; Laura Iacuzio’s shadowy, ethereal vocals emerging through all-consuming walls-of-noise. Then there’s the murky, ritualistic drone-rock found on ‘Gate Of The Dark Female’ and ‘One Illusion Is Very Much Like Another’ which keep hold of the band’s trademark fuzz onslaughts but gear them more towards explorations into repetition and texture. ‘One Illusion…’, especially, is bolstered by modular synths, DIY guitar pedals built by guitarist Sebastian Lugli and the use of a tanpura, a stringed drone instrument originating from India: “We like the listener to be conveyed to a hypnotic flow so we work by subtraction, minimising centrifugal elements such as harmony and rhythmic variations, instead playing with the sonic texture.”

Since the release of their self-titled debut album back in 2013, Rev Rev Rev – based in Modena, Italy – have repeatedly been hailed as one of the finest proponents of the modern shoegaze revival. They’ve clocked up airtime and praise from 6 Music, Drowned In Sound, Clash Magazine and Bandcamp Daily and wound up taking their notorious live shows across the UK, Europe and, now, the US; sharing the stage with the likes of The Jesus and Mary Chain, the Brian Jonestown Massacre and Ringo Deathstarr along the way. Their finest work yet, Kykeon proves that Rev Rev Rev are without a doubt one of the finest bands today to be carrying the torch for shoegazers far and wide, old and new. Rev Rev Rev is comprised of Laura Iacuzio (guitar/vocals), Sebastian Lugli (guitar), Andrea Dall’Omo (bass) and Greta Benatti (drums).

UPCOMING SHOWS

Oct 17th - Bremgarten (CH) @ KuZeb

Oct 18th - Paris (FR) @ Supersonic

Oct 21st - Southend-on-Sea @ Railway Hotel

Oct 22nd - Bristol (UK) @ The Lanes

Oct 23rd - Hull (UK) @ New Adelphi

Oct 24th - Northampton (UK) @ Garibaldi Hotel

Oct 25th - Nottingham (UK) @ The Chameleon

Oct 26th - London (UK) @ The Waiting Room

Nov 23rd - Madrid (ES) @ Moby Dick Club

REV REV REV LINKS

Facebook

Website

Twitter

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thesunlounge · 6 years ago

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Reviews 238: Jura Soundsystem

Last year, Isle of Jura’s Kevin Griffiths spun off a new imprint called Temples of Jura in order to focus on contemporary and original artist material. The label’s first release was Dear Adrian / Udaberri Blues, an incredible 12” that featured Len Leise paying tribute to Adrian Sherwood with a glacial riddim excursion and Griffiths unveiling his Jura Soundsystem production moniker with a tripped out spacedub adventure spread across three different versions. In the time since, Temples of Jura also released In the Senses by Filmico, an album from balearic bass funk wizard Fernando Pulichino that swapped out his usual tropical groove euphorics for faded cinematic vistas, hazy VHS dreamscapes, and synth-prog fantasias generated by bleary pad layers, downtempo beat hypnotics, and occasional kisses of Badalamenti-style noir jazz. And now for the label’s third release, we return once more to the sonic environments of Jura Soundsystem with Monster Skies, which sees Griffith’s building on the cosmic hypnotics and seaside psychedelics of “Udaberri Blues” while also spreading out in every direction, resulting in a diverse and adventurous journey encompassing heatwave boogie motions, old skool house jams, hand drum ceremonials, Yoruba creation myths, breakbeat exotics, fuzz guitar aquatics, Afro-folk dreamspells, amorphous cosmic collages, dub hallucinogenics, and layers of immersive jungle ambiance.

Jura Soundsystem - Monster Skies (Temples of Jura, 2019) “Carafe Denim” starts with a tubular bassline jacking beneath hand percussion layers, cushiony kicks, and finger cymbal sparkles. A voice speaks a Yoruba creation myth, detailing how Oduduwa was sent by his father, the Great God of the Sky Olorun, to a primordial Earth covered in water…all while barely there synth vapors waver, shimmer, and intertwine with muted tribal chants. As Oduduwa spreads sand upon the surface and uses a chameleon to test its firmness, the background pad layers erupt into full view…like whispers growing into aquatic wave fronts while cosmic oscillations swirl all around. At some point the bassline cuts out while squawking electronics evoke Oduduwa’s hen, who in the overlying narrative flings about dark earth to create the Great Continent of Africa. And as the word “Africa” is narcotically looped, Griffith’s smoothly drops the bassline back in, resulting in a hands-in-the-air zone out accented by roaring lions, quivering pad atmospherics, echo-morphing claps, and squiggling space liquids that at times sound like underwater turntable scratches. At the other end of the side sits “Monster Skies,” which also basks in African sunshine while colorful birds flutter and sing all throughout the mix. Sweltering blasts of mirage synthesis drift in on warbling delay currents while a beautiful and shambolic kalimba melody weaves a sunrise lullaby. A human voice hums peaceful dream incantations, though everything is delay shrouded…as if beamed in from another dimension. And as the folk singing and kalimba cut away, we are left in a glorious expanse of rainforest ambiance and kosmische radiance.

The irresistible balearica of “Mamma Capes” sees skittering breakbeats surrounded by a jungle of light, with bird chatter and interstellar oscillation trails intertwining while neon fluids snake through vines and palm frond layers. Clipped conga rhythms flow into the mix as Mike Burn’s blissed out fuzz chords melt down from the sky, with infinite delay feedback carrying the tones towards an eternal ocean horizon. A joyous bubble chime cascade descends then miraculously splits into two divergent strands of pearlescent echo magic that repeatedly shoot up each side of the stereo field and things really take off into a world of slow burn dub psychedelia once Duncan Grey enters with a heady three note bass guitar riff…his methodical cosmos-grooves sitting alongside breaky kicks and snares, choppy hi-hat patterns, finger-rolling hand percussion, and off-beat tambourines. Single note guitar pulsations evoke rainbow puffs of gas before giving way to anthemic fuzz wails, which then miraculously transform into backwards flowing currents of aquamarine haze. It feels like time is moving in reverse as the spirit is enveloped by shimmering clouds of sea-spray spiritualism and in that way, I’m strongly reminded of the work of Steven Wray Lobdell and his Davis Redford Triad. There’s a passage where the rhythms back down into tapping cymbals, panning tambourines, and outerspace debris layers that rocket through dub-echo chains and as we move towards the end, the vibed out rhythms add in muted cowbell taps while gliding within bird of paradise dreamwebs.

The centerpiece of the B-side is “Parrot Rhythmic Space Jam,” which is about as well named as any track could possibly be. Kick drums flow through breaky patterns and skittering shakers, hissing machine hats, and bopping hand drums lock into otherworldly polyrhythms while floating on housey sub-bass hypnotics. Interstellar rainbow sequences ride in on bubble clouds…these hovering arpeggiations that filter-morph and echo-modulate through neon liquid landscapes. Griffiths again employs a psychoactive stereo effect that sees simple melodic patterns splitting into several divergent strands that bounce all around the mix and he constantly manipulates attack and decay, so that the sequences and arpeggios continuously transition between long-form blurs and staccato light trails. Elsewhere, delay-soaked dreamtime melodies are woven from Afro-folk synthetics…like some sort of shimmering paean to the sun that sharply drops into low slung synth bass and skipping breakbeat heat. Sometimes, silvery chime strands blow in a warm tropical breeze as the track transitions into an extended ambient nod out, the basslines having dropped away as the drums smack and crack through sea-spray layers and sci-fi soundworlds wherein alien pulsations and spacey LSD sequences dazzle the mind with synthesized tracers and ever-evolving webs of threaded color.

Preceding “Parrot Rhythmic Space Jam” is “Boogie Tune,” which states its intentions outright as kick and dub-echo clap patterns bring boogie break dancelfoor heat. Double time cymbals are intercut by open hi-hat sizzles and electro-toms converse across the spectrum while fat-bottomed bass synths slide through body moving progressions and electro-funk motions. As smoldering dial-tone synths trace funk spirals in the air, I’m reminded of the freaked out boogie futurisms of Mystic Jungle…just pure confidence and euphoric minimalism uniting together for stretches of cosmic club heat. At some points, the sexual squelch melodies give way to Roland cowbell dances and crystalline cymbal taps and there’s a rhythmic drop in the middle where big chewy bass waves flutter and float above double-time hat shuffles and hand drum percolations. After cutting back to the electrofunk jam out, psychedelic sequences snap through the sky with reverb and echo trails carrying through each ear…the whole thing coming together for a magical stretch of star-surface breakdance ecstasy. Closing out the set is “The Lantern Story,” which features looping freak folk abstractions constructed from swelling cymbal hazes, drunken arps, clacking metals, and disjointed acoustic guitar riffs. Vaporous synthesizers weave fragile prog majesties through a desolate sky while snippets of muted trumpet swell over shaker rhythms. Extra-terrestrial cave liquids drip sideways, wood flutes moan, and screeching drone clouds pan rapidly as the track floats in a hallucinatory dream state and eventually, everything is washed away by radiophonic feedback flutters.

(images from my personal copy)

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wildwaxshows · 6 years ago

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FEVER B (USA) will support MASKED INTRUDER (USA) & THE HAWAIIANS (D) on 20/07 at Molotow, Hamburg - presented by WILDWAX SHOWS!!!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1076872735831765/

Präsentiert von Ox, Livegigs.de, SLAM Magazine und Wild Wax Shows Straight outa Rikers. Straight outa Cook County, straight outa that prison in Louisiana that everyone says is horrible, but I can’t be bothered to Google, it’s MASKED INTRUDER, four melodious felons in ski masks with rap sheets, matching converse and some of the catchiest tunes this side of Johnny Cash, Live in Folsom Prison, and they’re coming at you with their second full length, the semi eponymously titled M.I., scheduled to break out on Fat Wreck Chords on May 27, 2014.! Some say they hail from Wisconsin, some say their accents on stage betray a New Jersey heritage and some people think they’re just Chixdiggit in disguise, but one thing’s for sure, Blue and the gang have been crafting some of the sweetest pop-punk gems about breaking and entering, stalking, and muggings that you’ve ever heard. Not many grown men in ski masks can claim to be the very favorite band of Fat Mike’s daughter, for example (not many men in ski masks should be around children at all) but that’s what makes Masked Intruder so special. They’re more than a gimmick. They’ve got chops. They’re weird, kinda arty, fairly goofy, vaguely dumb, relentlessly smart and they appeal to pretty much everyone, from their fellow hardened criminals to little girls and everyone in between.! Now, they’re back on the lam in support of M.I., featuring thirteen tracks of broken hearts, broken promises and breaking and entering. Recorded by Matt Alison at Atlas Studios in Chicago (Alkaline Trio, Lawrence Arms, Menzingers), M.I. boasts the Intruders at their toe tapping, jewelry stealing best. I mean, if there’s a better title for a love song than Don’t Run Away, I sure as hell haven’t heard it.! In support of M.I., and in order to stay a step ahead of their parole officers, the Intruder duders are hitting the road nonstop, traversing the globe, from Europe to Australia to the US of A, with bands like the Dwarves, Face To Face and more, bringing their heart-stealing songs to the people, all while merch dude, stage security and exquisitely mustached lawman Officer Bradford makes sure that hearts are the only things Masked Intruder steals. Officer Bradford may not wear a smile during a Masked Intruder show, but everyone else in the house sure is, and you can bet your ass that whether live or on record, the boys in Masked Intruder are sure to have you singing along and looking for your wallet. Oh, that prison in Louisiana is called Angola. Score one for memory. Take that, Google. The Hawaiians are back!!! Nach einem musikalischen Beitrag zur amerikanischen TV-Serie Hawaii Five-0 im Jahr 2017 sind die Westerkappelner Surf-Punks endlich mit der neuen Single "Four-Headed Shark Attack" (Kamikaze Records) am Start. Drei Akkorde, die primitiven Gitarren der Ramones und ganz viel 50's Rock n' Roll sind nach wie vor die Rezeptur des hawaiianischen Party Cocktails, der am 20. Juli auch im Vorprogramm von MASKED INTRUDER konsumiert werden darf. FEVER B (USA) Brian Hermosillo a.k.a. Fever B has been a part of the underground San Francisco music scene since the 90s. The world famous Purple Onion and Chameleon bar were his home away from home for awhile as a member first of the Retardos and then the Fevers. Since the Retardos were Superteem label mates with The Donnas who labeled themselves “Donna A.”, “Donna R.” etc... on their records he decided when the Fevers got their record deal with Tina Lucchesi’s Lipstick Records,as a tribute to old label mates,to label his band on the 45 sleeve in the same way and so he became “Fever B”. Brian moved to Minneapolis a few years later to escape the dot com invasion and save the Fevers who’s drummer had quit to move to Los Angeles by working with a drummer friend who lived in Minnesota. The Fevers recorded two Lps for the German label Alien Snatch there in MLPS with the new drummer and toured Europe. Brian came back to Europe with his Minnesota band Skipper(Chocolate Covered Records) playing mostly in Italy a few years after that version of the Fevers had also ended. Brian moved back to California and the Fevers soon returned to Europe with the original lineup(Fever G,Fever K,and Fever B)a few years after Skipper. He also flew to The Netherlands for an extended weekend to record a 45 as The Sweet Faces in Utrecht with local indie pop legend Michel Van Der Woude on drums sandwiched between those two Fevers tours somewhere. One weekend in Saint Paul,Mn. in between all this excitement, Brian got snowed in. A wall of snow blocked the doors and windows and trapped him in his apartment! Of course he could dig his way out or call somebody -but he didn’t. He had beer,cold pizza, drums and guitars, and an 8-track reel to reel set up in the living room so he decided to stay inside and make a one man band style recording. He recorded five songs. A Burger records tour featuring their own band Thee Makeout Party came through town soon after. They are long time friends of Brian’s and came to visit his apartment and see his home studio. He gave them a cassette of his recordings just for fun and never thinking it would be released. They listened on their way back to California and decided it should be released on vinyl. It was an honor since Burger had mostly done cassette only releases at the time . Some folks in Milwaukee who were fans of the Fevers began calling Brian “Fever B!” at some point -which was by now an obscure reference- when he came to their town and whenever they came to Minneapolis and the name stuck with him. So he decided to call his solo release on Burger Records “Fever B”. The record was more successful than Brian imagined it could be. 90s mainstream power pop star Matthew Sweet even recently covered the song This Sea Is My Life from the EP! Crazy. The original version of the Fevers still plays every now and then. Brian plays most regularly with Fever B and the Sea. A band he put together to play songs from the Burger 12” and other songs he has written over the years including lots of new ones he’s hoping to record with his band the Sea. They play around the Bay Area including a recent show at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley. The Sea is Lyndsey Hawkinson(Hondettes/Sweet Haughts ) on drums ,and a life long friend Tim Tsuda(sometimes member of Colossal Yes) on bass. -John Denery of the Hi-Fives saw Fever B and The Sea at a club in San Francisco recently and said they sounded like the great garage pop side of K Records with a guitar hero twist!

#masked intruder #the hawaiians #fever b #molotow #WildWax Shows #upcoming #videos

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