you resource for all things shoegaze & dream pop.

31 December 2012

Happy New Year, Gazers!



Bandcamp Track of the Day: Black Tambourine. I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend (Ramones cover).

Black Tambourine
I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend (Ramones cover)



OneTwoThreeFour cover art


WTSH Classic Trax Archive: Slowdive. When The Sun Hits.

It's the last day of 2012...
it's only fitting that we take this time to honor our namesake.

HAPPY NEW YEAR GAZERS!

Interview: Carol Rhyu of White Blush.

When The Sun Hits Interviews 
Carol Rhyu of White Blush
interview by: amber crain
White Blush, aka LA-based dream pop artist Carol Rhyu, is originally from Chicago and was in film school when she began playing in synth bands around LA. In February, she began recording under White Blush drawing from old J-horror, anime, and Julee Cruise. A few of her favorite artists also include Cocteau Twins, Mazzy Star, Kate Bush, and The Soft Moon.

How and when was the band formed?  
One time I bought a Roland 808 synth for $500 from this guy off Craigslist. The guy was cute, he was showing me how I could sing karaoke over these cheesy techno beats. He made it all seem kind of fun and silly, that’s how I got into it.  But it took me another year to actually read the manual, so I didn't begin recording until last February.  It's a solo project, and it was mostly great, except that I hate being alone.  I was feverish and anxious and ADD all the time but I think doing music just helped me sort through my own life mess.

Can you tell us what the band has been working on and what you've got forthcoming in the near future (new releases, tour, etc.)?  
Right now I’m waiting to do color correction for a music video we shot back in late August for one of the songs off the EP. It's pretty neat, it's about a waitress that flips out and goes on a rampage with a boombox and a machete in my favorite, old dumpy Pico Rivera diner.  Its pretty great, a lot more impressive than the music actually. I hope to release it soon. I'm also planning to record  more.  I’m not too focused on playing shows or touring yet though, maybe in the spring. 


Do you consider your music to be part of the current shoegaze/dream pop scene, or any scene? Defining one's sound by genre can be tiresome, but do you feel that the band identifies closely with any genre? How do you feel about genres in music, in a general sense?  
I like shoegaze/dream pop a lot.  I always gravitated to it, though without being  aware of what it was.  I think the music ties in well with that scene, I'm like really into my fat, fake drums, tinker bells, and quirky samples.   They remind me of old toys and video games I had as a kid, so I think I am always trying to wallow in that sort of vast, idyllic part of my life before I ever became aware of myself as such, in a 'time before time.'  About genres, genres are great because they give you a context. I like context. I like categories. 

What do you think of modern shoegaze/dream pop/psychedelia artists, any favorites?  
I really feel like I don’t know that many artists but of mention, I love John Maus, The Soft Moon, Chromatics, Kavinsky, and Grimes.  I'm not following as many modern shoegaze/dream pop artists these days.  Generally, they all feel sort of washed out, like literally, and not just because of the style. Sometimes it just sounds like indie rock, which is really boring I don't know why.  I guess I like music to be more visceral and cutting, more stripped down and spacious, and not organic, from outerspace ideally.

What is the most important piece of gear for your sound? Any particular guitars/pedals/amps that you prefer?  
I think it’s my old crappy USB mic, it’s the best. Nothing else really comes to mind.  I like the 808.  It's  tedious and definitely takes its pound of flesh, but I'm  overall  pleased.

What is your process for recording your music? What gear and/or software do you use? What would you recommend for others? 
I start by finding drums and basslines I like on the 808 and listening to them until a melody comes out. That could take days or weeks, sometimes not at all. Then I record  synths and strings around the vocals.  I use Garageband for recording  vocals. I mostly recommend just taking  the time you need to get a great melody. Everything else is just sort of fluff. Do it right once and you'll always remember what it's supposed to feel like when it happens again. 


 
How do you feel about the state of the music industry today? There is no doubt a massive change underway; how do you see it and do you feel it’s positive at all?  
I think it's mostly positive, artists will just have to create their own opportunities and learn a broader set of skills and innovate the ways in which we reach audiences beyond just music itself.  We just have to be more entrepreneurial and learn to do what labels do, and do it more effectively.

When it comes to label releases versus DIY/bandcamp and the like, what is your stance, if any? 
If an artist can find their audience without a label,  that’s a really special and beautiful thing even if it's on a small scale.  I don't know much about labels, but I think they're still important.  They share the load and still launch careers. For the rest of us, we have to put our shoulder to the wheel and learn to compete at that level by all means necessary. Otherwise, we should step aside and make room for the next guy and make music a hobby.

Do you prefer vinyl, CD, cassette tape or mp3 format when listening to music? Do you have any strong feelings toward any of them?  
I don’t have a preference.  I don’t  have a record player, but I want one.  For some reason I thought record players were for rich people. I think it's because they're all trendy now I totally forgot my dad used to have one.   He played  the same Beethoven  record for years.   I used to have cassettes, I remember we would pass around mixtapes, mostly 'slow jams.' I love the sound of it rewinding and hearing the sound all slippery and garbled. 

What artists (musicians or otherwise) have most influenced your work? 
Julee Cruise, especially off the Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks soundtracks.  She just seems to me  so plain and style-less as a singer, and I like that a lot.  One time my old boss showed me two paintings, one with very smooth and straight lines and another with jagged, odd and irregular lines. He asked me which was more interesting, and since then I began to understand what sort of artist I wanted to become.  


Can you tell us a little about what you are currently into (books, films, art, bands, etc.)?  
I mostly think about movies.  The last movie that blew my mind was Battle Royale.  I want to see Blade Runner again, Paris Texas, The Bothersome Man, Tarkovsky's Stalker,  my friend's poetry book Party Knife.  It's all pretty dark and philosophical stuff.  I regret I never went to get a PhD in Philosophy but maybe I will when I'm 40, for now  watching movies are the closest I can possibly get to that ideal. 

Can you tell us a little about the band’s song writing process? 
I always lead with my strengths and just accept that I can't be great at everything, but that I can be great at this one or two things, so I put all my energy into those things, and let everything else support that. 

What is your philosophy (on life), if any, that you live by?  
I'm still really drawn to existential motifs.  I like the philosophy by Lao Tsu and the stoic writings by Marcus Aurelius. They're really simple and beautiful, not sure I live by those philosophies, because sometimes I think there is a God, but I definitely identify with them, especially in my work.

29 December 2012

Early Notice: Simon Welford, Artist & Creator of the Hush Delirium Project, to Guest DJ WTSH on Strangeways Radio January 16th, 2013.


WTSH Classic Trax Archive: Cocteau Twins. Wax & Wane.



The Big Takeover Interview: Rob McCleary of Spotlight Kid.

 
An Interview with 
Rob McCleary of Spotlight Kid 
 interview by:  

Nottingham’s Spotlight Kid is a modern shoegaze band with no less than three guitarists (Chris Moore, Karl Skivington, and Rob McCleary), real drums (Chris Davis), bass (Matt Holt), and the divine singer Katty Heath. Critics like to come up with all sorts of comparisons, and I am no different. I cut my teeth on 90s shoegaze, so of course I hear Ride, Lush, and even The Pale Saints. My Bloody Valentine is a given, but the band also grooves to modern acts as mentioned in the interview.

They first caught my interest early last year thanks to my music friend John Norris, and their music unfolded like a beautiful flower on my dream pop playlist. I hope after reading this interview and listening to the video and audio clips I’ve included, you add them to your playlist as well. Thanks to Rob McCleary for agreeing to this interview.

So you named your band after a Captain Beefheart album. How large a part does Captain Beefheart play in your sound, if at all? Because you just know every music writer is going to ask about this or mention it.
ROB: Not much at all, we have a little bit of psychedelia in some of the track,s but it was never a major influence on us. Like you say, we get asked about it all the time, but it’s a great record and a great name for a band.

Can you give us a capsule summary of how Spotlight Kid got started, from the ashes of Six by Seven to your current lineup?
ROB: We met with Chris D (Six by Seven) when we went to see Six by Seven play in Madrid. He was looking for a full band for a project that he had been working on for a few years as a studio band, and we had just finished a record with our old band so we joined up. Matt joined about a year ago, and we have been the same ever since.

 
How difficult is it to work together with members being geographically dispersed?
ROB: It’s not as bad as you would think. We demo the songs in our studio, which we can use whenever we want. Matt (who lives in London) is back every other weekend, so we can get down and record. We tend to email Katty tracks, and she can add her vocal on. We don’t tend to write tracks all in one room so this works. I would like us to get some more tracks written as a full band for the new record.

I hear Ride, MBV, Pale Saints, and even Lush tossed into the sonic mix. Do you have any particular favorites in the dream pop/shoegaze genre?
ROB: Personally I love newer shoegaze such as Autolux, Beach House, Amusement Parks on Fire, M83, and A place to bury strangers. They are all great new bands that have inspired us a little.


You’ve released music on a number of labels from Club AC30 to Saint Marie. Have all these label experiences been positive?
ROB: Yeah definitely, they are all great to work with. We released the last record ourselves with the help of Tri-Tone who distributed it. We paid for all the PR and promo out of own pockets, so we know what it’s like to run a label. It’s tough. It’s early days with Saint Marie, but we just hope they can get our record out to people to hear it.

 
Where do you have your greatest concentration of fans? And have you visited us Stateside yet?
ROB: Obviously, we have more fans in England as that is where we have played the most. I’m not sure about how the Stateside following is. We do get a few orders and requests to play from the States. Our music would go down well over there, so we would love to get over at some point soon.

Can you speak a bit about how you achieve your sound in terms of equipment and recording techniques?
ROB: We keep it simple, recording live in a room at once. We have recently used a studio in Norwich which is a converted church. We set up the room and play together; usually we take about three goes, and then record the vocals separately. We don’t use that much equipment; I have a reverb pedal, a delay and a big muff. That’s it. Chris and Karl have a few more, but its mainly reverb and delay.



What’s been your best experience touring in terms of bands you’ve toured with?
ROB: We haven’t really toured with anyone to be honest, we tend to go out on our own. We are playing a couple of dates with Amusement Parks on Fire in February so we are looking forward to that. When we play with suppor,t they can be either really nice or real dicks. You usually find the new bands who are still playing to have some fun are the best to get on with. It still amazes us when a support band turns up with a plectrum and a tuner and expect us to provide a full backline. We tend to tell them to get back on the tube and sort themselves out!

But didn’t you tour with Joy Formidable (big favorites here at Big Takeover)? I had read that somewhere, and wondered how that experience was. I really enjoy their music, and they seem like a cool group.
ROB: Yes we played some gigs with TJF, they were an amazing band! They really looked after us, and gave us a chance to play with them despite their booking agents wanting a band from their roster to tour with them. They heard about us through a fan, and they checked us out and offered us the dates. A really nice genuine band!

With everyone trying to label a certain sound, do you mind tagged as a shoegaze band?
ROB: Not really, I don’t think anyone is bothered about a tag, It’s more about whether you sound good or not. I think the label helps when people are looking for a certain type of music and they come across us by accident.

What does the band prefer to listen to when you’re not immersed in your own work?
ROB: We all listen to loads of different stuff, but we don’t tend to listen together. Our tour bus doesn’t have a radio player so it’s a bit rubbish, we have to stick our headphones in. I’m listening to a lot of new UK bands and the usual dose of My Bloody Valentine of course.

Out of your body of work, are there any favorite songs the band favors?
ROB: We all enjoy “Haunting Me” live, it’s a great track to blast out. The new ones are coming together now so we are favouring those more as they are fresh and make you play a little harder.



With Disaster Tourist just released on Saint Marie in a deluxe edition, do you have additional material in the works or will you focus on touring behind Disaster Tourist?
ROB: Our new album should be ready by the summer. We have about 7 tracks that we think are there so we are going to record early in the new year.

Check out the band’s website.
Other links:
http://twitter.com/spotlightkidsnd
http://spotlightkid.bandcamp.com


Preview Songs for Deepfieldview.


This is a preview of songs being worked on for Deepfieldview, the music of Danny Lackey with contributions from Anna Bouchard from Drowner, Eric Matthews and Nancy and Charlie from Her Vanished Grace. This is just a teaser for the upcoming release, which you'll be able to buy on Bandcamp, so that you can enjoy Danny's great music while helping with his recovery.

Bandcamp Track of the Day: The Endless. Falling (instrumental).

 The Endless
Falling (Instrumental)


Holiday 2012 - Music From "Twin Peaks" cover art
 

27 December 2012

WTSH Classic Trax Archive: Lilys. Collider.


New Fleeting Joys Track! Kiss a Girl in Black.

Set List for the All Covers Edition of WTSH on Strangeways Radio. Originally Aired December 26, 2012.


The All Covers edition of When The Sun Hits on Strangeways Radio was such a blast! With so many requests from listeners for a part deux, you can expect another Covers show in late January 2013. Sweet! This first Covers show will re-air Friday morning (December 28th), 10am EST on Strangeways Radio. Stream it live at www.strangewaysradio.com!

band name. track title.
Field Mouse. Falling (Twin Peaks Theme).
Ride. Sight of You (Pale Saints cover).
Brief Candles. Space Age Love Song (A Flock of Seagulls cover).
My Bloody Valentine. Map Ref. 41 N 93 W (Wire cover).
Spotlight Kid. Don't You Forget About Me (Simple Minds cover).
Wild Nothing. Cloudbusting (Kate Bush cover).
Ulrich Schnauss. Love Forever (Chapterhouse cover).
Her Vanished Grace. Across the Universe (Beatles cover).
Isan. Waves (Slowdive cover).
2 Hearts & Chemicals. Teenage Angst (Placebo cover).
Engineers. Hey You (Pink Floyd cover).
The Jesus and Mary Chain. Vegetable Man (Syd Barrett cover).



Bandcamp Track of the Day: Shoreline Is. I'd Hear the Clouds Move.

Shoreline Is
I'd Hear the Clouds Move


Deal Kindly cover art 

26 December 2012

Shoegaze Cover: Televise. Mercy Seat (Ultra Vivid Scene cover).

Shoegaze Cover: Nadja. Only Shallow (MBV Cover).

TONIGHT! The All Covers Edition of WTSH on Strangeways Radio. 10pm EST.



TONIGHT!
The ALL covers edition of 
When The Sun Hits 
on Strangeways Radio
Wednesday, December 26th 
10pm EST/9pm CST

Stream it live

This week's show will feature a mish mash of awesome covers - 
classic shoegaze bands covering non-shoegaze songs, classic shoegaze bands covering classic shoegaze songs; non-shoegaze bands covering shoegaze songs, new shoegaze bands covering old shoegaze songs, new shoegaze bands covering new shoegaze songs...
you get the idea!

ALL COVERS
ONE FULL HOUR
don't.miss.it.

My Bloody Valentine Finish Mastering New Album.


My Bloody Valentine Finish Mastering New Album
Here's a Christmas surprise: 
My Bloody Valentine announced recently on their Facebook page, "On 21-12-12 we finished mastering the new album!" So even if the world didn't end that day, something pretty momentous happened.

We still don't have any release information about the full-length follow to MBV's 1991 shoegaze masterpiece, Loveless.

As Kevin Shields recently told NME, the record will apparently be released via the MBV website, followed by an EP of new recordings next year. Shields said the new record "really frees us up, and in the bigger picture it's 100% necessary."

"People who like us will immediately connect with something," he told NME. "Based on the very, very few people who've heard stuff-- some engineers, the band, and that's about it-- some people think it's stranger than Loveless. I don't."

As bassist Debbie Googe told Drowned in Sound, Shields plays most of the music on the album himself.  "Most of it is stuff Kevin has done, certainly guitar wise. It's been a long process, you know," she said. "The drums have been added then taken off at least once. His brother did them at one point, then Colm [O'Ciosoig] came in and redid them. There's some things Kevin can't do, like the drums or Bilinda [Butcher]'s vocals, but everything else he can, and I'm certainly happy for him to do that."

In April, Shields spoke with Pitchfork about MBV's recent reissuesOf the new LP, he said:

"I'm just finishing a record that I had started in the 90s. It was going to be, like, the next record. But it was already after the band had half split up, and me and Bilinda [Butcher] were left. Then we got back together. I've always said that we were going to make a record again. You never know, we might finish it really quickly, and it might be up in a few months! I tend to work really quickly, suddenly, and I might be willing to do that right now. We'll see!"
(Taken from Pitchfork)

24 December 2012

Compilation Sneak Peek: The Official Cover Art for the Upcoming Three Hundred Thousand Compilation.


WTSH Shoegaze Spotlight on Strangeways Radio. This Week's Gaze: Belong.


WTSH Shoegaze Spotlight 
on the Strangeways Radio Blog: 
A Weekly Gaze.

About this week's spotlight: 
Who: Belong
What: WTSH Shoegaze Spotlight feature
Where: Strangeways Radio blog
When: every week

Every week WTSH will present a shoegaze/dream pop band on Strangeways' blog, highlighting how very awesome the band is and how you should be listening to them and buying their music and supporting them because they deserve it.

This week's focus is on the incomparable Belong.
We at WTSH love Belong and after reading this, so will you.


Belong

Shoegaze Quote of the Day: Peter Kember of Spacemen 3 discusses drugs, technology and genetic mutants.



"Where are all the genetic mutants that acid was meant to cause? Governments have spent fortunes for years trying to prove that cannabis does you harm. It's the same old thing...I believe that whenever people are going through incredibly high-tech phases in society they eventually find that all the material gain is a mask for a very soul-less lifestyle, hence the need for alternative experiences and that's where the use of psychedelics comes in."

 - Peter Kember, Spacemen 3, 1989 NME Interview

WTSH Classic Trax Archive: Brighter. Christmas.


Bandcamp Track of the Day: Nothing. The Rites of Love and Death.


Nothing.
The Rites of Love and Death.
BANDCAMP.



Downward Years To Come cover art

This Week On When The Sun Hits: The Covers Show. All Shoegaze Covers only on Strangeways Radio. Dec 26 10pm EST.


THIS WEEK:
The ALL covers edition of 
When The Sun Hits 
on Strangeways Radio
Wednesday, December 26th 
10pm EST/9pm CST

Stream it live

This week's show will feature a mish mash of awesome covers - 
classic shoegaze bands covering non-shoegaze songs, classic shoegaze bands covering classic shoegaze songs; non-shoegaze bands covering shoegaze songs, new shoegaze bands covering old shoegaze songs, new shoegaze bands covering new shoegaze songs...
you get the idea!

ALL COVERS
ONE FULL HOUR
don't.miss.it.

21 December 2012

20 December 2012

Set List for WTSH on Strangeways Radio. Aired December 19th, 2012.


band name. track title.
The Chameleons. Silence, Sea and Sky.
Cocteau Twins. Dial.
M83. Steve McQueen.
White Blush. Mirror.
Hazy Mountains. Mirrors.
Slowdive. Machine Gun.
His Name is Alive. Love's a Fish Eye.
This Mortal Coil. A Single Wish.
Engineers. Sometimes I Realise.
Chapterhouse. Greater Power.
Pony Trash. Dry Your Eyes.
Wild Nothing. Pessimist.
Bat for Lashes. Marilyn.
Rebecca Peake. Composure.
Asobi Seksu. Perfectly Crystal (Beach Fossils + Spirit Animal remix).


Video: A*Star. Winter Radio.


19 December 2012

WTSH begins in 9 minutes on Strangeways Radio!


Auction for Danny Lackey Fundraiser Ends Tomorrow!


The second round of the Auction for Danny Lackey's fundraiser will run till December 20th, 2012. 
THAT'S TOMORROW, gazers! 

There are so many awesome, one of a kind items to bid on, and the proceeds all go toward a great cause - contributing to a health fund for Danny Lackey, co-creator of WTSH blog. 

To place your bid, please contact
on Facebook.
LIST OF ITEMS TO BID ON:

Screen Vinyl Image package - vinyl, dvd and posters;
Strange Behavior 12", Interceptors 12", Remixes 12", Rude 66 Split 7", Siberian Eclipse 7", Rare Locrian The Clearing SVI remix on clear flexi, 3 Show posters, Document DVD
----------------------------------------
Alcian Blue, multi CD package;
Slow Colorless Stare, Angelica Take Me Down (w/ org package), Translucent EP (w/ org package), Silvers Sleep Walk (w/ org packaging), Fall Behind EP, You Just Disappear Single, Alcian Blue S/T, Rare Press CD, You Just Disappear EP
----------------------------------------
Chapterhouse poster, SIGNED;
"In 2010 Chapterhouse reformed for reunion tour. The Brooklyn show was at The Bell House with Dead Leaf Echo who designed the show poster and had a few rare copies signed by Chapterhouse. One of these copies is now up for auction to help Danny."
----------------------------------------
Purple Bloom 1st album CD "Purple Bloom", with autograph including the winner's name.
http://purplebloom.net/discography/
----------------------------------------
Her Vanished Grace MONITOR MIXES, rare 1996 Remix EP of HVG's version of the song Siouxsie & The Banshees "Monitor"
Including two remixes by Charlie Clouser of Nine Inch Nails
----------------------------------------
Jas of The Vandelles is donating a day in the studio (Brooklyn) + mixing!!

"I live in Williamsburg Brooklyn. My studio can accommodate a full band recording up to sixteen channels and I use protools 10. The donation is for a day of recording whatever you want and ONE song recorded mixed and ready to go out for whatever you want to use it for. The general going rate for a day in a studio around here is $300..."
----------------------------------------
Unique The Churchhill Garden 7" vinyl single - on home cut vinyl #1/1, fx. 'An Oyster without a Pearl' + 'Sleepless' - however, the winner gets to choose ANY two The Churchhill Garden tracks he or she prefers (A + B side)
http://www.churchhillgarden.ch/music/music.html
----------------------------------------
David Nicholas of Sansyou has donated a pedal: Modified by FXDoctor - MXR phase 90 with all options fully loaded: the block logo version - plus a Sansyou CD
http://www.fxdoctor.com/modifications/pedal-modifications/7-modifications/6
----------------------------------------
Jeff Ware has donated a Tears Run Rings 'Distance' test press #5/5 LP to the auction!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p77moiRVwAU
----------------------------------------
The Telescopes have donated an Everso 12" single with handwritten lyrics included! Track list A; Everso , B1; Never Learn Not To Love , B2; Wish Of You (1990 Creation Records)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92SmURpDJj4
----------------------------------------
St. Marie Records has donated their whole CD catalog;

Patrik Torsson – At The Line Of The Border (CD)
Niels Neilsen – Welcome To The Promising Land Of Hi5ers And Hopeless People (CD)
The Sunshine Factory – Sugar (CD)
Sway – This Was Tomorrow (CD)
The Spiracles – How Things Went Well When I Met You (CD)
Elika – Always The Light (CD, Vinyl)
Drowner – Drowner (CD)
Bloody Knives – Blood (CD)
Panda Riot – Serious Radical Girls (7")
Piano Magic – Life Has Not Finished With Me Yet (CD)
Trespassers William – Cast (2X CD)
L'ALtra – Telepathic (Deluxe Edition CD, 2X Vinyl)
Spotlight Kid – Disaster Tourist (Deluxe Edition CD)
Saint Marie Records – Static Waves (Compilation 2X CD)
Keith Canisius – Beautiful Sharks (CD)
----------------------------------------
Tom Lugo and Stellarscope has generously donated a Stellarscope package, containing 'This Is Who We Are' CD (signed), T-shirt, sticker and pin!
http://www.amazon.com/this-who-we-are-Stellarscope/dp/B00336EXMY
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/432030_10150593166159842_589213101_n.jpg
----------------------------------------
Ryan L Abato of IATP has donated a IATP package containing 9 CDs + 2 IATP badges;

Sinking Ships - Museum Quality Capture
signed by Miki of Lush, Eric Matthews and Chris Seink

Rob Dickinson - Fresh Wine For The Horses
signed by Rob

Jason Falkner - I'm OK, You're OK
signed by Jason

The Depreciation Guild - Spirit Youth
signed by entire band

Simon Raymonde - Blame Someone Else
signed by Simon

Modern English - Soundtrack (The Album)
signed by band

Wedding Present - Valentina (sealed)
not signed

Lilies On Mars - Wish You Were A Pony
not signed

Soundpool - Mirror In Your Eyes
signed by band

WTSH Classic Trax Archive: The Ecstasy of St. Theresa. Swoony.