Three years have passed since Pelican celebrated their 10 year anniversary with the release of the LP What We All Come to Need. But that was also the year that saw the quartet finding full-time jobs outside the band due to the subsequent downturn in the US economy and “decline in sales in the music industry”, according to guitarist Trevor de Brauw.

They are now very much realists about changes within the music business, having been a full-time enterprise during the albums of The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw (2005), City of Echoes (2007), and What We All Come to Need (2009). Despite touring for a sizeable portion of the year during this period, half of the band had already relocated to Los Angeles. This is when they began recording in their own spaces and without scheduled rehearsal time. Any workable compositions and ideas would be forwarded to each other via the internet, and then eventually put together and finished off in a studio in Chicago.

If City of Echoes was shaped by the intense experience of touring, then Ataraxia/Taraxis was formed from the ability to compose in near-solitude, in an place away from pressures of studio time. Yet this long distance relationship hasn’t disrupted the creative flow of the band, who still seem to be facing in the same direction. As Drummer Larry Herweg has put it, the band are able to “kind of get a game plan of what to do so that when we are together […] we’re all on the same page right away”.

Without doubt the middle two pieces ‘Lathe Biosas’ and ‘Parasite Colony’ are very much what listeners would expect from Pelican. Multi-textured and heavy, this alternative “post-metal” echoes much of their previous work. Track durations on this release have shortened, which will be good news for attendees who find a 75min live set of 5 or 6 tracks a little too much to handle at once.

It’s the EP’s title tracks ‘Ataraxia’ and ‘Taraxis’ that offer a fresh dynamism to their sound, and it is perhaps these two that most reflect how the band are growing towards a new creative line. As well as the droning “aeroplane” intro to ‘Ataraxia’ (the sound of which remains throughout the remainder of the track), deft layers of acoustic guitar are juxtaposed against a few stabs of synthesiser and a brief stint of electronic drums. ‘Taraxis’ continues this theme with an even greater number of acoustic sounds being cleanly picked and ringing in your ears. A warbling electric lead guitar struggles to get its voice over the top of the eventual crescendo of overdriven chords and string bending riffs. These two tracks do pose a problem for the band, though: how would they incorporate the acoustic and electric live on stage?

[Originally published on TLOBF]

Just before the release of his latest offering, All Roads Lead Here (reviewed here), I managed to track down multi-instrumentalist Paul Antonio Ortiz (otherwise known as Chimp Spanner) before he departed for a show at Moscow’s Plan B club. As well as marking Chimp Spanner‘s welcome return after the highly-acclaimed album At The Dream’s Edge, the release of the All Roads Lead Here EP also signifies record label Basick Record’s first embrace of the vinyl format. In this interview, Chimp Spanner talks about the making of the EP and the ways in which performing live has had an effect on his musical bubble.

Me: Tell me about the concept behind All Roads Lead Here.

Paul: It’s kind of a continuation of At the Dream’s Edge in as much as it has the same futuristic vibe going on. I guess it was an opportunity to try a few things out that I didn’t get to on the full length. I also used some of my own experiences of the past couple of years to create a darker tone with ‘Mobius’ parts 1-3, so it’s also a bit more personal in that sense.

Me: The EP release has been delayed a couple of times – and you have said that you were waiting for the right moment in time. Do you constantly check what’s coming out (some might say the “competition”)?

Paul: Not so much waiting for the right time… just waiting to feel like I could write again! I’m pretty hard on myself as far as the quality of my ideas, plus as I said about there were some personal/family health issues going on that really put music on the back burner for a while. As far as checking what else is coming out, not really. Most of the time if I’m working on something, I do it in total isolation. If I start paying attention to everyone else, I just get freaked out and panicked like I’m not making enough progress! So I just exist in a weird musical bubble, occasionally taking a break to see what’s been going on.

Me: Despite recording music for many years, it is only recently that you have taken your music to the live stage. How important are the rest of your band for you to keep a level head whilst onstage. Did you have any issues at first with trusting them with your music?

Paul: I guess the hardest thing was putting trust in three other guys to do what my computer will do perfectly and without fail every time! Of course that’s an unrealistic expectation to put on any group of musicians, so over time I’ve come to relish the f**k ups, and thankfully they’re few and far between…and when they happen it’s usually me anyway – haha. I’ve come to appreciate it as a more human experience. It’s exciting, and a little scary sometimes; will we pull it off, won’t we? But we’re getting way more confident and I’ve been lucky to find a dependable bunch of guys to pull this off.

Me: Has “the band” had much of an influence on your recent compositions?

Paul: Kind of. Part of the reason for the delay with the EP was that I found my writing tainted a little by the live experience. By that I mean I lost sight of what Chimp Spanner originally was, and it wasn’t four dudes playing on a stage. It was just… a sound. So that’s been the hardest thing to balance. I don’t want to scale back my ambitions or water down the music, but I also don’t want 50% of the show to be backing track because it’s not doable in real life. I think with the new material (for the next full length) I’ll be exploring ways to make as much of the ambiance and other cool stuff happen on stage, and gradually wean ourselves off the backing.

Me: What or whom convinced you to go on tour?

Paul: Barley, the owner of Basick! He kind of threw it out there back in 2010 that I should think about just doing a one-off performance at the Basick 5th birthday party. I figured it was about time I left my comfort zone, so I gave it a shot. That was my first ever live show…not just the first Chimp Spanner show! Of course, in hindsight, Barley knew exactly what he was getting me into. Playing live is more addictive than crack! Erm, so I’m told.

Me: During the making of the EP, how conscious were you about how the tracks would work on stage?

Paul: I definitely gave a lot more thought to how riffs would flow into one another (and how easy/hard they were to get to from a previous section). I also included some moments that would really engage the audience more and allow them to lock in to the groove. On our recent tour with Cynic, the first 2 or 3 songs really confused some people. It wasn’t until we played the new material that they really got it, and then they enjoyed everything from that point onwards. So I guess following on from my previous answer about how it’s affected my writing…I’m thinking about how to have more subtle, implicit levels of complexity, rather than trying to fry brains with odd timing. It’ll make our performances more enjoyable and relaxed, give us space to improvise a bit, and it will hopefully make the whole experience more inclusive for people who aren’t used to all the weird timings and stuff.

Me: Amongst the increased aggression, there is a considerable hint of jazz fusion in this release. Is the next album going to head in this direction?

Paul: It’s a tricky one for me, as I have no real theory knowledge. So I’m always reluctant to label my music as fusion, even though it’s a very strong influence, because I just don’t understand what’s going on. My ear knows what it wants to hear, and I go by that as much as I can. But I think for the next release I’m going to try and tame the urge to be ‘clever’ and jazzy and balance it out with a more vocal style of lead writing.

Me: Who decided to put the new EP and the results of the remix competition on vinyl? Are you much of a vinyl junkie?

Paul: It was really Basick’s idea, but one I happened to like! I think that while the internet and downloadable music have been of great benefit to the music scene, they’ve also kind of devalued the finished product. I hear people talking nonsense about how it’s not about albums anymore, and nobody wants/buys records. I mean what the hell is the point of writing an album if not to have a finished “thing” in your hand that you can look at and say… it’s done. So to that end I think people are turning to vinyl because it’s not an abstract, valueless thing like an MP3 or a text file or a JPEG. It’s real, and it’s special because once they’re gone, they’re not coming back. I think it’s a great way to keep the physical medium alive and give fans something real and tangible other than tees and hoodies. I wanted to do music…not fashion!

Me: You have recently signed up to Bandhappy. What has been the response to it so far?

Paul: Well I haven’t had a chance to do any more than a couple of lessons due to our visit to Moscow but so far it’s gone really well! It’s a young, fledgling platform and things are changing pretty much weekly but it’s an amazing idea and I think it’s going to change the way fans and musicians connected with each other.

Me: There must be a possibility that the system could be misused, in such a way that crazed “fans” could pay a few bucks just to shout abuse or wind up the person at other end…

Paul: Haha well I guess so, but hey, if someone wants to pay me a few bucks to stare at my face I guess that’s up to them! I suppose there’s a point past which I’d just get really uncomfortable but hopefully I won’t have to deal with that any time soon.

Me: With so many musicians embracing social media, will the days of waiting at the stage door to sneak a peek at the artists cease to exist? Do you see social media as a hindrance or annoyance with so many people trying to get your attention? Is there an ever increasing obligation to fulfil?

Paul: It can be kind of hard sometimes. I remember in late 2010, I was working full time and rehearsing for a tour with Monuments, and I’d go online at like 10pm on a Sunday evening hoping to just kick back and chill, and I’d have people coming straight out with technical questions like I’m a support line. Not even a “hi, how’s it going?” AND they were in the UK so they knew damn well what time it was! But you know… you can’t complain about it when it’s annoying, and then lap it up when it’s working in your favour (when promoting new releases or shows or whatever). And most people are cool anyway – I’ve made a lot of great friends through my music. I think more than anything, I just have to explain to people that there are no shortcuts to what they want. I started Chimp Spanner 10+ years ago now, and for most of that…nothing happened. Advice from artists you like can really be helpful, but when it comes down to it the best thing you can do is start from the beginning, take your time. So many people approach music wanting what others have, but really some of the most amazing fun they’ll have as in those early days where they’re writing because it makes them happy. People pick up on that kind of genuine approach, and that’s when they’ll really go out of their way to support you.

Incoming! Black Breath: Mother Abyss. Out on March 26, 2012 via Southern Lord.

Incoming! Meshuggah: Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave it Motion. Out on March 23rd (EU) and March 26, 2012 (NA) via Nuclear Blast Records.

It’s only in recent times that I have realised why Chimp Spanner’s 2009 LP At The Dream’s Edge sometimes didn’t sit right musically. The juxtaposition of 80s hair metal solos / cheesy soundtrack to one gurning riff after another often felt awkward; at times I would love it but on another listen I would want to immediately turn it off. However, after witnessing Chimp Spanner (Paul Ortiz) on 2011’s Lowering the Tone tour, the tracks fell on my ears in a different way, and somewhere along the line Ortiz’s work started to click. This release also dips Basick Records’ toes into the “doomed” world of vinyl.

The bonus tracks that accompany this release feature the winners of the Chimps remix competition. They are not entirely inspiring, and reach the fringes of glitchy downtempo and antagonistic tech-step drum and bass.

All Roads Lead Here continues where 2009’s At The Dream’s Edge ended. Futurism prevails, though Ortiz’s musical cosmic bubble is only given limited time and space here. There are immediate similarities between the two releases; the three part ‘Mobius’ passage on this EP can be compared with a similar transitional piece that appeared on At The Dream’s Edge i.e. “Terminus” Parts I, II, and III. Ortiz has even said that the EP was an “opportunity to try a few things out I didn’t get to on the full length.” However, the narrative structure of his releases continues to remain.

The EP’s start and finish (not counting the bonus disc) have a similar vibe going on, with each of the tracks offering a greater sense of dynamism and vibrancy to his work. Percussive bass playing combined with glistening and intricately worked picking parts create an enormous wealth of texture. Ortiz has expressed an interest in the inclusion of some more jazzy leads, but without consciously putting them in, it would be unwise to label it as “fusion”. It’s more of a medley of styles.

And this is exactly what you get with the heart of this EP, the 14mins of sublime prog noodling that is ‘Mobius’ parts I, II and III. Lashings of cleverly worked riffs are whipped out during parts I and II, whereas part III delves into the stuttering and percussive sound. Ortiz succeeds in creating a degree of tension within the recording, and keeping the listener for a prolonged time in a suspended groove – a bit like fellow label mates Uneven Structure. With a keen awareness of just how much the “sound” of his work could be influenced by “the four dudes that play on stage” since Chimp Spanner‘s recent evolution from solo recording project to touring act, this EP tries to bring together what works live and what exists inside Ortiz’s writing mind. I wonder how this struggle is going to continue.

(Source: onemetal.com)

Emerging from a politicised music scene in England’s capital city, Senser dipped into the genre-blending alternative punk/metal pool of the early 90s. Although they don’t specifically enjoy being referred to as rapcore, they perhaps surely paved the way for other UK acts such as One Minute Silence and even stretched out to third-wave skacore bands such as Capdown andSonic Boom Six. After the relative success of 1994’sStacked Up the band somehow fizzled out. Under the gaze of New Labour they meandered through the latter part of the decade and early 2000s at a time where rap rock/metal was at its corporate zenith and symbolised by that red baseball cap.

Everyone liked Limp Bizkit at some point (yes, you did), but instead of banging on about fast cars, your “homies” around the world, or getting caught up in “millennium shit”, Senser’s early music combined the aggressive political stance of Public Enemy with guitars from metal and psychedelia. They pointed their fingers at the failures of the Conservative government, and covered various issues such as gun crime and racism alongside other bands as diverse as Asian Dub Foundation. This is a reason why the band decided to record Public Enemy‘s “Don’t Believe The Hype” with its beat-boxed drums, and the “Angel of Death”-sampled “Channel Zero” for this EP. Musically this sounds similar to their early output, punk-tinged but with heavily-saturated guitars – especially on theEric B and Rakim cover “Follow The Leader”. The dark guitar sound and deep bass is punctuated by subtle strings or synths, and coupled with the turntable scratching and explosive chorus, it brings back memories of early (hed) Planet Earth. The band maintain that “this is really the music most of us grew up with, to us early hip-hop represents a parallel with folk music, or the jazz standards – a lexicon of classics”.

Biting Rhymes serves as an aperitif to Senser’s 5th full-length, which is destined for release at some point in the future. 2009′s How to do Battle didn’t totally rekindle interest in this genre (grabbing an uninspired 1/5 from Onemetal in the process), so it would be an upward struggle to create the same kind of following as they had just over fifteen years ago. Just don’t call it a comeback…

[Originally published on Onemetal]