Somerville’s Shandelle Dazzles on Debut EP “introspection”

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By Harry Gustafson

shandelle gomez

Photo by Alison Li

Breaking into the music scene is tough at any age, but there’s an extra burden levied on young people, a pressure to be perfect and talented beyond your years while you are still forming your own sense of self-identity, both as a human and an artist. You’re busy trying to find your lane, your unique sound, while also trying to build a fanbase and platform, often all on your own. 

Luckily for Shandelle Gomez – an 19 year-old R&B singer based in Somerville – she’s had a bit of a head start since about the age of four, when she first started singing. In high school, she linked up with producer and collaborator Arkh Zeus (whose Tensai IV we covered a few months back. After appearing as a featured artist on the tracks of others, Shandelle decided to set out to record and release her own songwriting efforts, a decision that has led up to introspection, her debut EP as a solo artist. Taking inspiration from fellow contemporary R&B artists like Kehlani, Kali Uchis, Snoh Aalegra, and Jhene Aiko, Shandelle has crafted for herself an exciting premiere, a bold and confident declaration of her own presence and emergence within Boston’s ever-growing R&B scene. 

shandelle gomez

Cover Art by Alison Li

Shandelle says that introspection was the culmination of a number of different things. In regards to her influences, she says, “A lot of women in music, especially R&B, inspire me sonically and as people [and] remind me to unapologetically be my most authentic self.” When Arkh Zeus texted her at the beginning of 2021, pushing her to get into the studio, she began to feel “comfortable to start writing [her] own music and recording originals.” That initial push led to “vacant,” which serves as the EP’s opener. Fittingly, Shandelle kicks off the track with the line “there’s no turning back” as a dark, shuffling beat builds beneath her voice. For someone who confesses to her own self doubts regarding her ability to develop her own creative impulses, the track sure does sound self-assured, even while she sings about her own struggles to break free of toxic cycles. “I’m ready to move on/I won’t hold on to what this became,” she offers as a promise, perhaps most of all to herself. 

The rest of the EP explores the themes that its title suggests; this is a young artist coming into a belief of her own abilities, her own vocal presence, her songwriting power. “don’t tempt me” works as a sort of warning to anyone who might disrespect her. On the track, her English lyrics weave in and out of Spanish; she even dabbles in some rap lyricism, declaring that she can “listen to her own intuition/I’m sorry if I ever convinced you bitches any different.” 

shandelle gomez

Album art by Alison Li

The whole EP features rich melodic textures, lush instrumentation, and rhythmically compelling beat structures, due in part to Arkh Zeus’s adept production skills. Zeus also pops up as a featured artist on closing track “circles,” which continues to chip away at the theme of getting caught in our own cycles. However, it’s a song that also embraces change, freely admitting that sometimes we are too close to ourselves to truly recognize how much we have grown. It takes time and maturity to step away from yourself and realize how different you have become from your own past iterations. “My EP,” she says, “was a journey towards healing, coming to terms with what I’ve experienced in life over the past year and a half, and letting it out so I can put it to rest within my life and on my journey of personal growth.” And let’s hope Shandelle maintains that sense of growth, that embrace of change, because it’s clear from introspection that this young singer has a lot of room left to explore as a songwriter and performer. 

Stream Shandelle’s introspection below via Spotify or on the streaming platform of your choice.

 

 

INFRASTRUCTURE Props Up The Underground Techno Sound in Boston On July 3rd

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By Harry Gustafson and Dillon Riley
 
Infrastructure flyer

INFRASTRUCTURE Flyer courtesy of Infra

Nothing says summertime in Boston quite like a relentlessly pounding kick drum. If that’s a sentiment you too can get behind then let us call your attention to the red hot Boston dance music collective Infra‘s latest endeavor: INFRASTRUCTURE. An all day outdoor affair spanning not one, but two stages of world class tunes from an almost daunting laundry list of up and coming local DJs, Infra will be taking over a stretch of underpass that reaches from the South End to Southie the city has lovingly dubbed Underground at Ink Block. Fitting, as Infra prides itself as being among the area’s finest purveyors in underground techno of every flavor. So, if you’re in the New England area for the holiday weekend, like to dance, and have nothing to do on Saturday the 3rd? It’s really a no brainer. 

With that said, let us guide you through the sites and sounds you’ll encounter at INFRASTRUCTURE.

To give us some background about Infra and some extra hype for the event, we chatted with Diego Torres and Helena Awad, two members of Infra’s team. Diego got involved with the org through his work with Subcentral, Central Square’s DJ academy, and he’s played a huge role in organizing the July 3rd event. Helena, one of Infra’s resident DJs, was an avid attendee of Boston techno parties, an introductory arc she shares with a few of her fellow Infra residents. “A commonality for [us] is that it started with going to the events and finding ourselves within this community. Before they were Infra residents, they were some of the most dedicated people in the scene. Jose has a knack for picking out people who would make great resident DJs.”  

That Jose is Jose Zamora, the organizer who got the ball rolling for booking shows when Infra launched back in 2019, as well as one of Infra’s DJs. He’d been an event organizer and booker in Boston for some time (some may remember the Modular events at Phoenix Landing on Tuesday nights, which has evolved into an Infra event), but when the he saw the opportunity to bring underground techno sounds that were popular in the European club scene to Boston. With Boston’s relatively early curfew hour of 2 AM, it’s a far cry from the late night/early morning hours of techno abroad. Diego explains that “[Boston has] plenty of people from around the world who have been exposed to that kind of music. It’s just that for whatever reason, they just weren’t being brought here. And that’s what Jose wanted to change.” 

INFRASTRUCTURE Flyer

Flyer courtesy of Infra

Helena speaks more about that excitement, citing the thrilling feeling of seeing a slice of European clubs in Boston. It’s really incredibly when someone who plays these clubs in Berlin or Kiev comes to Boston and are able to show us a bit of that experience from 11 PM to 2 AM.” She also adds the important distinction of labels and associations with the reminder that just because these sounds are popular in European club culture, it’s important to recognize their roots as genre of Black American music. “But we have to remember that techno […] was co-opted into the European club scene, such that now most associations people have are between ‘techno’ and ‘Europe.’”

INFRASTRUCTURE’s mainstage will house the techno portion of the festival’s programming, as each of its nine performers are among Infra’s friends, associates and trusty resident DJs. That said, Helena stressed that it won’t be just 10 hours of driving techno: you’ll get dashes of garage, jungle, and house alongside the 4-on-the-floor slammers punters have come accustomed to on Infra’s dancefloors of choice like Cambridge’s Lower Level and Phoenix Landing. The aforementioned sidestage on the other hand (a collaboration between Intent Audio and ART.iculate mind you), will feature a whole slew of local dubstep and bass enthusiasts as well. While underground techno is their calling card, Infra’s choice to bring both camps under one umm overpass raving speaks to the communal nature of Boston’s small but mighty dance music scene.

Diego is excited to help provide people in Boston the opportunity to experience an all-day festival that caters to Boston’s electronic scene, especially its techno die-hards. “It’s been a year of not doing things,” he says. That, added to the fact that Boston has never really played host to a techno-centric event, was the impetus behind INFRASTRUCTURE. “It’s providing a platform. This festival is hopefully going to be a litmus test to see the interest in a festival, primarily techno-oriented, and see if we can establish a model for the rest of the summer and moving forward.”

INFRASTRUCTURE flyer

Flyer courtesy of Infra

Of course, INFRASTRUCTURE doesn’t just deliver on the music: they’re bringing in local food vendors too like New City Microcreamery, Smoke BBQ, and Beantown Taqueria so you can recreate the late night post-dance Central Square food hunt without actually having to leave the party. In line with Ink Block’s street art aesthetic, the festival will also an art vending pop up courtesy of local artist Anthony Boisvert. That’s not all, cannabis dispensary Pure Oasis, a long time supporter of the Infra movement, will also be on hand selling merch (JUST MERCH) as well. While the music will likely skew a bit darker with a European flair, Infra’s well-curated partnerships ensure INFRASTRUCTURE will be a real Boston affair.

To put a nice bow on it, Diego promised that “if you’re not familiar with INFRA, you definitely will be after this,” while Helena couldn’t help smile at the event’s potential. “People have been waiting so long for a return to the dance floor. It’s going to be a cathartic experience for a lot of people.”

Underground at Ink Block is located just a short walk from the Broadway stop on the Red Line. The few remaining tickets to INFRASTRUCTURE can be found right here, and be sure to follow Infra on Instagram for further updates and to stay up to date with future events!

Proof is in the Pudding Ep. 5: Dan DeLucia of Carnivora

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Hosted by Andrew Bourque
 
 
 
Garlic Bread Meatball Subs
 
Inspired by his father’s recipe, this elevated take on an Italian-American classic features unctuous sizzling garlic bread as the subrolls. Having spent some of Quarantine exploring his culinary expertise, DeLucia chose this recipe after it came to him in a dream. Crispy buttery bread, saucy n’ juicy meatballs and CHEESE. Quick tip: fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and lots of crushed garlic take this already show-stopping sandwich to center stage. 
 
Garlic Bread
Sub Rolls (not puny torpedos) 
Butter
Crushed garlic
Garlic powder 
Onion powder
Oregano
(Fresh) Basil
Grated Parmesan
Salt
Pepper
 
Sauce
Crushed/pureed tomatoes
Olive oil
Crushed garlic
Basil
Oregano
Pepper flakes
Salt
Pepper
 
Meatballs
1/4-1/2 lb. Ground beef & pork or veal
1 egg
1/2 cup-ish of Bread crumbs
Grated parmesan
Crushed Garlic
Garlic powder
Onion powder
(Fresh) basil
(Fresh) slices of/shredded Mozzarella for topping.
 
1. In a small sauce pan, melt butter, add in crushed garlic and all of your seasonings. Let the butter melt and begin to bubble. Turn off heat and let sit.
2. In a medium sauce pan combine all of your sauce ingredients over medium heat and let it come to a simmer. Stir occasionally. Sauce should thicken slightly over time.
3. In a large bowl, combine all of your meatball ingredients and mix until just combined. DO NOT overmix or the meatballs will become tough. Roll out balls evenly and began to pan fry in a medium sauté pan. Over medium-high heat, fry the balls until browned on all sides. Should take a few minutes per side. Once cooked, add the balls into the sauce to finish cooking and “marinate” with the flavors. 
4. Slice your sub rolls horizontally and spread your garlic butter mixture generously over both sides of the roll. Toast under a searing hot broiler for a few minutes. Watch carefully as the rolls will burn in a matter of seconds.
5. Assemble subs to your desire. I started with slices of mozzarella on top of the garlic bread. Followed by 2.5/3 meatballs, a generous spoon full of sauce and more cheese/basil on top. Enjoy!
 
Stay tuned for future episodes of Proof is in the Pudding and make sure to follow Dan DeLucia, Carnivora, Gnarly Charlie, BP & The Big Picture and Reilly Somach and the Frozen Ponies for more! Photo courtesy of Sean Ageman for Washed Up Media.

INTERVIEW: The Orrs Arrive with “As If I Ever Left”

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by Dan Moffat
 

Art by Colby Fream of GoodPlant Studios

Sometimes I like to be proactive with discovering new music, but other times I prefer to sit back and let our editors pitch to us Pudding writers from the trove of emails they receive. It was on one of these occasions where an editor dropped a slack message to us with a link to a curiously named band called “The Orrs.” The one-two punch of the first two songs was enough to get me hooked, so I checked out the advance stream of their debut album As If I Ever Left in its entirety. 

The Orrs, from Newfield, NH, are the latest band that I’ve come across who splendidly carry the torch of inspired garage rock. Lead album track “Lies Can’t Win” crushes downward with a descending riff. The beautiful “Eyes” follows next. I don’t know why — but listening to the guitar hook to “Eyes” takes me back to a simpler time, my lonely summer days as a sixteen year old spent house painting, watching reruns of Melrose Place, and waiting for school to start up again. Anyway, delving further, I heard the band fall into a comfortable low-to-mid-tempo garage band guise, helmed by distorted vocals.

Their track lengths hover around the 4-minute mark, as the band’s two members’ competing tendencies are on display. Singer Mike Thurston wants to distance himself from the New Hampshire townie bar band scene to which he’s become accustomed, rife with self-indulgent guitar solos, so he presents his tunes as lean as possible. Co-songwriter/guitarist Stefan Mraz on the other hand, encourages getting into a groove, as he pushes the songs further past the three-minute mark than Thurston normally feels comfortable. The result is a medium amount of jamming and downtrodden six-string noodling.   

When speaking about their influences Mraz said “recently we’ve been deep on Jim James/My Morning Jacket.” 

“I like that early lofi shit when it was [recorded with] acoustic four track.” added Thurston. 

“He has a grain silo where he did vocals” mentioned Mraz.

I ask: “Did you record anything on your album in a silo?”

“No, I don’t have any silo access,” sighs Thurston.

Photo taken by Owen Willis

I don’t think the listening experience suffers for lack of silo. Maybe you could listen to the record in a silo? See for yourself, as The Orrs has vinyl shipping out on their very own record label, the brand new “Powder House Records,” ostensibly a nod to the Somerville Revolutionary War site, which is now a park overlooking a Dunkin’ Donuts. Although nothing here is ground-breaking, the appealing 60s and 70s style rock on As If pairs well with these hot summer nights and too-unfamiliar times.

As If I Ever Left by The Orrs releases today, listen/order via this link.

PREMIERE: Izzy Heltai with “Give It a Try”

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By Andrew Bourque
Izzy Heltai by Emma Kate Rothenberg-Ware

Photo by Emma Kate Rothenberg-Ware

Ushering in the sun-soaked bliss of summertime, indie folk bopper Izzy Heltai has released another single from his forthcoming EP Day Plan (5 Songs Written 4 The End of The World), due July 23rd. “Give It a Try” reaches out to an unrequited love, eventually dealing with the distance by dancing around with their friends. Heltai shakes off the cold and warms up to the changing of the seasons, and with the shackles of the pandemic being released, he’s never sounded freer. That sort of unbridled charisma is what makes being an Izzy Heltai fan so much fun. With each release this year, starting with “Day Plan” back in February, and continuing in March with “My Old Friends” (which we covered) and “Beauty Queen” last month, listeners are given a closer look at this clever artist. 

Photo by Emma Kate Rothenberg-Ware

The release of “Give It a Try” is accompanied by a music video directed by Sean Trischka. Opening with a message reflecting on the importance of friends and family and how this past year attempted to break that feeling of kinship, the video gives way to a joyous spectacle of Izzy dancing with (and around) 15 of his nearest n’ dearest. Whether skipping around a studio, twirling through the kitchen or kicking it in the backyard, “Give It a Try” brings back that warm feeling of casual silliness with our loved ones, something we may have taken for granted before the events of 2020. Make sure you watch until the end for some incredible disdain towards a refrigerator. 

Heltai reflects, “I have been privileged in my life, to be surrounded by some of the greatest friends, family, and support system a person could ask for. People who have shown me how much I’m worth, who have shown me what it means to treat a person well. This song is for the people in my life who give me the strength and perspective. The people who have shown me, time and time again, I will never actually be alone because I am surrounded by their love and kindness every day.” With the advent of vaccines and the lifting of restrictions, Heltai and the world can get back to enveloping ourselves in that kindness. Once you’re vaccinated of course. 

So do yourself a favor, and heed Heltai’s words: Give it a try and get on with your life. It’s been a brutal year and a half for all of us. But the light is at the end of the tunnel. Friends and family are coming back together. Shows are finally being booked again, our wallets already feeling considerably lighter. It’s time to get back out there. We could all use a good shake off with friends. And with one more track to come from Heltai culminating in the release of the new EP, we have plenty to shake for. 

 

Check out the video for “Give It a Try (Official Dancing Video)” out today, keep up with all of Izzy Heltai’s music across streaming services and mark your calendar for the release of Day Plan (5 Songs Written 4 The End of The World) on July 23rd. Follow Heltai on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for more!

 

PREMIERE: CAMP BLOOD Debut Graphic, Pointed New Single “Black Martyr”

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By Harry Gustafson
camp blood black martyr

“Black Martyr” Artwork

For a band that’s found its niche at the crossroads of influence from industrial metal, hip-hop, and electronic experimentation, CAMP BLOOD never ceases to surprise. And for a band that has such a penchant for the explosive – in their beats and in their lyrical content that consistently takes systemic oppression to task – they know how to keep their fanbase waiting with baited breath. Their debut self-titled EP from 2019 makes for a quick, four track listen that will have you hitting repeat, both for its infectious instrumentation that feels like a future dystopian drag race and for the lyrical one-two punch of Haasan Barclay and Shaka Dendy. 

Since the CAMP BLOOD EP dropped, the duo has released a handful of singles: “Trap,” “21 Shots,” and “Cenobite;” plus “Psalms 23,” a collab with Polaris Prize winner Backxwash. Now, they’ve returned with “Black Martyr” (via AWAL), which might be their most intense, affecting track yet. At first, the track’s 5/4 time signature makes it stand out; you can tell this is not a standard beat, even for a group that’s built a reputation on getting pretty loose with its grooves. Without diving too much into the dryness of theory, hearing something that deviates from the standard 4/4 patterns of most pop music is an effective way to subvert listener expectations. And subverting expectations is kinda a big part of CAMP BLOOD’s schtick. Plus, it is one of the band’s best showcases of Barclay and Dendy’s lyrical capabilities, striking the perfect balance between their technical abilities as individual rappers and their razor-sharp eye for social commentary. 

 “Black Martyr” continues the pattern of subversion in its lyrical themes, directly commenting on American society’s history of violence against and public perception of Black people. The song paints a vivid picture of an oppressive system designed against the well-being African-Americans. In the past decade, there have been so many disturbing examples of these acts of violence made visible to the public eye. The track’s explosive chorus graphically depicts elements that entail a public lynching, and sections of the verses take on the trend of mass incarceration. 

But “Black Martyr” begs us to ask what we are not seeing and why American society at all levels – from national politics to mainstream media outlets to the general public itself – seems to demand silence from Black people even when they are trying to speak out against their own oppression. About the track, Haasan Barclay said “Black people deserve to be open in their anger towards the system that disenfranchises them,” while Shaka Dendy added that “even more haunting than being publicly lynched, or the fear in witnessing one, is being disappeared. That uncertainty has a lingering impact on those who knew you.” 

Stream “Black Martyr” via Spotify below (or on the streaming service of your choice), and, for good measure, take a revisit (or first visit if you’re a n00b) through the rest of their catalogue, too.  

 

You Oughta Know: Jacquelyn Roy of Seamaisíona Reamonn

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By Andrew Bourque

Photo courtesy of Seamaisíona Reamonn

In a time when we all needed an escape, Jacquelyn Roy of the dreamfolk project Seamaisíona Reamonn found theirs in the expanses of the New Mexico desert. Inspired by a friend to make the journey, the adventure continued the inspiration as Roy began work on a new EP, Tending to the Mirage, out now. A product of Roy “surveying [their] own experience with mirage and my personal experience with depersonalization”, the release is also an uncharted foray into the world of dream pop. The singer/songwriter returning with an emboldened sound, more mature and realized than before. 

It’s easy to get lost in the beguiling atmospheres of Roy’s music, something the artist feels very much themselves. “I guess it’s like world building for me in a lot of ways. And I like to escape into the worlds,” explains Roy. Fitting that inspiration for the new EP (artwork to the left) would come from further exploring the world around us. Having finished Mirage this past February, the singer/songwriter is relocating again off the coast of Maine. 

Retaining the folk spirit of previous releases, which were acoustic in nature, the new EP reflects Roy’s new experience working with electronics and learning how to build that style of music. Layering and crafting soundscapes being an integral part of the process. Luckily, COVID didn’t affect this process as Roy had no in person collaborators besides her boyfriend who does mixing and a connection in Providence, RI who handles mastering. “Smooth sails,” adds Roy.  

 

There is something organic and naturally moving within the music of Seamaisíona Reamonn. Soothing melodies and hypnotic vocals give way to a soundscape rich in emotion and depth. So it may or may not come as a surprise that Roy is largely self taught. Besides a few lessons on finger picking the guitar, she also has experience playing the piano and harp. “I don’t like being told what to do [laughs],” admits Roy. “I’m like, “ugh, c’mon I wanna write weird stuff!””

You can check out the new EP Tending to the Mirage below and on streaming services everywhere. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram, YouTube for more!

 

 

Noah Britton Dreams of Fatherly Love on “My Son”

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By Dillon Riley
 

Noah Britton certainly has a calling card, and it’s his voice. A deep, booming baritone capable of filling a whole room, Britton isn’t likely to fade into the background. And yet, for someone with such a particular way of speaking, the Boston-based artist formerly known as ACLU Benefit has found a lot of different ways to reach audiences. From sketch comedy on HBO to covering Joy Division in the style of Roy Orbison, the man has discovered a way to balance the austere and the absurd. So naturally it’s about time he used his own name.

Having already heard the Phil Elverum collaboration “Wings”, Noah Britton is sharing “My Son” with us today, the second single ahead of the I Love You EP, his first release under his birth name. As with the music Britton made under previous monikers ACLU Benefit and Request Freebird, I Love You takes a loose approach to genre, its six songs tethered instead by a loose concept about “different kinds of love he’s experienced” alongside his unmistakable baritone and plainspoken lyrics. “My Son” is a character song from the perspective of a father struggling to relate to his teenaged son. You know, sorta like that gaming meme we’ve all seen floating around Twitter. Britton’s tale reminisces about dirty diapers and childhood memories, bordering on parody if not for the conviction in his voice. It lends the perfect amount of gravity to the song’s outlaw-country jangle and sweetly rendered whistling, recalling Orville Peck with some of the melodrama scuffed off.

Britton had this to say about the song: 

“I wrote “My Son” while playing Guitarmageddon. Every week, me and a bunch of songwriters got together and each make up a song based on a title someone else in the group just made up. John Hollahan submitted “I wish I could understand my son” and I wrote “My Son” pretty much as it is on the spot.”

I Love You is out 6/18 via Gentle Reminder Records. Pre-order it here.

Allston Band Moves West, Make Blue Ocean

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by Dan Moffat

Dave Stringi and Rick Altieri of Blue Ocean. Photo by Jessica Goss @jesslynngoss

I’ve been watching the NBA playoffs and they’ve been exciting, albeit short lived for the Celtics. Watching Tatum crush the supergroup Nets (if only for one night) was a brief highlight. I think someone else said it best, in that it’s a special kind of feeling to beat a New York team.

I’m a little embarrassed to admit this, but there was a commercial during the broadcast that caught my attention. The slogan was something like “look outside the algorithm.” Is this a self-own? In that their product is so unpopular that no one will be directed to it?

Or is it a call to break out of consuming what is spoon-fed to us? I’m not going to say I don’t use Spotify – their platform is user friendly and the music library is second to none – but their model is to use an algorithm to favor only big-time artists, the top tier earners. Spotify, or any other major streaming platform, sucks for discovering new indie music.

That’s why I fuck with bandcamp. I can look up a record label I’m into and go down their discography and check out anything right away. It’s like digital crate digging. And the more I do it, the more satisfying “aha” moments of discovery I receive.

I was psyched to discover Oakland band Blue Ocean on one of these recent bandcamp forays. SF label Paisley Shirt Records has been putting out consistently good janglepop-psych-shoegaze tapes for a while now and Blue Ocean continues that trend. Right from the get-go, “Summer of Hands” beckons the listener close, as a sea of noise bursts from the speakers and envelopes the ears with tasteful transients. Yet underneath the maelstrom there is a more joyful noise, the juxtaposition sidelines the feedback and relegates it to ear candy, as the attention is drawn to the chugging bass and calm vocals in the eye of the storm. 

Photo by Jessica Goss @jesslynngoss

Here’s a band that writes tight pop structures in an experimental way, by using an unpredictable element such as noise to be used as a foil to enhance the hooks in their songs. The noise is also used for dynamic effect. For example, the haze builds from the beginning as in “Maggies Bind,” which starts with just reverberating guitars and climbs from there. The noise is peeled away around 45 seconds into “Emporium” to sharpen the focus of the song. Surf drums lightly drive each breezy piece as the swell ebbs and flows while melodic vocals and guitars bounce along. It’s the kind of shoegaze that’s easy to hum to — but not necessarily singalong to, since the words are often drowned out. 

Blue Ocean is the latest outfit of ex-Allston musicians Rick Altieri and Dave Stringi. Around ten years ago, you may have seen them at a basement show venue in Allston called Gay Gardens, where they frequently performed as an un-googleable noise-punk band called “Puke.” But chances are nil, as many folks from that scene moved to a commune in Maine and I guess I’m not sure about internet access at a commune. Atlieri and Stringi went a different route, as life took them separately to the Bay Area, first Altieri then Stringi, where they eventually reconnected in Oakland.

Musical kindred spirits, it seems that Blue Ocean wouldn’t have existed without either Stringi or Altieri. While Stringi was busy for several years making bedroom pop on his own and sequestering his songs in his apartment due to stage fright, it was Altieri that encouraged him to bring his tunes to the stage. Altieri offered to play bass and reboot the band from their Boston days, a sort of “Puke 2.0.” But where Puke, as you can probably guess, was abrasive, Blue Ocean is more commercial. Or as Stringi says, “my mom would like Blue Ocean.”

Since then, Blue Ocean has had a successful run playing around the Bay Area and they are looking to hop on the circuit again with an upcoming outdoor show. Says Stringi, “It took me a lot personally to get over stage fright and start playing live shows. [But] it was just really fun. It’s a great social environment and activity…There’s some fuel and recharge that happens in live shows.” 

So if you’re in the area, go see Blue Ocean play on June 20th at The Hit Factory. And listen to the album below. Maybe show it to your mom.

 

Bronze Vases Breaks Down Every Track on Debut EP

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By Dillon Riley
 
Bronze Vases performing at Great Scott

Bronze Vases Photo by Nick Dinatale

 
When it comes to music, Matt Politoski feels like a baby. The one-time erstwhile frontperson of beloved emo troupe Animal Flag freely cops to serious holes in his listening history. To wit, his band once opened for a certain hugely influential Long Island post-hardcore band (of whom we will graciously leave nameless), despite not having heard a lick of their music prior. Some light clowning from his bandmates ensued. Although creative in one form or another for basically his entire life, Politoski’s formative years were spent building a wide canon often at odds (at least at the surface level) with the heart-on-its-sleeve DIY world that embraced his mid-20s endeavors. In fact, his earliest forays into music making leaned much more abstract. 

Animation by LaMonnet

Inspired in equal part by the nature-adjacent sounds of IDM mainstays like Boards of Canada and the approachable intimacy of Dntel, he took to making field recordings of his world. Captured on whatever tech at hand (laptops, flip phones, battered camcorders, an eventual upgrade to a zoom recorder) was the ins and outs of adolescence in a small New York town: nature and city both within reach. That initial spark, that love of pure sound design and composition, was what brought him to Boston (specifically Berklee) in the first place. That move eventually pulled him into the noisy orbit of Boston’s vibrant rock scene, as well as his future bandmates in Animal Flag.

While the loud racket Politoski kicked up in AF was far from forgery, the band’s quiet dissolution afforded him some time away from live performance to reconsider his relationship with sound. Bronze Vases then, could be seen as a way of returning to that childlike sense of pure joy, an attempt to reclaim the magic in music making. He claims it to be a “blend of natural organic sound and man-made machinery,’ and that feels rather apt.

Suffice to say we were pleased to get a chance to speak with him about the recording, as well as the meaning and feeling behind each song on his debut EP, Earth Sounds Volume 1. Listen in a day ahead of its release at the embed below.

Bronze Vases· Earth Sounds Volume 1

Geometry Mountain

I spent a lot of time outside during the making of this EP and I think that is reflected in the titles and album artwork (by LaMonnet). I hope it’s also reflected in the music itself. Electronic music is often perceived as inorganic or mechanical because it’s made predominantly with machines. I watched this Björk interview where she talks about how electricity has always existed on earth, and that just like wood or metal, we now harness it to make music. If you think of it that way, electronic music is just the most recent step in a long tradition that humans have of utilizing our natural world to make music. Every sound is an earth sound. That really changed the way I think about music. Thank you Björk!

Musically speaking this track is heavily inspired by “Light Through The Veins” by Jon Hopkins. I feel like I will continuously try to make my own version of that song throughout my life. “Geometry Mountain” is my first attempt.

Bronze Vases

Animation by Matt Politoski

Were You

Over the past couple of years I became more serious about making field recordings and actively listening to both the natural and industrial soundscapes that we are constantly immersed in. I discovered the work of acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton and it really got me thinking about what it means to be a good listener. So naturally a lot of the field recordings I made over this time period made their way into these songs. In “Were You” the bird recordings are processed through Ableton’s “Beat Repeat” plug-in along with this super-stretched trombone sound. I wanted the birds to feel subliminal. Like you are unsure if they are coming from the music or from your actual environment.

This was the first song I completed for this project back in the summer of 2020. My friend Matt Lombardi who runs a label called Tower To The Sea Records asked me to make a song for a compilation album they were putting together. This song became the blueprint for the rest of the EP, so in a way Matt prompted me to make this whole project. Thank you Matt!

Running

The vocal sample from this song comes from a time I was on tour with VÉRITÉ in February of 2020. We were standing in this massive reverbant stairwell and I asked her to sing something into my phone so I could sample it. Months later as I was working on “Running” I pulled the recording into the session and realized she had coincidentally been singing in the same key and tempo as the song. I made some adjustments to it but the main idea was right there in the sample. Most of my favorite musical moments are complete accidents which is always a good reminder to myself to CHILL OUT 😎

Album artwork by LaMonnet

Ciervo

I started this song back in 2017 while staying at my best friend Sai’s parent’s house. (Go check out his incredible debut album: VIMS by Mercet) The song was called “Sai House Beat” on my computer for years LOL. Sai was my absolute guiding light throughout the making of this EP and it simply would not exist without him. Another one of my favorite people and closest collaborators, Zach Weeks, blessed this track with some beautiful sounds. He sent me this deranged piano, washy synths, and a toy piano melody (among other sounds) that I thought were just magical. Zach also mastered the EP which honestly feels like cheating because he made it sound so damn good. Sai, Zach, and I played in a band called Animal Flag for years and they’ve remained two of my closest friends and creative partners so it feels really good that they are part of this project 😀

This track also features a voice memo recording of my friend Alana recalling a dream she had. I was looking for some sort of audio recording to fill the space in the song and remembered this super intimate voice memo she had shown me years ago. Coincidentally the dream she was describing fit perfectly with the theme of the lyrics. Thank you for letting me use this Alana!

Ambrosia String

I made this song after obsessively listening to the album “Lunatic Harness” by µ-Ziq for a week straight. Originally the music box sound came from a video I found on a Famous Band’s Instagram page. I couldn’t get the sample cleared so I had to recreate the sound from scratch. The same day that the sample got denied, my neighbor asked me to feed her cat while she was gone. I went over to her apartment to feed the cat and I saw a music box sitting on her piano. It turns out this music box was in the same key of the song I was making. So after a whole week of tedious audio chopping I successfully recreated the sound. I’m really happy with the way it turned out. The title “Ambrosia String” is an anagram of “[insert band name] Instagram”. Big prize to whoever can figure out what band it is. There is no big prize. That part is a joke!

Earth Sounds Volume 1 is out Friday, June 4th. You can get a digital copy on Bandcamp right here, with all proceeds going towards stocking a community fridge in Beacon, NY where the artist resides.