"A frantic, messy variety of guitar rock, that won’t say no to a night out with punk, hardcore, new wave, or which ever genre (or hottie, or mark, or naive and corruptible young fool) catches their eye that evening." -- New Noise

"Alpha Hopper have boiled down the finer elements of noise rock, no wave. and art-punk to create something so distinctly their own, while paying homage to the sordid style of early 90’s AmRep and Touch & Go favorites." -- Post-Trash

"The album will assuredly have everyone mesmerized... Strikingly riveting and original." -- GhettoBlaster

Buffalo, NY quartet Alpha Hopper are streaming their forthcoming third album Alpha Hex Index in its entirety today via Ghettoblaster Magazine. Hear and share Alpha Hex Index HERE. (Direct Bandcamp.)

New Noise Magazine recently premiered "In The Desert In The West" HERE. Echoes & Dust previously shared "The Goods" HERE. And, Post-Trash hosted "Big Body" HERE. 

"A frantic, messy variety of guitar rock, that won’t say no to a night out with punk, hardcore, new wave, or which ever genre (or hottie, or mark, or naive and corruptible young fool) catches their eye that evening." -- New Noise

"Alpha Hopper have boiled down the finer elements of noise rock, no wave. and art-punk to create something so distinctly their own, while paying homage to the sordid style of early 90’s AmRep and Touch & Go favorites." -- Post-Trash

Buffalo, NY quartet Alpha Hopper share a new track today from their forthcoming third album Alpha Hex Index via Post-Trash. Hear and share "Big Body" HERE. (Direct Bandcamp)

New Noise Magazine recently premiered "In The Desert In The West" HERE. Echoes & Dust previously shared "The Goods" HERE. 

Coachella Valley's legendary innovators of desert rock Yawning Man, led by desert "generator parties" founder Mario Lalli share a video from their forthcoming live performance film Live At Giant Rock today via Metal Injection. The film was shot during Coronavirus lockdown on the outskirts of Coachella Valley. Watch and share the band’s performance of “The Last Summer Eye” and read an extensive interview with Lalli about the early days and lasting legacy of desert rock HERE. (Direct YouTube.) 

Yawning Man was formed in 1986, in the Southern California desert near Palm Springs. Founded by members Gary Arce & Mario Lalli. The band cultivated its unique sound playing marathon psychedelic jams during sets performed in the only readily available venues at the time, impromptu concerts staged in the nearby deserts. As word spread of these gatherings, they evolved into what were called "generator parties" which were informal concerts held deep in the uninhabited desert outskirts of the Coachella Valley, gradually attracting larger and larger crowds to their shows. For over 30 years the band has continued to evolve, never straying from their intuitive, emotion driven sonic soundscapes. In those 30 years Yawning Man has released fourteen recordings and toured all over the world including North America, South America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. 

Gary Arce on guitar and Mario Lalli on bass remain, joined by drummer Bill Stinson as the band’s current lineup. 

A longtime dream has been to capture the band performing in the very environment that so inspired their music, The opportunity arose in 2020 from the challenges artists and musicians faced during the Covid 19 Pandemic, social distancing forcing artists to creatively adapt to alternatives to express themselves musically and visually. 

Yawning Man ‘s answer to this calling is “Live at Giant Rock” 

This cinematic concert experience is intimately and beautifully captured by videographer Sam Grant in the environment that inspires Yawning Man’s spacious, expansive and cinematic music. Filmed live in the early morning hours of May 18th, 2020 in the visually stunning and mysterious landscape of Giant Rock. 

In the spirit of Pink Floyd’s “Live at Pompeii” the performance is shot on location with no audience, just the band performing their instrumental meditations in the rugged beauty of the Mojave Desert.

Giant Rock in Landers California has attracted Native American Nomads, Scientists, UFO Researchers, and travelers from all over the world, drawn by its magnetic spiritual energy. 

The bands outdoor performances are legendary.... this film is the first artfully composed representation of that experience. Yawning Man’s music has found a most fitting venue. 

 The film will be released by Plastic Cactus Productions on DVD as well as digital streaming and pay per 

view in late November 2020. Distributed by Music Video Distributors Entertainment Group. The soundtrack is available from Heavy Psych Sounds Records on Vinyl LP and CD. 

On The Web:

http://yawningman.com/

https://www.facebook.com/yawningmanofficial/

instagram.com/yawningmanofficial

Ghost Against Ghost, the experimental rock project of eclectic composer Christopher Bono, release their first music since 2018 with two contrasting videos for the single "Darth Mango" on Our Silent Canvas Records.

This new animated video by the United Civil Liberties Union  presents a phantasmagoria of the bizarre, a comical animated expression of Trump’s dystopian America. Watch and share via Metal Injection HERE. (Direct YouTube.)

The title of the song and the cartoonish cover art by Nick Siritoch suggest political satire. However, the lyrics, while directly pointing to the unwholesome tactics and mind states of Trump-ism, contrast this with a message of resistance to these temptations through love and social unity.

The United Civil Liberties Union (UCLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1989 dedicated to the advancement of independently-funded new media and public broadcasting. About the project, they share: "As history and culture seem to be in a constant state of forgetting and remembering -- we hope this visual allegory of our times set to the music of Ghost Against Ghost may serve as a reminder of the work, compassion and unity that's needed to build a more equitable and just society."

The first video, released last week, was created by Laskfar Vortok and Strangeloop (Flying Lotus, Brainfeeder, Erykah Badu) presented a powerful collection of disturbing images pulled from four years of news footage, woven around AI dream sequences of Trump's image. 

Bono originally began composing this ornately orchestrated and complex piece during the Fall of the 2016 presidential campaign. He became driven by deep concern for the rising trends surrounding the ascendancy of Donald Trump. At the apparent normalization of explicit falsehoods, disrespect and verbal abuse against woman and opponents, as well as a general mentality of encouraging hate, anger, fear and division, Bono turned to music to process what was the beginning of a deeply dark period of American history. 

Christopher Bono: "At the time I had already been thinking about exploring rhythm in a heavier more intense, and early 20^th century classical kind of way, experimenting with rhythms energized by the music of Stravinsky, Bartok and others, as a driving force for the structure of a Ghost Against Ghost song. I also was interested in shorter forms, as Ghost Against Ghost songs historically tend to be an extended length, usually between 8 to 15-minutes. I thought to myself, 'Let’s do a 3.5 minute ‘pop’ song'. Of course, as with anything Ghost Against Ghost, it’s not an up the middle kind of pop song. The music was meant to express some very challenging emotions about the state of our world and reflects this by being abrasive, dissonant, angular, and very dense.”

After beginning work on the piece, he put it away for a few years to focus on the many other projects he’s involved with, including NOUS, Nous Alpha, Tsyphur Zalan and Gabbarein. It lingered in the back of his mind as a statement he felt compelled to complete writing and producing. In 2019, with the specter of the upcoming 2020 presidential campaign, after watching the horror of society and democracy crumbling before his eyes for four years, he was determined to complete it in time for the election. 

Christopher hasn’t released a politically charged song in over 15 years, but as a songwriter he does have a history of and interest in political and social commentary in music.

“In my early twenties I was inspired and driven to write activist music,” Bono explains. “I starting out pursuing a music career as a lyric driven singer-songwriter very inspired and influenced by artists like Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Pink Floyd. When I began Ghost Against Ghost in 2008, interestingly enough, the first album (which I never completed) was a double length concept album narrating a dystopian American future. The central theme focused on a the runaway future of a country and world driven by crass capitalism and controlled by a totalitarian head of state. Not too far from where we’ve landed 12 years later. 

"I soon put Ghost Against Ghost aside for five years to focus on several classical projects. When I revived the project in 2013 the themes present in the new material focused on metaphysical topics and dark romanticism. With the writing and release of Darth Mango, It’s fascinating to see Ghost Against Ghost return to those original themes of social commentary and political dystopia, however much I wish the circumstances had not driven me here.”

Though Bono often collaborates with friends and talented musicians, this track was performed and produced in true 2020 COVID fashion, in complete isolation. After 2 years of several collaborative projects, Christopher was inspired to revisit solo production, so he played all instruments himself, including drums, bass, piano, synths, vocals and electronics.

"Darth Mango" lyrics:

Love,

Fear,

We choose.

Our own resistance.

A1

Fear Reveals a weakness.

A Lost Mind Trapped in Madness.

People aren’t your play things.

Selfish Lies Defy True Meaning.

Choice Defines the Future

Thoughts of All can tune a New World.

B1

Unify, Unify, Unify before our Eyes.

[Repeat]

A2

Fear dawns from Division,

Darkened hearts become our prisons,

The lines we draw are only shadows.

Thoughts of All 

can tune a New World.

Love,

Fear,

We choose.

Our own resistance.Darth Mango

Love,

Fear,

We choose.

Our own resistance.

Listen to the song everywhere: https://fanlink.to/darthmango

More information at:

oursilentcanvas.org

Ghostagainstghost.com

Instagram.com/Ghostagainstghost

Facebook.com/Ghostagainstghost

Twitter.com/gagdoctrine

"A frantic, messy variety of guitar rock, that won’t say no to a night out with punk, hardcore, new wave, or which ever genre (or hottie, or mark, or naive and corruptible young fool) catches their eye that evening." -- New Noise

Buffalo, NY quartet Alpha Hopper share a new track today from their forthcoming third album Alpha Hex Index via New Noise Magazine. Hear and share "In The Desert In The West" HERE. (Direct Bandcamp) 

Echoes & Dust previously shared "The Goods" HERE. 

"An evolutionary step forward for their sound." -- Metal Hammer

"A woozy wall of Afrobeat inspired fuzzbox riff worship and pounding circular rhythmic power, Here Lies Man connect the stoner rock underground straight to downtown Lagos." -- The Quietus

"Here Lies Man are still really, really good at making riffy, rhythmic psychedelic rock that sounds like the '60s/'70s but still feels fresh today. Fans of anything from Nuggets to Ty Segall and King Gizzard should take note." -- Brooklyn Vegan

Los Angles, CA quartet Here Lies Man announce their forthcoming fourth album Ritual Divination today and share the lead single "I Told You (You Shall Die)" via YouTube, Bandcamp and Spotify. Please see track listings for vinyl and digital variants below.

Four albums in, the convenient and generalized catchphrase for Here Lies Man’s erudite sound — if Black Sabbath played Afrobeat — might seem a little played out. But Ritual Divination is perhaps the best rendering of the idea so far. Particularly on the Sabbath side of the equation: The guitars are heavier and more blues based than before, but the ancient rhythmic formula of the clave remains a constant. 

“Musically it’s an opening up more to traditional rock elements,” says vocalist/guitarist/cofounder Marcos Garcia, who also plays guitar in Antibalas. “It’s always been our intention to explore. And, as we travelled deeper into this musical landscape, new features revealed themselves.” 

The L.A. based band comprised of Antibalas members have toured relentlessly following their breakout 2017 self-titled debut. Their second album, You Will Know Nothing and an EP, Animal Noises, both followed in 2018. Third album No Ground To Walk Upon emerged in August 2019. All of them were crafted by Garcia and cofounder/drummer Geoff Mann (former Antibalas drummer and son of jazz musician Herbie Mann) in their L.A. studio between tours. Ritual Divination is their first album recorded as the full 4-piece band, including bassist JP Maramba and keyboardist Doug Organ.

Ritual Divination continues with an ongoing concept of HLM playing the soundtrack to an imaginary movie, with each song being a scene. “It’s an inward psychedelic journey, the album is the trip,” Garcia says. “The intention and purpose of the music is to create a sonic ritual to lift the veil of inner space and divine the true nature of reality.” 

Likewise, musically and sonically, the album is self-reflexive. “On this album the feel changes within a song,” Garcia says. “Whereas before each song was meant to induce a trancelike state, now more of the songs have their own arc built in.” Similarly, the guitar sounds themselves herein eschew the fuzz pedals of previous recordings, going for the directness of pure amp overdrive and distortion using an interconnected rig of 4 amplifiers. And, here, the well-versed live band is able to record as a unit, giving it much more of a live and dynamic feel.

Rough Trade named the band’s self-titled debut in their prestigious Top 10 Albums of 2017. BBC 6 & Classic Rock Magazine deemed it among the year’s best, as well as countless other press outlets singing its praises. Each subsequent album furthered the band’s reputation for genre-smashing rhythmic experimentation, topping many year-end lists as well as earning features from countless metal and indie rock outlets, plus cover stories in weekly papers. 

“We’re very conscious of how the rhythms service the riffs,” Garcia explains. “Tony Iommi’s (Black Sabbath) innovation was to make the riff the organizing principle of a song. We are taking that same approach but employing a different organizing principle: For Iommi it was the blues, for us it comes directly from Africa.”

Ritual Divination will be available on LP, CD and download on January 22nd, 2021 via RidingEasy Records. 

Artist: Here Lies Man

Album: Ritual Divination 

Record Label: RidingEasy Records

Release date: January 22nd, 2021

Digital & CD:

01. In These Dreams

02. I Told You (You Shall Die)

03. Underland

04. What You See

05. Can’t Kill It

06. Run Away Children

07. I Wander

08. Night Comes

09. Come Inside

10. Collector of Vanities

11. Disappointed

12. You Would Not See From Heaven

13. The Fates Have Won

14. Out Goes The Night

15. Cutting Through The Tether

Vinyl:

Side A:

01. In These Dreams

02. I Told You (You Shall Die)

03. Underland

04. What You See

05. Night Comes

Side B:

01. Come Inside

02. Collector of Vanities

03. Disappointed

04. The Fates Have Won

05. Out Goes The Night

Bonus 7" (UK pressing & direct from RidingEasy)

Side A: Run Away Children

Side B: I Wander

On The Web:

ridingeasyrecords.com

hereliesman.com

facebook.com/hereliesman

hereliesman.bandcamp.com