"At Roadburn there's this incredible community that forms at the festival."
In 2012 the LA outfit Marriageserupted onto the world stage with a truly delightful EP (Kitsune). The six tracks on that record melt together in a brilliant symbiosis of shoegazy post doom and psychedelic krautrock, overlaid with meandering and mesmerising vocals. Members Emma Ruth Rundle (vocals, guitar) and Greg Burns (synth, bass) both had already proven their musical abilities in post rock masters Red Sparowes, so the overall quality of their output under the moniker of Marriages was not unexpected. Still, they managed to succeed even the highest of expectations and one could only hope for more music.
Today sees the birth of Salome, their debut full length, released on the lovely Sargent House label, home to numerous of your favourite bands. On top of that, Marriages (with added drummer Andrew Clinco) is about to embark on their first European tour, as support of the mighty Wovenhand. More than enough reason to catch up with the band in these exciting time. Greg Burns has been so kind to answer a few questions over e-mail.
Marriages' new album Salome will be released this week. In what ways does this full length debut differ from the Kitsune EP?
Greg Burns: "Kitsune was written almost stream of consciousness: we literally wrote the songs as one large half hour piece. Salome is different. Each song was written to stand alone, so the process of writing was very different. We really tried to focus and evolve our sound between the two records, to challenge ourselves and push the boundaries of our music. Also, Andrew Clinco, our full-time drummer joined the band for this record and had a huge part in developing its sound."
You've played some shows in the US earlier this year, and I imagine the record has been reviewed here and there already. How's the reception been so far to the new music?
GB: "We're just starting to see most reviews in the past week or so. So far the feedback has been very positive - I haven't seen a bad review yet, although I'm sure it's coming, haha! It seems that people get the references as well - a nod to 80's, post-punk, shoegaze. I really appreciate all the good commentary so far; this record was a long and trying process to create, so it feels very rewarding."
You're embarking on an extensive European tour, together with Wovenhand. This will be the first time Marriages will play for European crowds, right? What are your thoughts both on playing together with David Eugene Edwards and on enticing the European music lovers?
GB: "We're very excited to play with Wovenhand - we're all big fans of the music. It will also be a reunion of sorts. David's backup band has members of Planes Mistaken for Stars, and Red Sparowes played a bunch of shows with those guys over the years.
As far as Europe, I'm very happy to go there, and curious to see what the response will be like. Marriages hasn't been there yet, so it's very hard to predict how it will go, but generally my experience with Red Sparowes was that people were very receptive and supportive."
Final one: you'll play the legendary Roadburn Festival, with Helms Alee and Russian Circles, among many others. What are your thoughts on playing there?
GB: "I'm thrilled. I love that festival. Playing there with Red Sparowes was one of the best shows I've ever played. There's this incredible community that forms at the festival and people are just incredibly excited about the music. Walter (Roadburn promoter) is very sweet, and I'm thankful they included us.
Also, there will be plenty of bands that we know - it'll be awesome to be able to get together and get into some trouble. Thanks!"
Marriages will kick of their European tour at the Roadburn festival this Thursday, on Friday they will play Doornroosje in Nijmegen. Here's the rest of the tour dates.
March 28th, 2015. A sullen rainy Saturday in Amsterdam. One of those nights where gloom and misery seem to be cloaked around every hunched body dragging itself along the streets. What better time to dive into one of Amsterdam's rock n roll caves and immerse oneself in a full on stoner onslaught of four great bands from the low lands of Holland and Belgium?
The rock n roll cave in particular this time is Winston Kingdom, at the heart of the Red Light District. First band of the night is Nauseahtake, a local lot from Amsterdam, playing a sludgy style of experimental improv stoner layered with spacey synth sounds. Great build ups make you long for enormous explosions, but the four lads excel in teasing and only rarely does a climactic thunder sear through our souls. But they deliver their music well, and with ferocity. Great band, and I look forward to hearing more from them.
Next in line is The Fur from Belgium. One look at their guitarist Jens Hugo is enough to ascertain the kind of music they will play: psychedelic seventies stoner. The guy definitely looks his music. The first few songs are very promising and take you on long and windy road. Unfortunately the road doesn't seem to be leading anywhere in the end, and the band starts to get lost within their own music, resulting in a messy second half of the show. Props for the banana marketing they did though. Handing out banana's is always a good idea. As The Fur states themselves: Not Enough Bananas.
Then it's time for Mantra Machine to take the stage. Tonight marks the vinyl release of their 2014 album Nitrogen. At least that's what the flyer for the shows says, because the lads of Mantra Machine themselves seem either to shy to tell the crowd who they are and which album everybody should buy tonight, or they just only give a shit about playing their music and screw all else. Their music warrants enough reason to buy their albums anyway, because their psychedelic instrumental space jams transcend the earthly planes and leave you begging for more. The bass lines especially are rad beyond the extreme. Go see them when they are around.
Last up is Yama, Tilburg's finest. I've had the pleasure of doing an interview with them some time ago, and it's great to see they are not only still going strong, but going even stronger still. After a long period of delay their first full length finally saw the light of day in late 2014. Their album Ananta can be considered as one of the finest pieces of Dutch stoner history already and their live shows add some extra raw quality to the songs. Tonight some technical difficulties mess up the first song a bit, but as soon as the bass is fixed the Yama freight train is on its way and cannot be stopped. Unsuspecting people in the front turn into rabid fans straight away when Yama sinks its fangs in their throbbing throats. Singer Alex Schenkels delivers his sermons in a most convincing manner, while Peter Taverne tests the foundations of Winston with his grooving bass lines. Guitarist Sjoerd Albers commands the Vedic deities with his riffs of mythic proportions, while drummer Joep Schmitz just about brings down the entire house with his relentless pummelling on his kit. During the title track of Ananta, everything seems to fall in its right place and all the gloom and misery of the beginning of the night evaporates in an effervescent cloud of joy. Far fucking out, man.
Inmiddels alweer twee jaar geleden had ik een interview met een van Amsterdams meest sympathieke, kwalitatief ass-kickende en fijne bands van die tijd: Tiger Pilots. Dat was 2013. Inmiddels is het 2015 en zijn de heren voor zover ik zelf kan beantwoorden nog steeds zeer sympathiek en erg fijn, maar bovendien kicken ze nog steeds kwalitatief ass. Dit bleek eerder dit jaar maar weer toen ze het nummer Life uitbrachten voor de No Music No Glory campagne, voor de stichting No Guts No Glory, die zich bezig houdt met het inzamelen van geld voor behandelingen tegen kanker die niet door de zorgverzekeraars vergoed worden. Zowel de media als de luisteraar (nummer 1 in de download top 100 van iTunes!) zijn laaiend enthousiast over de track, genoeg reden om hem hier weer eens naar voren te halen.
Het interview dat ik had met Tiger Pilots was toentertijd geplaatst op het alternatieve muziekblog Jimmy Alter, maar dat is helaas ter ziele gegaan. Daarom hieronder nog maar eens dat interview, want deze mannen verdienen de aandacht. Overigens: op 7 mei spelen ze in de P60 te Amstelveen!
Dutch Delight: Tiger Pilots (interview maart 2013)
Soms heb je van die mooie concertavonden, waarbij niet alleen de headliner geweldig is, maar waar je ook positief verrast wordt door het voorprogramma. Onlangs gebeurde dat bij de show van Paul Banks, waar het voorprogramma werd verzorgd door het Amsterdamse Tiger Pilots. We hadden enthousiaste woorden voor hen in onze recensie en we besloten hen op te zoeken om eens nader kennis te maken. Jimmy Alter sprak met hen in het bovencafe van de Amsterdamse Melkweg over hun muziek en hun nieuw te verschijnen EP, die ze dinsdag 5 maart presenteren tijdens een releaseparty in de Sugar Factory.
Het interview met de vier heren van Tiger Pilots (Ramón van Geytenbeek -zang, Derk Zegwaard - drums, Ludwin Schouten - bas en Jonathan Chua - gitaar) doen we in het Engels, omdat gitarist Jonathan het Nederlands nog helemaal meester is. Op een of andere manier past het ook wel bij het geluid van de band, dat absoluut internationale allure heeft. De mannen zijn enthousiast, want over een paar dagen wordt hun EP The Truth About Lies gepresenteerd met een optreden in de Sugar Factory. Ze zijn zeer tevreden met het uiteindelijke resultaat. “We hebben de EP in twee dagen opgenomen in de IJland Studio’s bij Thomas Olivier. Het was voor ons de eerste keer in een professionele studio en we zijn blij met de uitkomst. Thomas kwam met goed ideeen om de nummers met wat kleine aanpassingen hier en daar net wat professioneler te maken. Ze klinken nu echt af, vooral door de toevoeging van electronische elementen. Af en toe kwam hij ook wel op de proppen met wat extreme dingen, maar die hebben we weten te beperken!”
Het geluid is zeker goed te noemen op de EP. De muziek van Tiger Pilots zit in de hoek van de post-punk met vleugjes new wave en indie. De tracks hebben zowel de mooie afstandelijkheid in het geluid dat zo kenmerkend is voor de post-punk, maar tegelijk klinken de nummers ook warm. Volgens de band klinken de nummers vooral erg als Tiger Pilots. “Voor je de studio in gaat heb je een bepaald idee over hoe je muziek moet klinken. Dan is het goed als je met een producer iemand hebt die met een vers oor er naar luistert en dan zijn vingers precies op de goede plekken weet te leggen. Toch is er weinig aan de nummers veranderd. De structuur en de essentie zijn hetzelfde gebleven.”
Tiger Pilots bestaat nu zo’n drie jaar. “De historie van de band gaat terug naar ongeveer 2010. Ramón en Ludwin speelden al wat langer samen onder verschillende namen, maar vanaf 2010 is de band zoals deze nu bestaat compleet, met de toevoeging van Derk en Jonathan. Het mooie is dat het allemaal gewoon klopt in deze formatie.” Het schrijven van muziek gaat de band dan ook goed af. “Het is bijna belachelijk hoe snel we soms nieuwe nummers kunnen schrijven, ze komen werkelijk uit alle hoeken binnen. Het is mooi om te zien dat dat ook geldt voor de complexiteit en volledigheid. We schrijven nog steeds makkelijk nieuwe nummers, maar ze zijn ook steeds meer af en zitten beter in elkaar. Na onze laatste oefensessie hadden we weer twee tracks die bijna af zijn. Op dit moment zitten we zo rond de 30 nummers die we af kunnen ronden.”
Ondanks de ruime keuze aan nummers, was het niet moeilijk te bepalen welke drie er op de EP terecht moesten komen. “De nummers die er nu op staan, geven goed de verschilende facetten weer waar Tiger Pilots voor staat. We voelden alle vier dat met deze selectie de gevarieerdheid van de band naar voren komt. Er staat een wat rustig nummer op, een meer up-tempo dansbaar nummer en eentje die er tussenin zit.” Live kan de band naast mooi en ingetogen of dansbaar zeker ook stevig klinken, hoewel er ook weer geen deathmetal moet worden verwacht. “Haha nee dat zeker niet. Misschien hier en daar wat pirate metal! Maar nee, we hebben wel wat stevigere nummers, maar daarvoor moeten de mensen ons voorlopig live aanschouwen.”
De EP is voor de band een opstapje naar hopelijk meer. De tracks ‘Soothe Me’, ‘Secrecy’ en ‘Ghosts’ doen in ieder geval uitzien naar een volledige debuutplaat. “Op een eventuele LP zullen we nog meer laten zien van onze veelzijdigheid. Dit is nog maar een EP, maar we hopen dat het kan leiden tot vooral meer optredens, zodat we als band kunnen groeien en hopelijk wat geld bij elkaar kunnen sprokkelen om dit te kunnen blijven doen. Dit is onze eerste professionele opname en ook de eerste keer dat we onze muziek de wereld in sturen naar blogs, radio, programmeurs etcetera. Je hebt toch wel een goede opname nodig om op te kunnen vallen. Dat geldt ook voor het artwork, je moet gelijk een goede indruk maken wil je niet ergens onderop een stapel blijven liggen.”
De eerste shows zijn in ieder geval al een feit, met onlangs dus het optreden in de Melkweg en de releaseparty in de Sugar Factory. “Dat was zelfs al de tweede keer in de Melkweg voor ons. Vorig jaar hebben we een korte support tour gedaan met de Boxer Rebellion, toen speelden we ook daar. Dat was sowieso een mooie ervaring en het heeft ons als band zeker sterker gemaakt. Voor het eerst een paar dagen achter elkaar spelen en onderweg zijn, samen spelen met een professionele band van wie je toch dingetjes kunt leren. We spelen nu weer beter dan een jaar geleden. Door zowel die tour als door de opnames in de studio, weten we nu ook beter wat er allemaal mogelijk is met onze muziek, de grenzen van wat Tiger Pilots allemaal vermag zijn een stuk opgeschoven.”
Wat dat betreft ligt de toekomst dus helemaal open en lijkt die ook veelbelovend. We kijken nog even naar de muziek zelf en de invloeden die daaraan ten grondslag liggen. Die blijken zeer uitgebreid te zijn. Van Tom Waits tot aan Radiohead, van vroege punkrock naar post-hardcore, van mathrock tot aan vervreemdende indie -de bandleden halen hun inspiratie overal vandaan. Tekstueel zijn vooral Ian Curtis, Morrissey en Placebo belangrijk geweest. Zanger Ramón haalt zijn inspiratie vooral uit zijn eigen belevingswereld vandaan en schrijft daar donkere teksten over, maar vaak toch met een hoopvolle ondertoon. “De combinatie van de muziek en de teksten zorg soms voor een mooi spanningsveld, omdat de muziek soms tegen het vrolijke en dansbare aanzit, maar de tekst eigenlijk een stuk duisterder is.”
Uiteindelijk is de muziek van Tiger Pilots een amalgaam van verschillende invloeden en stromingen, een perfecte symbiose van klanken en woorden die toch vooral heel erg als Tiger Pilots klinkt. Uniek op hun eigen manier, lukt het hen om een geluid neer te zetten dat zowel fijn als intrigerend is. De teksten zijn sterk en trekken de luisteraar mee een levendige literaire wereld in. Op de EP komt dit al goed naar voren (luister vooral eens goed naar ‘Ghosts’!), maar live wordt hier nog een extra laag aan intensiteit toegevoegd. Tiger Pilots is een band om te koesteren.
The internet can make for interesting and surprising collaborations. Take for example the Dutch rock band A Dark Line. Hailing from the east of Holland, they've come into contact through Facebook with American singer and bass player Brett Hestla, known for his work in Dark New Day and Virgil Merlot. The Dutch lads laid down some tracks and Hestla added his vocals and a collaboration was born, resulting in the EP 'Running from the Light'.
The first single of that EP is Head Through the Wall. The music is recorded at the Split Second Sound studio by Jochem Jacobs of Textures fame, and he has done a pretty good job. The production quality is of international standards, which both works to their advantage and as a slight letdown. The overall sound of Head Through the Wall is very solid, but has an 'all-American-college-rock' feel. It's a little too generic for my taste. Hestla's voice very much adds to this feeling, and the fact that he mixed the songs in the US probably accounts for this as well.
All in all this first single sounds quite alright, but it lacks an edge. It makes me curious about the rest of the EP though. You can check out the song and the nicely illustrated video (done by Remko Tielemans, also from Textures) below.
Update: the EP can be listened to on Spotify (and iTunes). I've checked the other songs out as well, and they fit pretty much under the same umbrella as Head Through the Wall: generic all-American college rock. Not really my cup of tea, but definitely well made.
Blaming well shaped shadows for the fading light. Knowing the sweet sounds in the air come from a certain direction. Looking up, neon lights blinding me.
Another night. Another me. Changing dimensions like clothes. Fresh. New. Trendy.
You. My dimension. Right now. Time doesn't exist. Time is irrelevant. Space. Space is irrelevant.
We are. We dress ourselves in this moment. Let us be.
Seven years already... I believe this is the first time I have really written something about my father dying. I never seemed to be able to so before. It's still difficult though, and I keep feeling like eloquence is slipping through my fingers. Then again, that doesn't really seem to matter. Anyway, here's a little reminiscing and musing.
(…) Through the larger than life windows, behind the stage from which the eulogies were delivered, I could make out the large pond that lay behind the cremation center. The water was perfectly still, mirroring the green and blue of the trees and the skies in accurate fashion. As above, so below... A flock of swans suddenly drifted into my vision, floating silently on the surface, in the interstice between reality and its reflection. I listened to the music being played, which my family and I had chosen. My father didn’t really want to pick any music himself. Or couldn’t. Maybe he didn't care. Maybe he found it too hard to think about stuff like that in advance, preferring instead to be oblivious of the inevitable. He had eventually chosen one song though, which would be played last, at the end of the ceremony. Now it was first my time to step up and take to the stage. To utter words I couldn’t write myself, even though I’ve always considered myself a writer. That time I really was at a loss for words though, being unable to put emotion (any emotion, those emotions) into writing. Even listening to music accompanied by words felt wrong at the time, or rather it was just impossible for me to listen to. All I could listen to was the instrumental music of 65daysofstatic, for weeks on end. I was glad my sister stepped up that time and had written something about our father for the ceremony. She couldn’t get herself to read it out aloud in front of everyone though, in front of the whole family. So I was happy to do that, feeling like I could at least add something to the ceremony that way, to give something to my father that way. At first it wasn’t that hard, reading aloud those lines, because they told about loving, caring and funny moments we had all shared with my dad. I felt a calm serenity take hold of me, carrying me through this, although I had to focus on the piece of paper carrying my sister's words, and had to avoid too much eye contact with my mom, brother and sister. At the end of the speech things suddenly started to get slippery, and I felt myself drifting away for a moment. I then had to collect all my strength to keep myself together, not only to keep my composure, but to prevent myself from collapsing within myself. Those last lines were so hard to read, but I felt such a strong urge to say them. I had to say them. It took me a full minute to say the last few words. “Vaders, we zullen je missen.”
I don't remember walking off the stage, taking my seat. All I remember from those moments after, was staring through the windows again, those larger than life windows. Seeing the by then empty pond, with the swans having moved out of sight, while listening to the one song my dad really wanted to be played at his memorial ceremony. And while Mathilde Santing’s version of ‘Wonderful Life’ was playing, suddenly the flock of swans came into my vision again. At first quietly floating by, but then suddenly the whole flock of swans took off into the air, flying in a spectacular circle over the pond and then disappearing into the sky. It was a moment of pure yet sad beauty. And at that moment I felt something shift and click within me, and I realised something had changed, that I would never be the same person again. A profound sadness had settled into my soul, one that would never leave me.
It took me almost two years to come to terms with that sadness, and take the metamorphosis to its ultimate conclusion. Only then I realised that it was a sadness birthed in love, allowing me to open up my being like never before. One that gave my heart the ability to weave the fabric of life into my soul.
I can now say, with full understanding, that all these encounters with Life Herself, in all their intricate ways, are what makes this all so worthwhile. And now the silly cheesiness of that song ‘Wonderful Life’ suddenly somehow rings true, I can only smilingly admit while quietly shaking my head.
I feel like I have found a friend in that profound sadness. One that does not feel heavy like a cornerstone, but one that functions as a starting point from which I can embark on empathetic journeys. I have found a friend in the memory of my dad. I have found a friend within myself. I have found a friend in my outlook on life. And of course, I have a friend in all of you, my friends, my dear friends.
And now, when I look into the mirror, I pound my fist against my heart, and with the ferocity of Norma Jean’s delivery, I feel this simple but most wonderful realisation: yes, I choose to embrace Life. And I am intend on living it. That’s the legacy my father left within me, and for that I will always be so grateful to that wonderful man.
Thank you, vaders.
“I miss you already
I miss you always”
But in a good way, because yes, you do make me smile.
You're embarking on an extensive European tour, together with Wovenhand. This will be the first time Marriages will play for European crowds, right? What are your thoughts both on playing together with David Eugene Edwards and on enticing the European music lovers?
