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What music are you playing VII.


Vince1159

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I was reading through a thread on a guitar forum and came across the sentence "Deafheaven go full shoegaze." Now, for those that don't know, the term "shoegaze" was a somewhat derogatory word to describe the early 90s movement of bands which had a complex, layered guitar sound, featuring a metric boat-load of effects, vocal harmonies and a penchant for floppy fringes. Think Ride, Lush, Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, et al. The word itself was coined due to the guitarists having to constantly look at their effect pedals (to ensure they were stomping on the right one!) and the lack of showmanship onstage.

 

Shoegaze took most of its inspiration from the post punk bands of the 80s, along with 60s psychedelia, ambient and sometimes dub reggae, all of which are things dear to my heart. I have a theory that popular music scenes are driven by technology- firstly when the technology becomes available (and the musicians rich enough to either be able to afford this technology or have access to the studios that have it) and then again when the technology becomes affordable to the masses. In many ways, the second wave can be more interesting in that you get people who don't really have any idea how to use this technology "properly" and end up getting new and exciting sounds as a result. A prime example is acid house and the misuse of the Roland TB 303 Bassline synth. Originally conceived as a simple bass synthesiser with a built-in step sequencer (and something of a failure when it was released), it gained a new lease of life when it was used to create squelchy lead lines, especially when fed through a distortion pedal.

 

Anyway, I seem to have strayed off the point. I really like good shoegaze, though there's a lot of mediocre shoegaze to wade through and although I had heard of Deafheaven, I'd never heard anything by them. The original post described the band as "black metal meets shoegaze", which, while an intriguing combination, didn't really sound like something I wanted to listen to, not being a metalhead in any way, shape or form. I listened to the suggested tune Lament For Wasps and enjoyed it. Certainly no hint of metal there. I then started listening to some others from the new album, but while I liked maybe one or two, the others didn't do anything for me, especially when the vocals started to get a bit screamo, which really doesn't work.

 

If nothing else, a couple more tunes to add to my Only Gaze In The Village playlist.

 

 

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What do you think Golden Brown by the Stranglers would have sounded like played by Dave Brubeck?

 

Wonder no more 

 

 

So cool, I need a woolly jumper to warm up.

 

Trevor 😎

 

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The great Upsetter, master of dub, Lee Scratch Perry RIP, that's two greats in one week, here's some of Lee's work...

 

Producer on this legendary song...

 

 

 

producer on this reggae great too (yes folks, that's where the Prodigy got the sample from)...

 

 

and here he is with Keef on guitar

 

 

With Charlie Watts on drums the big band upstairs just got the greatest drummer and a wicked producer!

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