Tag Archives: Electro

MAQUINA : Body Transmission.

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One of the coolest things about music, and bands and just EVERYTHING about music is release day for a record you are SO excited to hear.

I’ve loved MAQUINA for a couple of years, and today their second full length record, Body Transmission is out there. It’s fully out there for everyone to enjoy, play to death and dance to. Now, as it’s been released via Fuzz Club- you just know it’s going to be sensational, right? Right on.

The record starts exactly how you would expect; with one of their most recent releases (dança – featuring Dame Area) and from then on, it’s all go. Every song gets louder and louder. That urgency to move more gets you, and you can’t help but feel you are being sucked into a new world. This world that MAQUINA have already created with their sound is unlike anything else, we already know this. But with Body Transmission, every song feels like you are being ripped out of your body and into something else. That’s one of the many reasons as to why you know you are dealing with something really magical.

Any free time I’ve had today, I have played this record. I played it twice at the gym, and I can confirm that this is a record to lift weights to. There are some strong gym jams on this record, and I reckon it is going to become my most listened record of the year right next to the new Crocodiles record. Those are my solid top 2 records of the year. My mind will not be changed, or swayed. It’s already set. For me, my favourite song on the record is Bizzaro closely followed by Step On Me. I cannot wait to hear these two songs live in September. If you’ve seen MAQUINA live, you will know that their live shows are not to be fucked with. You feel like you’ve had the most intense work out of your life after you’ve been to their shows, and you find yourself unsure if life will ever make sense again. On stage and on record, that feeling remains. After you’ve played Body Transmission once, you go back to it over and over. There’s something in this record that leaves you wanting more, and you notice EVERY detail on it. When I tell you that this is one of the best produced records of the past few years- believe me. I don’t lie, and I know everything is down to taste- but this record is next level. But that’s MAQUINA all over.

Speaking about the record, the band have said: “We wanted it to feel heavy, focused, and relentless.” They have captured this effortlessly. It is a heavy record, and also really liberating. This is a record to play as loud as you can, wherever you can. If I went to a coffee shop at 8am and this record was blasting out, I would know I was about to have the best day ever. It’s a record that looks at music genre and says “NAH, NOT FOR ME!” It’s beyond any description. Sure, there are electro moments, there are heavy moments and there are more often than not- moments where you just have to move. All of this means that MAQUINA make music that appeals to everyone. They’re for everyone, and you really get that when you go to their shows. Sure, it’s a sweat fest, but it’s also the most liberating place you can imagine.

Body Transmission feels like a million frequencies going right through your body, and all you can do is give in to it. It’s a record that is made with care and must be heard with urgency. I challenge anyone to not fall in love with this band and this record. Everything they did with PRATA, they have done all over again with Body Transmission times a billion, and more. It’s a truly exceptional record.

The way that Halison can scream his lungs out and play the drums in this ferocious manner is just enthralling. João just RUINS the guitar on this record, and he does the same on stage. He’s incredible. The guitar is his weapon, and you can’t help but dig every note, every sound. Mendy again annihilates the bass on this record, and you feel it echo in your ears and starts to thump at your throat and before you know it- all these sounds crash around you, and you have a phenomenal record in your presence. It’s a masterpiece, and it’ll make you fall in love with music all over again.

If you’ve made it this far, and you want more- you can catch the band on tour over the summer and September. You’ve GOT to see them!

Body Transmission is out now via Fuzz Club Records.

SEXTILE: Push.

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On Friday Sextile will be releasing their new record PUSH via Sacred Bones Records. That label is home to some amazing bands and singers. Some of my favourite records have come from that label, and I’m so happy that they’ve picked up the new Sextile record.

I’ve written about the band a handful of times including the last time they played here in Manchester (they will return to the same venue in December which I’m so excited for!) Their live shows are something else, and when you listen to PUSH, you cannot help but feel it’s a record to be witnessed live. It’s a pure Sextile record from start to finish. Every song is in the right place. It starts with No Fun that goes right into the trance like Contortion. Imagine this live. When you get your hands on this record, this song will change everything you thought you knew about the band. This song is way out there- Sextile are just on another planet with this record, and especially with this song. They just take you somewhere else that no other band has, or maybe ever will.

I really love that this record still has a familiar Sextile sound but at the same time, it throws you into this underground trance world. Early 90s House music is the feel of this record mixed with everything that Punk is. That’s the band all over really, and it sounds SO good. When a band really push their limits and go beyond what even they expect from themselves, that’s when you know you’ve found something to really hold on to. It’s a joyful record that’ll put your mind right. I mean some songs may give your older relatives a headache, but maybe it isn’t for them. This record isn’t for those who love the gentle and quiet. It’s for those of us who want something a bit louder, and something we’ve not really heard before. The loudness will smack you in the chops and the intensity of this record is just heavenly.

Lost Myself Again sounds like dread kicking in that leads into some form of hangover. Whether it be an emotional one or otherwise; it really does something to the soul. All the dread you feel is released by the time you’ve finished listening to this song. I love how the whole record is beautifully chaotic. It’s a record to dance to- to really dance to, and I don’t think they’ve done this on previous records. Sure, you can move to their sounds, but this record offers something else. And it is that “something else” that has you hooked. It’s not a record that you play once and forget about it. That’s not how it works with Sextile- far from it. They’re a band that you go back to every time. I think with this record, it’ll be the one you go to when you want something that you cannot get from any other record.

For me, Crash shows just how talented the band is. This is one of the gentler moments on the record. It’s a real soothing part of the record. You can play this late at night, look out the window or go for a walk and just play this. Whatever you feel when you play it, just go with it. It’s magical in every way. Friend of the band Izzy Glaudini lends her vocals on this one, and it just sounds like an angel harmonising. It’s such a gorgeous song, and does fit in with the rowdiness of the record.

As far as Electro records go, this one is up there as being entirely different; if aliens exist- then I hope whoever meets them, plays this record to them because I reckon, they too, would embrace the weirdness and beauty on this record. You cannot help but adore songs like Basically Crazy, Crassy Mel and LA DJ. It’s just a feel-good record. You can dance your little heart out to this one. Play it whilst you’re at the gym, play it whilst you clean your apartment, play it at a queer house party. Play it wherever you can and as loud as you can.

If you’re looking for a record that oozes soul and passion, then all you need to do is get this record on Friday. It’ll get you to where you need to go.