Posted in Whathaveyou on October 1st, 2024 by JJ Koczan
If Weite wanted to, they probably could parlay their collective in-other-bands pedigree — names there for the dropping like Elder/Delving, High Fighter and Perilymph — into slots on any and every Spring 2025 European heavyfest they might be able to play (actually, Elder are already on a decent number of those bills), but their first tour in support of the upcoming second album, Oase, is nothing so career-minded. A DIY run set for this January instead puts the exploratory progressive outfit led by bassist Ingwer Boysen on the road when most bands aren’t, working smart and hard to promote at a time when most bands are hunkered down for the winter, writing, recording or sitting on ass (nothing against any of that). There’s less out there grabbing at fickle audience attention spans, and it suits the organic nature of Weite generally to be a little lower key, even as they work at a relatively quick turnaround from their 2023 debut, Assemblage (review here).
The dates were posted on social media as follows, and Stickman will have Oase out on Nov. 22 as detailed here. Tour starts Jan. 10, goes to Jan. 25, and probably won’t be the only one they do heralding the new record:
Oase Tour 2025! We’ll be presenting our new record “Oase” (out November 22 on Stickman Records) this January. Excited to play this record we worked hard on the past year, along with most likely even more new tunes. This is a self-booked tour and we’d like to thank all the promoters who helped us put this together. Support your local scene!
The first single from “Oase” will be out in a few weeks.
Weite was formed in Berlin in winter 2022 by bassist Ingwer Boysen recruiting drummer Nick DiSalvo and guitarists Michael Risberg and Ben Lubin. Initially intended as a one-off recording session, the four recognized an obvious musical chemistry and common ground and decided to turn the project into a proper band. Keyboardist Fabien deMenou joined in 2024. “Oase” will be available on 180gr. pink marbled 2LP, on CD and digitally on November 22, 2024 via Stickman Records.
Amazing artwork by Sofia Hjortberg. Band photo by Maren Michaelis.
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 18th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
To answer your first question first, no, there isn’t a track streaming yet. However, since it’s only been a year since Weite made their debut with Assemblage (review here), I have a hard time imagining that the first record isn’t still relevant, whatever direction the forthcoming Oase might take from its proggy pastoralia and wherever its own songs might go. We’ll find out, presumably, when preorders open. It’s a Nov. 22 release date, so there’s time.
Given some of the description that came in from the PR wire — below in the blue text — I’m curious to hear how these elements manifest in the next batch of songs from the project that includes Michael Risberg and Nick DiSalvo of Elder and emerges from the sphere of Big Snuff Studios in Berlin, though you’ll note it doesn’t actually say where Oase was recorded, so yes, some more details to surface as we get closer, in addition to whatever audio/video might be leaked before Stickman puts it out. This, then, is a start to that process. Weite also played live to support Assemblage. If European touring hasn’t been announced yet, more likely than not it will be.
For now, then, feel free to dive in:
Prog-Psych/Krautrock Project WEITE (feat. members of ELDER & DELVING) announces upcoming Studio Album “Oase” for a November Release on Stickman Records!
Prog-psych/krautrock band WEITE, featuring Nicholas DiSalvo (Elder, Delving), Michael Risberg (Elder, delving), Ingwer Boysen (delving), Ben Lubin (Lawns) and Fabien deMenou (Perilymph), has announced the release of their brand new studio offering, entitled “Oase”, for November 22, 2024 on Stickman Records!
“Oase” is the sophomore album from Berlin-based progressive rock collective Weite, and the follow-up to the band’s 2023 debut LP “Assemblage”. Clocking in at almost an hour, “Oase” — German for “Oasis” — takes listeners on an intricate and textured journey that draws inspiration from the pioneering spirit of 70s psychedelic rock, blending influences from “Canterbury scene” prog, Krautrock, early electronica, post rock, and Americana. The new album showcases Weite’s ability to merge the old with the new, creating an immersive, exploratory sound that moves from contemplative and pastoral to riffy and doomy without ever sacrificing melody. “Oase” is characterized by longer expansive, atmospheric compositions yet is undoubtedly more composed than the band’s debut, with more of a focus on songs, albeit in the broader sense of the word. With the focus on melody, texture and mood— although not necessarily always in that order — Weite create a sound that’s intricate and meditative, inviting the listener to embark on a journey through shifting soundscapes and evolving musical narratives.
“We’re really proud of this album and worked super hard to channel all our influences into it: everything from the 70s prog we all love, to krautrock, americana and ambient, among other stuff,” Ben Lubin comments. “It’s definitely much stronger compositionally-speaking because of it, and we’re a much better band after gigging over the past year since the first LP came out.”
Nick DiSalvo adds: “Weite has come to embody a sort of collective spirit both within the band and within our little Berlin scene – musicians and friends, all in a seemingly rotating cast with each others’ bands, as guest musicians, tour help, etc. Each member takes the strengths and experiences from their other projects and pours it into our music, which results in a pretty interesting mashup, especially the longer we play together. “Oase” is for me personally an homage to the little oases in life: the couch, the rehearsal space, and yes, even the Späti – a Berlin biotope, a small convenience store where you can sit and take a break from the daily stress and enjoy a drink, a smoke or a conversation.”
Weite was formed in Berlin in winter 2022 by bassist Ingwer Boysen recruiting drummer Nick DiSalvo and guitarists Michael Risberg and Ben Lubin. Initially intended as a one-off recording session, the four recognized an obvious musical chemistry and common ground and decided to turn the project into a proper band. Keyboardist Fabien deMenou joined in 2024. “Oase” will be available on 180gr. pink marbled 2LP, on CD and digitally on November 22, 2024 via Stickman Records. Watch out for many more details, single releases and the album pre-sale to start soon!
Cover Art by Sofia Hjortberg. Band photo by Maren Michaelis.
Welcome back to the Summer 2023 Quarterly Review. I hope you enjoyed the weekend. Today we dig in on the penultimate — somehow my using the word “penultimate” became a running gag for me in Quarterly Reviews; I don’t know how or why, but I think it’s funny — round of 10 albums and tomorrow we’ll close out as we hit the total of 70. Could easily have kept it going through the week, but so it goes. I’ll have more QR in September or October, I’m not sure yet which. It’s a pretty busy Fall.
Today’s a wild mix and that’s what I was hoping for. Let’s go.
Quarterly Review #51-60:
Weite, Assemblage
Founded by bassist Ingwer Boysen (also High Fighter) as an offshoot of the live incarnation of Delving, of which he’s part, Weite release the instrumental Assemblage as a semi-improv-sounding collection of marked progressive fluidity. With Delving and Elder‘s Nick DiSalvo and Mike Risberg in the lineup along with Ben Lubin (Lawns), the story goes that the four-piece got to the studio with nothing/very little, spent a few days writing and recording with the venerable Richard Behrens helming, and Assemblage‘s four component pieces are what came out of it. The album begins with the nine-minutes-each pair of the zazzy-jazzy mover “Neuland,” while “Entzündet” grows somewhat more open, a lead guitar refrain like built around drum-backed drone and keys, swelling in piano-inclusive volume like Crippled Black Phoenix, darker prog shifting into a wash and more freaked-out psych rock. I’m not sure those are real drums on “Rope,” or if they are I’d love to know how the snare was treated, but the song’s a groover just the same, and the 14-minute “Murmuration” is where the styles unite under an umbrella of warm tonality and low key but somehow cordial atmosphere. If these guys want to get together every couple years into perpetuity and bang out a record like this, that’d be fine.
The fourth album from Portland, Oregon’s Mizmor — the solo-project of multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, vocalist, etc.-ist A.L.N. — arrives riding a tsunami of hype and delivers on the band’s long-stated promise of ‘wholly doomed black metal.’ With consuming distortion at its heart from opener/longest track (immediate points) “Only an Expanse” onward, the record recalls the promise of American black metal as looser in its to-tenet conformity than the bulk of Europe’s adherents — of course these are generalizations and I’m no expert — by contrasting it rhythmically with doom, which instead of fully releasing the tension amassed by the scream-topped tremolo riffing just makes it sound more miserable. Doom! “No Place to Arrive” is admirably thick, like noisy YOB on charred ambience, and “Anything But” draws those two sides together in more concise and driving style, vicious and brutal until it cuts in the last minute to quiet minimalism that makes the slam-in crush of 13-minute closer “Acceptance” all the more punishing, with plenty of time left for trades between all-out thrust and grueling plod. Hard to call which side wins the day — and that’s to Mizmor‘s credit, ultimately — but by the end of “Acceptance,” the raging gnash has collapsed into a caldera of harsh sludge, and it no longer matters. In context, that’s a success.
With a couple quick drum taps and a clearheaded strum that invokes the impossible nostalgia of Bruce Springsteen via ’90s alt rock, Netherlands-based The Whims of the Great Magnet strolls casually into “Same New,” the project’s first outing since 2021’s Share My Sun EP. Working in a post-grunge style seems to suit Sander Haagmans, formerly the bassist of Sungrazer and, for a bit, The Machine, as he single-track/double-tracks through the song’s initial verse and blossoms melodically in the chorus, dwelling in an atmosphere sun-coated enough that Haagmans‘ calls it “your new summer soundtrack.” Not arguing, if a one-track soundtrack is a little short. After a second verse/chorus trade, some acoustic weaves in at the end to underscore the laid back feel, and as it moves into the last minute, “Same New” brings back the hook not to drive it into your head — it’s catchy enough that such things aren’t necessary — but to speak to a traditional structure born out of classic rock. It does this organically, with moderate tempo and a warm, engaging spirit that, indeed, evokes the ideal images of the stated season and will no doubt prove comforting even removed from such long, hot and sunny days.
German instrumentalists Sarkh follow their 2020 full-length, Kaskade, with the four-song/31-minute Helios EP, issued through Worst Bassist Records. As with that album, the short-ish offering has a current of progressive metal to coincide with its heavier post-rock affect; “Zyklon” leading off with due charge before the title-track finds stretches of Yawning Man-esque drift, particularly as it builds toward a hard-hitting crescendo in its second half. Chiaroscuro, then. Working shortest to longest in runtime, the procession continues with “Kanagawa” making stark volume trades, growing ferocious but not uncontrolled in its louder moments, the late low end particularly satisfying as it plays off the guitar in the final push, a sudden stop giving 11-minute closer “Cape Wrath” due space to flesh out its middle-ground hypothesis after some initial intensity, the trio of guitarist Ralph Brachtendorf, bassist Falko Schneider and drummer Johannes Dose rearing back to let the EP end with a wash but dropping the payoff with about a minute left to let the guitar finish on its own. Germany, the world, and the universe: none of it is short on instrumental heavy bands, but the purposeful aesthetic mash of Sarkh‘s sound is distinguishing and Helios showcases it well to make the argument.
A 2LP second long-player from mostly-traditionalist doom metallers Spiritual Void, Wayfare seems immediately geared toward surpassing their 2017 debut, White Mountain, in opening with “Beyond the White Mountain.” With a stretch of harsher vocals to go along with the cleaner-sung verses through its 8:48 and the metal-of-eld wail that meets the crescendo before the nodding final verse, they might’ve done it. The subsequent “Die Alone” (11:48) recalls Candlemass and Death without losing the nod of its rhythm, and “Old” (12:33) reaffirms the position, taking Hellhound Records-style methodologies of European trad doom and pulling them across longer-form structures. Following “Dungeon of Nerthus” (10:24) the shorter “Wandering Doom” (5:31) chugs with a swing that feels schooled by Reverend Bizarre, while “Wandersmann” (13:11) tolls a mournful bell at its outset as though to let you know that the warm-up is over and now it’s time to really doom out. So be it. At a little over an hour long, Wayfare is no minor undertaking, but for what they’re doing stylistically, it shouldn’t be. Morose without melodrama, Wayfare sees Spiritual Void continuing to find their niche in doom, and rest assured, it’s on the doomier end. Of doom.
Even when The River make the trade of tossing out the aural weight of doom — the heavy guitar and bass, the expansive largesse, and so on — they keep the underlying structure. The nod. At least mostly. To explain: the long-running UK four-piece — vocalist Jenny Newton, guitarist Christian Leitch (formerly of 40 Watt Sun), bassist Stephen Morrissey and drummer Jason Ludwig — offer a folkish interpretation of doom and a doomed folk on their fourth long-player, the five-song/40-minute A Hollow Full of Hope taking the acoustic prioritizing of a song like “Open” from 2019’s Vessels into White Tides (review here) and bringing it to the stylistic fore on songs like the graceful opener “Fading,” the lightly electric “Tiny Ticking Clocks” rife with strings and gorgeous self-harmonizing from Newton set to an utterly doomed march, or the four-minute instrumental closer “Hollowful,” which is more than an outro if not a completely built song in relation to the preceding pieces. Melodic, flowing, intentional in arrangement, meter, melody. Sad. Beautiful. “Exits” (9:56) and “A Vignette” (10:26) — also the two longest cuts, though not by a ton — are where one finds that heft and the other side of the doom-folk/folk-doom divide, though it is admirable how thin they make that line. Marked progression. This album will take them past their 25th anniversary, and they greet it hitting a stride. That’s an occasion worth celebrating.
Sons of Froglord is the fourth full-length in three years from UK amphibian conceptualist storytellers Froglord, and there’s just about no way they’re not making fun of space rock on “Road Raisin.” “Collapse” grows burly in its hook in the vein of a more rumbling Clutch — and oh, the shenanigans abound! — and there’s a kind of ever-present undercurrent sludgy threat in the more forward push of the glorious anthem to the inanity of career life in “Wednesday” (it doesn’t materialize, but there is a tambourine on “A Swamp of My Own,” so that’s something), but the bulk of the latest chapter in the Froglord tale delivers ’70s-by-way-of-’10s classic heavy blues rock, distinct in its willingness to go elsewhere from and around the boogie swing of “Wizard Gonk” and the fuzzy shuffling foundation of “Garden” at the outset and pull from different eras and subsets of heavy to serve their purposes. “Froglady” is on that beat. On it. And the way “A Swamp of My Own” opens to its chorus is a stirring reminder of the difference drumming can make in elevating a band. After a quick “Closing Ceremony,” they tack on a presumably-not-narrative-related-but-fitting-anyway cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s “Born on the Bayou,” which complements a crash-laced highlight like “The Sage” well and seems to say a bit about where Froglord are coming from as well, i.e., the swamp.
Released digitally with the backing of Abraxas and on CD through Smolder Brains Records, the Cult of Devil Sounds split EP offers two new tracks each from São Paulo, Brazil’s Weedevil and Veraruz, Mexico’s Electric Cult. The former take the A side and fade in on the guitar line “Darkness Inside” with due drama, gradually unfurling the seven-minute doom roller that’s ostensibly working around Electric Wizard-style riffing, but has its own persona in tone, atmosphere and the vocals of Maureen McGee, who makes her first appearance here with the band. The swagger of “Burn It” follows, somewhat speedier and sharper in delivery, with a scorcher solo in its back half, witchy proclamations and satisfying slowdown at the end. Weedevil. All boxes ticked, no question. Check. Electric Cult are rawer in production and revel in that, bringing “Rising From Hell” and “Esoteric Madness” with a more uptempo, rock-ish swing, but moving through sludge and doom by the time the seven minutes of the first of those is done. “Rising From Hell” finishes with ambient guitar, then feedback, which “Esoteric Madness” cuts off to begin with bass; a clever turn. Quickly “Esoteric Madness” grows dark from its outset, pushing into harsh vocals over a slogging march that turns harder-driving with ’70s-via-Church–of–Misery hard-boogie rounding out. That faster finish is a contrast to Weedevil‘s ending slow, and complements it accordingly. An enticing sampler from both.
When I read some article about how the James Webb Space Telescope has looked billions of years into the past chasing down ancient light and seen further toward the creation of the universe than humankind ever before has, I look at some video or other, I should be hearing Dr. Space. I don’t know if the Portugal-based solo artist, synthesist, bandleader, Renaissance man Scott “Dr. Space” Heller (also Øresund Space Collective, Black Moon Circle, etc.) has been in touch with the European Space Agency (ESA) or what their response has been, but even with its organ solo and stated watery purpose, amid sundry pulsations it’s safe to assume the 20-minute title-track “Suite for Orchestra of Marine Mammals” is happening with an orchestra of semi-robot aliens on, indeed, some impossibly distant exoplanet. Heller has long dwelt at the heart of psychedelic improv and the three pieces across the 39 minutes of Suite for Orchestra of Marine Mammals recall classic krautrock ambience while remaining purposefully exploratory. “Going for the Nun” pairs church organ with keyboard before shimmering into proto-techno blips and bloops recalling the Space Age that should’ve had humans on Mars by now, while the relatively brief capper “No Space for Time” — perhaps titled to note the limitations of the vinyl format — still finds room in its six minutes to work in two stages, with introductory chimes shifting toward more kosmiche synth travels yet farther out.
The debut from Santa Fe-based solo drone project Ruiner — aka Zac Hogan, also of Dysphotic, ex-Drought — is admirable in its commitment to itself. Hogan unveils the outfit with The Book of Patience (on Desert Records), an 80-minute, mostly-single-note piece called “Liber Patientiae,” which if you’re up on your Latin, you know is the title of the album as well. With a willfully glacial pace that could just as easily be a parody of the style — there is definitely an element of ‘is this for real?’ in the listening process, but yeah, it seems to be — “Liber Patientiae” evolves over its time, growing noisier as it approaches 55 or so minutes, the distortion growing more fervent over the better part of the final 25, the linear trajectory underscoring the idea that there’s a plan at work all along coinciding with the experimental nature of the work. What that plan might manifest from here is secondary to the “Liber Patientiae” as a meditative experience. On headphones, alone, it becomes an inward journey. In a crowded room, at least at the outset it’s almost a melodic white noise, maybe a little tense, but stretched out and changing but somehow still solid and singular, making the adage that ‘what you put into it is what you get out’ especially true in this case. And as it’s a giant wall of noise, it goes without saying that not everybody will be up for getting on board, but it’s difficult to imagine the opaque nature of the work is news to Hogan, who clearly is searching for resonance on his own wavelength.
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 26th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
The fact that Berlin-based progressive instrumentalists Weite haven’t put out a full song from their upcoming Assemblage debut with this announcement/details unveiling makes considerably more sense when you consider the record only has four tracks on it. And given the stated propensity for classic krautrocking vibes, one assumes those four tracks are substantial in their runtime. But this is the second teaser for the record — which like so many of the best things in life was tracked live at Big Snuff Studio by Richard Behrens — so one assumes they’ll get around to featuring a track at some point between now and July, which is far enough in the future that I have no idea what life will be like. Warmer? Who knows. See? It’s a mystery.
If you haven’t already skipped to the teaser, let me offer gentle encouragement to abandon this sentence in progress and do so. You’ll note the involvement of Elder‘s Nick DiSalvo and Mike Risberg, and I guess I didn’t realize with the last post about the band that Ingwer Boysen (also High Fighter) was in Delving with that pair as well. Does that make Weite an offshoot of an offshoot? Sure, or maybe just a band. Their lineup completed by Ben Lubin (also Lawns), they’d probably be okay with being called ‘band.’ Or maybe even ‘group,’ if you’re feeling fancy.
Haven’t heard this record yet — see: “July,” “future” above — but I’ve no moral objection to anything that’s been thus far hinted toward. Perhaps you’ll feel the same as you peruse the PR wire info and teaser clip below:
WEITE Feat. Members Of ELDER, HIGH FIGHTER, DELVING & LAWNS, Reveal Album Details & Teaser!
Debut album, “Assemblage”, out on July 14, 2023 via Stickman Records!
Weite, the new prog-psych/kraut band featuring Nicholas DiSalvo (Elder, Delving) and Michael Risberg (Elder) alongside Ingwer Boysen (High Fighter) and Ben Lubin (Lawns), has announced new details about their upcoming, much-awaited debut album! “Assemblage” will be released on July 14, 2023 through Stickman Records. A first glimpse has just been revealed in the following video teaser.
Weite was initially conceived as a one-off winter project by Boysen, who contacted DiSalvo and Risberg with the idea to write and record a record within a week. Having played together in DiSalvo’s live band for his project Delving, a certain musical chemistry was already apparent. The three recruited Berlin-based English guitarist Lubin to round out the quartet and proceeded to bunker in for a week of intense songwriting.
Sharing their diverse musical interests and swapping instruments frequently, a body of songs was quickly created that channeled a collective love for 60’s and 70’s psychedelic music, krautrock, jazz and listening to one motorik beat for 20 minutes straight. The troupe set off to record in a short session at Big Snuff Studio with frequent collaborator Richard Behrens and within a few days “Assemblage” was born. Recording live, Behrens captured the essence of the session, at times mellow and times intense, with the five together then embellishing the raw recordings with a hearty dollop of experimental overdubs.
After many banal discussions and almost a year after the project was finished, Weite was officially born as the group decided to continue the project as a proper band. “We didn’t intend to start a band, but it kinda happened“, the band recently commented. “It turned out pretty cool, too cool to let it be a one-off, so we decided to keep it going. WEITE was officially born; the word means “expanse” “vastness” or “width”, a few adjectives we’d use to describe our sound.“
“Assemblage” track listing:
1. Neuland 2. Entzündet 3. Rope 4. Murmuration
In support of their upcoming debut, the band has announced a few first live shows, with more to follow in the not so distant future. Make sure to catch the band live and follow Weite on: www.instagram.com/_weite
Weite Live: 13.07.23 – DE – Berlin | Kantine am Berghain 15.07.23 – DE – Hamburg | Hafenklang
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 8th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
The story seems pretty straightforward here. Dudes got together and made a record. Turned out they liked the record they made, so they decided to be a band. Maybe they’ll play some shows? There you go. That’s the bio at this point for Weite — in English: “width” or “vast” — which is a new project featuring Nick DiSalvo and Mike Risberg of Elder alongside Ben Lubin of Lawns and Ingwer Boysen of Hamburg-based riff-core bashers High Fighter.
I’ll assume the pedigree is explanation enough for how they wound up with Stickman Records getting behind the album in question, Assemblage — same label puts out Elder and the one-to-date release from DiSalvo‘s Delving side-project — and while there isn’t much to go on here, they do say it’s a July release and there’s a video the band posted on Instagram that has at least some snippets to tell you where they’re coming from. Also always nice to see the inside of Big Snuff Studio, where Richard Behrens holds court and has helped many, many acts make many, many killer records. I’m on board for adding one more to that list if you are.
More to come, I hope. The PR wire brings preliminaries:
Members of ELDER, HIGH FIGHTER, DELVING & LAWNS announce new band WEITE!
Debut album coming in the summer of 2023 on Stickman Records!
Nicholas DiSalvo (Elder, Delving) and Michael Risberg (Elder) alongside colleagues Ingwer Boysen (High Fighter) and Ben Lubin (Lawns), have announced a new band, Weite!
Weite was initially conceived as a one-off winter project by Boysen, who contacted DiSalvo and Risberg with the idea to write and record a record within a week. Having played together in DiSalvo’s live band for his project Delving, a certain musical chemistry was already apparent. The three recruited Berlin-based English guitarist Lubin to round out the quartet and proceeded to bunker in for a week of intense songwriting.
Sharing their diverse musical interests and swapping instruments frequently, a body of songs was quickly created that channeled a collective love for 60’s and 70’s psychedelic music, krautrock, jazz and listening to one motorik beat for 20 minutes straight. The troupe set off to record in a short session at Big Snuff Studio with frequent collaborator Richard Behrens and within a few days “Assemblage” was born. Recording live, Behrens captured the essence of the session, at times mellow and times intense, with the five together then embellishing the raw recordings with a hearty dollop of experimental overdubs.
After many banal discussions and almost a year after the project was finished, Weite was officially born as the group decided to continue the project as a proper band. “We didn’t intend to start a band, but it kinda happened“, the band comments on their first social media post. “It turned out pretty cool, too cool to let it be a one-off, so we decided to keep it going. WEITE was officially born; the word means “expanse” “vastness” or “width”, a few adjectives we’d use to describe our sound.“ A making of video for “Assemblage” is now available on Weite’s Instagram page.
Stay tuned and expect shows in 2023 celebrating the official release of “Assemblage”, slated for a July-release through Stickman Records, with more music to come in the future!
