Tag: Mojo Magazine

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Hilang Child Releases a Hallucinogenic Visual for Shimmering “King Quail”

Ed Riman is a half-Welsh, half-Indonesian, London-based singer/songwriter, soundscape artist and creative mastermind behind the acclaimed solo recording project Hilang Child, which derives its name from the Malay word for “missing.” Initially starting his recording career as a drummer, the acclaimed London-based singer/songwriter and soundscape artist’s early solo work caught the attention of Cocteau Twins’, Lost Horizons’ and Bella Union Records head Simon Raymonde, who championed Riman — and then invited him to collaborate on Lost Horizon’s debut effort Ojalá.

Largely influenced by Imogen Heap, Bat for Lashes, Steve Reich, Paul Thomas Saunders, Hundred Waters, Nobuo Uematsu and The Beach Boys’ Smile, Riman’s early work drew comparisons to Fleet Foxes and Sigur Rós — with the London-based singer/songwriter and soundscape artist’s sound displaying a similar ethereal spaciousness paired with yearning vocals. Riman’s Hilang Child debut, 2018’s Years was a leap forward with the material featuring multi-tracked harmonies while featuring a loose overacting theme of embracing adulthood. At the time, Riman strongly believed that in order to achieve the sound he wanted, he had to produce his debut himself, despite having little knowledge of production.

Although Years continued an impressive run of material released to lavish praise from the likes of BBC’s Lauren Laverne, Q Magazine, MOJO and a long list of others, Riman found the album’s creative process to be isolating. Feeling pressured and alone in the aftermath of Years, Riman found himself rapping with self-esteem issues and anxiety, amplified by social media’s “fulfillment narratives.”With his highly-anticipated, JMAC co-produced sophomore album Every Mover, Riman changed things up radically. Thematically, Every Mover reportedly sees Riman navigating and overcoming these mindsets while drawing deeply on his own insecurities and those he recognized in others.

Inspired and informed by his experience creating Years, Riman’s sophomore album finds the London-based artist hungry to find new ways to create, write and record music, collaborating with an eclectic array of equally acclaimed artists. “The greatest thing about being a musician is experiencing it with other people,” Riman says. “Whether that’s playing with others, creating together, sharing a vision, whatever, I just think in all aspects it’s a totally elevated experience when you’re not alone.”

As Riman says of Every Mover, “I wanted it to sound a bit gutsier than the first album. Heavier and closer to the kind of stuff that hits me when I go to shows or blast music in the car. I started out in music as a drummer playing for pop or beat-driven artists and grew up listening to louder stuff, but a lot of the music I’ve made as Hilang Child has been more ethereal. I wanted to bring it back to a place that feels more ‘me’ and make more of a thing of having big hypnotic drums, aggressive bass, ripping distorted instruments and a general energy to it.”

“King Quail,” Every Mover’s fifth and latest single is a glittering, motorik groove-driven bit of spacey shoegaze centered around shimmering and reverb-drenched guitars, Riman’s self-assured yet plaintive and ethereal vocals, twinkling and an enormous Brit Pop-like hook paired with deeply introspective lyrics.

“King Quail’ is about taking a step back and realizing the absurdity of modelling one’s life and appearance around what you think others want to see, rather than living for yourself,” Riman explains in press notes. “It’s about learning to be comfortable the way you are, breaking away from that fear of rejection and the feeling that we have to exaggerate ourselves into some showpiece to gain the validation of others. The song started one night in Wyldest frontwoman Zoe Mead’s basement studio in Greenwich. I had this OP-1 loop and a motorik 808 beat, which I’d been messing around with for a while. We spent the night jamming over it and shaping it into a psychedelic, krautrocky pop-song with Zoe adding spacey guitar and myself reworking the drums, allowing the groove to loosen up. We ended up using a large chunk of the demo in the final version with my co- producer JMAC (Troye Sivan, Haux, Lucy Rose) adding some finishing touches to hone the song.”

Directed by Riman and filmed by Elliot Tatler, the recently released video or “King Quail” features a spectral Riman on a rocky, very English beach. Rapidly switching between a shirtless Riman, Riman wearing a blue shirt and Riman in a blue shirt and headdress-like covering, we see the rising British artist moving as though he were performing an ancient ritual through the influence of hallucinogens.

Every Mover is slated for a January 8, 2021 release through Bella Union.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

I’ve written a bit about the Ipswich, UK-born, London-based singer/songwriter and guitarist Hannah Scott over the past couple of years. And as you may recall much of her work is influenced by her own personal experiences, including  a year she spent working on an olive press in rural Tuscany, Italy in her late teens, her diagnosis with a form of arthritis, which causes severe joint pain and fatigue, as well as the experiences of the people in her life.

Several years later, Scott met her collaborator, Italian-born multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Stefano Della Casa when they were both in London. But as the story goes, they both recognized that they may have encountered each other years earlier, when Scott used to pass through the train station that Della Casa worked in at the time. Interestingly, when Scott and Della Casa began working together, they also quickly recognized that they had a deep and abiding creative connection despite coming from vastly different backgrounds: Della Casa had a difficult upbringing and troubled early adulthood while Scott had been lucky to have a supportive family and relatively happy childhood.

Both artists firmly believe that their musical collaboration has provided an outlet to support each other through difficult times and in a relatively short time, they’ve built up a profile both nationally and internationally with write-ups in MOJO, Songwriting Magazine , Clash Magazine and in The Guardian as a “New Band of The Day.” They’ve also received airplay on  Bob Harris’ and Dermot O’Leary’s BBC Radio 2 shows and have been on  BBC Introducing’s “Track of the Week” three times. They’ve opened for  Seth Lakeman and 10cc , and played at Mondo.NYC Festival a couple of years ago.

Since I caught her at Mondo.NYC, Scott has been pretty busy releasing new material including 2018’s full-length Pieces of the Night which firmly established Scott’s sound and approach: emotive and heartfelt songwriting paired with a cinematic production featuring organic instrumentation — acoustic guitar, cello and vocals — with atmospheric electronics. Last year, she released the gorgeous Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head-era Coldplay-like “Walk a Wire,” which managed to be one of the Ipswich-born, London-based singer/songwriter’s most urgent songs, as it’s a plea to the listener to take a chance to open up to life and possibility before it’s too late.

The Della Casa co-written and produced “Shape” is the latest single from the JOVM mainstay and it’s also the latest single off her forthcoming full-length album. Centered around a cinematic production featuring twinkling keys, atmospheric synths, Scott’s emotive vocals and an enormous hook the song further cements the sound and approach that has won Scott attention across the blogosphere. Much like “Walk a Wire,” the song showcases her narrative-based songwriting, with the song recounting the story of how her maternal grandmother refused to accept her mother’s engagement to her father, threatening to never speak to her mother again if they got married. Her grandmother kept her word for over 20 years. As a result, the song expresses an overwhelming sense of regret and loss, as well as the sense of time rushing by and missing the small yet very important things — the birth of one’s grandchild, Christmases and the like.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Hannah Scott is an Ipswich, UK-born, London, UK-based singer/songwriter, whose work is heavily influenced by a year spent working on an olive press in rural Tuscany, Italy in her late teens.

Several years later, Scott met her collaborator, Italian-born multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Stefano Della Casa when they were both in London, but interestingly enough, they both recognized that they may have encountered each other years earlier, when she used to regularly pass through the train station that Della Casa worked in. When the duo began collaborating, they quickly recognized that they had an incredible connection despite coming from vastly different backgrounds: Della Casa had a difficult upbringing and troubled early adulthood while Scott had been lucky to have a supportive family and happy childhood — although as an adult, Scott was diagnosed with a form of arthritis, which causes severe joint pain and fatigue.

Both artists firmly believe that their musical collaboration has provided an outlet to support each other through difficult times, and the duo have received quite a bit of buzz over the past couple of years: they’ve been featured in MOJO, Songwriting Magazine , Clash Magazine and in The Guardian as a “New Band of The Day.” They’ve also received airplay on  Bob Harris’ and Dermot O’Leary’s BBC Radio 2 shows and have been on  BBC Introducing’s “Track of the Week” three times. They’ve opened for  Seth Lakeman and 10cc , and played at Mondo.NYC Festival a couple of years ago.

Last year’s  Pieces of the Night quickly established Scott as one of her country’s emerging singer/songwriters with the album pairing emotive and heartfelt songwriting with a warm and effortless production that meshed organic instrumentation — primarily acoustic guitar, cello and vocals — with atmospheric electronics. Building upon a rapidly growing profile, both Scott and her collaborator Della Casa have signed publishing deals with Ultra Music Publishing and Chelsea Music Publishing respectively.

Scott kicks off 2019 with the gorgeous, Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head-era Coldplay-like “Walk a Wire.” Centered around Scott’s plaintive vocals, a soaring hook and spectral arrangement of acoustic guitar and atmospheric electronics, the song is inspired by a friend of Scott’s, who had a disability and out of fear of rejection and heartbreak, closed herself away. And as a result, the song is a plea to the listener to take a chance and open up to life and possibility.

 

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Gaz Coombes Performs “Deep Pockets” on “The Late Late Show with James Corden”

Gareth “Gaz” Coombes is an Oxford, UK-born and raised singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known as a founding member and frontman of renowned British indie rock act Supergrass, who over the course of their 17 years together released six full-length albums — 1995’s I Should Coco, 1997’s In It for the Money 1999’s self-titled, 2002’s Life on Other Planets, 2005’s Road to Rouen and 2008’s Diamond Hoo Ha, all of which landed on the UK Top 20. (Reportedly, the band had written material for a seventh album, just before their breakup, Release the Drones that remains unfinished and unreleased.)

Since Supergrass’ breakup Coombes has released two solo efforts — 2011’s Sam Williams-produced Here Comes the Bombs and his breakthrough 2015, self-produced sophomore album, Matador, which received a Mercury Prize nod thanks to the commercial success of its five singles, as well as critical praise from the likes of Q Magazine and Mojo Magazine. Interestingly, Coombes’ third, full-length album World’s Strongest Man, was released earlier this year through Hot Fruit/Caroline International Records. The album was written and recorded at  Coombes’ home studio and at Oxford’s Courtyard Studios with co-production with his longtime collaborator Ian Davenport, in a working process that Coombes has compared to being like “editing a novel.” And in some way that shouldn’t be surprising as the album was reportedly inspired by Grayson Perry’s autobiography The Descent of Man, Frank Ocean‘s Blonde, the work of Neu! and hip-hop while at points exploring the effects of unchecked and toxic masculinity among other things — but with a deeply personal bent.

The album’s latest single “Deep Pockets” finds the former Supergrass frontman taking on a decided motorik groove, with the song nodding at Screamadelica and Evil Heat-era Primal Scream, complete with a slick and infectious hook — and the song will likely cement Coombes reputation for crafting mischievously forward thinking and hook driven rock.

Recently Coombes and his backing band were on The Late Late Show with James Corden, where they performed a loose and urgent version of “Deep Pockets.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Copenhagen’s Baby in Vain Performs “One Feather” at Tapetown Studios

Formed back in 2010, the Copenhagen, Denmark-based indie rock trio Baby in Vain, comprised of Lola Hammerich, Benedicte Pierleoni and Andrea Thuesen have received attention across Scandinavia and elsewhere for a sound that features elements of stoner rock, grunge rock, the blues and noise rock; in fact, the trio have been written about in Mojo, Vice and Intro Magazine — and adding to a growing the profile, the trio has opened for Ty Segall, Thurston Moore’s post Sonic Youth project Chelsea Light Moving and The Kills during their Stateside and European Union tours. Additionally,  they’ve made appearances across the European festival circuit, playing sets at Reading, Leeds, Great Escape and Roskilde among others. 

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past year or so, you may recall that the Aarhus, Denmark-based recording studio  Tapetown Studios  along with Sound of Aarhus have developed a live video series in which they invite national, regional and internationally recognized touring bands to come into their studio during their free time to record a live session. And over that period of time, Tapetown has invited British indie rockers Ulrika Spacek, the Gothenburg, Sweden-based trio Pale Honey, the Bay Area-based JOVM mainstay Tim Cohen and his primary project The Fresh & Onlys, and the renowned British psych rockers The Telescopes. Recently, Tapetown and Sound of Aarhus invited the Danish indie rock trio to the studio, where they performed a slow-burning dirgey blues number “One Feather.” 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Born the daughter of an artist, Hannah Scott is an Ipswich, UK-born, London, UK-based singer/songwriter, whose work is heavily influenced by a year spent working on an olive press in rural Tuscany, Italy in her late teens. Scott met her longtime collaborator, Italian-born and Italian-based multi-instrumentalist Stefano Della Casa when they were both in London, but interestingly enough, they both recognized that they may have encountered each other years earlier, when she used to regularly passed through the train station that Della Casa worked in. And as the story goes, when the two began collaborating, they recognized an incredible connection despite coming from very different backgrounds: Della Casa had a difficult upbringing and troubled adult life, while Scott had been lucky to have a supportive and happy childhood — although as an adult Scott has recently been diagnosed with a form of arthritis, which causes severe joint paint and fatigue.

Both artists firmly believe that their musical collaboration has provided an outlet to support each other through difficult times, and so far the up-and-coming duo have received quite a bit of buzz early on as they’ve been featured in MOJO, Songwriting Magazine and as a “New Band of The Day” in The Guardian, and airplay on Bob Harris‘ and Dermot O’Leary‘s BBC Radio 2 shows, and had been on BBC Introducing as their “Track of Week” on three different occasions. Adding to a growing profile, Scott and Della Casa have opened for Seth Lakeman and 10cc — and if you’ve been frequenting this site you may recall that Scott and Della Casa played an intimate and gorgeous set at last year’s Mondo.NYC Festival.

Scott’s and Della Casa’s newest effort together, Pieces of the Night is slated for release later this year, and the album reportedly consists of material that finds the duo meshing live, organic instrumentation — acoustic guitar, cello and vocals — with slick yet tasteful electronic production, centered around honest songs on the human condition and human connection in an increasingly hectic world. Pieces of the Night‘s first single “Signs of Life” is a rousingly anthemic piano-led song that focuses on the need to push on through difficulties and hard times, no matter how dark and hopeless they may seem. Certainly, in our dark times, the song’s message is desperately needed — and while rooted in the experiences of its creators, the song is both personal yet universal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays The Limiñanas Return with Cinematic and Moody Black and White Visuals for “Dimanche” feat. Bertrand Belin

Over the past couple of years I’ve written a bit about the Perpignan, France-based psych rock duo The Limiñanas, and as you may recall the French duo have become one France’s most renowned indie acts, thanks in part for a sound that draws from psych rock, shoegaze, and yé-yé, centered around arrangements featuring fuzzy, distorted power chords, reverb heavy hooks and effortlessly cool vocals. And much like fellow countrymen La Femme, their sound is heavily indebted to 60s American guitar rock and psych rock while managing to capture something  quintessentially French.

Released last year, the duo’s Istanbul Is Sleepy EP was initially recorded at their home studio and finished at Anton Newcombe‘s Berlin-based studio, and the EP’s title track and lead singer “Istanbul Is Sleepy” found the French duo collaborating with the The Brian Jonestown Massacre founder and frontman, who contributed both his imitable vocals and guitar to a scuzzy, garage rock track that reportedly was influenced by Rain-era The Cult. And as the members of The Limiñanas recalled in press notes, the collaboration can trace its origins to 2016 or so, when Mojo Magazine asked them to contribute a track to a Kinks tribute compilation. “We chose ‘Two Sisters,’” Lionel explains in press notes. “Marie and I were thinking for the vocal part, it would be great to approach Anton Newcombe, having opened for The Brian Jonestown Massacre at Le Trianon in Paris. The work began like that. We had an album to record and we decided to finish it with him. During the Christmas week we took our demos, flew to Berlin and recorded at Anton’s studio. Six days later we had a finished album

“Shadow People,” the first official single off the duo’s Twisting the Shadow People, which was released earlier this year, found the duo collaborating with French actress Emmanuelle Seigner and Renaud Picard, the frontman of Hair and the Iotas on a slow-burning and meditative track that featured a hazy, dream-like hook. “Dimanche,” Shadow People’s latest single is a chilly and menacing track that has the band collaborating with Bertrand Belin who delivers lyrics in a cool and detached French over pulsating synths, a motorik-like groove and twangy guitar chords — and interestingly enough, the latest single reveals a band that’s subtly expanding upon their sound, while continuing their focus on the dichotomy between dark and light in the moody fashion that captured the attention of critics and fans internationally. 

Directed by Aurelien Richter,  the recently released video for “Dimanche” was shot gorgeously and artful black and white that nods to film noir and Quentin Tarantino films and the visuals emphasize the song’s overall moody vibe.  Throughout you’ll see the members of The Limiñanas with Emmanuelle Seigner, Foulke de Boixo, who has made frequent appearances in their videos and the Betrand Belin. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Gareth “Gaz” Coombes is an Oxford, UK-born and raised singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known as a founding member and frontman of renowned British indie rock act Supergrass, who over the course of their 17 years together released six full-length albums — 1995’s I Should Coco, 1997’s In It for the Money 1999’s self-titled, 2002’s Life on Other Planets, 2005’s Road to Rouen and 2008’s Diamond Hoo Ha, all of which landed on the UK Top 20. (Reportedly, the band had written material for a seventh album, just before their breakup, Release the Drones that remains unfinished and unreleased.)

Since Supergrass’ breakup Coombes has released two solo efforts — 2011’s Sam Williams-produced Here Comes the Bombs and his breakthrough 2015, self-produced sophomore album, Matador, which received a Mercury Prize nod thanks to the commercial success of its five singles, as well as critical praise from the likes of Q Magazine and Mojo Magazine. Interestingly, Coombes’ third, full-length album World’s Strongest Man, which is slated for a May 4, 2018 release through Hot Fruit/Caroline International Records was written and recorded at Coombes’ home studio and at Oxford’s Courtyard Studios with co-production with his longtime collaborator Ian Davenport, in a working process that Coombes has compared to being like “editing a novel.” And in som way that shouldn’t be surprising as the album was reportedly inspired by Grayson Perry’s autobiography The Descent of Man, Frank Ocean‘s Blonde, the work of Neu! and hip-hop while at points exploring the effects of unchecked and toxic masculinity among other things — but with a deeply personal bent.

The album’s latest single “Deep Pockets” finds the former Supergrass frontman taking on a decided motorik groove, with the song nodding at Screamadelica and Evil Heat-era Primal Scream, complete with a slick and infectious hook — and the song will likely cement Coombes reputation for crafting mischievously forward thinking and hook driven rock.

 


Video by William Ruben Helms

The Limiñanas are a Perpignan, France-based duo, who have developed a reputation as one of France’s most renowned psych rock acts — and for a sound that comfortably straddles the boundaries of psych rock, shoegaze and and yé-yé, as their songs typically feature arrangements rooted around fuzzy, distorted power chords, reverb heavy hooks and effortlessly cool vocals. And while clearly being indebted to 60s guitar pop and psych rock, the duo manage to capture something quintessentially French.

Now, as you may recall, the duo’s Istanbul Is Sleepy EP was initially recorded at the duo’s home studio and finished at Anton Newcombe‘s Berlin-based studio, and unsurprisingly, the EP’s title track and first single “Istanbul Is Sleepy” found the French duo collaborating with the The Brian Jonestown Massacre founder and frontman, who contributed both his imitable vocals and guitar to a scuzzy, garage rock-like track with the sort of underlying menace reminiscent of The Black Angels — although interestingly enough, Newcombe was reportedly inspired by Rain-era The Cult.

As the members of The Limiñanas recall in press notes, the collaboration can trace its origins to last year, when Mojo Magazine asked them to contribute a track to a Kinks tribute compilation. “We chose ‘Two Sisters,’” Lionel explains in press notes. “Marie and I were thinking for the vocal part, it would be great to approach Anton Newcombe, having opened for The Brian Jonestown Massacre at Le Trianon in Paris. The work began like that. We had an album to record and we decided to finish it with him. During the Christmas week we took our demos, flew to Berlin and recorded at Anton’s studio. Six days later we had a finished album.”

The French psych rock duo’s latest single “Shadow People” is a jangling, slow-burning and almost meditative track with a hazy and dreamy hook that features a guest spot from French actress Emmanuelle Seigner. As Lionel explains in press notes, “The shadow people are an American myth, they are described as furtive apparitions, comparable to ghosts observable from the corner of the eye. These ‘spirits’ accompany throughout your all life, a sort of paranormal glue stuck to you . . . Emmanuelle came to visit us in the South of France, and we asked her to sing ‘Shadow People’ with Renaud Picard, the singer from Hair and the Iotas. We recorded it in just a few minutes over an afternoon…”.

Directed by frequent collaborator Aurelian Richter, the recently released video features the members of The Limiñanas, along with Emmanuelle Seigner, Renaud Picard, and Foulke de Boixo, who made a prominent appearance in the “Istanbul Is Sleepy” video. Shot in and around The Limiñanas’ Cabestany, France, Christmas-light strewn studio, the video manages to consist of a dichotomy between brilliant, summery light and murky shadow — with footage of Emmanuelle Seigner alternating between Super 8 color film-like sequences in a field and sultry, film noir-like sequences of Seigner strutting and grooving to the song, while Picard in night googles in set in the dark with the band. Naturally, the song continues the band’s reputation for pairing their material with bold and hazily lysergic visuals; but interestingly enough, the video comes on the heels of the duo announcing that their forthcoming full-length effort, Twisting the Shadow People is slated for a January 19, 2018 release through Because Music — and of course, the album will include “Shadow People,” from which the album derives its title.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Limiñanas Return with a Slow Burning and Meditative New Single

The Limiñanas are a Perpignan, France-based duo, who have developed a reputation as one of France’s most renowned psych rock acts — and for a sound that comfortably straddles the boundaries of psych rock, shoegaze and and yé-yé, as their songs typically feature arrangements rooted around fuzzy, distorted power chords, reverb heavy hooks and effortlessly cool vocals. And while clearly being indebted to 60s guitar pop and psych rock, the duo manage to capture something quintessentially French. 

Now, as you may recall, the duo’s soon-to-be released effort Istanbul Is Sleepy was initially recorded at the duo’s home studio and finished at Anton Newcombe’s Berlin-based studio, and unsurprisingly, the EP’s title track and first single “Istanbul Is Sleepy” found the French duo collaborating with the The Brian Jonestown Massacre founder and frontman, who contributed both his imitable vocals and guitar to a scuzzy, garage rock-like track with the sort of underlying menace reminiscent of The Black Angels — although interestingly enough, Newcombe was reportedly inspired by Rain-era The Cult.
As the members of The Limiñanas recall in press notes, the collaboration can trace its origins to last year, when Mojo Magazine asked them to contribute a track to a Kinks tribute compilation. “We chose ‘Two Sisters,’” Lionel explains in press notes. “Marie and I were thinking for the vocal part, it would be great to approach Anton Newcombe, having opened for The Brian Jonestown Massacre at Le Trianon in Paris. The work began like that. We had an album to record and we decided to finish it with him. During the Christmas week we took our demos, flew to Berlin and recorded at Anton’s studio. Six days later we had a finished album.”

The French psych rock duo’s latest single “Shadow People” is a jangling, slow-burning and almost meditative track with a hazy and dreamy hook that features a guest spot from French actress Emmanuelle Seigner. As Lionel explains in press notes, “The shadow people are an American myth, they are described as furtive apparitions, comparable to ghosts observable from the corner of the eye. These ‘spirits’ accompany throughout your all life, a sort of paranormal glue stuck to you . . . Emmanuelle came to visit us in the South of France, and we asked her to sing ‘Shadow People’ with Renaud Picard, the singer from Hair and the Iotas. We recorded it in just a few minutes over an afternoon…”. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Limiñanas Team Up The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Anton Newcombe on Lysergic and Menacing “Istanbul Is Sleepy”

Comprised of Marie (drums, vocals) and Lionel (guitar, bass, keys and vocals), the Perpignan, France-based duo The Limiñanas have developed a reputation as one of France’s beloved treasures, as their sound straddles the boundaries of psych rock, shoegaze and yé-yé, paired with fuzzy, distorted and reverb-heavy hooks and effortlessly cool vocals. And while being mischievously anachronistic, the duo manage to do so in an quintessentially French fashion. 

“Istanbul Is Sleepy,” the title track of their forthcoming Istanbul Is Sleepy EP finds the renowned French psych rockers collaborating with The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s influential Anton Newcombe, who contributes guitar and his imitable vocals to the track. And as the members of The Limiñanas recall in press notes, the collaboration can trace its origins to last year, when the folks at Mojo Magazine asked them to contribute a track to a Kinks tribute compilation. “We chose ‘Two Sisters,'” Lionel explains in press notes. “Marie and I were thinking for the vocal part, it would be great to approach Anton Newcombe, having opened for The Brian Jonestown Massacre at Le Trianon in Paris. The work began like that. We had an album to record and we decided to finish it with him. During the Christmas week we took our demos, flew to Berlin and recorded at Anton’s studio. Six days later we had a finished album.” 

Sonically speaking, the French psych rock act’s latest single features an arrangement that consists of  propulsive backbeat, layers of fuzzy guitars, soaring organs and rousing hooks and while possessing a decided garage rock scuzziness, the song has the sort of underlying menace reminiscent of The Black Angels — although interestingly enough, Newcombe was reportedly inspired by Rain-era The Cult. 

Naturally, while the  Jean Luc Moly-directed video is decidedly psychedelic, it also pays subtle homage to French New Wave films thanks to its attention to split screens and bright colors — as it features a zombie-like Anton Newcombe with the members of The Limiñanas performing the song in a persistent rainy backdrop as a man in a suit struts, dances and bops his head to the music. 

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Public Service Broadcasting’s debut effort Inform – Educate – Entertain was released to critical praise from the likes of Time Out London, Mojo and GQ when the album was released in their native UK a few months ago. Aesthetically the […]