Interview with Jonas Waaben from The Sonic Dawn

(This feature first appeared in issue #87 of Shindig! magazine. For the full unpublished interview click over the jump at the bottom.)

The Sonic Dawn's new album is a graceful psych-rock odyssey. Drummer Jonas Waaben talks songs, sound and vision with Duncan Fletcher

“A lot of the album is about the end of the world, the idea that everything is coming to an end, we're fucked with the climate crisis, there won't be enough food around in a few generations, all those doomsday ideas which have a rational foundation,” says Jonas of 'Forever 1969', the lead single from The Sonic Dawn's new album Eclipse. “But change on a major level is possible if people come together. In 1969 you had Woodstock, also the largest peace marches against the Vietnam War, all that stuff. It's possible to turn the shit around, that's the message of the song.”

Drummer Jonas along with childhood friends Emil Bureau (vocals/guitar) and Niels 'Bird' Fuglede (bass) formed the band in Copenhagen in 2013. Eclipse is their third album, one which focuses on the art of the song. “We tried to really sharpen the concept for each song, make it sharp and shorter. On the previous albums we definitely had longer escapades whereas here we tried to go where we wanted to go immediately... Eclipse is in a way back to the roots of our own inspiration, a lot of that is sixties music. We admire that strange combination of a short, three-minute pop format song that can be trippy as fuck!”

The influences of The 13th Floor Elevators, Red Krayola, Country Joe & The Fish and more can all be heard on the album. Another defining feature is its subtlety and grace, achieved in part due to the tastes shared with producer Thomas Vang. “We tried to accomplish something far removed from a stadium rock sound or a modern, hard-hitting, bass-driven rock sound. It's much easier to work with someone like Thomas, he's a trained jazz musician and has produced a lot of jazz records out of his studio. He has a much better natural feel for how the group sounds in the room and how to capture that. Then we will try to push it further production-wise - 'hey man we need way more echo here' or 'it needs to get crazier.' But a good natural sound for the drums, he has an ear for that.”

The band are hitting the road hard in 2019 but a word of warning to anyone who hitches a lift with the trio - “If we see a hitch-hiker we will pick them up and continue playing stuff like Trout Mask Replica or Red Krayola or Beat Of The Earth. Just insane music and nobody will say anything. The hitch-hiker will just sit there frozen - 'who are these maniacs!?' haha! It's a very delicate form of torture, one that I take great pleasure in I must admit!”


Eclipse is out on February 1st on Heavy Psych Sounds

Click here for The Sonic Dawn's website.
Click here for Heavy Psych Sounds Records.
 
The Sonic Dawn are :-
Jonas Waaben – drums 
Emil Bureau – Vox/guitar
Niels 'Bird' Fuglede- bass

(Click over the jump to read the full unpublished interview)

Black Rainbows premier new video + tour dates!

BLACK RAINBOWS drop new riff-fueled video "Electrify"; new album "Stellar Prophecy" out APRIL 15th on Heavy Psych Sounds!

Roma's stoner rock princes BLACK RAINBOWS are stepping up the pace in anticipation of the release of their fifth album "Stellar Prophecy" this May, by dropping their new video "Electrify" via The Obelisk. Jolt your spines, get fuzzed up now. With "Electrify", BLACK RAINBOWS serve another blistering in-your-face track, while also welcoming new bass player Giuseppe Guglielmino within the band. "Electrify" was directed by the band's in-house videomaker Andrea Labate. Check out Black Rainbows' new video "Electrify" HERE Losing no time, the emblematic fuzz trio is set to release their brand new full-length "Stellar Prophecy" this May 15th, closely following their well-acclaimed fourth effort "Hawkdope" released in early 2015. BLACK RAINBOWS continue their exploration of the 70's stoner rock sound, still reaching a perfect balance between hectic fuzz-driven anthems and highly psychedelic rock jams.  BLACK RAINBOWS - New album "Stellar Prophecy" Out on April 15th via Heavy Psych Sounds   Since they formed nine years ago in Roma, Italian trio BLACK RAINBOWS have established themselves as one of the most active fuzz-fueled rock acts in Europe, with four albums, a remarkable handful of EPs (including a split record with L.A.'s space rockers Farflung) and countless tours and festival appearances across the continent. Blending the drive and swagger of 70's hard rock with the sun-baked thickness of 90's stoner rock, BLACK RAINBOWS have managed to create their own sound imprint, that could be described as "Hawkwind, MC-5 and Nebula crashing cars in the middle of the Mojave desert". Closely following with their highly acclaimed effort Hawkdope, the band is set to deliver another tasty piece of their fuzzy cake with fifth full-length Stellar Prophecy, out on April 15th via Heavy Psych Sounds. Click over the jump for the band's upcoming tour dates!

Black Rainbows - Hawkdope

Italian fuzz-rock trio cement their reputation as one of the genre's prime movers. A feast of killer heavy rock with a side dish of mystical musings.

Eighteen months on from the band's Holy Moon mini-LP, Black Rainbows are back! Hawkdope may have less stylistic diversions than their previous outing but it does everything you'd want and expect. A glance at the song titles gives you some idea of what this album contains. With titles such as Killer Killer Fuzz, The Prophet and The Cosmic Picker, you're in for a 45 minute feast of killer heavy rock with a side dish of mystical musings.

On album opener The Prophet they sing of “prophesies being released” over Sabbath-esque riffs, setting the course for the rest of the album. Wolf Eyes kicks off with an amphetime-boosted Tamla drumbeat. Incidentally, what is it with heavy rock bands and their fascination with wolves?!? There's Wolfmother, Wolf People, Wolfsbane. Zep's Robert Plant even supports the football team!

We can forgive a fixation with Canis Lupus when the resulting music hits the spot though. Heavy rock bands of the early '70s are a touchstone, though fans of later grunge and alt-rock will find much to like too. I imagine the live Black Rainbows experience is even more rewarding. The band have an extensive tour booked throughout Spring and Summer including some UK dates in June. (See the flyer below for more info.)

The sole acoustic offering, Waiting For The Sun provides a short, soft break from the biker-friendly rock, but it's heaviness that the band does best. Much like one of their song titles requests - “Hypnotize My Soul With Rock 'N' Roll”. They certainly do that, and then some. A band at the top of their game.

Black Rainbows are -

Gabriele Fiori

Dario Iocca

Alberto Croce

www.theblackrainbows.com

www.facebook.com/BLACKRAINBOWSROCK

www.heavypsychsounds.com 

Killer Boogie - Detroit

Put your hands up for Detroit! Italian fuzz-rockers tribute to Rock City.

Detroit has long been recognized as the spiritual home for all things gritty, dirty and deranged in rock 'n' roll. Ever since The Stooges and MC5 burst on the the global scene after formulating their sounds in the Motor City there's been a steady stream of bands in their wake carrying on that legacy. From Alice Cooper to The Gories, Suzi Quattro to The White Stripes, they've all shared a love for stripped-to-the-bone hard rock delivered with humour and intelligence. Ditto Killer Boogie, whose blues-rock roots are souped up like a custom muscle car.

Killer Boogie don't hail from Detroit but they would make good adopted sons. Instead they hail from Rome, a city more renowned for its Colosseum and Sistene Chapel than it is for hard riffing rock music. The three-piece band are something of a supergroup, featuring Gabriele Fiori on guitars and vocals (Black Rainbows), Luigi Costanzo on drums (The Wisdoom), and Matteo Marini on bass (though Eduardo Mancini played bass on these studio recordings.)

This cross fertilization of bands from the Heavy Psych Sounds roster results in an album that fits perfectly with the label's ethos and aesthetic. HPS is already a label with a strongly defined identity, one that this record reinforces via its proto-grunge and metal. Detroit may be a record of very fixed genre but that's most certainly the point. After all, you don't go to a pizzeria and ask for sushi! So expect some hard rock with a distinctly early '70s hue.

Much like the almost fabled city of the album's title, the record's spirit is one of rebellion, fused with a separateness from the wider musical world. Economically Detroit has been on the decline since its car producing heyday, a city that's both proud and haunted by its golden era. Similarly rock music's purple patch is commonly thought to be the early '70s, so it's in some way fitting that Killer Boogie echo those classic sounds.

That era saw the beginning of rock's love affair with guitar pedals, when pushing the limits of volume, speed and virtuosity was at the forefront of most denim clad musician's minds. Detroit shares all those fascinations and then some. Busy guitar solos and fuzzed-up riffs abound. It says much about the state of contemporary music when such sonic time travel can reward more than today's state of the art releases.

No wonder then that each new generation eventually discovers the music made by Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy et al. Thank goodness there's a new breed of contemporary bands making music that carries a similarly heavy punch. Hats off to Killer Boogie and Heavy Psych Sounds for flying the flag for all things heavy!

Click here for more on Killer Boogie.

Click here for Heavy Psych Sounds.

Wild Eyes - Above Becomes Below

Luv 'n' Haight! Rock 'n' Roll! Second album of heavy acid-rock from Janiece and the boys.

San Francisco is already a city with a reputation for brain-bending, female-fronted, acid-rock. Think of Janis Joplin fronting Big Brother And The Holding Company back in the late '60s. That reputation is further renewed by the release of Above Becomes Below, the second album by SF-based rockers Wild Eyes, featuring vocals by Janiece Gonzalez, surely the inheritor of Joplin's untamed queen of rock crown.

This is no Luv'n'Haight hippy trip though, it's something altogether wilder, trashier and rockier, much more 21^st century rock and roll, yet informed by the heavy '70s, trash-punk '80s, funk-rock '90s and the back-to-basics new rock revolution of the noughties. There's a road-hardened edge to all the psychedelic rock riffage and unhinged guitar solos, one that evokes wild nights, fast-living and outsider status.

Like any power trio worth their salt, the dudes in the band make rock with a groove, and allow plenty of space for Janiece to do her wild woman vocals over the top. After the initial bluster and bombast of opening track Stiff Nites, the album settles into its groove. With no weak links in the chain Wild Eyes are equally at ease with the slinky, slithering, shape shifting funkiness deployed on seven minute opus The Freak, as they are with the Led Zeppelin style riffs of Alabaster Dream and mystic dreaminess of Hewn Runes. Another artistically successful release for Italy's Heavy Psych Sounds Records, and one which raises the freak flag high. To paraphrase Davis Crosby – you might even grow your hair!

Wild Eyes are -

Janiece Gonzalez – Vocals

Carson Binks - Bass

Chris Corona - Guitar

Ben Richardson - Drums

Click here for more on Wild Eyes.

Click here for Heavy Psych Sounds Records.

Wedge - S/T Debut LP

Berlin trio's riffing, rocking debut! For fans of Blue Cheer, Wolfmother and classic heavy rock!

Less than a year since they formed, Berlin power trio Wedge are releasing their debut album via Italy's Heavy Psych Sounds label. This self-titled platter finds the sweet spot where rock's convergent forms meet to share beers and a spliff, and ask “how're ya doin'?” On listening, it would seem psych, classic, blues, heavy, garage, metal and proto-punk are all doing fine.

Opening track Easy Chair is nowhere near as laid back as the title suggests. Instead it's a drummer's tour-de-force lightened by a lyrical vignette that's worthy of The Who circa '66. This twisted coming of age tale over riff-driven, psychedelic rock is broken up by a more introspective, Doors-esque mid section that's all the better for its sumptuous electric piano.

Looks 'n' Savvy is a swaggering garage-rocker reminiscent of Jet (remember them?), The Datsuns and other new rock revolutionaries of the early noughties. Whereas Makeyerselfree comes on like Oasis covering Stairway to Heaven (it's better than that sounds, believe me!)

For most of their inspiration however, the band look to heavy rock's late '60s/early '70s heyday, as evidenced on '61 SG (see video below), their ode to Gibson's classic guitar and weapon of choice for hard rockers from the '60s onwards. Judging by the tracks on their album, this particular SG is in worthy hands.

The band are touring in Germany throughout November and December in support of this release. If you get the chance go show some love.

Wedge are -

Kiryk Drewinski – Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica

Holger “The Holg” Grosser – Drums & Percussion

David Götz – Bass, Organ, Electric Piano & Mellotron

Click here for more on Wedge.

Click here for more on Heavy Psych Sounds Records.

Naam / White Hills / Black Rainbows / The Flying Eyes - Desert Fest Split LP

Four bands for the price of one showcasing the best of Italy's Heavy Psych Sounds label.

Split releases are an interesting affair. The hope is that the each band's music will sit comfortably on such a format and compliment that of the other bands. When they work everyone's a winner – the musicians, label and especially us humble music consumers. For the music fan they're often a gateway or inroad into new sonic adventures. You buy the thing because it features one band and end up liking and investigating the other bands.

This four way split featuring acts on the Heavy Psych Sounds record label is a good example. Four bands – (Naam, White Hills, Black Rainbows and The Flying Eyes), each having 2 songs to let us know what they're about. Or just the one in White Hills' case. Although already familiar with the work of Black Rainbows (click here for a review of their Holy Moon album), the other acts are new to me so we'll look at them first.

Naam open the proceedings with “Skyscraper (Ambient Remix)”. The bracketed part of the title will give you a clue to what this track is about. It feels like the calm before the storm, as if we're being broken in gently. It's not until their following track that we get a truer sense of what they're about. “Thickening Web” is infused with a dread and foreboding that the title suggests. Hypnotically repetitive, circling and building. More Krautrock than stoner-rock which comes as a surprise given the stylistic reputation of the label.

White Hills' sole track “They've Got Blood... Like You've Got Blood” is an eleven minute epic opening with with random oscillations, mariachi trumpet and angry voices before drums begin to swell the track into something grander. Again there's more drone than rock, hinting at a new direction or offshoot for the label perhaps. It's not until the eight and a half minute mark before the track takes an unexpected turn into Kraftwerk-influenced electronica. Expect the unexpected as the saying goes.

Next up are Black Rainbows with some altogether familiar hard-driving stoner-rock on “Viper Rock”. Guitar fuzzy, hoary rock god vocals. It's safe but good ground. It's not until the band's second offering that they show us what they're really capable of. “Minor Monster Galaxy Message” is a slower, more nuanced affair with some lovely delicate electric piano midway through.

It's left to The Flying Eyes to round off the album. Their first track “Golden Grey” has a stately grandeur about it, with guitars holding long high notes over the Eddie Vedder-esque vocals. They follow this up with “Evil Little Leslie”, (a nod the rotating speaker cabinet used on the vocal no doubt), which makes use of Hubert Sumlin's Spoonful riff. All in all this is a surprisingly varied and rewarding compilation. Keep your mind open and you'll end up liking at least one of the bands here more than you thought you would.

Click here for the Heavy Psych Sounds website.

The Wisdoom - Hypothalamus (OUT NOW!)

Music to feel unsettled by. Four epically sludgy tracks of doom metal on The Wisdoom's debut mini LP. A Heavy Psych Sound indeed!

It's been four years since The Wisdoom unleashed their self-titled debut EP, in which time the band have honed their sound into an immensely heavy, hypnotic, almost hallucinogenic beast. Their recently released debut long-player Hypothalamus is testament to that. Despite the fact it features only four songs, it clocks in at just short of 45 minutes (or one side of a C90 in old money). The Greek theme extends to the song titles – Alpha, Theta, Delma and Oneiron. Such a concept all adds to the album's weightiness.

Though very much a genre band (don't expect them to cross-over onto daytime radio One or Two), the Roman quartet will tick all boxes for fans of doom and sludge metal. Opening track Alpha has guitar chords that are avalanche heavy. With chord sequences and stops and starts that do their best to disorientate your ears before the vocals kick in and the track finds its feet.

Theta sees the band in more meditative mode, with more considered guitar lines, sonics and atmospherics starting the track before the slow onslaught of drums and occasional forays into sampled spoken word. Just like it says on the album's label this is a Heavy Psych Sound, designed to alter perception and take you to auditory places you've not visited before.

Delma comes across as likely to feature on some B-movie horror soundtrack, the perfect musical accompaniment to something heinous and unspeakable. I guess that's just how the band intended it. Music to feel unsettled by.

And the album title? It refers to an almond-sized portion of the human brain that links the nervous system to the endocrine system via the pituitary gland. So there you go. You don't need a medical degree however to enjoy Hypothalamus, just a set of powerful speakers and tolerant neighbours will suffice.

www.thewisdoom.com

www.heavypsychsounds.com

Black Rainbows – Holy Moon

Mini album (maxi EP?) from Italian power trio heads for the stars with their stellar stoner, drone and space-rock.

Having been aware of Italy's Black Rainbows since the band's second album Carmina Diablo, it's obvious from the first few seconds that the band have progressed. The heavy stoner rock is still there but there's been a broadening of musical palette. Space-rock, stoner, drone and boogie are all represented, with even some Jimmy Page style acoustic riffage for good measure.

With only six, albeit long songs on this album, Black Rainbows have managed to display a range of styles and moods that somehow make for a satisfyingly cohesive whole. The album's opening title track is a five minute slice of prime stoner rock grooves complete with '60s space-race themed spoken word samples. Rewarding enough on its own things then take off for avenues new.

Monsters Of The Highway harks back to the sort of noise that used to to be heard at Reading Rock Festival in its pre-student-friendly days, when the Hell's Angels ruled the campsite. A heads down blues rock number with post-Hendrix guitar soloing, it's the perfect soundtrack for your speed 'n' snakebite consumption. Then there's the curve ball of Chakra Temple a softer, meditative number with its spiralling eastern scales over a constant rhythmic drone. Definitely not your standard muscle-headed metal.

The Hunter (no not the Free song) will keep fans of Carmino Diablo and its follow-up, Supermothafuzzalicious happy. (Check out the video below). More surprises next when a distorted hacking cough vocal leads into If I Was A Bird, a track which owes a debt to Jimmy Page's acoustic riffing on Led Zepellin III. Probably recorded on a Welsh mountainside. The album closes with a version of MC5's Black To Comm, which is given a lengthy Hawkwind space-rock makeover. For all the non-metalheads out there, don't think you wouldn't enjoy this record. There's an intelligence, sensitivity and even humour to this record that a lot of metallic fare lacks. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

www.theblackrainbows.com

www.heavypsychsounds.com

Ape Skull - Ape Skull

Organic classic rock gets a new lease of life courtesy of Italy's Ape Skull.

“Rock is dead they say. Long Live Rock!” - That's what The Who reckoned way back in the early 70s, and those eight words carry a lot of truth. What can now be seen as a musical form reaching its peak with the emergence of heavy blues based rock played with virtuosity by power trios, also signalled the moment just before the rot set in. But it's the last three words that also point to a hopeful future. We have the form down, now take that and give it a function.

Italy's Ape Skull play heavy rock music that has little to do with any music developments since 1974 but that's not the point. What they do is take the blueprint of warmly cranked up amps and groovy hard rock and have fun with it. Let's be honest there's plenty of modern day rock bands that are stifled by the pressure of adding something to the form. Personally I'd rather hear something that comes from the heart and has a bit of soul as opposed to something hampered by an obligation to progression.

Ape Skull's self-titled debut album recalls the golden age of the power trio format, channelling echoes of Cream, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Free, Led Zeppelin, Blue Cheer et al. It's hard acid rock with a soulful groove, and would be more at home on the free festival circuit of the late 60s/early 70s than on any modern day beer-sponsored stage. Not afraid of sitting on the groove or taking an extended guitar solo, this is rock music you can boogie to. unpretentious, unhinged and a whole lotta fun.

www.apeskullband.com

www.heavypsychsounds.com