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Friday Full-Length: Tortuga, Deities

Posted in Bootleg Theater on January 27th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Poznań, Poland’s Tortuga released their second album, Deities, early in 2020 on vinyl through Greece’s Made of Stone Recordings. The follow-up to their 2017 self-titled debut, it runs seven songs and 53 minutes — one assumes the vinyl is edited, or otherwise that the grooves are packed very, very tightly together — and is a pure example of what I mean when I employ the oft-used phrase ‘dug in.’ With production, guitars and vocals from Bablo (who softened his first consonant; it was previously Pablo), guitar, synth and vocals from Kłosu (who also mixed and recorded, with Achim), bass from Heszu and the steady rolling drums of Marmur, Tortuga languidly lumber through the culmination of “Esoteric Order” like they just invented wah, and it’s precisely that sense of the band being right there with the listener at the moment of righteousness, that kind of feeling that one might share in-person at a show, when they know it’s going good and you know it’s going good and that feeling of electricity and communion circles through the crowd. They’re into it as much as you are. You can feel them in the rehearsal space thinking, ‘Yeah, this is gonna be great,’ when they were writing, imagine the same conversation in the studio and then hear it in how they actually play the song.

That kind of feeling is writ large across Deities. It is a major unifying factor of the songs, which take a loosely Lovecraftian lyrical thematic and basically just play with it. The source of so much ultra-serious heavy metal, things dark, grim and tentacled, is on Deities boiled down to a kind of stoned brain-meander in which Yig, H.P. Lovecraft’s the lord of the Lizards, a god, is jealous of all the attention Godzilla gets in movies and so on. “Black Pharaoh II” is also Lovecraft-based and in complement to “Esoteric Order,” which puts the audience in this land of monsters following the instrumental intro “Shining Sphere” — which makes plenty of declarations of its own as regards the tonality with which Tortuga will convey their plod — the penultimate “Trip” is a lyrical moment of clarity in which the character making their way through this hellscape realizes that it’s all the result of having dropped too much acid. The lyrics, by Bablo and Anakolut — last names need not apply; they keep it casual — are a particular point of charm, but it’s really that ‘dug in’ sensibility that most comes through the listening experience. The distinct feeling that they’re having a good time too, that they know their music taps into a very specific kind of fun — a very specific kind of humor, though I wouldn’t call their material a joke on any level, even on “For Elizard” where the chorus is, “Yig hates Godzilla/Fuck you Godzilla” — and that not everybody is going to understand. They’re dug in. They’re riding the grooves of their own making. They’ve worked to craft their tones, their riffs, their songs, into either these hugely weighted slumps or the kind of rocking pushes one finds in the early going of the instrumental “Defective Mind Transfer” or the more atmospheric beginning of “Shining Sphere” from whence the full breadth of their distortion emerges like a tentacled god-beast from the more ethereal waters. It’s at 1:12 in the intro. You can’t miss it.

Tortuga DeitiesAnd if you’re listening at all, you won’t miss it, which is even more important. Because part of the communication that’s coming through Deities, and part of its being so dug in, stems from the fact that Tortuga clearly know who their audience is, because they’re it. Even as closer “Galeón de Manila” swaps out English lyrics for Spanish and moves with deceptive smoothness between elden doom and bell-of-ride, heads-down, forward-surge black metal before dissolving to nearly eight minutes of feedback, residual coming-apart and drone — this is in the digital version, not necessarily the LP — finishing the record with an unexpected twist, that change isn’t out of line for the kind of heavy that Tortuga play, and so it doesn’t feel out of place. If they started singing in Polish, I don’t think it would hurt the experience either. By the time they get there, you’ve already been up, down and around the mountains of madness, past the fields of wah in “Esoteric Order,” into the explosive, revelry-plod of “For Elizard,” through the semi-psych sample-topped musings of “Defective Mind Transfer,” the slam-that-fuzz-home midsection of “Black Pharaoh II” — you want to hear ‘dug in’ made manifest; cue up “Black Pharaoh II” at 2:30 into its total 6:10 and let it ride until the vocals come back at the very end, which is exactly what they do — the jaunty bounce that starts “Trip,” and far back at the start, the little flourish of synth that maybe marked the transfer from one world to another, so that they decide to turn all that dense fuzz to more ripper purposes for a stretch, well, you’ve already been steamrolled so why not?

No, Deities isn’t revolutionary. It’s not shaping genre in its own image either in the stoned or other heavy styles. It has a presence and a personality of its own, to be sure, but that comes well within the borders of genre, and the sense one gets from Tortuga is that they know it, they celebrate it, they want to celebrate it with their audience, as if to say, ‘Come check out this very, very large sound we have made.’ Or perhaps alternately, ‘Come dig in with us.’ Thus Deities, like religious dogma, offers an inherent feeling of community for those who listen and ‘get it.’ It’s not going to be everybody, but if you can hear the fun in “Esoteric Order” and “For Elizard,” then that invite to dig in should be a simple enough RSVP. Tortuga are the converted, holding a mass for the converted, and as much as their theme on Deities is hyper-specific, that ethic is mirrored in their instrumental bent. They know what they want to sound like because they know what they like. They are well and truly dug in, and unto its last drone, Deities is that much stronger an offering because of it. I don’t know if the Great Old Ones dig riffs or not, but if not, they’re missing out here.

As always, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy.

Already this morning, the kid’s up. 5:06AM he came downstairs the first time. I was about two and a half paragraphs into the above. I put him back to bed — because, well, that’s too fucking early for him to be up — told him I’d set a timer for an hour and to go back to sleep. It’s 5:35AM right now and he’s come out of his room twice since, so really I’m just delaying the inevitable trying to get him some more rest which he’ll need so that at 2PM he doesn’t collapse into being a complete bastard because he’s too tired, and allow myself some time to work. I expect and know this effort will fail.

He just opened the bedroom door and said he has to pee; his ultimate not-going-back-to-bed weapon. Like a limit break in Final Fantasy VIII. I am defeated. It would really be something to be able to finish one of these posts on my laptop instead of my phone for a change one of these weeks. Feels like it’s been a very long time. I also wouldn’t mind going a day without having to mop up piss from all over the bathroom floor because, while gender is a complex issue in our house — I actually had another aside here explaining that but it was too long; bottom line is maybe trans? which presents all kinds of dangers in this hateful-ass country — he still wants to pee standing up and also holds it in for too long and then sprays the bathroom like he’s fucking powerwashing it. But these are apparently pretty big asks of life right now. And I work to remind myself that things will not always be as they are right now. Daily. Also I get high. Mostly in the afternoons and evenings. It is a wellness thing for me. I’ve been swimming every other morning at the gym near the house. The Patient Mrs. and I have been doing yoga videos. All of these things connect in my mind.

This weekend is family time. My oldest nephew turns 15 on Monday, so we’re having that whole crew over for dinner tomorrow, then brunch with Slevin and his fiancée on Sunday. Somewhere in there I’m supposed to do a sticker-quote for a Blood Lightning album and liner notes for PostWax. It’ll be a fucking miracle if I can get to the one-or-two-sentence thing there, let alone dig into the REZN/Vinnum Sabbathi collaboration and give it its descriptive due for a sheet that will be included with the release. I feel stupid and useless, even sitting here giving a shit about that stuff while my kid counts the seconds on the timer I set until we can turn on Sesame Street. He got a little music player this week that plays the theme. He sings along to it. It’s the kind of future-memory I should treasure for the rest of my life an example of what a sweet, wonderful person he is. But because I’m a narcissistic ogre, all I can think about is getting ‘work’ done for which I’m neither compensated nor ever truly able to finish.

So there you have it. Next week is a premiere from the new Stöner EP, a review of Strider, a premiere for Blackwülf, a full stream for Soothsayer Orchestra, and a review for Mathew’s Hidden Museum. That’s where the week is at now. Looking at it, it seems kind of ambitious. If I still have it in me by next Thursday to review that Mathew’s Hidden Museum and give it its due, I will. Otherwise I’ll push it back. I doubt Mr. Bethancourt is holding his breath for that, in any case. Really, I’m just ready to check out now and maybe spend the rest of the day just listening to music instead of thinking about it. Probably not going to happen.

A little discouraged, maybe, but persistent. Put it on my tombstone.

Have a great and safe weekend. Have fun, watch your head, hydrate. I’m punching out to go do domestic whathaveyou, which probably means dishes, laundry or both.

FRM.

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The Obelisk Presents: Maha Sohona November European Tour

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 9th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

I dig this band. Made of Stone Recordings — which earlier this year reissued Maha Sohona‘s 2014 self-titled debut — hit me up and asked if I wanted this site to be involved in presenting the tour. It would be convenient narrative to tell you I had my Maha Sohona t-shirt on at the time, but no, I didn’t. I do, however, have it on today as the announcement comes through that the Umeå, Sweden, three-piece will head out on a run from Nov. 17-27 in support of both the aforementioned reissue and 2021’s second album, Endless Searcher (review here), which still gets spins around these parts, including right now. Do I feel like a nerd wearing the shirt of the band I’m listening to and writing about at this very moment? Yes, I do. Does it matter even in the teeniest, tiniest bit of the slightest? Nope. That’s what happens with me and good bands. I’ll be a nerd for this shit any day of the week, as long as the shirt’s been through the wash.

Curious what their plans for next year might be, in terms of perhaps receiving invites to the busy Spring heavy-festival season in Europe, but we’ve got time before we get there, so maybe we’ll find out and maybe we won’t. In the meantime, the reissue of the first record and the regular-ol’-issue of the second one are both streaming below, so have at it. I’m proud and thrilled to have an Obelisk logo on this poster, not the least for the artwork that accompanies. Damn, Maciej Kamuda.

And indeed, damn, one and all:

Maha Sohona euro tour

MAHA SOHONA TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT

The latest sensation in psych rock n roll out of Sweden is on the road in the autumn of 2022.

Following the great success of the “Endless Searcher” album, Maha Sohona has booked a series of shows throughout Europe.

Starting from November 11th in Poznan, until the 27th when the tour is concluded in Berlin, the groove masters from Umeå will get to know their loyal fanbase, deliver some exciting shows and get ready for an ever more promising season ahead.

Maha Sohona – European Tour – November 2022

• 17.11 Klub pod Minogą , Poznan (#127477#)(#127473#)
• 18.11 Klub Hydrozagadka , Warsaw (#127477#)(#127473#)
• 19.11 Klub Alchemia , Krakow (#127477#)(#127473#)
• 20.11 Klub Muzyczny Liverpool , Wroclaw (#127477#)(#127473#)
• 21.11 Kulturák , Bratislava (#127480#)(#127472#)
• 22.11 MANYI – Kulturális Műhely , Budapest (#127469#)(#127482#)
• 23.11 Kramladen , Vienna (#127462#)(#127481#)
• 24.11 Ballonfabrik Augsburg – Fabrik Unique , Augsburg (#127465#)(#127466#)
• 25.11 Kulturfabrik Löseke Hildesheim KUFA , Hildesheim (#127465#)(#127466#)
• 26.11 Kronensaal , Hamburg (#127465#)(#127466#)
• 27.11 TBC , Berlin (#127465#)(#127466#)

° artwork by Maciej Kamuda Art
° powered by Made Of Stone Recordings
° supported by The Obelisk

Maha Sohona are:
Guitar/Vocals – Johan Bernhardtson
Bass – Thomas Hedlund
Drums – David Lundsten

https://instagram.com/mahasohonaband
https://facebook.com/mahasohonaband
https://mahasohona.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/madeofstonerecordings
https://www.instagram.com/madeofstonerecordings/
https://madeofstonerecordings.bandcamp.com/

Maha Sohona, Maha Sohona (2014/2022)

Maha Sohona, Endless Searcher (2021)

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Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree Announce October Touring

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 5th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree

Here is a band I would relish an opportunity to see. Based in Stuttgart, Germany, Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree have been tapped into the heart of heavy psychedelic exploration and rock for at least the last five years since their 2017 debut LP, Medicine (review here), offered healing expanse enough to earn its title. Their 2019 follow-up, Grandmother (review here), provided further glimpses into their trippy but still evocative, emotionally resonant approach, and as if to highlight the point, earlier this year, Harvestmen (Live) (discussed here), came out to not only make plain their intention to continue forward in the post-pandemic era, but to further argue in favor of showing up to tour dates like those listed below.

Next month in Europe is slammed with short runs like this, as well as the usual and then some slate of festivals, and I’ve got a separate post slated tomorrow for Canada’s Low Orbit, who’ll join Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree for some of these shows listed below. Nonetheless, having never seen these guys live, it’s not something I’d pass up especially as one’s thoughts invariably turn to the prospect of a third album from them and how their sound might have progressed in the last three mostly-showless years. Note the Pink Tank Festival happening across three nights across three German cities. I think you’re going to see a lot of that kind of traveling package tour/fest in the next couple years as live music continues to ‘come back,’ compete with at-home entertainment and cope with — let’s face it — an audience the majority of which are aging even faster than the grey in their beards would make you think.

There’s a TBA date here. Someone hit up ElbSludgeBooking in Dresden and tell ’em to make it happen.

Here’s info from socials:

Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree tour

BEES MADE HONEY IN THE VEIN TREE – TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT

We are happy to be on the road again and looking forward to our Harvestmen Live Tour in October! Check out the dates and see us in your town.

16.10 Karlsruhe DE P8
20.10 Esslingen DE Komma *
21.10 TBA
22.10 Wetzikon CH Kulturfabrik
23.10 Tübingen DE Epplehaus
24.10 Dortmund DE Black Plastic
25.10 Weimar DE C Kellar *
26.10 Bielefeld DE Potemkin *
27.10 Hamburg DE Fundbuero **
28.10 Lübeck DE Treibsand **
29.10 Kiel DE Die Pumpe **
30.10 Nijmegen NL Onderbroek *
12.11 Leonberg DE Beatbaracke

* w Low Orbit
** Pink Tank Festival

(#128248#) by @dantrautwein
Design: @christopher.popowitsch

https://www.facebook.com/beesmadehoneyintheveintree
https://beesmadehoneyintheveintree.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pinktankrecords/
https://www.pink-tank-records.de/

https://www.facebook.com/madeofstonerecordings
https://www.instagram.com/madeofstonerecordings/
https://madeofstonerecordings.bandcamp.com/

Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree, Harvestmen (Live) (2022)

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The Obelisk Presents: Tortuga Eastern European Tour Dates

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 1st, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Boogie fuzz, heavy doom, meet the road. Poland’s Tortuga, for not the first time ever but for the first time in a while, are headed out on a tour of Eastern Europe. They’ll leave home in Poland ahead of an Oct. 13 start and head into Slovakia, Hungary (I recently saw pictures of the village outside Budapest where my family emigrated from; some green grass on those hills), Slovenia, Bulgaria, Greece, and so on.

When it comes to this kind of thing, an ‘Obelisk Presents’ situation, I always feel like I need to justify presenting the shows even though I won’t be there to see any of them. You know what? Screw that. I support, wholeheartedly, good bands getting out and bringing their wares to the masses, and with this stupid, increasingly-awful timeline we live in, all the more so. Tortuga‘s 2020 album, Deities, rules. I missed it when it came out — see “2020” and “awful timeline” earlier in this sentence — but will close out a week with it eventually, and it was on the strength of that album and the band’s touring that the band signed to Napalm Records last year.

What that means is, hopefully, this won’t be the last you hear from them and this won’t be the last time they get out. Awesome. New release in 2023? Maybe. They hint at new material in the tour announcement below, and if that’s a thing that happens, I’ll do all I can not to miss out. If you’re in an area where these shows are happening, or within a reasonable or unreasonable traveling distance, I hope you’ll do the same.

Dig:

tortuga tour dates

TORTUGA – EASTERN EUROPEAN TOUR 2022

Dear occult doom worshipers, Mammoth supporters and heavy rock enthusiasts, the time have come to finally take Tortuga on the road!

It is with great pleasure that we are embarking along our favorite Polish doom lords on a tour, crossing all of Eastern Europe, for a series of killer shows.

Tortuga will present a mix of older and new material, celebrating the success of “Deities” and getting ready for their upcoming album.

Pick your closest stop out of the dates below and witness history in the making.

TORTUGA live:
13.10 Kulturak Klub Bratislava SK
14.10 Szabadkikoto Pecs HU
15.10 Channel Zero Ljubljana SL
16.10 Vintage Bar Zagreb HR
18.10 Singles Bar Sofia BG
19.10 Rover Bar Thessaloniki GR
20.10 Death Disco Athens GR
21.10 Mandrakoukos Ptolemaida GR
22.10 Nostos Live Xanthi, GR
23.10 Download Bar Plovdic BG
25.10 Expirat Bucharest RO
26.10 Flying Circus Cluj Napoca RO
27.10 Aurora Budapest HU
28.10 Colloseum Club Kosice SK

TORTUGA are:
Marmur – Drums
Heszu – Bass
Pablo – Guitars, Vocals
Kłosu – Guitars, Synths, Vocals

https://www.facebook.com/tortugapl
https://www.instagram.com/tortuga_band/
https://tortugapl.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/napalmrecords
http://label.napalmrecords.com/

Tortuga, Deities (2020)

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The Obelisk Questionnaire: Greg ‘Maddog’ Konstantaras of Seer of the Void

Posted in Questionnaire on August 10th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Greg (Maddog) Konstantaras of Seer of the Void

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Greg ‘Maddog’ Konstantaras of Seer of the Void

How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

Generally, in music you can define everything, but in our case things are pretty simple and they are characterized by an also simple procedure: we love jamming as a heavy doom trio; we just grab a beer and we play. Everything is about straightforward, honest, heavy, and ominous riffs.

Sometimes we like it slow sometimes like it fast.

Nevertheless, it’s always an honest manifestation of our own worlds.

Describe your first musical memory.

Listening to Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun” on a mix-tape in the early ’90s — that my parents actually had labeled as “Slow Rock”.

This song was blowing my mind at this time! As a child, I couldn’t understand the meaning but the energy of the melody is living inside my head until now.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

On a more personal level – as band: the timing of our “birth” was very unfortunate due to the pandemic. Nonetheless, recently we played a live show, after 2 years, for our debut album “Revenant”. The audience included very close friends and quite a few fans in our hometown (Athens, Greece). The atmosphere was incredible and despite the COVID-19 aftermath; everything almost felt like before. We were all there – enjoying the music.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

None of the members of the band is narrow – minded. We are always open to discussion and new ideas.

Thus, each and every time we join a discussion we are open to any exchange of views. However, and possibly on more personal level, we evaluate current facts and personal beliefs every day. I am not sure if the question alludes to a more ethical or political level; but the only thing that I can say for sure is that from thorough assessment comes improvement and development.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

First and foremost; there is no parthenogenesis in music.

Nevertheless, someone could say that “artistic progression” lead to general improvement.

It can also lead to further artistic voyages – and possibly to further musical soundscapes.

How do you define success?

Success for me is to make your own music; and people embrace it with their own unique way.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

Is that a trick question? Haha! I could say many things.

I could say that I wish I hadn’t seen the tragedy of this world and the irony of this life; but the hard truth is that we actually HAVE to witness it and fight for “better things to see”.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

A time-traveling machine would be great – I guess.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

To connect and interact with the audience. To inspire. And to make other feel each and every piece of art with their own intensity.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

Summer – for sure! I am not sure if mean “summer” literally or in a more poetic / redeeming way though.

https://www.facebook.com/Seerofthevoid
https://youtu.be/VGRGvVtHQ0o
https://seerofthevoid.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/madeofstonerecordings
https://www.instagram.com/madeofstonerecordings/
https://madeofstonerecordings.bandcamp.com/

Seer of the Void, Revenant (2020)

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Friday Full-Length: Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree, Harvestmen (Live)

Posted in Bootleg Theater on July 8th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree Harvestmen live

Heavy serenity. Having never been so fortunate to see Stuttgart, Germany’s Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree live (yet), the 2022 four-song/45-minute live album, Harvestmen (Live), recorded between shows in their home country and neighboring Austria captures well an in-room hypnotic vibe. That is to say, listening to the resonant guitar echoes, the crunching basslines and the steady flowing drums of 15-minute opener and longest track (immediate points), “Sail Away I” — taken from their 2017 debut album Medicine (review here) — is immersive in precisely the way one would hope. And though the recording is obviously off the board, properly mixed by guitarist/vocalist Simon Weinrich, joined in the four-piece by guitarist Lucas Dreher, drummer/vocalist Marc Dreher and bassist Christopher Popowitsch, and mastered by Ralv Milberg, the feeling of hearing the sound echo off a back club wall behind me — that truest sense of ‘surround sound’ — comes through entirely in the spacious reaches being portrayed.

Vocals reverb up from beneath the driving groove of the apex of “Sail Away I,” definitively stoner rock on the face of its riff, but spread wider into something else. It’s not just about playing slow — in fact, “Sail Away I” isn’t that slow at all, though neither would I call it speedy — but it’s the way the song seems to invite you along with it. There’s room for everyone. The music floats up, swings down, turns side to side and does the occasional antigravity backflip as it goes, and the feeling of post-rock-born serenity in the opening guitar line of the subsequent “Craving” — from 2019’s second album, Grandmother (review here) — is met with heavy psych noodling that is a microgenre staple but nonetheless memorable enough to be definitively the band’s own. The vocals enter softly at first over that guitar, and there’s a thicker roll that takes hold in the second half of the song, but it’s more about drift than linearity, and even if it’s a build into that crashing crescendo, the path they take to get there is no less important than where they get.

That’s due in large part to the patience of their delivery and the spirit of the songs themselves. The subsequent “Dionysus” also comes from Grandmother and starts with a suitably meditative hum. The band’s melting together of divergent ideas, and more, the fluidity with which they execute their material live as captured here, are strengths in the studio as well. Live, maybe unsurprisingly, the chemistry between the band comes across in the tempos, the sense of their being on stage together, maybe head signals calling out a change, maybe not — might depend on how many shows they’d done on this run when these recordings were made — is likewise resonant to the music they’re making. I’m all the more prepared to call them undervalued as a group at this point after listening to Harvestmen (Live), though however many years on from the development of the sound, one could say the same thing of heavy psychedelia as a whole.

Naturally, Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree offer more than stand-in fodder for the genre they might inhabit — whether that’s heavy psych, fuzz rock, etc. — but if they’re emblematic of it that doesn’t necessarily mean they lack individual purpose, and in that, Harvestmen (Live) conveys their progressive intentions well. The band said upon the release earlier this year that their new studio album, titled Aion, is complete and ready for release through Pink Tank Records — also responsible for physical pressing of the live outing, along with Made of Stone Recordings — and that prospect finds manifestation here in the inclusion of closing track “Threatening.” Following the 13-minute “Dionysus” is no easy task, with its gracefully unfolding drone washand gradual transformation into a surge of crash and riffing intensity, and transition into a vocal-topped heavy shoegaze verse that’s enough to remind that Radiohead‘s The Bends turns 25 this year.

“Dionysus” comes all the way around for a second swell before its gentle letting-down, met here by deserved applause, and “Threatening” likewise earns its place as the capper and its title with a more brooding, exploration. With the vocals weaving together semi-shouted verse lines over sustained “aah” backing lines and the cosmic churning behind, the effect is heavy enough to channel Ufomammut, but here too the band’s purposes are their own. I will not claim to know what spaces they might create on Aion — we’ll find out when the time is right, I suppose — but the darker turn in “Threatening” is perhaps more suited to the times than the band could’ve possibly known when they recorded whichever show it was from, and while I don’t know the plan for Aion‘s release, and given the variety of mood in their first two records I don’t expect that any single song will speak for the whole — have I introduced enough caveats yet? truth be told I’m not even sure “Threatening” is new or on the impending LP at all even if it is; I know nothing.

Except this: Over the last two weeks, I’ve completed reviews for 100 albums, and though exhausting, that 100 albums is by no means exhaustive. This proves it. I’ve said this before, I know, but there’s so much out there right now, the heavy underground is so alive at this moment, so rife with forward thinking creativity. Yeah, some of it’s crap, of course, and derivative or misogynistic, has cartoon boobs on its cover art — a perpetual trope, it seems, which sadly will likely outlive us all — and so on, but then you have an act like Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree who acknowledge what came before in their sound as well from others and consider both a foundation to keep exploring, keep growing, keep making something new. That conversation between art and art, regardless of borders, ideologies or time, is the most crucial way innovation happens on a creative level. Art begets art, and I’m pretty sure I said this earlier this week sometime, but as regards human beings generally, art is one of precious few redeeming aspects.

So thanks for the art. And thanks for reading. As always, I hope you enjoy.

Summer of Pivot continues. I write from behind pushing a swing at the playground, 9:15AM. The Patient Mrs. and the now-vaccinated Pecan were going to go to Connecticut today. I was going to work in the morning, answer emails that have fallen through the cracks the last two weeks, and perhaps spend the afternoon fucking off, watching Star Trek and ignoring humanity. So of course yesterday she starts feeling achy and feverish. Yes, she has covid. Doesn’t seem overly serious. She’s home in bed. I’m at the playground. Summer of Pivot.

And though I’m ready to execute plan B, C, D, E, etc., as need be, I am very very ready to pivot away from bullshit toward less bullshit.

New Gimme show today 5PM Eastern. You’ll either listen or not. I can’t control that shit and I’m not good enough at social media to pretend otherwise.

Great and safe weekend. Drink water, watch your head, life is meaningless and we all know it deep down so try not to be a dick.

FRM.

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The Obelisk Questionnaire: Vasilis Tsigkris of Supermoon

Posted in Questionnaire on January 13th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

supermoon

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Vasilis Tsigkris of Supermoon

How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I compose music, sing and play the bass for Supermoon. I like to describe our sound as Forest Rock, which is a mix of psy, stoner/doom and folk. I’ve been playing with bands since junior high-school and it’s the best thing I’ve done. I couldn’t imagine my life without playing music, it’s like an urge from within.

Describe your first musical memory.

Some time when I was really young, we went for a visit at my grandparents’ house in central Athens. It was there, inside a bedroom, that i saw an electric guitar for the very first time. It was my uncle’s guitar: an old golden semi-hollow Gibson or Epiphone — I can’t recall. I was enchanted by its looks and the sound the strings made, and i thought this must have been a magical object and it was me who has discovered it!

Describe your best musical memory to date.

When i first visited Ozora Festival in Hungary, five years ago. It’s by far the best festival experience I’ve had. I had no idea that a festival could even be like that. I can’t really explain it, those who have been there know what I’m talking about.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

With the loss of a loved one in a really early age, at a time when I thought grown-ups are so strong — almost immortals.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

I believe artistic progression derives from maturation of the individual. Being able to incorporate this maturation into your art, could lead to more authentic creations.

How do you define success?

As the connection created between you and the people who embrace your music. When your songs are played in a home far from your home, when your lyrics are sang in a gig, by people you don’t know.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

Human tactics in general. From being disrespectful towards one another, to polluting the seas and forests, abusing power, animals, creating monstrous cities.. This list is endless.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

I’d like to write a book, a fantasy novel maybe. I like to write a lot and I find it fascinating, that one can create a whole new universe from blank pages and give birth to brand new settings and images. I try to do it from time to time, but I find it really difficult to be honest. Well maybe someday, who knows.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

Art to the people; Sharing!

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

We are planning a trip to Italy, my girlfriend and I. Really looking forward to it, especially after all this time in a covid cell.

https://www.facebook.com/supermoongr
https://www.instagram.com/supermoongr/
https://supermoongr.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/madeofstonerecordings
https://madeofstonerecordings.bandcamp.com/

Supermoon, Supermoon (2020)

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Maha Sohona Self-Titled Reissue Coming Next Year

Posted in Whathaveyou on November 16th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

I haven’t posted as much about it as I probably should — band needs to make a video or something — but I’ve been continually going back to Maha Sohona‘s 2021 album, Endless Searcher (review here), since first encountering it. The Swedish outfit’s first record since 2014 is now being answered with a reissue of its predecessor, which is good for me since it gives me an excuse to dig into that too. And I mean, it’s probably good for you too if you like stuff like heavy riffs and mellow vibes and big ol’ Ganeshas with tentacle trunks. So I guess that’s just about everybody, right? Thought so.

The vinyl is being handled through Made of Stone Recordings, and they sent the following down the PR wire. Note that the release date is June, in case you were wondering how that whole everybody’s-vinyl-is-delayed thing was going. But whatever. Maybe I’ll book a review for June 2022 and just keep it in my notes for the next seven months. Sometimes it’s nice to get a jump on something.

Stream both of Maha Sohona‘s records at the bottom of this post. That’s my advice:

maha sohona self titled

Maha Sohona present the re-issue of their debut album

Maha Sohona’s debut comes back in a celebratory vinyl series

The story

Coming back to one of the most interesting and successful collaborations in Made of Stone’s history, the groove masters Maha Sohona will be releasing their inspired debut album in a series of limited vinyl. The self titled album laid the foundation for a course filled with determination, artistic expression and creativity, making the band from Umea, Sweden one of the most exciting projects in the recent years.

On June 10th 2022, the record that started it all, comes back refurbished with all-new artwork, on vinyl editions, ready to take on the world again.

All songs written & arranged by Maha Sohona
Recorded 24-25 Noevember 2021 & 23-25 August 2013 @ Parasit Studio
Mixed by Frederik Lyxzen
Mastered by Mats Hammarstrom @Second Home Studio
Artwork by Maciej Kamuda (Based on Sara Burkhard’s original concept)
Layout by Maciej Kamuda Inner Layout by Sara Burkhard
Photo by Thomas Olsson.

> 200 limited coloured transparent 180gr vinyl
> 200 limited colour in colour 180 gr vinyl
> 100 ultra limited splatter coloured 180 gr vinyl

Tracklisting:
1. Two Moons 06:11
2. As Temples Go 04:51
3. Into The Sun 05:01
4. The Serpent Slumbers 06:09
5. Potions 06:59
6. Asteroids 12:47

Maha Sohona were: Johan, Andreas & Thomas

Maha Sohona are:
Guitar/Vocals – Johan Bernhardtson
Bass – Thomas Hedlund
Drums – David Lundsten

https://instagram.com/mahasohonaband
https://facebook.com/mahasohonaband
https://mahasohona.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/madeofstonerecordings
https://www.instagram.com/madeofstonerecordings/
https://madeofstonerecordings.bandcamp.com/

Maha Sohona, Maha Sohona (2014/2022)

Maha Sohona, Endless Searcher (2021)

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