#john fedowitz

[spilladabalia]

A Place To Bury Strangers - Plastic Future (Official Music Video)

[sinceileftyoublog]

A Place To Bury Strangers Interview: Romance Is a Place

Photo by Ebru Yildiz

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Picture Oliver Ackermann in his early 20s, playing Skywave's "Got That Feeling", one fist in the air and the other holding an open note on his bass. Now, picture him today, doing the same thing with "Disgust", the opening track on Synthesizer (Dedstrange), the latest A Place To Bury Strangers album. He specifically wrote "Disgust" on open strings so he could return to the showmanship of decades prior when playing it. Perhaps not as intentional but equally mischievous is that the band starts an album named after an instrument--one that's actually built into the LP's cover--with a different instrument. White hot guitar squalls shriek over propulsive drums, the sound of a seasoned band sounding new again. Indeed, on Synthesizer, A Place To Bury Strangers resemble three musicians feeling their love of playing more than ever, willing to take gnarly risks, yet still the same group that's pierced eardrums since the Aughts.

Well, at least the same group by name. Synthesizer is technically the first full A Place To Bury Strangers album to feature the new lineup of drummer Sandra Fedowitz and bassist John Fedowitz. Though they had joined the band prior to the release of 2022's excellent See Through You, that album was recorded solely by Ackermann after the COVID-19 pandemic. 2021's Hologram EP was the first recorded piece of music with the new lineup and is one that's a truer predecessor to Synthesizer than See Through You. "That EP was really awesome to do and was a stepping stone for the excitement of this record," Ackermann told me over the phone in late October, right before the band was set to go on tour. At the time of our conversation, the Synthesizer LP hadn't yet found its way into record stores, and those who had a copy had likely purchased it at a show. Ackermann didn't quite know how many people had tinkered around with the circuit board that graces the record cover, though one person had gotten it to work. "We'll see what kind of crazy questions people have, and how people are making it happen," he said. "But I hope a bunch of people build this."

For a band known for their abrasive live shows, Synthesizer's entire personality--from the exploratory nature of the record cover to the romance of its songs--exposes a softer side of A Place To Bury Strangers. Take "Join The Crowd", a dance track that takes its time to build into a shuffle. Ackermann sings, "Today was the day we were supposed to spend in love," like Robert Smith at his most crestfallen. On "You Got Me", Ackermann's vocals are obscured, but you can tell he's singing about devotion, a yearning contrast to the crispness of the upfront drums and wiry, harmonic bass. "Have You Ever Been In Love", whose live versions were previously released on the band's Audiotree Live and Live at LEVITATION, finally sees its studio release on Synthesizer, and it doesn't lose any of its urgency, its fast-throbbing drums and primal band vocals illuminating a sense of desperation. While there are certainly tracks on Synthesizer that should satiate longtime fans' taste for harsh noise, like the fuzzed-out, strobe-lit "Bad Idea" or evil protopunk jam "Fear Of Transformation", the band's 7th album stands out for its emotional honesty.

Below, read my conversation with Ackermann, edited for length and clarity. A Place To Bury Strangers plays Friday at ALPHAVILLE in Brooklyn, as part of the venue's series of 10th anniversary celebrations. The show is sold out, but you can join the waitlist for tickets.

Since I Left You: You've said Synthesizer sounds like the band's live sound. Does it reflect the live sound of the new lineup?

Oliver Ackermann: I would say so. At some point, you lose track of what the band sounded like ten years ago. This record, I feel like really captures [the three] of us.

SILY: Were there any newfound aesthetic or lyrical influences on the record?

OA: There have been more and more of these darkwave artists that have been coming out that I've been getting into. It wasn't necessarily intentional, but [people like] Madeline Goldstein...doing this electronic stuff...helped push us over and embrace some of that more. We'll embrace some of that in the future.

SILY: It's definitely a fun sound. You've talked about the lead single and opening track "Disgust" being reminiscent of Skywave's "Got That Feeling", where you'd play the bass with one hand and the other fist in the air. I think the whole album kind of sounds like that.

OA: Sick. Hell yeah.

SILY: I honestly think that "Disgust" is a spiritual sibling to "Got That Feeling".

OA: I think so. You are who you are, and you think about the past, and that's what drives you to keep on going. If you're doing something you don't really like or is kind of miserable, you probably shouldn't continue it. These songs definitely [recall] the inspiration and excitement of years past, and the potential for the future.

SILY: The record is named after an instrument that plays a prominent role on it, not just on the cover but in the songs themselves. At the same time, I love how the guitars, the synths, and the bass sound like they're melting together. Were you trying to create an abstraction where if you're the listener, you're not sure what's making what sound?

OA: I love that, when there are sounds and you're not sure what they are. There are field recordings [on Synthesizer]. I think that's a little bit more interesting, when you can quite pinpoint it. That's what I love about artists who use [abstraction]. When it's an obvious sample, it can be great when it's a nod to some sort of pop music and it makes you want to dance, but it's not really a goal of A Place to Bury Strangers.

SILY: Do you tend to come up with songs' instrumentation before the lyrics?

OA: Not necessarily. A lot of these songs were written at the same time the instrumentation was happening. "Join The Crowd" was a jam that we did. There's a vocal part and melody along the whole song. I took that and rerecorded over the top of it. You can still hear that original vocal melody of whatever I was making up off the top of my head. The lyrics exactly phonetically go off of that backing track. It's this kind of spiritual or subconscious writing, having that take on the structure. You can hear the background vocals are just a jam of the subconscious.

SILY: "Join The Crowd" calms you down after the first three tracks, and I feel like your vocals took a turn for the forlorn, almost like a Cure song. It made me think about how you do that a lot throughout the album, where you adapt the way you sing to the spirit of the song. Is that, too, a subconscious process, or are you actively experimenting with different singing styles?

OA: It's definitely a subconscious process. You're just trying to make what fits with the music. Sometimes, you'll rerecord totally different vocal lines on top. You're trying to let yourself go and be at the mercy of what the song and music is asking you for. When it comes time to arrange and finish the record, that's totally conscious and planned, almost the way you'd DJ a party. You have to have it make sense within the journey. I guess I'm kind of romantic in the sense that I grew up listening to whole albums, each song written for the song's sake, but when all put together, it's a piece.

SILY: I wrote down the word "romantic" a lot when listening to the record. It imbues you with feeling.

OA: I think [romance is] one of the most desperate and awesome qualities. Even if it's with friends, that connection and those moments where someone does something really kind for you, or romance in the sense of it being broken when you wished and hoped for something better. That's where I'd want to go when listening to music. A lot of times, it's sorrow. I think we all felt that when writing this record.

SILY: I was going to ask you about "Have You Ever Been In Love" which deals with those feelings, but it was a song written by everyone, and everyone contributed vocals.

OA: John wrote most of the lyrics for that. I do backup vocals which change around, but that song was a really awesome connection of the band. Having that magic unfold was awesome. You're starting to write, and you're starting to see how it's going in awesome places.

Photo by Devon Bristol Shaw

SILY: Like "Join The Crowd", the closing track on Synthesizer, "Comfort Never Comes", is an outlier in terms of length. If most of the other tracks are in your face right away, this one takes its time. It starts with silence and builds subtly. Why did you decide you wanted to end the album with something like that?

OA: It just seemed right. There was a full onslaught throughout the record, and this was a way to have almost a healing moment, or some sort of catharsis from what happened. It's like walking around after a long run.

SILY: How do the songs take shape live?

OA: They're great. It was awesome to be playing them and see people get super excited when we started them. It's fun to readapt what you can do, where you can take these songs in that live setting. It makes you do all of those different things you don't think about when recording a record.

SILY: How would you say they change?

OA: In all kinds of different ways. We play every song a little bit differently. Since there's only three of us, they're always a little more stripped down. You always have to figure out a way for the songs to hold their own. That's always the goal we're going for. You just have to readapt it and find a way to make the song work.

SILY: You've been prolific over the past few years. Is there anything else in the pipeline for the band?

OA: Of course! We're recording. There will be a few remixes, too.

SILY: How's Dedstrange been over the past couple years?

OA: The label's been doing great. It's a lot of work, and it's cool to be doing this stuff, but we're just kind of taking our time. All of the bands have been awesome. We came out with the Goblin Daycare album, EAZYHEAD record, Plattenbau record.

SILY: Is there anything you've been listening to, reading, or watching that's caught your attention?

OA: I just heard this band Offermoose, who are frickin' awesome.

[thebowerypresents]

A Place to Bury Strangers – Music Hall of Williamsburg – May 31, 2024

After spending April busily crisscrossing Europe in support of the release of four 7" singles that didn’t make it on their 2022 album, See Through You, Brooklyn noise-rock outfit A Place to Bury Strangers were back home at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday.

Photos courtesy of Katie Dadarria | www.instagram.com/dadarria

[blackmarket-playlists]

Part 15: The US issue of 'LOST SHOEGAZE with forgotten bands & great songs‘.

• Artist: Ports Of Call (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

• Release: Like Thieves (album, 2008) & Fractals (ep, 2011)

• Band with Thomas Andrews, who then founded Philly Band 'a certain smile'

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• Artist: Blueshift Signal (Rhode Island, US)

• Releases: Seven Natural Scenes (album 1994)

• Active between 1989 and 1997

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• Artist: Half String (Arizona, US)

• Releases: A Fascination Of Heights (album, 1996) & few singles/ compilation

• Active between 1991 and 1997

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• Artist: The Morelings (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

• Releases: Same Century (album, 2017)

• Duo of Kedra Caroline and Matthew William playing dreamlike hypnotic indie pop. Maybe something new in the future?

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• Artist: Power Pyramid (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)

• Releases: Handful of single and four albums (between 2013 and 2017)

• Maybe something new in the future?

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• Artist: Volplane (Colorado, US)

• Release: Volplane – Retrospective (1997-1999)

• Active between 1996 and1999

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• Artist: Skywave (Virginia, US)

• Releases: A handful releases between 1998 and 2004

• Most active between 1999 and 2001. Old band of Oliver Ackermann (A Place To Bury Strangers), the rest of the band (inkl. John Fedowitz) reformed Skywave under the name Ceremony.

--

• Artist: Screen Vinyl Image (Virginia, US)

• Releases: Four albums (2009-2014)

• Electronic Psychedelic Shoegaze, formed by ex-members of Alcian Blue

• Artist: Elysium (Los Angeles, California)

• Releases: Glisten (album, 1995)

• Formed in the early 1990s and disbanded 1996. Only one album, but a milestone.

--

Playlistcover: OLD MAGIC PALLAS (Bra), just remastered their great album 'Pull My Daisy' from 1995.

[thejoyofviolentmovement]

New Video: A Place to Bury Strangers Share a Tense and Uneasy Tale of Conflicted Emotions

New Video: A Place to Bury Strangers Share a Tense and Uneasy Tale of Conflicted Emotions @APTBS @dedstrange @pitchperfectpr

New York-based JOVM mainstays A Place to Bury Strangers — currently Oliver Ackermann (vocals, guitar), John Fedowitz (bass) and Sandra Fedowitz (drums) — released their seventh album Synthesizer last month through Dedstrange.  While Synthesizer is the album’s title, it’s also a physical entity, a synthesizer specifically made for the album — and a synthesizer that you too, can own (in part), if…

[hudomiet]

CEREMONY

[linksvorne]

119. CEREMONY (VA). 2017-10-17 @ fluc (w/ Manic Youth & Alex Kelman)

[aptbs]

Wonderful Interview with Oliver by the incredibly supportive @domgourlay in @undertheradarmag “We recorded a ton of songs. There’s a bunch more as well. I’m not sure what’s going to happen to them. Sometimes songs come out, sometimes they don’t. But they were actually written in complete reverse order. The album was pretty much done, and then we had this idea where we should just release an EP because it didn’t seem like tours or shows were going to happen. That was with John and Sandra [Fedowitz] too. They helped out with the EP. John had sent me this drums track that he recorded for “End of the Night”. This was just where we were starting out with all of us as a band coming together. That was meant to be the start of what’s yet to come. Whereas the album was dealing with things that happened right before that.” Check it: https://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/a_place_to_bury_strangers_on_see_through_you (Link In Bio and Story) Photo by the lovely and incredible @ebruyildiz #undertheradar #undertheradarmag #domgourlay #aptbs #aplacetoburystrangers #seethroughyou #hologram #interview (at Brooklyn, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/CbgzMSnMEEX/?utm_medium=tumblr

[handstandrecords]

Not to be confused with other bands of the same moniker, this is the East Coast CEREMONY formed by John Fedowitz from Virginia shoegaze legends Skywave. Four tracks of fuzzy synth-laden, shoegaze on this EP released in 2011 by @custommademusic 👉 Listen / Order at handstandrecords.com . . . #ceremony #nottonight #skywave #shoegaze #darkwave #nowspinning #custommademusic #cd #cdcollection #cdsforsale #johnfedowitz #ceremonyeastcoast #ceremonyband (at Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/ChmjSKWLGcT/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[spilladabalia]

A Place To Bury Strangers - It's Too Much (Official Music Video)

[sinceileftyoublog]

A Place To Bury Strangers Interview: Hope for the Future

Photo by Ebru Yildiz

BY JORDAN MAINZER

See Through You, the 6th album from NYC post-punk band A Place To Bury Strangers, is at once their loudest and most sensitive. Written and recorded during COVID lockdown, and inspired by simultaneous feelings of depression, self-doubt, heartache, and hope, it’s an all-encompassing manifestation of lead singer and guitarist Oliver Ackermann’s instrumental and lyrical romanticism. 

For See Through You (and its preceding EP, last year’s Hologram), Ackermann recruited new band members, bassist John Fedowitz and drummer Sandra Fedowitz, and also launched his own label, DedStrange, leaving the band’s longtime home at Dead Oceans. But the LP doesn’t sound like a fresh start; rather, it’s as catchy as it is blistering, the sound of a band who has been at it for almost 20 years putting out their most nuanced, layered work yet. The familiar jagged guitars of opener “Nice Of You To Be There For Me” are undercut by pounding techno percussion. The Grinderman-esque sludge blues of “So Low”, whose noise segues from single “Let’s See Each Other”, isn’t just loud, but toys with volume, as does the distorted fuzz of J Mascis and Ripley Johnson-esque tracks like “Dragged In A Hole” and “Ringing Bells” or the loud-quiet-loud dynamic of the syncopated “My Head Is Bleeding”. 

Notably, on See Through You, Ackermann mixed his singing higher, and he gives attention to his sultry vocal performance on the dreamy “I Disappear (When You’re Near)” and anthemic “I’m Hurt”. What also results is a greater centering of his words. “Enjoying dirty wine / Leaving our pasts behind / Exploring every inch together / Your stories make me laugh / Let’s take some photographs / Every touch sends another shudder,” he sings on the wonderfully sleazy “Let’s See Each Other”. Of course, love hurts: A track like “Anyone But You” explores the darker side of experiencing such extreme emotions. “If we spiral to despair,” Ackermann sings, “We fall in and out of love.”

I spoke with Ackermann over the phone earlier this month about the inspirations and emotions behind See Through You, his new label, and Death By Audio, the pedal effects company and former warehouse space he cofounded. Catch the band at the Empty Bottle on May 31st, and nab the album, out now. Read our conversation below, edited for length and clarity.

Since I Left You: Hologram, the EP you released last year, was the first release on your new label and the first with the band’s new lineup. Was there any conscious thing you wanted to communicate with the first proper LP from the new label and lineup?

Oliver Ackermann: It was just encapsulating what was going on during that time. The statements we always make are a little vague, in a way. I like things that seem timeless, so it’s encapsulating some of the depression, aggression, letdown, and hope for the future, which could be a story for any time.

SILY: The feelings on this record are more explicit and pronounced than on anything you’ve released before. Did you notice that?

OA: Totally. It was a super personal record to write, and I felt like I was going through a lot. It made it easy to write in that sense, where there was...a lot I had to say. Because things were shut down and really weird in New York, it gave me time to reflect on these feelings, spend time alone, and craft these songs. When you’re dealing with that stuff and writing music, the two work together in a way.

SILY: There are some genuine love songs on here, but also a self-conscious romanticism. How do you balance tones of earnestness with tones that are a little tongue-in-cheek?

OA: That’s the kind of expressions of feelings and love you have. There are moments when you’re overwhelmed with excitement as well as that weird self-consciousness where you don’t know where you fit in the world. Moments of doubt with the people you’re intimate with. You have all these ideas of remembering different times that were incredible and experiencing things at those moments. All of that comes into play, and as the songs get written, spending a while recording the tracks--a lot of this was recorded on my own, multiple guitar tracks and vocal takes--you go through a lot of your life via moments in time when writing these songs. The feeling of excitement and lust you can have for someone about some moment on a great trip me and my fiancé went on, but once that’s over, you’re reflecting on that. You go through all those different moments even if it takes you a month to write and record a song.

SILY: Were there any newfound musical influences on this record?

OA: Those are always happening; I’m always exploring and trying to create effects from the ground up, learning some computer programming in trying to come up with unique, crazy sorts of effects. As you’re discovering and finding out these things, the main goal in a way is to find and explore sounds to create something that’s more interesting and exciting and goes to a place that challenges me as a songwriter and my taste. As I’m creating some of these things, they get used in songs or branch out into their own song. There were even moments--some of this record was written at my house where I don’t have as much as at the shop--where I had ideas for a song but had to make it with what I had.

SILY: Why did you choose “Let’s See Each Other” and “Hold On Tight” as the singles?

OA: I think they were the hopeful tracks on the album. A few others are like that, too, but once the record was done, I went through this process of healing and depression. These tracks were reflective of what I thought the future would hold. Maybe I’m an optimist, but to hope for better days is always the dream.

SILY: Do you have a favorite song on the record?

OA: I don’t know. Probably not.

SILY: Have you played any of them live?

OA: We’ve done some random shows and have played a bunch of them. That’s sort of the fun--once you write a song, you really want to play it live. Some bands hold them on for a big album tour. I can’t do that.

SILY: Is there a favorite of yours to play live?

OA: Hmm, I don’t know. So many of them are really fun. “Dragged In A Hole”, “Hold On Tight” are awesome songs. I like songs with energy. “My Head Is Bleeding”.

SILY: You named ones that, on a loud record, are some of the loudest or play with volume a lot. Is that something you like to do live?

OA: Totally. When things sound super exciting and thrilling and out of control, whether you create that at a show by freaking out or doing something else, I like that feeling of being overwhelmed, when you see people going for it. Extreme volumes and things like that relay those messages.

SILY: Do you feel like you pushed yourself vocally on this album?

OA: I must have. As time goes on, you spend more time singing. I even noticed while I was recording some friend singing into this microphone, I needed to bust out this windscreen for them. As time goes on, I don’t need a wind screen anymore, [like] I don’t pronounce “p”s with a “p” sound. As you do more bedroom recordings, you know your tools better. This record, the vocals are mixed louder than the other records because of [increased] comfort and confidence.

SILY: Who is harmonizing with you on “I Don’t Know How You Do It”?

OA: Ana Breton [formerly] from Mahogany. A local friend in New York. I always thought she had a really cool voice, and she’s a cool person, so when things were locked down, I invited her to come harmonize.

SILY: I can’t be the first person to say that “Love Reaches Out” reminds them of New Order.

OA: Sure. Probably not. It reminds me of New Order, too. [laughs]

SILY: What’s the story behind the cover art?

OA: I was doing these sort of experimental video projections on walls. I did that video for “End of the Night” from the Hologram EP. This was an accidental photograph of me testing out these cameras. It made sense with the hollowness of the record and what was going on. I just thought those things are sort of cool, when you have a cut out that’s a little bit of a machine with a card or piece of paper. I thought it was a neat and kind of crafty idea.

SILY: What else is next for you?

OA: We’re recording more songs and have been writing a lot of material. We’re gearing up for these tours we have coming up, building some stuff for that. Excited even to see what’s going on--it’s been a while. Still, with Death By Audio, we’ve created a whole bunch of different effects coming out in the future. We’ve started this record label, which have a bunch of bands with stuff coming out. Jealous from Berlin, DATA ANIMAL from New Zealand, Wah Together from New York, LUNACY from Philadelphia, Plattenbau from Berlin, and the rest of the bands haven’t been announced yet. All of them are so awesome and such wicked awesome live bands. It’s cool to offer some support, if I can.

SILY: Anything you’ve been listening to, watching, or reading lately that’s caught your attention?

OA: I’ve been reading tons of news, which is just terrible. [laughs] We watch so much stuff, it often just seems kind of like trash. I’ve been listening to a lot of cool Australian bands like Research Reactor Corp. I read this book about the building of New York, which was neat.

[vmonteiro23a]

UNDER THE RADAR: A Place to Bury Strangers announce new album an share “Let’s See Each Other”.

UNDER THE RADAR: A Place to Bury Strangers announce new album an share “Let’s See Each Other”.

UNDER THE RADAR: A Place to Bury Strangers announce new album an share “Let’s See Each Other”. A Place To Bury Strangers have announced See Through You, their first album in four years, which will be out February 4 via the band’s own Dedstrange label. This is also the first full-length APTBS have made with their new trio lineup that features new bassist John Fedowitz and drummer Sandra Fedowitz…

[musikblog]

A Place To Bury Strangers - See Through You Mit der EP “Hologram” von 2021 brachten A Place To Bury Strangers die Öffentlichkeit auf den neuesten Stand der Bandsituation – sowohl was die Besetzung angeht, als auch die musikalische Position. Zusammen mit seinen neuen Mitstreiter*innen John Fedowitz am Bass und Schlagzeugerin Sandra Fedowitz gibt der Chef der “lautesten Band New Yorks” Oliver Ackermann bekannt, […] #APlaceToBuryStrangers https://www.musikblog.de/2022/02/a-place-to-bury-strangers-see-through-you/

[aptbs]

It’s official, Sandra and John Fedowitz from @ceremonyeastcoast are the new members of A Place To Bury Strangers. We started getting together playing and recording last year and it has turned into something incredible. I can’t wait to share the new material and share all the pent up aggression and destruction we have in store for you. #sandraondrums #johnonbass (at Ridgewood, N.Y.) https://www.instagram.com/p/CNSkKmjJwSr/?igshid=187ikxl1addez

[tomorrowhittoday]

A Place to Bury Strangers, guarda il video di "End Of The Night"

A Place to Bury Strangers, guarda il video di “End Of The Night”

Risorgono dalle ceneri gli A Place To Bury Strangers di Oliver Ackerman. Nuova formazione con Sandra Fedowitz (batteria) e John Fedowitz (basso) dei Ceremony East Coast e nuovo disco EP in uscita il 16 Luglio. In anteprima hanno pubblicato il videoclip di “End Of The Night”:

[indypendientes]

@ceremonyeastcoast ▪️CEREMONY▪️ 24/Noviembre @madridesruido Otra de las actuaciones históricas dentro de esta tercera edición del Madrid es Ruido 2018 la banda de john fedowitz Ceremony, fundador de bandas tan fundamentales dentro del Shoegaze como son Skywave, Si te gustan grupos como A Place To Bury Strangers, no te los pierdas, Porque será su única fecha en TODA EUROPA. / Sábado 24 de Noviembre en Moby Dick Club Madrid es Ruido 2018 / 17€ anticpada / 32€ taquilla. https://bit.ly/2wLdPtc https://www.instagram.com/p/BqG_BuShV2k/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1s3l2mbtbaqpw