FRIDAY JUL 21, 2017
529 Presents:
Irrelevant Music Fest Night 2:
Boy Harsher
Lord Narf
Cube | Pyramid Club | Sequoyah Murray | Pamela_and her sons | Ian Deaton
Boy Harsher
Boy Harsher, the Northampton, US-based duo of vocalist/lyricist Jae Matthews and producer Augustus Muller, announce their new album 'The Runner (Original Soundtrack)', out January 21st, 2022 on Nude Club.
Boy Harsher’s fifth release is not a traditional album — it’s the musical counterpart to a short film written, produced, and directed by the duo, entitled The Runner, which will be released alongside the album in January 2022. The Runner is a horror film intercut with a meta-style “documentary” about Boy Harsher’s recording process. The soundtrack balances cinematic instrumentals with pop songs that push the boundaries of Boy Harsher’s sound. In conjunction with today’s announcement, they unveil the album’s lead single, “Tower,” and share new tour dates.
Both the film and soundtrack open with the heavy presence of “Tower.” The song is an incantation; with its pulsing synths, it’s a spell about desire and impending destruction. By the song’s climax, Matthews' pleas transform into desperate screams. "We wrote ‘Tower’ several years ago and although it's evolved over the years, its initial intent remains the same - that feeling of being enveloped, suffocated, entrapped in a relationship, which in turn manifests into reckless attack,” explains Matthews. “What you love the most can make you into a monster. And that's what this song is about, being a paralyzed fiend."
The visualiser for “Tower” comes from within the world of The Runner —presented as an exclusive session from the NUDETV program “Flesh First,” the duo performs the song in a dim warehouse with a masked drummer recorded on analog video.
Since 2014, Boy Harsher have steadily released what some might call the gold standard of darkwave and new industrial. Matthews and Muller met in Savannah, GA while both studying film and their initial interest in music began with cinema. Matthews would write screenplays and Muller would compose scores for the non-existent films. Their first EP, Lesser Man, was originally released on a small run of cassettes, but rapidly gained online traction and became an underground hit. 2016’s Yr Body is Nothing LP and 2017’s Country Girl EP, propelled the duo into extensive tours and sold out shows across the US and Europe where they became known for their reckless and enveloping live performances. Boy Harsher rode this momentum into 2019’s LP Careful, which was praised by NPR Music, Pitchfork, Resident Advisor, VICE and beyond.
Last year, in the midst of the obvious chaos, but additionally with Matthews’ MS diagnosis, Muller started working on moody, cinematic sketches. It was uncertain what these pieces would become other than catharsis — the duo were unable to tour and making “club music” did not feel right. In Matthews’ period of convalescence, she kept thinking about a sinister character: a woman running through the woods. Together, the duo developed this idea further into a film that explores lust, compulsion, and the horrific tendencies of seduction.
Featuring the dark pop that Boy Harsher is known for, the album also embraces the soundtrack ethos by including eerie instrumentals with tracks featuring guest vocalists that feel like they are from different musical groups — “Machina” is a HI-NRG homage performed by Mariana Saldaña of BOAN, sung in both Spanish and English. “Autonomy'' is a bright and heartfelt new wave anthem featuring Cooper B. Handy aka Lucy. Boy Harsher’s latest project is a reconciliation of uncertain times made into sound and moving image. The Runner and its soundtrack are both a return to form and an evolution for the duo.
This month, Boy Harsher will play their first live shows since 2019, including performances at III Points Festival in Miami and Levitation in Austin. A 2022 tour of North America and Europe in support of 'The Runner (Original Soundtrack)' will follow. More information on the release and screenings for The Runner is to come.
Boy Harsher, the Northampton, US-based duo of vocalist/lyricist Jae Matthews and producer Augustus Muller, announce their new album 'The Runner (Original Soundtrack)', out January 21st, 2022 on Nude Club.
Boy Harsher’s fifth release is not a traditional album — it’s the musical counterpart to a short film written, produced, and directed by the duo, entitled The Runner, which will be released alongside the album in January 2022. The Runner is a horror film intercut with a meta-style “documentary” about Boy Harsher’s recording process. The soundtrack balances cinematic instrumentals with pop songs that push the boundaries of Boy Harsher’s sound. In conjunction with today’s announcement, they unveil the album’s lead single, “Tower,” and share new tour dates.
Both the film and soundtrack open with the heavy presence of “Tower.” The song is an incantation; with its pulsing synths, it’s a spell about desire and impending destruction. By the song’s climax, Matthews' pleas transform into desperate screams. "We wrote ‘Tower’ several years ago and although it's evolved over the years, its initial intent remains the same - that feeling of being enveloped, suffocated, entrapped in a relationship, which in turn manifests into reckless attack,” explains Matthews. “What you love the most can make you into a monster. And that's what this song is about, being a paralyzed fiend."
The visualiser for “Tower” comes from within the world of The Runner —presented as an exclusive session from the NUDETV program “Flesh First,” the duo performs the song in a dim warehouse with a masked drummer recorded on analog video.
Since 2014, Boy Harsher have steadily released what some might call the gold standard of darkwave and new industrial. Matthews and Muller met in Savannah, GA while both studying film and their initial interest in music began with cinema. Matthews would write screenplays and Muller would compose scores for the non-existent films. Their first EP, Lesser Man, was originally released on a small run of cassettes, but rapidly gained online traction and became an underground hit. 2016’s Yr Body is Nothing LP and 2017’s Country Girl EP, propelled the duo into extensive tours and sold out shows across the US and Europe where they became known for their reckless and enveloping live performances. Boy Harsher rode this momentum into 2019’s LP Careful, which was praised by NPR Music, Pitchfork, Resident Advisor, VICE and beyond.
Last year, in the midst of the obvious chaos, but additionally with Matthews’ MS diagnosis, Muller started working on moody, cinematic sketches. It was uncertain what these pieces would become other than catharsis — the duo were unable to tour and making “club music” did not feel right. In Matthews’ period of convalescence, she kept thinking about a sinister character: a woman running through the woods. Together, the duo developed this idea further into a film that explores lust, compulsion, and the horrific tendencies of seduction.
Featuring the dark pop that Boy Harsher is known for, the album also embraces the soundtrack ethos by including eerie instrumentals with tracks featuring guest vocalists that feel like they are from different musical groups — “Machina” is a HI-NRG homage performed by Mariana Saldaña of BOAN, sung in both Spanish and English. “Autonomy'' is a bright and heartfelt new wave anthem featuring Cooper B. Handy aka Lucy. Boy Harsher’s latest project is a reconciliation of uncertain times made into sound and moving image. The Runner and its soundtrack are both a return to form and an evolution for the duo.
This month, Boy Harsher will play their first live shows since 2019, including performances at III Points Festival in Miami and Levitation in Austin. A 2022 tour of North America and Europe in support of 'The Runner (Original Soundtrack)' will follow. More information on the release and screenings for The Runner is to come.
Cube
Even before the label had broke ground with their first release, San Francisco's own Left Hand Path earned a feature in The Wire. The article highlighted their activities in hosting the infamous Surface Tension underground parties of jet-black techno and blistered EBM, and it also touched on the work of Cube, the pseudonym for Oakland's Adam Keith who received the honor for that first release on Left Hand Path. All of this is certainly a testament to Left Hand Path's Nihar Bhatt and Chris Zaldua in their steadfast dedication to Surface Tension, which has jumped from venue to venue in San Francisco as so many venues have been closed down. Just as Surface Tension celebrates a caustic marriage of techno, noise, minimal-wave and industrial rhythms, Cube's pressurized synth-punk is a thrilling recombinant of style. Strange lo-fi tape ruminations flicker in the throbbing sequences and chiseled rhythms, giving the aura of something that may have been uncovered from the vaults of early Severed Heads or Chris Watson-era Cabaret Voltaire crossed with some the tactile grit of Le Syndicat. The album is brimming with discordantly angular tracks, displayed on the throttled march of "Emblem" and the lurchingly elephantine "Safe World." The hypnotic, infectuous "Auto / Composite Face" is a downright killer track of reductive, noise-encrusted techno that wouldn't be out of place on Hospital alongside Exotico Continent and Vatican Shadow. Cube's aggregated electronics fit very nicely alongside the contemporary cadre of West Coast noisenik / techno chimeras (e.g. Oil Thief, LFA, Bonus Beast, Pure Ground, Inhalt, etc.). A great debut release from what has already proven to be a noble ambassador of San Francisco's current electronic music scene.
Even before the label had broke ground with their first release, San Francisco's own Left Hand Path earned a feature in The Wire. The article highlighted their activities in hosting the infamous Surface Tension underground parties of jet-black techno and blistered EBM, and it also touched on the work of Cube, the pseudonym for Oakland's Adam Keith who received the honor for that first release on Left Hand Path. All of this is certainly a testament to Left Hand Path's Nihar Bhatt and Chris Zaldua in their steadfast dedication to Surface Tension, which has jumped from venue to venue in San Francisco as so many venues have been closed down. Just as Surface Tension celebrates a caustic marriage of techno, noise, minimal-wave and industrial rhythms, Cube's pressurized synth-punk is a thrilling recombinant of style. Strange lo-fi tape ruminations flicker in the throbbing sequences and chiseled rhythms, giving the aura of something that may have been uncovered from the vaults of early Severed Heads or Chris Watson-era Cabaret Voltaire crossed with some the tactile grit of Le Syndicat. The album is brimming with discordantly angular tracks, displayed on the throttled march of "Emblem" and the lurchingly elephantine "Safe World." The hypnotic, infectuous "Auto / Composite Face" is a downright killer track of reductive, noise-encrusted techno that wouldn't be out of place on Hospital alongside Exotico Continent and Vatican Shadow. Cube's aggregated electronics fit very nicely alongside the contemporary cadre of West Coast noisenik / techno chimeras (e.g. Oil Thief, LFA, Bonus Beast, Pure Ground, Inhalt, etc.). A great debut release from what has already proven to be a noble ambassador of San Francisco's current electronic music scene.
Pyramid Club
In music, darkness often devours itself. Those who nosedive down into synthpop’s more perverted forms — industrial, coldwave, darkwave, and all subgenres in between — tend to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the shadows. But that’s precisely what draws devotees in, both the machinists and their audience. The deconstruction of humanity into objective parts, autonomous beats, vocals smeared into alien sneers — these were the tools that proto-industrial types like Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle employed to separate themselves from the punk rock ego, the explosion of self. Even in that light, Pyramid Club aren’t just followers of this self-negating cult. Indeed, both members of the clandestine duo have helmed their own projects — Chris Daresta with the cold techno of Anticipation, Matt Weiner with the chrome-clad but buoyant TWINS — and together they run DKA Records, international purveyors of murk. So while “Stay Behind” oozes with all the subversive sludge that devotees to the dark might expect, the Pyramid Club machine burbles and pulses in an uncommonly Technicolor display. The suave gear shift in the middle affirms the expert engineering at work here; Daresta and Weiner may be taking cues from their muses, but they’re clearly spiraling down a tunnel of their own design. -Immersive Atlanta
In music, darkness often devours itself. Those who nosedive down into synthpop’s more perverted forms — industrial, coldwave, darkwave, and all subgenres in between — tend to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the shadows. But that’s precisely what draws devotees in, both the machinists and their audience. The deconstruction of humanity into objective parts, autonomous beats, vocals smeared into alien sneers — these were the tools that proto-industrial types like Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle employed to separate themselves from the punk rock ego, the explosion of self. Even in that light, Pyramid Club aren’t just followers of this self-negating cult. Indeed, both members of the clandestine duo have helmed their own projects — Chris Daresta with the cold techno of Anticipation, Matt Weiner with the chrome-clad but buoyant TWINS — and together they run DKA Records, international purveyors of murk. So while “Stay Behind” oozes with all the subversive sludge that devotees to the dark might expect, the Pyramid Club machine burbles and pulses in an uncommonly Technicolor display. The suave gear shift in the middle affirms the expert engineering at work here; Daresta and Weiner may be taking cues from their muses, but they’re clearly spiraling down a tunnel of their own design. -Immersive Atlanta
Sequoyah Murray
Pamela_and her sons
Y’know, I was about to start this review with some kooky conceit about chopped salads and chopped vocals. And I woulda gotten away with it, because this latest smorgasbord from Alessandra Hoshor, a.k.a. Pamela_ and her sons, could seem a baffling tossed mess to the uninitiated. But listen closer, and the blueprints for Hurt Plaza slowly fade into view, like invisible ink over neon green paper. We’re not talking about Autechre-level austerity, nor the alien designs of Nicolas Jaar, but something more akin to the super-textured, crazy kinetic scrapbook approach of Actress. In other words — bizarre but deliberate, and definitely not leafy. If Hurt Plaza were indeed a plaza, then Hoshor’s effervescent vocals would spring forth from the central fountain. Like the L.A.-based sound architect Katie Gately, Hoshor forges breathing landscapes out of artificial babble, with several layers stacked and slanted into a precarious Janga tower. “All Out” perhaps spins into the dizziest round, with bubbles of synthesized “ohs” blending in with Hoshor’s own warped voices; “Sad Laugh,” too, beguiles with a dizzying array of laughs that pop like pistons. Whispers and murmurs lend texture to the walls, like in the 5 a.m. factory after-party of “Rush” and the clattering “Almost!” Those weird loops are what make Hurt Plaza so alien, even when the tiles on the floor look like the same damn tiles in other plazas. But where Gately throws in everything and the kitchen sink into her 3-D pop mazes, a Pamela piece doesn’t need many twists or props to turn yr head in loops. Lead single “Green Light” drifts on little more than a staggered cymbal; “Fantasy” ping-pongs phantom calls through a stuttering vacuum. It’s an economy that you won’t catch at a casual glance, thanks to the bustling pace — and that’s both fascinating and frustrating. For, despite Hoshor’s cunning in the layout, there’s still a flatness here that leaves the listener hungry still. “Xx Restless xX,” in particular, seems unfinished, an electro temple run intended only to bridge “All Out” with “Bom Bom Bop.” Still, even if some areas of Hurt Plaza seem undeveloped, Hoshur at least knows how to keep guests on their toes. The songs here land all over the map: “Citybridgefucker” pulses with the moldy industrial shade of Front 242; “Bom Bom Bop” traipses downward into the frost of UK grime; “Down the Hall” shuffles like sidewinding footwork into a flurry of topsy-turvy piano. Given the aforementioned economy, though, the “variety” here is really more like a selection between snacks at a vending machine than, say, a spread of food joints in a mall plaza. But, eh — Hoshor probably isn’t planning to build a food court, anyway. All told, Hurt Plaza may not be the artsiest installment ever, and definitely not the most original design in the vast strip mall of the internet. But on the local block, Pamela_ and her sons stands apart from the pack — and shoppers should hang around a while, if only to marvel at the pretzel-shaped layout. -Immersive Atlanta
Y’know, I was about to start this review with some kooky conceit about chopped salads and chopped vocals. And I woulda gotten away with it, because this latest smorgasbord from Alessandra Hoshor, a.k.a. Pamela_ and her sons, could seem a baffling tossed mess to the uninitiated. But listen closer, and the blueprints for Hurt Plaza slowly fade into view, like invisible ink over neon green paper. We’re not talking about Autechre-level austerity, nor the alien designs of Nicolas Jaar, but something more akin to the super-textured, crazy kinetic scrapbook approach of Actress. In other words — bizarre but deliberate, and definitely not leafy. If Hurt Plaza were indeed a plaza, then Hoshor’s effervescent vocals would spring forth from the central fountain. Like the L.A.-based sound architect Katie Gately, Hoshor forges breathing landscapes out of artificial babble, with several layers stacked and slanted into a precarious Janga tower. “All Out” perhaps spins into the dizziest round, with bubbles of synthesized “ohs” blending in with Hoshor’s own warped voices; “Sad Laugh,” too, beguiles with a dizzying array of laughs that pop like pistons. Whispers and murmurs lend texture to the walls, like in the 5 a.m. factory after-party of “Rush” and the clattering “Almost!” Those weird loops are what make Hurt Plaza so alien, even when the tiles on the floor look like the same damn tiles in other plazas. But where Gately throws in everything and the kitchen sink into her 3-D pop mazes, a Pamela piece doesn’t need many twists or props to turn yr head in loops. Lead single “Green Light” drifts on little more than a staggered cymbal; “Fantasy” ping-pongs phantom calls through a stuttering vacuum. It’s an economy that you won’t catch at a casual glance, thanks to the bustling pace — and that’s both fascinating and frustrating. For, despite Hoshor’s cunning in the layout, there’s still a flatness here that leaves the listener hungry still. “Xx Restless xX,” in particular, seems unfinished, an electro temple run intended only to bridge “All Out” with “Bom Bom Bop.” Still, even if some areas of Hurt Plaza seem undeveloped, Hoshur at least knows how to keep guests on their toes. The songs here land all over the map: “Citybridgefucker” pulses with the moldy industrial shade of Front 242; “Bom Bom Bop” traipses downward into the frost of UK grime; “Down the Hall” shuffles like sidewinding footwork into a flurry of topsy-turvy piano. Given the aforementioned economy, though, the “variety” here is really more like a selection between snacks at a vending machine than, say, a spread of food joints in a mall plaza. But, eh — Hoshor probably isn’t planning to build a food court, anyway. All told, Hurt Plaza may not be the artsiest installment ever, and definitely not the most original design in the vast strip mall of the internet. But on the local block, Pamela_ and her sons stands apart from the pack — and shoppers should hang around a while, if only to marvel at the pretzel-shaped layout. -Immersive Atlanta