Tuesday, 14 January 2020

***SWALLOWS NEST Tour Diary part II***

SWALLOWS NEST
Tour Diary part II
By: Matthew Collins

False horizons - an optical illusion making you believe you have reached the summit, just to realise that you have arrived at another plateau. To reach your destination you must not only climb further, but pass through every peak and valley along the way to get there.

Swallows Nest went on a hike today.

Tour is going well. Our Invercargill show was very nostalgic, playing with Russian Blue and my new favourite band Slur. Jordan (from Slur) is an old bandmate and he’s pretty much running The Southland Musicians Club now which was where we both played our first shows as kids. People came. The vibe was good. We had a great time. Before playing, the sound guy came up to us and said “hey don’t panic, but the desk has fucked out and I may have lost all of our safety presets”. Ahhh welll!! It’s a bit odd when you're standing in front of a drummer and guitar amp and all you can hear is bass from the monitors.  I think we recovered well, and people were into it. Thanks to Mums for the feed.

I don’t know what happened in Dunedin but I felt like we hit a different gear or something. Maybe it was that home crowd advantage but we mutually felt that it could have been one of our best shows ever. Sugarcoated Bullets and Wet Specimen were great to watch. SCB represent everything that is pure and good about punk and I had their ‘outro’ song stuck in my head for the next couple of days. Wet Specimen are a whole different creature. If you were to ask the band what their style was they would probably shrug and say “Krautrock?” The drums and bass of Chris and Lucy is not only a formidable rhythm section but the perfect landscape for Reg to explore his sonic palate of screaming guitar feedback and open tunings. I’m a bit of a guitar nerd so seeing a single coil fender with a trem bar, running into a turbo rat, fuzz wah, and then a pushed AC15 was pretty awesome to behold. It might be the best setup I have ever seen if glorious noise is your desired outcome. E-Kare turned the punk show into a rave to end the night and it was what we all needed.

Saturday morning was a long and slightly hungover drive to Christchurch. We’re on a really good vibe after the last couple of shows and are starting to think we might sell out of most of our merch by the end of the tour. A friend told us that punk shows have been going off in Christchurch and they were not wrong. Dead Set played their first gig ever and it went off. A few of their friends walked in at 8:55 presumably to skip an ID check and were sent home immediately. Pretty unfortunate actually. Our music has no age restriction but the venue certainly does. Can we do something about this please? Tonight I fucked up and asked for “as much guitar as possible in the monitors”. Could have been the first gig I’ve heard too much of myself. Guitarists ae…

Our first leg of the tour is done and dusted. I am sitting in a backpackers in Picton which, for their sake, I will not name. Incorrect reservation, keys don’t work, and the spa is out of order. Fucking crushing it people! I am most upset about the last one. I had an image of me drinking wine in a spa over the next two days. We’re off to Wellington tomorrow to check out the city before our show on Wednesday. Tour life is great. Let’s keep this going.
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Sunday, 12 January 2020

***2020 OMSB mp3 Mix #2 (February)***

(((((OPENmind/SATURATEDbrain)))))
February 2020 mp3 MIX #2
 => ***DOWNLOAD HERE*** <=
https://www71.zippyshare.com/v/Kl5lajta/file.html
...and updates

A little late? That's right! A new record :(
Okay a few quick things:

1) All Zegema Beach Records orders ship with Zampler #14 - Games and Theory until they are out of stock. We made 100, 90 on white, 5 on black and 5 golden ZBR Fest 2020 tickets!
2) Oh right...the Zampler! Listen/donate/download digitally on bandcamp here, including 5 previously unreleased tracks from Yurodivy, Tropical Ice Land, Potence, Our Future Is An Absolute Shadow and Hawak.

3) Wax Vessel's new store worked swimmingly and Tower Of Rome went very quickly. Congrats to all those who snagged a copy! Once again here's the site info, I think we just a few Robinson's left then we're all out of current stock. Next up...A Black Rose Burial's 'An Awakening of Revenants!.
https://www.waxvessel.com
as well as
https://waxvesselrecords.bigcartel.com

***
Here's the tracklisting for OMSB mix#12 that was reviewed in November:

1) GLASSING - "Sleeper"

2) coming next month 

3) BLUEFLOWERREDTHORNS - "Gutcheck"

4) THRICE - "Hideous Strength"

5) TOMYDEEPESTEGO - "Many Days March Away"

Dave @ (((((OPENmind/SATURATEDbrain)))))

______________________________________

ZBR Store/Bandcamp

ZAMPLER #14 - 'Games and Theory' compilation
Hawak
Our Future Is An Absolute Shadow
cd-->FREE!!! (order anything from in the US / order anything from here for everywhere else)
(listen here)

 DSGNS - 'Ceremony' cd/cassetteEP
tapes coming soon
(listen here)

VI SOM ÄLSKADE VARANDRA SÅ MYCKET 'Det onda. Det goda. Det vackra. Det fula.' LP
(listen here)
NERVER 'Believer's Hit' LP

________________________________________________________________________

***Interviews/live shows/premieres coming up this month for sure:
- PODCAST #38 (2019 in review w/Lisa)
-

***Interviews/live shows/premieres posted last month:
- SWALLOWS NEST tour diaries
- SNAG interview
- WAX VESSEL interview
- Tarquin's Best of 2019
- Jesper's Top 10 Albums of the Decade
- Amy's Best 5 Screamo Releases of the Last 10 Years

________________________________________________________________________

***The following page have changes:
- nada
________________________________________________________________________

As always, on or around the 1st of every month, I will be posting a ZIP file with songs for the upcoming month with ALL specifics deleted from the tags, so unless you already know the band, there is NO information regarding each track.

During the following month, I will post reviews for those bands and link the tracks to the review so you can associate the two together. This way you can listen to a new song/band and have little-to-no bias. Below, I have re-posted the January mp3 mix that is used for this month's reviews.

OLD MIX
***2020 OMSB mp3 Mix #1 (reviewed in January)***
https://www71.zippyshare.com/v/A2EexMSG/file.html
________________________________________________________________________

The new 2020 OMSB mp3 Mix #1 has 5 songs from yours truly:
*-* ex-Thumbscrew...guess who?
*-* Hope Drone + Fall Of Efrafa = this amazing Russian band
*-* most people I know's first introduction to New Zealand screamo/hardcore (including myself)
*-* myspace ridiculousness...released in 2019!
*-* blackened screamo

NEW MIX
NEW => ***2020 OMSB mp3 Mix #2 (reviewed in February)*** <= NEW
https://www71.zippyshare.com/v/Kl5lajta/file.html
________________________________________________________________________

Any bands/labels that are interested in having their stuff reviewed, please email zegemabeachrecords@gmail.com: with "Open Mind Saturated Brain" as the subject. Please keep in mind that I don't review everything, just what jives with the blog. I will, however, listen to everything you send me. I would recommend emailing with an idea for a song/album premiere 2 months prior to that song/album release date for a much stronger chance at being reviewed on this blog. Bands that have already had their discography reviewed can also submit new albums for review if they include song/album premieres.
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Friday, 10 January 2020

***AMY's Yet Another Decade List...of screamo***

YET ANOTHER DECADE LIST
(That you never asked for, but I wrote it anyways)
By: Amy Christine

I didn’t get into screamo, emotive hardcore, skramz, “I really like the instrumentals but why do
they have to scream?” music until 2015. It was a perfect time because I was in the depths of
managing 20 years of untreated depression and had my core friends move to the coast. I never
would have thought this genre of music would be so influential for me in the last half of the
decade, and I’ve been able to make fulfilling near and far distance friendships because of it.
So, for my 5-year anniversary and for the end of the decade, I decided to list five albums that
came out in the last 10 years that had a huge impact on me.

2011: Beau Navire - Hours
Atmosphere for years, basslines for months. Hours is one of those records I hold dear to my
heart. It’s like listening to a novel, the transitions from track to track flow so well. A particular
highlight comes from the transition between "Reinventing the Veil, to Respire (meta)". I always
feel a strong sense of ennui listening to "Respire (meta)" after listening to the first four tracks. I
never get tired listening to this album and often put it on at early morning or dusk.
Favourite track: The Looking Glass (Bare Trees is a close second)


2013: Jungbluth – Part Ache
For all you Alpinist purists who have slid into my DMs over the years, yes, I know… but
minus​.​mensch came out in 2009. Sorry those are the rules.

That being said, if you want something to lift weights to while feeling existential dread, this is the
record for you. – I’ve tested it – This album is heavy and dark and intense. Bass and guitar tones
to die for. The vocals are raw and powerful. It sounds like the band locked up the main vocalist
in a room with rabid wolves during recording. (I hope they got out okay)
Favourite track: Looks Like Freedom


2017: Frail Hands – S/T
I remember the week this record came out. I was starting my fall semester and had to take the
number 7 bus, which is one of the worst bus routes in Edmonton. But you know what isn’t the
worst? This album. The riffs are catchy as hell which often get stuck in my head. I love the vocal
distortion and the mix is fantastic. The melodic guitar parts soar over everything seamlessly. A
perfect record to listen to when it’s -20 degrees Celsius waiting for your bus.
Favourite Track: Crematoria


2017: Øjne - Prima Che Tutto Bruci
Fun fact, did you know Italian speakers are less likely to be dyslexic because the syntax rules in
Italian are more consistent compared to other languages?

… well now you do!

I don’t really know how to describe this album either than beautiful. I often listen to this album
when driving through the mountains or walking outside in the snow and it complements my
feeling of awe being out in nature. Beautiful melodies, wonderfully arranged, and to top it all
off the vocals are so passionate and dynamic. I also tend to dance to the second half of "Tredici"
with my husband.
Favourite track: Ogni Inverno


2018: Respire – Dénouement
AKA Broken Social Scream, God Scream You Black Emperor!
Never in a million years would I have predicted a crossover of what I loved best about Canadian
indie music and screamo. This record is beautiful and painful and uplifting all at the same time.
While the vocal trade-offs, soaring violin, blackened guitars are fantastic, my favourite
segments of this record are the ambient atmospheric parts, which allows me to contemplate
life and how damn beautiful this record is. If you have a chance, see them live because it’s a
beautiful experience.
Favourite Track: Catacombs


So that’s it! It was really hard to reduce my favourites to only 5. If you’re curious about my
favourite 2019 screamo record of the year, check out my review of Elle – Ellipses.


*Amy plays in Obroa-skai and screamed in Rayleigh.
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