Posted in Whathaveyou on October 25th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Been trying to post this for a few days, or maybe it was just the weekend and that’s how long things take me on Saturdays and Sundays by now, but here we are at last. Desert Suns have a new record coming and a new song up from that record in a video. It’s rockin’. Pretty simple story, actually. Have to wonder what’s taken me so god damned long.
I’ve been sick a couple times this Fall — The Pecan beginning kindergarten has opened up a whole universe of malevolent biology, it would seem — including now. I’m writing from bed, where a large-sounding vehicle outside just woke me up and it’s now two hours since I wrote the sentence before this one. So here I go taking even longer with this stuff. You know what? I’d better finish before I get derailed again.
Check out Desert Suns calling themselves “one of the original Ripple bands.” Funny because in my head that label is still new 11 years later. Ha. They’ve got a new lineup since then anyhow, as you’ll see.
From someplace or other, who can remember:
Fata Morgana, the new single by Desert Suns
“Fata Morgana” is the first single we just released on Oct 13th to help promote our upcoming album. We also created a new video for “Fata Morgana”. Desert Suns has been around since 2014 and was one of the original Ripple bands. In 2020-21, Desert Suns had a bit of a line up change adding Lucas Fisher on guitar and Jason Busiek on vocals. We are looking forward to unleashing the new album with the input of the new members resulting in a bluesy, psychedelic, stoner rock sound.
We have not completely confirmed the exact date for the new album, but with the holidays coming up, we were planning on releasing in the Jan/Feb timeframe. We are also going to release a live album as well with some of the older and new tunes just to breathe new life into the catalog with the new lineup.
Music Recorded & Mixed by AJ Belluto Mastered by Jason Busiek
Desert Suns: AJ Belluto – Guitar Lucas Fisher – Guitar Gabe Fonseca – Bass Ben McDowell – Drums Jason Busiek – Vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 1st, 2023 by JJ Koczan
A lot to dig here as SoCal Heavy Jam unfurls its 2023 lineup. The second edition of the Santee, CA-based festival at Full Circle Saloon will be held Sept. 30 and feature Unida and Sasquatch — at least the latter will be fresh off laying waste to RippleFest Texas the weekend prior — alongside Zed, Formula 400, Desert Suns, Mezzoa, Lords of Dust, Salem’s Bend and Whiskey & Knives. Of those, four are repeats from last year’s inaugural fest, and as the event is helmed by Formula 400 bassist Kip Page, Mezzoa guitarist/vocalist Ignacio “Nacho” Maldonado and Desert Suns vocalist Jason Busiek, it’s not a huge surprise they’d be back on board for the jam. Lords of Dust are the other repeat offender, and well, maybe they’re just awesome live. That happens sometimes.
The impression I got last year — not that I went, but from the announcement and the way the thing rolled out — was that true to its name, the SoCal Heavy Jam is more in the spirit of a casual all-dayer rather than an all-consuming festival, though one never knows how these things will solidify over a period of years. As it stands, with nine bands, the day is plenty packed, and sure to be a good time for those who manage to make it out. Maybe that’s you, maybe not. Personally, I’m hoping that by this time, new releases from both Sasquatch and Unida will have been at least announced if not released, which would of course add a bit of urgency here but also make life better generally as quality heavy rock will do. A few months before we get there, so fingers crossed.
The lineup was revealed in straightforward fashion via social media the other day and looks like this:
2nd Annual SoCal Heavy Jam at Full Circle Saloon – September 30th, 2023
2nd Annual SoCal Heavy Jam at Full Circle Saloon featuring – Unida, Sasquatch, ZED, Formula 400, Desert Suns, Mezzoa, Lords of Dust, Salem’s Bend, Whiskey and Knives!
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 4th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Put together by bassist Kip Page of Formula 400, Mezzoa guitarist/vocalist Ignacio “Nacho” Maldonado, and Desert Suns singer Jason Busiek, the SoCal Heavy Jam is a new festival intended — as you can glean for yourself by looking at either the banner above or the poster below (one likes to cover horizontal and vertical, when possible) — to be an annual event.
Motorbäbe, who, yes, play Motörhead tunes, will headline, and Void Vator and -(16)- (whose new record I’m still anticipating eagerly) are up near the top of the bill as well. All three of the founders’ bands will play, and presumably that won’t be the case every year — they might alternate, for example, or all take 2023 off — but in addition to being well within their rights, having booked the thing, they’re good bands. With Lords of Dust, Awakeners and Into the Fuzz rounding out, the all-day-and-plenty-of-the-nighter will take place Oct. 22 at Full Circle Saloon in Santee, California, which makes it easy-peasy for those in the San Diego area.
The lineup was announced a while ago and has been bandied hither and yon since, but I suck at keeping up and kind of figured nobody would argue if I posted it now, which is far enough out for you to make travel plans to San Diego/adjacent if you’re up for it and still close enough to that it won’t be forgotten by the time it actually happens. That’s my thinking, anyhow.
Putting together one festival, let alone one with an intention to do it every year, is not a minor undertaking. I wish Page, Maldonado and Busiek the best this first time through and will look forward to what comes next for SoCal Heavy Jam as well.
Info, a Spotify playlist of the bands, and social links follow:
SoCal Heavy Jam at Full Circle Saloon – Saturday, October 22
1st Annual SoCal Heavy Jam at Full Circle Saloon featuring – Motorbäbe, Void Vator, -16-, Mezzoa, Formula 400, Desert Suns, Lords of Dust, AWAKENERS and Into the Fuzz!
Free Food – 3pm – 5pm Drink Specials
$15 cover Portion of the proceeds go to NSEFU – Wild Life Conservation. Founder – Coe Lewis
Some bigger releases going up to the playlist for The Obelisk Radio this time around, and that’s just fine by me. It’s five albums listed here, but there are a few others included as well that you can see listed on the updates page and it’s good stuff all the way around. It was all actually supposed to go up last week, but you know, life is chaos and all that. I hope as always that you manage to find something you enjoy, and if you haven’t heard some of this stuff as yet — I suspect you have, because you know what’s up and I’m perpetually behind on these things; more than just a week, on average — then all the better. Let’s dig in together.
The Obelisk Radio adds for July 31, 2017:
Boris, Dear
If you were Boris and you were looking to celebrate a quarter-century of innovating heavy rock, noise, drone, J-pop, and genreless forays into bizarre sonic delights, how would you do it? If you said, “I’d release 69 heavy-as-hell minutes of rumbling tectonics and progressive scope making for one of the best albums of the year,” you’d seem to be on the money. The Japanese trio’s umpteenth full-length, Dear (on Sargent House in the US/EU and Daymare in Japan), begins with the appropriately-titled “D.O.W.N. – Domination of Waiting Noise,” setting forth a consuming six-minute onslaught of feedback and lumbering pummel before the SunnO)))-rivaling drone of “Deadsong” takes hold, shifting at its midpoint to a spaciousness all Boris‘ own. Then they chug out galloping riff triplets on “Absolutego” like it ain’t no thing. That’s Boris: the band who named themselves after a Melvins song and then utterly outdid their namesake on every creative level and have continued to do so throughout one of underground music’s most landmark tenures. Dear offers simultaneous melodic breadth and droning depth on its centerpiece duo of “Kagero” and “Biotope” after counteracting minimalist march with explosive crash on “Beyond,” but they’re still just getting started. The seven-minute “The Power” leads off the second of the two LPs and seems to stem upward from the same roots as YOB at their harshest, brutally feedbacking into the dronegaze of the shorter “Memento Mori” before the 12-minute “Dystopia – Vanishing Point” and the nine-minute title-track comprise a side D that’s nothing less than a triumphant lesson in how to meet your audience head-on right before you swallow them whole, setting its stage with keys and tribalist drums quickly before hypnotizing through five minutes of quiet stretch and bursting gloriously to life ahead of one last contrast of empty spaces and crushing tonality on “Dear” that gives way at last to the noise and feedback that’s always been so essential to their process. If Dear is a letter to Boris‘ fans, as they have said, it is also a willful embrace of the wide-open sensibilities that have made the last 25 years of their craft so uniquely their own. They can go anywhere stylistically and remain Boris precisely because they refuse to settle on a single idea that defines them.
Having now passed the 20-year mark since their founding in 1995, Iceland’s Sólstafir continue to reshape melancholy in their own image on their sixth album and third for Season of Mist, Berdreyminn. The Reykjavik-based four-piece keep the significant achievements of 2014’s Ótta (review here) close to the chest throughout the eight-track/57-minute offering, but songs like “Ísafold” have an upbeat push behind their emotional resonance, and even on a brooding piano piece like “Hvít Sæng,” the overarching sense of motion and the dynamic is maintained. The penultimate “Ambátt” — first of two eight-minute cuts in a finale duo — might be Berdreyminn‘s richest progressive achievement, with its lush opening vocal harmonies giving way to a patiently-delivered clinic on texture, build and payoff that borders on the orchestral. Of course, strings and horns to appear on the album, adding to already complex arrangements, but Sólstafir never lose their corresponding human center, and as “Bláfjall” closes with an intensity of thrust hinted at by the cymbal-crash wash of opener “Silfur-Refur” and the post-blackened push of “Nárós” but ultimately on its own level, they underline the realization and poise that is simply all their own. Berdreyminn is the sound of a band doing important work, and with it, Sólstafir only prove themselves more crucial on an aesthetic level, yet it might be their ability to somehow still feel in-progress that most defines what makes them so special. More than two decades on, they still come across like a group exploring their sound and finding new ways to develop their songwriting — which they are and which they do here. That in itself is an accomplishment worthy of every accolade they reap, and Berdreyminn lives up to that standard front to back across its engaging, encompassing span.
Desert Suns & Chiefs, The Second Coming of Heavy – Chapter 5
Ripple Music has made its The Second Coming of Heavy series of split LPs an essential showcase of the variety in underground rock. The Second Coming of Heavy – Chapter 5 brings together San Diego heavy psych/blues rockers Desert Suns, who also reissued their debut long-player through Ripple in 2016 and followed it with the single “The Haunting” (review here) in conjunction with Ripple and HeviSike Records, and Phoenix, Arizona’s Chiefs, whose 2015 debut, Tomorrow’s Over (review here), arrived on vinyl via Battleground Records and whose five tracks included on side B here cast them among the best Ripple Music bands in the Southwest not currently signed to Ripple Music for their next album. More than some prior installments, The Second Coming of Heavy – Chapter 5 finds its two featured purveyors complementing each other’s work excellently, as Desert Suns offer three seven-plus minute tracks running from the harmonica-inclusive “Night Train” and the rolling, long-fading “Solitude” with the push of “Heavy” in between and Chiefs — though their individual runtimes are shorter — holding straightforward heavy/desert rock methods at their core in unpretentious fashion across “The Rhino,” the standout “Baron to Chancellor,” “Low Tide,” “Caroline” and “My Last Stand,” nodding initially at ’90s noise rock à la Helmet in “The Rhino” but in the end keeping to their sandy, well-structured mission. As ever, The Second Coming of Heavy asks nothing more of its audience than a basic exploration of the groups included, and certainly both Desert Suns and Chiefs earn that. Whether one takes it on in the context of the prior chapters or as a standalone split release, it delivers a collection of cuts from two outfits with a shared core of quality songcraft and the underlying message that sometimes the straight-line route is the way to go. Right on, once again.
Both sides of Elara‘s PsyKa Records-released debut full-length, Deli Bal, are comprised of one shorter track on either side of eight minutes and one longer one, 12 and 17 minutes, respectively. Between that and the cover art, it should come as no surprise that heavy psychedelic drift is central to what the Stuttgart, Germany, trio of bassist/vocalist Daniel Wieland, guitarist/noisemaker Felix Schmidt and drummer Martin Wieland — who also stylize their name as the bracketed [Elara Sunstreak Band] — get up to in their first offering, but there’s an underlying progressive melodic sensibility as well, and Schmidt‘s guitar seems to have picked up a few lessons from My Sleeping Karma‘s minor-key solo mysticism, so one can hear a sound beginning to take shape early as the leadoff title-track gives way to “Amida,” which swaps back and forth between organ-laden krautrock meandering and fuller-fuzz thrust, and as “Quarantania” reinforces that classic vibe with a warm bass tone from Daniel. Whether you’re listening to the platter itself and switching sides or digitally or on CD, Deli Bal is clearly intended to be consumed as a whole work, and one can hear the vocal melody of “Harmonia” tying back to that in the opener as another example of the underlying structure with which it plays out, despite the broad feel of the songs themselves and the expanses they both intend and actually do cover. The LP has just the four tracks, but the digital version comes with the 9:42 bonus cut “Trimenon,” which builds around a core post-rocking guitar line to come to a fervent apex before receding again to let the listener go gently from Deli Bal‘s total 56-minute runtime; no minor undertaking, but effectively executed and a pleasure in its wandering mind and spirit.
This early-2017 psychedelic curio from Umeå, Sweden’s Fungus Hill begins by asking “Are You Dead?” The just-under-nine-minute opener and longest track (immediate points) of the groovy outfit’s four-song, self-released, 28-minute debut Creatures EP doesn’t sound overly concerned with whether the answer is yes or no so much as enacting a serene flow by posing the question over a laid back bluesy vibe. Arrangement? Fluid. With dual vocals from guitarist Gustav Orvefors and percussionist Jenny Isaksson — the five-piece is completed by guitarist Erik Sköld, drummer Nils Mörtzell and bassist Tom Westerlund — Fungus Hill are able to bring variety as they turn to post-Ghost straightforward ’70s chorus-leaning in the first half of “Beware of Evil in the Sky,” prior to a midsection trip outward on subdued shimmy and deceptively complex melodicism. The flute (or keyboard flute sounds) of the jazzy “Evolution” brings Isaksson to the floor with a smoky, even-bluesier feel, and the guitar answers back with fuzzy lead flourish that only enhances the soul on display, while a seven-and-a-half-minute closing title-track delves deepest of all into thicker riffing, a “Na na na na” hook taking hold quickly just in case you weren’t sure it was going to be a highlight. It is. More tonally dense than most retro boogie — and less retro, for that matter — Fungus Hill‘s Creatures nonetheless has its traditionalist elements, but across its individual pieces each one points to a different side of the band’s personality, and from the Alan Watts sample at the beginning of “Are You Dead?” to when we meet the troll later in “Creatures,” each side of that personality utterly shines.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 10th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
The beat rolls on, the bands play on, and Ripple Music‘s The Second Coming of Heavy – Chapter Five lands on March 24, bringing new tracks with it from Desert Suns and Chiefs. This latest installment of the ongoing and deeply admirable series of split LPs marks the first of 2017, arriving just a few months after Chapter Four (review here) brought together the colorful pairing of Red Mesa and Blue Snaggletooth. One has to wonder at this point what will happen when Ripple gets to Chapter 10 — we’re halfway there — and whether the label will issue a box set of all of these together in celebration of the scope of the project. Even if they made 20 or something and charged $150-$200 for them, it seems like a worthy endeavor, particularly as all the art ties together and whatnot.
My two cents, anyhow.
The PR wire has background and audio for The Second Coming of Heavy – Chapter Five. I’ve got a pretty good track record at this point of reviewing these, and I’ll hope to maintain that with this one as well, so please keep an eye out. Till then:
The return of Ripple Music’s The Second Coming Of Heavy; Chapter V | Split album from Desert Suns and Chiefs
The Second Coming Of Heavy; Chapter V is released on vinyl on 24th March 2017
Already recognised as one of the world’s leading purveyors of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Stoner, Doom and Heavy Psych, Ripple Music upped the ante in 2015 with the arrival of one of the year’s most ambitious projects, The Second Coming Of Heavy Series.
Serving as an ongoing showcase for some of the best and heaviest bands emerging from the underground, each installment shines a light on those worthy of your attention. Consisting of one, 12” slab of multicoloured vinyl with full colour sleeves and inserts, the series is designed to be saved and treasured, like a fine anthology of books. So much so when the albums are filed next to each other, the complete collection of aligned spines form a mind-blowing image direct from the underground.
DESERT SUNS – In that space where psychedelia, blues-rock and doom coalesce, it’s there you’ll likely find Desert Suns. Formed in late 2013, from the outset the Californian quartet demonstrated a versatility rarely seen amongst their contemporaries. In no time at all they wrote, recorded and released their debut single ‘Burning Temples’ and by that same summer had already started to unload an arsenal of new sounds. Released in 2014, their self-titled debut reassured fans that they were far from one hit wonders. Containing haunting lyrics of alienation with compelling hooks, Desert Suns peddle an addictive and atmospheric energy of heavy rock familiar to fans of early ’70s proto-metal acts such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Blue Cheer.
CHIEFS – Having originally begun life as a two-piece back in January of 2012 in Phoenix, AZ, after years of releasing demos, touring and playing around Phoenix Valley the duo made the decision to relocate to San Diego, CA. Shortly after, they released a four-song demo entitled Buffalo Roam, and did numerous short West Coast tours to support it. Eventually the group became a three-piece with the permanent addition of bassist Jeff Podeszwik, who filled out the low-end of the band and transformed their sound. Hot off the heels of releasing a split 7″ with Fuzz Evil through Battleground Records, Chiefs released their debut full-length album Tomorrow’s Over and are now the latest addition to Ripple Music’s much coveted SCoH’s “Hall of Fame”.
The Second Coming Of Heavy; Chapter V will get an official vinyl release on 24th March 2017 and is limited to 300 copies in three alternative versions (100 of each) – The Resurrection Edition, The Risen OBI and The Ascension Edition.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 29th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
San Diego four-piece Desert Suns will release their new single, The Haunting, on March 30 via Ripple Music. If you want to be technical about it — and I know you do — it’s the first new music to come from the wave-making heavy rock outfit since their self-titled debut in mid-2014, though to be fair, that self-titled has continued to gain traction more or less since it was issued, with pressings through HeviSike Records and Ripple issued this January. The band, comprised of bassist/vocalist Dave Russell, guitarists Woogie Maggard and Anthony Belluto and drummer Ben McDowell, made several striking impressions throughout that album, and “The Haunting” pushes the group’s stylistic reach further into a blend of desert-hued heavy rock, doom and psychedelic blues.
If it sounds like a lot of space to cover — oh yeah, sometimes they talk about space, too — it is. Clocked in at just under seven minutes, “The Haunting” ties these various sides together via an earthy, Sabbath–derived traditionalism, so that even as the track offers something new, there’s an underlying familiarity that allows the listener, whether long-time convert or newcomer after the self-titled, to follow along with the fluid and deceptively atmospheric build throughout. The poise of the central riff as it takes hold after a quiet opening stretch and the molten solo in the track’s second half are out of an Iommic text, no doubt, but in the context of the initial unfolding, with its far-back, headphone-worthy strings, patient guitar lines, stellar snare work, warm bass and bluesy vocals, and it’s clear there’s something richer going on in “The Haunting” than trying to recast “Hand of Doom.”
That eerie but somehow welcoming ambience comes and goes throughout “The Haunting,” true enough to the song’s title, but do the honor of ending out the track after all the crash and heft has receded, and they give a suitably ghostly impression.
“The Haunting” will be available to download tomorrow from Ripple Music‘s Bandcamp page. Please find the track below for your streaming enjoyment, followed by Desert Suns‘ upcoming live dates.
Dig it:
Desert Suns live: Apr 09 The Bancroft Spring Valley, CA Apr 21 Ken Club San Diego, CA May 27 The Merrow San Diego, CA Jun 03 Back Bar SoFA San Jose, CA Jun 24 Tower Bar San Diego, CA
Desert Suns: David Russell – Bass/Vocals Woogie Maggard – Guitar Anthony Belluto – Guitar Ben McDowell – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 8th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
San Diego four-piece Desert Suns made a considerable impression this year (also last year) with their self-titled debut, which was out on limited vinyl through HeviSike Records. The band, now teamed also with Ripple Music, will reissue the album in January as a dual-release with both the US and UK-based imprints. Covering their bases, as it were. All the better.
They were announced as signing to Ripple earlier this year, and Desert Suns was initially self-released by the band in 2014, so whether or not next year will see some form of follow-up, I’m not sure, but it’s pretty clear that new ears are still discovering the first album and no doubt that thread will continue with this next pressing.
Info came down the PR wire:
DESERT SUNS: Hard rocking San Diego quartet to re-release debut album through Ripple Music/HeviSike Records
Desert Suns will be released worldwide on 15th January 2016 on LP/CD in North America through Ripple Music, and on LP in the UK through HeviSike Records
Released earlier in the year and limited to a run of 300 copies on vinyl through the Birmingham-based label HeviSike Records, San Diego rockers Desert Suns self-titled debut will receive an official re-release worldwide this January through a special collaboration between Ripple Music and HeviSike Records.
In that space where psychedelia, blues-rock, doom and sludge coalesce, it’s there you’re likely to find Desert Suns. Formed in late 2013, from the outset the Californian four-piece demonstrated a versatility rarely seen amongst their contemporaries. In no time at all they wrote, recorded and released their debut single ‘Burning Temples’ in January of 2014, and by the summer they had already started to unload an arsenal of new sounds.
Their self-titled debut was released on August 16th 2014 and reassured fans that they were far from one hit wonders. Containing haunting lyrics of alienation with compelling hooks, an addictive and atmospheric energy and heavy, pulsating beats, fans of early ’70s proto-metal acts such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Blue Cheer will appreciate the classic grooves exhibited here on storming tracks like ‘Ten Feet Down’ and album closer ‘Run Through My Roots’.
Gaining even more attention in late 2014 after their song ‘Space Pussy’ was featured on Classic Rock Magazine’s cover mount compilation The Levee Breaks and sharing an unmistakable affinity with modern stoner rockers bands such as Fu Manchu and Graveyard.
Mastered by renowned multi-instrumentalist Tony Reed (Mos Generator/Stone Axe) at HeavyHead Recording Co in Washington, Desert Suns will be released in North America on 15th January on vinyl/CD through Ripple Music and on LP in the UK through HeviSike Records.
Desert Suns: David Russell – Bass/Vocals Woogie Maggard – Guitar Anthony Belluto – Guitar Ben McDowell – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 11th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
San Diego four-piece Desert Suns recently inked a deal for a new release through Ripple Music, but before they get there, they’ll oversee a vinyl issue of their self-titled debut. Originally put out by the band in 2014, the HeviSike edition of the album features a vinyl-specific master by Tony Reed of Mos Generator, and will be limited to 300 copies, 100 clear and exclusive to the label, 200 white for the band and distribution. The artwork is a selling point on its own, but that’s not to discount the quality of what Desert Suns do either. For those who’d look to get in on the ground floor, here it is.
News from the PR wire:
Desert Suns vinyl released on HeviSike Records April 2015
San Diego, CA stoner rockers DESERT SUNS release their self-titled debut LP on vinyl through HeviSike Records in April 2015. The four-piece demonstrate versatility unseen amongst their contemporaries; this six-song debut sees the band touch on psychedelia, blues-rock and doom. The group gained attention in late 2014 after their stoner rock anthem SPACE PUSSY was featured on Classic Rock Magazine’s (UK) cover-mount compilation ‘The Levee Breaks’ (November, 2014).
Fans of early 70s proto-metal acts such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Steppenwolf and Blue Cheer will appreciate the classic groove demonstrated on this record, as will followers of modern stoner rockers Fu Manchu, Kadavar, Graveyard and Clutch. Haunting lyrics of alienation accompany the listener on a journey through the sinister and the beautiful. Limited to just 300 copies, this one time press LP is manufactured with vinyl enthusiasts in mind; mastered specifically for the format by renowned multi-instrumentalist Tony Reed (Mos Generator/Stone Axe) at HeavyHead Recording Co in Washington, USA and pressed on high grade colour vinyl. Cover art is provided by San Diego’s own Jimmy Ovadia.
Pressing breakdown: 100 Copies – Clear Vinyl – Exclusive to HeviSike.com 200 Copies – White Vinyl – Band and Distribution edition includes: 4 x Limited Edition postcards and 1 x A3 size poster insert demonstrating the art of Jimmy Ovadia.
David Russell – Bass/Vocals Woogie Maggard – Guitar Anthony Belluto – Guitar Ben McDowell – Drums
