Monday 1 April 2013

Things that are happening and shoegazing.


Testing, testing, 1, 2..

Woah, it’s dusty in here. It’s been a while I guess. Anyway, welcome.

The emergency broadcast is over and things will come back to life. I speak metaphorically of course, unless you’re reading this from the nuclear asbestos-lined bunker you locked yourself in on the 21st of December last year, in which case: Come out, we’re all alright because the world will exist long after we’ve become extinct you fucking nutter. Expect snow though.

Right then kids. You missed a treat if you didn’t come to the last Watchfires show, which you probably didn’t and if that’s the case then you’re not reading this because you don’t care.

We teamed up with Bristol based record label Howling Owl Records. They brought three of their bands with them and basically blew us away. We had a strong side though, which consisted of Eat Y’Self Pretty and Bad Apes, oh and us but we don’t count.

What ensued was a night of sonic devastation. Say no more and if I learnt anything from that night then it’s this: The Naturals are fucking incredible.

What’s new with us? Well, the wheels are in motion.

We are recording a single at the end of April. The B-side(s) to which are currently being recorded.

We’re also writing an EP. All being well, we’ll record it in the summer.

Before all this though we have some recycled sounds to fill in the gap... 

We’ve banged on about a remix album for a while and the good news is that it’s coming out on the 20th April as a free download on Minor Artists. It features remixes by Arc Vel, (label mate) Ebenezer, MOVEMENT and many more. Leading up to release day we’re streaming a different selected track off it on our soundcloud page every week and there is also a video. How fun! The keen eyed about you will have noticed that it’s released on Record Store Day so if you download it in the morning then you have a soundtrack for your day trawling through vinyl. Keep checking our soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/sunrise-over-europe) and facebook pages. Oh and twitter, depending on how zealous you are with your information pursuit. 


You know what I’ve noticed? I’ve noticed that post-rock/math rock/shoegaze bands bond incredibly quickly and that happens because of effects pedals. It starts with a simple question: “How did you get that sound?” What ensues is a long conversation about each others pedal boards and what you want to get next. This conversation is usually filled with grunts and sounds that resemble a climax yelp. You know what? It’s bloody great!

These conversations last for hours at a time and you go away with some new sounds to track down. Late nights on youtube mentally masturbating over circuitry and metal boxes is the outcome. If you like what you hear, you then fight yourself for days trying to justify spending £200+ on the pedal. Then you do and tell your band friends. This is greeted by the sound you hear at the end of a fireworks display and occasionally audible jealousy. Our main competitor/comrade in this is George from our lock-up buddies, Prayers. Although, Matt from Arbor Lights is quickly taking the mantle for pedal king due to his crowning purchase: An Eventide Space.

Needless to say, everyone in our little fold is jealous.

Anyway, enough of this. Keep your eyes peeled on our Facebook and Twitter pages for the tracks we’re streaming over the next couple of weeks. Don’t have too much fun.

Transmission over.

Will