Local Feature: Atomis, Illuminated Minerva, Jung People, TRUCK!!!!

Illustration by Nathan Navetto

Whu...huh...wait, it's WHAT year, you say?

So I went to sleep back around August 2010 and suddenly woke up hooked up to a bunch of monitoring machines and it's July 2011 and I have no idea where the middle time went. O_o

In between the inevitable nausea that deep chemical hibernation seems to cause (I'll be ok...gimme a minute), I have been brought out of stasis for a particular reason. Or so this random dossier that's been slid under the door of the observation cell tells me. Allow me to read it out to you: *clears throat*

"Calgary has an absolutely kicking ambient post-rock/metal scene happening right now. We're not quite sure why all these amazing bands are happening at the same time; it might be something in the tap water, but we're not complaining. Spread the word, or face erasure. Also, don't eat the jelly beans."

*eyes the enormous jar of jelly beans that are inexplicably sitting in the corner of the room, unnoticed until now with suspicion*
                                                                                               
(...and scene.)

The above delusion is actually a long and elaborate metaphor for where the inside of my head was like when I first heard Atomis and TRUCK!!!! destroy the Marquee Room. Part of me had decided that maybe I'm just not cut out to actually maintain a written blog since I seem to be so bad at doing it with any measure of consistency. Or lack of fangirling. Most of me had reconciled with the idea that I should just let this place die gracefully (read: in abject abandonment) and have done with it.

And as soon as I heard those two bands, I knew it was impossible. I felt like I had to write about them; like I had no choice BUT to write about them; like I'd be the worst person to exist, ever (minus the guy that invented syphilis and Stephen Harper combined) if I didn't drag this thing back from the un-dead and write about them. Because when you get down to it, it's not about indie posturing or the free stuff or the money or power or the crushing of your enemies or the lamentations of their women (because, frankly, you get none of those things by running a music blog for free). It's about having somewhere to shout from rooftops when you actually FIND amazing music that makes you lose your shite and thrash around like an epileptic cat when you see them live.


Atomis
Formed from the wreckage of Calgary groups Somastate and Pure City, Atomis (pronounced ATOM-iss) sound like the love-child of Tool, Cult of Luna, and Explosions in the Sky by way of Sigur Ros. Which by thunder I wouldn't want to picture in physical terms, but sounds like angels having sex with your eardrums. Add in the amazing visuals/lights produced by insanely talented drummer Nathan Navetto and you've got one of the most mind-meltingly great bands this city has ever had to offer.

These guys are currently trying to get a grant from the Alberta gov in order to record things properly; I want it to happen so much I pray to the Elder Gods every night.
http://atomis.bandcamp.com/


Illuminated Minerva
I could ramble on and on about what this band sounds like, crafting careful and clever analogies, and never get close to the simple brilliance of this description by the band themselves: "Listening to Illuminated Minerva is like riding a Metal spaceship through Outer Space." By turns punishingly intense and unbelievably gorgeous and melodic, they claim inspiration from classic prog sources like Dream Theater, Mastodon, Gojira, and Deftones, yet where another band might have taken all the worst elements possible in that combination (too-long songs, elitist elitism, prog vocals in general), they seem to have come to that logical conclusion that I reached years ago about most prog bands, being that the overwrought vocals were actually getting in the way. This makes them +10 awesome. They're currently in the studio laying down some tracks, so soon I won't be the crazy lady talking about a band that may-or-may-not exist as far as you guys are concerned.

It's also a well-known fact that their time signatures are more insane than Animal Collective's, so you can try clapping along but good f**king luck to you.
http://www.myspace.com/illuminatedminerva


Jung People
The only duo in this feature, Giordano Bassi and Bryan Buss have been playing together in some form or another since time immemorial, but are relatively new as a post-rock/indie/progressive outfit. Don't let that fool you into thinking that there's anything remotely amateur about their sound or capabilities as musicians. Inspired by everything from Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Do Make Say Think, and Patrick Watson to Wild Nothing, Blonde Redhead, and The Mars Volta, this could sound like a bunch of kids fighting over the iPod but instead comes off as cohesive, lovely, and interesting, thank god. It's clear that these guys are willing to take their music anywhere and everywhere their fancy leads, all while crafting gorgeous, acoustic sonic gems.
Jung People on FBM


TRUCK!!!!
An unbelievably technical and impressive three-piece outfit, TRUCK!! is difficult to find via google or the internet in general given the easy ambiguity that accompanies being named after one of the most common things on Earth (alas, the extra exclamations marks don't really register as search terms). However, anyone that takes the trouble to find them is in for an ear-full of awesome. Even better, they've got an amazing sense of humour (all too lacking in today's "srsbusiness you guys" music environment). In their own words, they sound like: "Chaos and Atmosphere fighting over Elton John's sandwich."

Lastly, any band that gives away their incredible first EP for free online when I would gladly pay for it is instant love.
http://www.truckband.net/

Illustration for "Maelstrom" by Mariella Villalobos

~M

[Local Feature] Intro: Sled Island

For those who have been following the map thus far, Sled Island isn't news, exactly.

However, we here at WHYH are fully aware of how large the internet is. What is obvious and well-known in one area can be totally unheard of in another; local heroes who get tons of coverage and credit in one city might be virtually unknown or less appreciated in places where people can download a few tracks, but not necessarily witness the magic of said bands live.

So, with this fact in mind, I believe a quick rundown of what, exactly, the Sled Island festival is, is in order. An introduction to the festival (now in it's second year, and growing), before we dive into the thing head-first.

First things first: there is, in fact, no place called Sled Island here in Calgary. The real Sled Island is a small island in Northern Alberta where the Cree used to get the birch trees to create toboggans; no one has actually HEARD of it unless you count Zak Pashak (the Sled Island festival founder)...and even he only heard of it when googling interesting names of places in Alberta.

Despite this, the name does serve its intended purpose: it implies an air of fun and youthful energy, which is exactly what Sled Island has by the bucketful. While other older, more established music festivals may strive for a specific ambience, or follow a similar successful template (see Virginfest and Lollapalooza, to name a few), Sled Island's festival identity is something of a breath of fresh air. Modeled after Austin's SXSW, it borrows the showcase structure, but never feels like it's imitating or trying to be anything but a distinctively "Calgary" event.

Very much, Sled Island is about communicating exactly what that means to a community that often sees the city as a once-a-year rodeo and home of the white cowboy hat. While bringing in international-grade talent (not measured in record sales, but honest-to-god musical ability), the festival also seeks to give exposure to some of our most exciting and vibrant local artists, both visual and musical. Overall, Sled Island is about building a Calgarian identity that is more accurate and less stifling than the outdated one that often leads international sources to patronize or underestimate the city as a whole (witness, for example, the Virginfest lineup sent to town >.>).

With this in mind, I hope I can communicate at least to some extent the indescribable feeling in the air at the performances this weekend. A humming excitement that gets inside your bones.

Local Feature: Azeda Booth, Hot Little Rocket, SIDS

So much for the epic relaunch. >.>

For the uninitiated, the new and (we hope) improved look of the blog was supposed to be a massive and life-changing event. In the original plan, there was fanfares, and dancing, and fire, and clowns. Yes, clowns. We'd just about finished ordering the mini bikes and everything.

Plans seemed to have changed last minute, however, due to the scarce nature of human being willing to incinerate themselves while riding a miniature bicycle for free. Instead, this feature on some thumping-good Calgary outfits, following the event by a good week or so, will have to do.

Azeda Booth
This experimental indie pop gathering is loosely describable as what would result if you took the most fragile-sounding beautiful female vocals, dusted them across the glittering shards of traditional instruments backed with just a tad of synth melodies and percussion...and then confused everyone by not actually having any female members in the band. Yes, those beautiful breathy vocals floating over what is surely what angels would sound like if they played guitars and synth on "Dead Girls"? That would be vocalist Jordon Hossack. And not Jordon in the androgynous, "can also be a girl's name" sense.

Regardless, the melodies and absolutely captivating ebb and swell of sound will draw you in. You'll drown in it, forget your confusion over how male vocal chords can create those sounds, and let the music speak for itself, especially if you have the great good fortune to witness the band live.

Myspace: http://myspace.com/azedabooth
Website: http://www.azedabooth.com/


Hot Little Rocket
If ever there was a band to pay its small-town dues, it's Hot Little Rocket. Despite the fact that they've been rocking local Calgary venues for some time period akin to ten years now, things are only beginning to happen for these straight-ahead rockers very recently. Good things DO, apparently, come to those who wait, and in this case, that would be having their new album How To Lose Everything produced by Steve Albini. That's right, b**tches. Steve "The Pixies and Nirvana" Albini. Furthermore, they're opening for those loveable-yet-not-actually-on-an-indie-label indie lads, Spoon, for their slot on local music 'Fest Sled Island on June 29th.

Who cares about any of that! (you might say) What do they sound like? Are they awesome, like all those other bands you tastemakers on WHYH deign to grace us with features on? Or have you (gasp!) stumbled, just this once?

Have no fear. HLR is, though the melodies might sound deceptively simple at first, a musically solid outfit with a knack for composing good melodies with enough interesting rhythms and counter-melodies to keep you singing along without feeling mortified embarrasment if anyone were to catch you doing it.

Keep in mind, just like...just about every band covered on here, there's a certain something special to seeing them live. XD

recommended listening: "Down With Safe", "Spill It"
Myspace: http://myspace.com/hotlittlerocket
Website: http://www.hotlittlerocket.com/


Sudden Infant Dance Syndrome (SIDS)
And here we see my addiction to live shows rear its ugly head in earnest. Yes, it's made its appearance from time to time, but here we see a band that must REALLY be seen live to be enjoyed. The pure zany energy, the hyperactive keyboards, the short gym shorts...merely describing it does the reality no justice.

I also think that, somehow, hearing the recorded version also does the live no justice. You just don't get the same feeling of surreality watching the members flail and jump offstage with the mic AND the mic-stand to sing a cover of "Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Joy Division while getting everyone in the front two rows to sing along to the chorus at top volume about a billionty times faster than the original, yet somehow managing to NOT blaspheme the original.

...If you have to ask, you probably won't get it, anyway.

XD

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/suddeninfant

~Ju

[Local Feature] Remote Kid

Greetings. Ohayo. Hola. Guttentag. Bonjour. (insert-greeting-in-some-other-steriotypical-language-here)

Yes, I am aware that it has been a while. Quite a while. >.>

I am also aware, however, though you dear little ducklings may not be, that if I don't start working on all those projects I SHOULD have been doing during Reading Week, I will very soon be in a very large amount of trouble.

Thus, I have decided to balance my guilt over NOT doing what I should be by attending to another aspect I feel to have been woefully neglected.

(This is the excuse I maintain, instead of the real reason, being that it took me a full week to figure out/remember how to log into Blogger again. *feels rather like an idiot*)

...Upon reading what I have just written, it is clear to me that I am making little, if any sense. Thus, let us move onto the point. "Cut to the chase", as those industry types would have it. (Yes, I was just watching the Oscars...and I STILL think Pan's Labyrinth should've won the little statuette thingy for Foreign Language Xp). Oh dear, I'm rather bad at NOT rambling, aren't I? O_o

Remote Kid.

Yes. That was, rather, the point.

Witness here the beginning of a change in the focus of at least MY contributions to this blog; having this wonderful space to rant and pretend someone cares what I think, I have decided to create yet another section, focusing on some of the local talent happening right here in our fair city of Calgary.

Once again...Remote Kid.

Despite the underwhelming name, this little band has managed to impress me live not just once, but TWICE. For cheap, too...O_o Can't underestimate the importance of an art student's budget in determining what, exactly, is a worthwhile pursuit. ^^;

What do they sound like, you ask? Well, rather like everything good and pure that we love about indie music. Those little melodies and fragile things that make us hold our breath when we listen to something beautiful. Yes, there's the glockenspiel, and the sweet guitar riffage, and mellow (yet multiple members singing) vocals and...what? Is that...a violin? Why, yes! Yes it is! And thank God, because good violin is something that makes everything better.

EVERYTHING. *narrow eyes*

Now, I know there's probably a few skeptical minds in the audience...I mean, some small-time Calgary band can't be THAT good, right? Their wonderfully heart-stopping shoegazing and sighs of iridescent ambient indie pop couldn't be THAT arresting, right? Of course, in thinking this, you would be calling our friends over at I (heart) Music ignorant clods, since they seemed to like our wonderfully local Woodpigeon so very much.

Who, coincidentally, recorded a split 7" with Remote Kid.

Take that.

B*tches. Xp

So yes, you have no choice BUT to check out these guys. I mean, Woodpigeon thinks they're good. And I (heart) Music thinks Woodpigeon's good. And you wouldn't want to gainsay those guys, would you? Xp I thought not.

Remote Kid can be found on their Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/remotekid). Or on their website, at http://www.cardboardboxrecords.com/remotekid.

~Ju