My debut EP is out! Lo-fi, post-punk sounds

[Venice Lockjaw]

Link: https://sastrugi.bandcamp.com/releases

I don't know how else to write about this, without diving right in. I've been trying to write music for about six years now - as long as I've been playing guitar. I've played with a few different people over that span of time, but nothing that ever came together in a noteworthy way.

Time marched on, and I made little headway towards achieving my dream. I struggled for a long time with the idea that I wasn't cut out to make music. It always felt as though there were too many barriers to overcome: meeting the right people to start a band, learning how to record myself and get a sound I was pleased with, the price of equipment, my own lack of musical knowledge (most of what I know I've learned through various youtube videos, tabs, and a handful of paid lessons with teachers; I have almost no grasp of musical theory). All of which I probably wouldn't have worried about if I'd simply believed in myself and had a bit more confidence.

Maybe that's sharing too much, but the point that I'm trying to make is that I love music. I am first and foremost a fan, and my urge to create is largely born out of my desire to be a part of the dialogue, to engage with the history of ideas that have resonated with me. Ironically my passion for music can be as much a deterrent as a source of inspiration. I don’t know how many times I've been paralyzed by the thought that my stuff (to my ears, at least) doesn't measure up to the work of other artists I love. I don't believe this is an uncommon feeling.

A year ago I was going through a bit of a rough time (broke up with a long-term girlfriend, freshly unemployed, living at home and trying to make sense of the typical mid-20s ennui) when I reconnected with an old musician friend. Long story short we got to talking and he invited me out to a studio space he rents in order to record some songs I’d been working on. After some initial awkwardness it quickly became apparent that the songs would greatly benefit from having a live band tracking together, so we regrouped a month later with a bassist and drummer. There wasn’t any rehearsing ahead of time, the songs were learned and fleshed out on the spot over a matter of hours. They have a rough quality; there are a lot of mistakes. It’s an apt sound for someone whose every musical idea feels like an accident.

I don’t mean that in a bragging sense; I’m trying to highlight how strange and alien this still feels for me. I spent years in my basement trying to write something I was proud of; at the studio we recorded three songs in a single day. It’s bizarre to think about.

We did it again a few months later, in the middle of winter. Two more songs over the course of a day. A lot of the ideas were inspired by the band Women, whose sophomore LP, Public Strain, is very dear to my heart. But there are other sources of inspiration: The Fall, Young Marble Giants, Wire, early Pavement. The song "Lay Him To Rest," which is a bit of an oddball in the track listing, is my attempt at writing a Jay Reatard song.

The main instrumental parts were tracked live to tape using a Tascam (I apologize, I don’t remember the model) with overdubs and vocals being added in Logic.

The Time: Night is a book by the Russian author Lyudmila Petrushevskaya. I read it in college. The EP has nothing to do with the plot of Petrushevskaya’s book, rather I was literally thinking of night time, when our anxieties are the most present and overbearing. A lot of the lyrical concerns on this album reflect my own fears regarding loneliness, depression, suicide, and unexpected loss.

I welcome any criticisms and comments you may have. Thank you for indulging me.

[marqueemoon]

Interesting stuff. “Turn Back” is my favorite so far.

[budda12ax7]

cool...very post post punk...kind of Wire meets pop music-ish.