Porcys

Interview: inc.

By Kacper Bartosiak, March 28, 2013

First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your album—it’s one of my favorite records this year so far! You’ve already said plenty about No World [in other interviews], so I would like to start from the beginning. We’ve been closely following your music from the first tracks that you released in 2010, but these songs were a bit different from the stuff you’re doing now. Why is that? Did something change about your music? I would say that “Friend of the Night” and “Fountains” sound like they were inspired by progressive rock, would you agree with that?

Andrew Aged: I think… maybe, yeah. We are often asked about the album, but you can actually see that what we’re doing is sort of a search. We don’t really know what the next destination will be. Going forward we’re not exactly sure where we will end up. We think that there is some prog blend to our first tracks but we constantly try to evolve our music and that’s all that really happened with Inc.. The things that we’re doing now have a bit wider spectrum to what we feel in music; also, in terms of arrangement, a lot of different things are coming to you and that’s what it‘s always been like with us.

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Tera Melos: “Sunburn” [8.0]

The Sacramento group returns by re-defining the concept of math rock. Up to this point Tera Melos’ music has been notoriously difficult to categorize, baffling critics with the scope of their inspirations; those have ranged from fusion, post-rock, post-hardcore, and prog to noise, electronic music, and as far as ambient. With Patagonian Rats, the band made a sharp turn towards pop, although still with identifiable math and experimental Tumblr tags. In one interview, guitarist and vocalist Nick Reinhart admitted his love for early Madonna, adding that he’d been getting into “simple” things recently. Unconstrained by pressure to innovate, “Sunburn” is a “simple” song for Tera Melos.  

It’s a dynamic one, too, with the verses reminiscent of Max Tundra’s frenzied songwriting style (which alone could serve as a recommendation). While catchy and pop, “Sunburn” abounds in not-so-easily discernible details and micro-themes. When Reinhert sings “Something I can’t explain/Forget it” our faith in indie rock is temporarily restored. The energy and passion that the track emanates grab the listener from the get go, holding a constant grip until the very end. The guitar burst three quarters into the track goes straight to the heart, dissecting the track beautifully. 99% of current indie bands have not and will never make a song like this one, that’s for sure. Slackers rejoice! 

By Marek Lewandowski

(Originally published in Polish at Porcys.com in February 2013, translated by Patryk Mrozek)

Mario Basanov feat. Jeremy Glenn: “More for the Less” [7.0]

Dance music from Eastern Europe hasn’t flooded the world yet. Tesla Boy made one fine attempt to break the deadlock with “Spirit Of The Night,” but the band’s debut LP that followed proved to be an unfulfilled promise; only those keen on “Western”-sounding Russian synthpop have held out hope for the band since.

This doesn’t apply to Basanov, though. First of all, the project is based in Lithuania, and second, it’s deeply-rooted in house and nu-disco with their conventional repertoire of influences. The act has been firmly established in the scene with superb single releases (“We Are Child Of Love,” “Caribbean Girl”), as well as top-notch productions collaborations (with Tony Betties). Furthermore, Marijus Adomaitis seems to have enormous potential for experimenting – even though he doesn’t show it off – and wide-ranging inspirations, too. At times he can sound like Atlas Sound on electro-acid (“Interlude B”), and on another occasion, together with Vidis, he does charming Junior Boys-esque style in “I’ll Be Gone.”

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Autre Ne Veut: “Play By Play”

I wondered many times while listening to Autre Ne Veut’s “Tell Me” and “Sweetheart” exactly how this lo-fi R&B could sound if made in a real studio, and whether it would make for as much of a hit as my gut was telling me it would. Arthur Ashin’s latest teaser for his debut LP as ANV, Anxiety, puts an end to my several month-long speculation. “Play By Play” seems like a shot at getting more exposure, too; with an undeniably catchy chorus that takes nearly half of its running time, the song is truly cut out for the purpose of winning over new audiences. What’s largely unprecedented for Ashin’s music are soulful backing vocals that sound so fitting you wouldn’t believe he hasn’t used them before. The song’s mesmerizing pre-chorus deserves another mention, using its hooks to complete a neat image of ANV’s new direction; a course I couldn’t possibly be happier with.

By Kacper Bartosiak (Originally published at Porcys.com in February 2013. Translated by Patryk Mrozek)

Armando Suzette: “All Hallows Eve”

Armando Suzette is a project of Mateusz Tondera, the vocalist of the quite unremembered Cracow-based indie rock band White Rabbit’s Trip. Ditching the sharp-edged tone of the band, he put out an EP, Summer Quest, in 2010. It was a bit of a chaotic set of demos with surf accents redolent of early Animal Collective. However, “All Hallows Eve,” released on Halloween 2011, took a more concrete form and was Armando’s best production back then. Withdrawing from all remnants of rock, Tondera focused on synths and created a neat low-budget bedroom R&B sketch. Over the absolutely spartan background of keys and a terse drum loop, the astonishingly meandering vocal melodies are both charming and disquieting.

By Łukasz Konatowicz

(Originally published at Porcys.com in November 2011. Translated by Krzysztof Pytel)