Sunday 20 January 2019

BÖKANÖVSKY

BandBÖKANÖVSKY
GenresPunk / Post-Rock / Hardcore / Post-Hardcore / Post-Metal / Emo / Screamo / Skramz / Crust / Doom / Sludge / Ambient / Experimental
Related artistsChild Meadow and Grand Détour.
CountryToulon FRANCE
Years Active2005-2017
Song: "Part 1"
Album: "We Stumble"
Year: 2009
For fans of: LocktenderLakmé, Marée Noire, The Solexine Chapter, Envy, Heaven In Her Arms, Les Deux Minutes De La Haine, Aussitôt Mort, Light Bearer, Amanda Woodward, Trainwreck, I Not Dance, Nous Étions and Milanku aka PROPER SCREAMO.
Label(s): Self Released / Bus Stop Press / Sons Of Vesta / Desertion Records / Nuestra Lengua / Kisses And Hugs / Blessed Hands Records / Cité De Chenilles / Moloch Industries / Codex Records / Art For Blind / Purepainsugar / Flower Of Carnage / Allergic To Fun / Waking The Dead Records / Revolution Summer / Pure Heart Records / OSK Records / Quatuka Records / In Limine / TDD Records / Shove Records / Petit Chantier Records / J' Apelle Les Flics
This post's artist is from the January 2019 Mix. This is track #10.
You can download: the January 2019 Mix#1 right here or get the new February 2019 Mix#2 here.

Any chance you are a fan of Locktender? Hmmm, what about Amanda Woodward? Well, France's BÖKANÖVSKY took the sound of Amanda Woodward and made it their own, with the sound of earlier Locktender likely being influenced heavily by this band (or, at least, I would assume, due to the sound similarity). The driving, powerful and epic screamo/hardcore/post-metal style lasted for over a decade (although they really only released from 2007 until 2012), with the band recently calling it quits officially in 2017. But worry not, for two members also play in both Child Meadow and Grand Detour so members are still active and doing great things.

In 2007 the band released their first record, the self titled 'Bökanövsky' cassette and 12"EP. There's a hella Trainwreck and I Not Dance going on here, with a stronger grasp of screamo than the aforementioned bands. The second song "La grand déglingue" is excellent, as it intertwines dual vocals over raging, dense and unstoppable instrumentals. "À l'aube nos passions s'arment" is another strong, volatile and relentless track doesn't let up for its four-minute entirety. Most songs come in around this time save the closing track "Let's not separate" which is a 22-second blast.

It seems that the songs on the 'Tesa split' 7" were actually written and recorded in 2006 and should have been released in 2007, but was delayed until 2008. So although this might look like later work it's actually the band's earliest. To be honest I fucking love these two songs as they have an urgency and volatile anger that was smoothed out in later material. "Madrid te quiero" reminds me of early Envy and The Solexine Chapter while "Au bonheur des marchands" is seriously pissed off and reminds me of the new Marée Noire material from their Crowning split.

It was the 2009 'We Stumble' that I first heard back in 2011 and perked my ears up. The EP is just two songs, but they clock in at about 9 and 15 minutes each, so this is more like and LP than anything else. "Part I" aka "Side A" is the longer of the two, but both are slower, epic, sprawling tracks that take their time to explode, instead of exploding all the time. There are quite a few parts that remind me of I Not Dance as well as well known acts such as Fall Of Efrafa and Light Bearer, so if fans of those bands haven't checked out this band that's a great place to start. "Part II" aka "Side B" is 8:55 in length and is a mountain with some great valleys hidden in a few of the peaks.

In 2010 they released an excellent 'split 7" w/Lakmé', another band I have reviewed on this blog. "De Couloirs En Chambres Froides" is a grooving, screamy post-hardcore/post-metal song while "Slow Down" is more of a pulverizing hardcore track not unlike Perth Express, albeit with a few slower, jammy moments.

In 2012 they released what I consider to be their final new recordings as a five-song cdr EP titled 'MMXII'. On this release the band slows things down even further and darkens the vocals, making the band sound more like Les Deux Minutes De La Haine and Nous Étions. The songs are labeled from "I" to "V" and are on the shorter side (when compared to 'We Stumble') as most hover from three to five minutes in length. "II" has some wonderful layers to it during the first half but is epic as fuck during its close, while "III" houses the heaviest, dirtiest breakdown the band ever wrote.

In 2017 the band officially called it quits, but not before releasing a full 'Discography' on Bus Stop Press that included two unreleased songs (neither of which are amazing, but worth a listen if you're a big fan) and an Amanda Woodward cover of "A l'assaut". You can download the discography for free from the band's bandcamp and I believe the label still might have a few copies of the tape left.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2007 - Bökanövsky cassette/12"EP (stream/donate/download here)

2008 - Tesa split 7" (stream/donate/download here)

2009 - We Stumble cassette/12"EP (stream/donate/download here)

2010 - Lakmé split 7" (stream/donate/download here)

2012 - MMXII cdrEP (stream/donate/download here)

2017 - Discography tape (stream/donate/download here)

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(2007) BÖKANÖVSKY - "À l'aube nos passions s'arment" (from 'Bökanövsky')

(2007) BÖKANÖVSKY - "La grand déglingue" (from 'Bökanövsky')

(2008) BÖKANÖVSKY - "Madrid te quiero" (from 'Tesa' split)

(2009) BÖKANÖVSKY - "Part 1/Side A" (from 'We Stumble')

(2010) BÖKANÖVSKY - "De couloirs en chambres froides" (from 'Lakmé' split)

(2012) BÖKANÖVSKY - "II" (from 'Demo MMXII')

(2012) BÖKANÖVSKY - "III" (from 'Demo MMXII')

(2017) BÖKANÖVSKY - "A l'assaut (Amanda Woodward cover)" (from 'Discography')

(2017) BÖKANÖVSKY - "Your Words" (from 'Discography')

(2017) BÖKANÖVSKY - final show video

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BÖKANÖVSKY additional links

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