Read more "5 Covers From Skyjelly"
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]]>When a band comes along called Skyjelly, you generally can’t help but take note.
A fourpiece of Skyjelly Jones, Scott ‘Sheik’ Levesque, Dave Melanson, and Eric Hudson, Skyjelly deal in the self-described genre of “Improvisational Guitar Noise Pop Blues Psychedelia Left Field Soul Loops”, and while it might sound like a mess, it’s ultimately brilliantly enjoyable.
While Skyjelly released only one official EP so far, there’s a number of tracks floating around the net and a huge chunk of those are covers. Albeit, none of those are your average run-of-the-mill covers and here’s a proof:
You Don’t Move Me (original by Keith Richards)
Gamma Ray (original by Beck)
Vocals have a bit of a soulful twist, still trippy though. Nice touch! Cool tremolo instrumental section (guitar solo?) too – The Future Heart
Pilot Jones (original by Frank Ocean)
Chain Chain Chain (original by Red Red Meat)
When You Sleep (original by My Bloody Valentine)
just a big muff and an acoustic guitar and some free time…song by kevin shields and my bloody valentine. performed by me dave melanson.
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]]>Read more "100 Great Music Singles From Boston and New England of 2015 – 1-10"
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]]>The post 100 Great Music Singles From Boston and New England of 2015 – 1-10 appeared first on I Heart Noise.
]]>Read more "Mixtape – Cosmic Vortex // Psychedelic Sounds of Boston and New England"
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]]>Here’s a look at some of the said merchants of the otherworldly sounds based around Boston/Mass and New England:
Landing – this veteran Connecticut band (described on Discogs as “professional ambient musicians” – not without a hint of irony, one presumes) started out in the late 90s and since then amassed a giant back catalog of work. There are numerous splits with fellow space travelers Windy & Carl, Rothko and Yume Bitsu, countless 12″ and 7″ records and, finally, limited edition tapes put out by the band’s own label Vast Arc Hues.
Body Diffuser EP – latest in the series of the said tapes – features three hazy and meditative tracks (plus one video) only one which is below the 10 minute mark. Its a slowly unfolding atlas of guitar drones and clickety-clacks of different origin, a kind of sound that begs the listener to stay and concentrate (if not meditate), rather than allowing him/her to skim through surface of every track. All you need for the rewarding trip with this one is patience and, perhaps, a quiet place to enjoy it all.
Yet another veteran band – Beverly, MA Caspian – went through a rollercoaster of both success and grief/loss in 10+ years together. Formed at the height of post-rock boom, the band cited both Mogwai and Constellation Records as favorites – they also opened for Finnish band Him and signed to Triple Crown Records. They also suffered a horrible blow with the sudden death of bassist Chris Friedrich in 2013 and yet decided to continue recording.
It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that Dust and Disquiet – the band’s latest release – is laced with motives of mourning and regret (best reflected in the opener “Separation No. 2” and acoustic (albeit somewhat generic) balled “Run Dry”). Its not all doom and gloom, though – the band also explores more muscular/heavy rock on “Arcs of Command” / “Echo and Abyss” and there are a couple of shorter segues/sequence to be found there. Its the sound of the band still very much standing at crossroads and searching for answers.
Frequent BBE/I Heart Noise digital comp. contributors Ghost Box Orchestra bring on both the soundtrack-ish ambience (The Only Light On) and heavier/pounding tribal rock – latter seems to be the foundation for band’s recent releases, including the Sound of (Eternal Now) EP:
Boston’s Magic Shoppe is just one of many projects involving Kris Thompson (who also worked with The Lothars, Prefab Messiahs, Concord Ballet Orchestra Players and Abunai!). Triangulum Astrale EP – the band’s most recent work – manages to fuse both psychedelic/fuzzy aspect of 60s psychedelia, heavily reverbed vocals and the more melodic/groovy/pop elements (as the band themselves put – its the perfect prescription for those addicted to droned-out, reverb-drenched, tambourine-shaking bliss):
Last, but not least, is Providence, RI Skyjelly which doubles as both Rick “Skyjelly” Jones and his band that includes Scott Levesque (who also plays in Wheat), Eric Hudson and Dave Melanson. Formed in 2010, the band crafts its strange brew of heavily looped and layered ambient/psychedelia – occasionally frightening (Motorola Monkey) and sometimes downright beautiful/serene (Move on 45) their music defy easy categorization or classification.
Such is the case with Skyjelly and Sun EP – the band’s only studio release to date. It also includes layers upon layers of reverbed vocals, samples and guitar solos, but also retains the melodic edge (and a slightly Middle Eastern flavor to it all). Since the EP release, the band has been touring both Providence and Massachusetts heavily and they constantly upload new improvisations, videos and practice tracks to Skyjellytube.
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]]>Read more "BBE Podcast – Skyjelly + Live Videos from the Democracy Center"
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]]>Skyjelly‘s music spans multiple genres – from shoegaze/ambient (Move on 45, Providence) to psych/improv (Seamagnet, Julius) to genres whose names weren’t invented yet and thus could be described as being pure Skyjelly (Motorola Monkey, Acosta, The 6 is Silent). The only official recording from the band so far has been Skyjelly and SUN EP, but the band constantly puts out improvisations and practice tracks on Youtube (many of which can be heard in this podcast).
Discussion panel for the evening included Ilya (I Heart Noise / BBE), Freddie Rodriguez, Sophie MacArthur (who provided both commentary and recording of podcast), Sarah Samways and Mario Epstein (one half of noise/shoegaze duo Drunk Cop).
Head over to Boston Hassle to read the transcript of the podcast.
Skyjelly also played a follow-up show at DC with Yoshi Walsh (Streightangular) band Deep Likes
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]]>Read more "Preview of Boston Not LA 4"
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]]>Anda Volley – Butterfly Melt
This little creeper of a tune was born in the Flawless Computerized Mind of one Anda Volley – think soundtrack for a funeral of civilization ruined by nuclear wars coupled with a long walk through resulting wasteland.
The Prefab Messiahs – College Radio
Story of this Worcester garage/psych quartet goes back all the way to the early 80s when they released an excellent Franz Kafka/Prefab Sun single. After some 20-year long hiatus they came back with a vengeance and this ode to the spirit of independence can be found on their latest album Keep Your Stupid Dreams Alive.
Skyjelly – Move on 45
Just one of countless unreleased tracks by Skyjelly, this one is a sublime excursion into ambient/shoegaze/psychedelia. An odd love song and a tribute to no one particular, Move on 45 keep its chilled throughout six minutes of its duration.
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]]>The post Boston Not LA Recap – Ghost Box Orchestra + Skyjelly + Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys appeared first on I Heart Noise.
]]>Whether you choose to call them space rock or post rock or shoegaze, Ghost Box Orchestra are true to their name – both LPs that the band released so far demonstrate the skills to create music that is both groovy and ethereal (and also haunting at times). These are the soundscapes that you can dance to and if Mars had nightclubs along with the water then GBOs music would be welcomed there with both arms!
Ghost Box Orchestra contributed Oh The Moon Hangs Low as well as demo of title track off of their second LP Vanished to Boston Not LA series:
Where are they now: Since the release of their debut The Last Light On, GBO played Austin Psych Fest, Deep Heaven Now and Boston’s Fuzzfest, won Best Psych/Experimental act in the Boston Phoenix’s Best Music Poll and shared the stage with countless bands including Wooden Shjips, Psychic Ills, Moon Duo and The Cult.
Motorola Monkey – first track that Providence, RI Skyjelly contributed to first volume of Boston, Not LA (and one of the first things recorded by the band) – reveals just how unconventional their approach to composition is. This track (and accompanying video) starts out with vaguely middle eastern intro that gives way to a bouncy bass layered over the bed of electronics. Think soundtrack to a non-existent movie about Arabian James Bond.
Acosta (which appears on Boston Not La Vol.2) is a different beast – unlike Motorola Monkey it features vocals (it kicks off with muffled/distorted chant of “I was playing with my amp…). In the ideal world it could’ve been a radio hit since its melodic, got a wonderful guitar solo and a tinge of melancholy to it:
Finally, there’s 6 Is Silent – Skyjelly’s most recent contribution to the series. Easily the most upbeat of all three it features a colorful video created by Sarah Jane Lapp which perfectly fits the surreal vibe of the song:
Where are they now: Skyjelly released 4-track EP Skyjelly & SUN in 2014 and also played countless shows around Boston and Providence. Skyjelly & SUN, however, represents only a tiny portion of the band’s back catalog as they constantly put out new videos, jams and song sketches online.
If you can’t ever get enough of Tiger Lillies perverted cabaret (and I would be very scared of you if that’s the case), then you would surely squeal with delight upon hearing anything put out by Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys!
Led by an enigmatic ringmaster Walter Sickert (most likely not the German painter/printmaker from early 20th century), this 7-member troupe revels in all kinds of bizarre and morbid stories and characters. Heroine pigs, Baba Yaga and Lucifer himself are just some of the character that make appearance on their records and there truly are no limits as to how far this band is willing to go in order to explore the forbidden territories.
Walter Sickert and The Army of Broken Toys contributed Sea Song (Mare Carmen) to the first volume of Boston Not LA:
Where are they now: The band latest release is Shockheaded Peter, “reimagining” of the score originally written by Tiger Lillies for a musical based on Heinrich Hoffman children’s book. As WBUR reports:
Company One productions always feel more like rock ‘n’ roll shows than any other theater’s, even Oberon’s. The current production, “Shockheaded Peter,” not only feels like rock ‘n’ roll; it is rock ‘n’ roll. Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys’steamCrunk, to be specific, but close enough. Sickert looks, plays, acts and writes like Dr. John on steroids while his mischievous melodies suggest the Kinks going to darker places than Ray Davies inhabits. Or as he told ARTery contributor Susanna Jackson, it’s music that he hopes evokes a mood of “Charlie and The Chocolate Factory” meets “Hellraiser.”
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Nothing like a string of tour dates to kick off October, right? Our friend Skyjelly seems to agree judging by amount of dates that he’s scheduled to play around Boston and Rhode Island:
October 5th – Firehouse 13, Providence (w/ Tapestries, Leveret, Journalism and Thera Roya)
October 9th – Wonderbar, Allston (w/Eldridge Rodriguez and Party Bois)
October 10th/11 – Seekonk’s Artist Network
October 17th – Mama King, Taunton (w/Bright White Lights)
October 29th – Out of the Blue Gallery, Cambridge
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