Blue Willa is the debut album by the Italian art rock quartet bearing that same name. The band had been touring and recording for years under the name Baby Blue, but then they decide it that the time has come for change and came up with a brand new identity: Blue Willa.
They explains: “Continuing a story which lasted seven years and three records so far, we decided to carry on our pursuit for a sound that would fit neatly onto our ideas asking a person we unquestionably loved to help us fulfill it.
We called on Carla Bozulich, whom we had met in Florence some four years ago, and she immediately got involved and interested in our plans.
We spent ten days in the Italian countryside, working side by side with her and our sound engineer, Davide Cristiani. Carla took care of our songs and sounds, proposing shapes and a whole new imagery for them. She made our sounds feel aquatic, ringing and overturned: a sort of underwater punk rock music from the Thirties.
This music then went on to be mixed and fixed on the Himalayan mountainside and in Paris: it is a pleasant thought for us to imagine that something from these places – as well from our provinces – got entangled and caught inside these songs.”
And well, this is really a journey to folk flavored punk, psychedelic rock and vivid experimentalism, but also to yet undiscovered places, unrevealed sounds. Read more Blue Willa – Blue Willa (2013)
punk rock
Bad Brains – Into The Future (2012)
When music becomes boring, going back to the roots it’s always an option. And the ninth studio album by Bad Brains it’s both a classic and a fresh breath of Rasta-Hardcore.
Originally formed as a jazz fusion ensemble called Mind Power in 1975 under the spellbound of bands such as Chick Corea’s Return to Forever and John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra. Two years later, a friend of the band, Sid McCray, introduced the band to Punk Rock, playing for them bands such as the Dickies, the Dead Boys, and the Sex Pistols. They became obsessed with the new genre and changed their name to “Bad Brains”, after the Ramones song “Bad Brain”, but using the word “bad” in the sense of “good”.
The band developed an early reputation in Washington D.C., due in part to the relative novelty of an entirely black band playing Punk Rock, but also due to their high-energy performances and undeniable talent. In 1979, Bad Brains found themselves the subject of an unofficial ban among many Washington D.C. area clubs and performance venues – later addressed in their song, “Banned in D.C.”. The band subsequently relocated to New York City.
Widely regarded as among the pioneers of Hardcore Punk, Bad Brains recordings also featured elements of other genres like Funk, Dub, Heavy Metal, Hip-Hop and Soul. The band broke up and reformed several times over the years, sometimes with different singers or drummers. Among others, Chuck Mosley, former Faith No More singer being part of the group between 1990 and 1991. The band’s classic and current lineup is singer H.R. (Human Rights), guitarist Dr. Know, bassist Darryl Jenifer, and drummer Earl Hudson, H.R.’s younger brother.
Released on November 20, 2012 on Megaforce Records, “Into The Future” it is a tribute dedication to Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys, a longtime friend of the band who died of cancer this year. Read more Bad Brains – Into The Future (2012)
Fear – The Fear Record (2012)
Originally recorded in 1981 in Sound City Studios, California, titled simple “The Record” and released by Slash Records on May 16, 1982, and it’s definitively one of the pillars of modern Hardcore, a milestone of Punk/Metal/Hardcore colored brilliantly with Blues/Jazz and all sort of unexpected, out of patterns inflections and infusions. So, why would Lee Ving decide to re-record it 3 decades away? One possible explanation might be a shity record deal with Slash and a better deal signed now with The End Records and the 30 years anniversary may be a great opportunity for some smooth and simple cashing-in. Anyway, this band and the original album deserves both respect and celebration. This re-recorded version surprisingly sounds pretty raw, the few small changes do not really makes any difference and as always, if you want the best, go back to the original.
Several songs have been rewritten to shock/offend less. The 62-year-old Ving and the world over the last three decades have been changed. Ving try to seem more mature, while the world play the card of being more enlighten, sensitive or something… Some people get offended nowadays if you sing lyrics like the one of “New York’s Alright If You Like Saxophones”. Read more Fear – The Fear Record (2012)
History of the Hawk – Future Ruins (2012)
Punk ain’t dead. Even more, the present it’s intense and murderous and definitively there are more then simple hopes for a future. And this is genuine Punk, I mean, not that soap-box/bubble-gum, Californian sun-burnt and Pop flavored “Punk” which the media and the multinationals selling for decades now. “Descending Light” explode like a grenade and the whole “Future Ruins” it’s a killer spiral of energy and aggression. With roots back to Black Flag, Minor Threat and Dead Kennedys, but related to contemporary challengers such as Gallows and Converge merging brutality and intensity, Hardcore energy and Post-Metal rawness, History of the Hawk delivered a truly unique and own flavored, pounding and crushing Punk album. It’s fresh, it’s furious, it’s colorful and re-inventing the heritage of the past to send it right into the future. Read more History of the Hawk – Future Ruins (2012)
SLIVER – Disobey Giants (2012)
The mainstream success of some new wave American Punk bands such as Green Day and The Offspring bring the genre back in focus and Punk, once again, eventually even further, became trendy. The downside of this global success was the loosing of the essence, the spirit, the edge of the Punk movement and from its rebellious vein it was twisted into soap box packed and bubble gum flavored “something” – anything, but not protestant, message carrying music. On the other hand, bands such as Propagandhi, Anti-Flag, and not at least SLIVER, proves that… PUNKS NOT DEAD!
SLIVER declared their solidarity and support with the global Occupy movement and the leading single and video, “Dead President$”, of their new album, “Disobey Giants”, consist of footage s taken from Grounded TV’s coverage of the Occupy Wall Street movement in NYC and Vancouver.
With more than 200 shows in 11 countries (France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Czech Republic, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, the United Kingdom), SLIVER is a rocking hardcore band from Belgium/France/Luxembourg. Formed in 1999, they recorded a bunch of demos, released 2 EPs, a split-single with French author Alain Damasion, and on 28 September 2012 released their second album, “Disobey Giants”. Read more SLIVER – Disobey Giants (2012)
Byzant At Sunset – No Reason To Remix This, EP (2012)
Although, officially this is considered only an EP, featuring two originals and 13 plus one bonus remixes of “No Reson”, a total of 16 tracks is still a considerable quantity of music to go through. But this is a FREE RELEASE, so, this is one more reason to get “No Reason”! – the official debut of Byzant At Sunset.
“No Reason” have a strong The Clash kind of vibe, but the sound it’s smoothly adjusted to the nowadays expectations, wobbling basses, ska fueled guitars and the tasty saxophone gives a genuine Byzant At Sunset taste to the song. This is a manifest, a statement against modern days consumerism: “No reason is a reason good enough” express both anger and disappointment.
“Wildfire” is more like an improvisation, an eruption, a race through the fire of inspiration and creation. Although Byzant At Sunset it’s exclusively an on-line, world wide collaboration creative collective, some of their members not sharing not the same room, but not even the same continent in their lives, “Wildfire” have the nerve, vibe and wilderness of a genuine rehearsal recording. It’s like someone light up a cigarette but that unleash an unstoppable… wildfire.
And then we have 14 remixes from 13 outstanding producers from the Indaba community: ALBM, @ssic@, Bluetrax, Brushvox, Carda, DaveDaG, JohnnySix, Manu, mSelv, Richard Walker, Richinmusic, The ?uestion Mark, and, last but not least, Ultraglow featuring with two tracks. Read more Byzant At Sunset – No Reason To Remix This, EP (2012)
Bang Ur Head (Byzant At Sunset)
Bang Ur Head [Take One] by byzantatsunset
Byzant At Sunset are back with a brand new track. In a world where the zeros and ones replaced the words and emoticons replaced the human touch, we’re kind of Read more Bang Ur Head (Byzant At Sunset)
Topsy The Great – STEFFALD (2012)
This is genuine, noisy, garage taste like, Avant-garde Rock band, somewhere between Big Black, Sonic Youth and H.P. Zinker. Topsy The Great’s debut album will be out on vinyl in September on fromSCRATCH Records. We’ve got 12 grinding, contorted, noisy Rock tracks, delivered by this Italian trio consist of guitarist Emanuele Ravalli, bass player Alessandro Gambassi and drummer Lorenzo “Bob” Coppini. They call their own style “Tesla-Core”, which is actually pretty clever and appropriate, while among their influences they name bands such as Black Sabbath, Black Flag, Big Black, Sonic Youth, Lightning Bolt, Fugazi, Oshinoko Bunker Orchestra and Melvins. This is a quite intense mixture of Punk rooted Garage Rock with Hardcore intensity and experimental/Avant-garde taste like (truly Progressive) Post-Rock. Got to listen this to feel it, understand it, but once you will got the taste of it, once when everything came through, you will love it and finally you will scream for more. Although, the recording is pretty raw sounding – bet it was recorded live -, the material is enjoyable and the trip is exhaustive, but worth every single minute of it. Read more Topsy The Great – STEFFALD (2012)
Noh Mercy – Noh Mercy (2012)
“No answering machines. No computers. No internet. No cordless phones (much less cell phones). No color Xerox. Only DayGlo colored paper for posters. Graphics meticulously cut and pasted out of magazines, newspapers, or clear plastic rub-on letters. All Super 8 movies on film or the new ‘video’ were very expensive to process and you needed to be rich or have access to a school to use the equipment. All photography was either Polaroid or else you needed to have access to a darkroom.
We communicated with posters on telephone poles, sympathetic radio stations, and word of mouth. We visited each other’s homes to draw, paint, and listen to records. We wrote and received letters sent through the mail. We discussed politics, art, music, and philosophy in person.” – confessed Esmerelda, the singer half of the band Noh Mercy.
Meanwhile we are totally alienated and disorientated. And full of Caucasian guilt. Read more Noh Mercy – Noh Mercy (2012)
Pussy Riot
Democracy? Are you joking, don’t you? What an old-fashioned concept! Dictators are highly appreciated characters by the so-called civilized West, it’s enough to think of Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi who not so long time ago was at least the best friend of most of the European leaders and presidents, it’s enough to look closer what a friendly and respectful relation is between all the – once again – so-called Capitalist and democratic world, the Occident, and Vladimir Vladimirovici Putin, or how little dictators as Victor Orban of Hungary or Traian Basescu of Romania are encouraged and supported by the leaders of the European Union – and even by Uncle Sam – and things are pretty clear for anybody who really want to see. But the fact is, nobody want to see, to hear, to give a s*it. The best interest of the West is to keep in office strong leaders (dictators) who are capable by any mean to keep masses under control. Nobody need a second opinion on anything. This is the new age and a new, pervert form of global colonization.
The so-called “free world” Read more Pussy Riot
