Tag Archives: LA Vampires

LA Vampires.

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Music should always take you to a different world. It should transport you to a land that is free of anything that ruins your day. It should take you to a place where you can be free. Music should overwhelm you with its power and the feeling it gives you. Your favourite song is like a sacred object to you. You will never ever associate this song with anyone because they don’t deserve it.

On the flip side of this, music should creep you out and scare you. It should frighten you and freak you out. It should say the things you wish you could say, it expresses the things you struggle every single day to express. It’s a powerful force that none of us can ever and will never contain. That’s how it should be.

In 2005 Amanda Brown and Bethany Cosentino started a band called Pocahaunted, listen to them- they’re really good. Bethany is now in Best Coast and Amanda has a new project named, LA Vampires.

LA Vampires is dark and mysterious. Exceptionally captivating and chilling (not in a relaxed sense.) The tracks Amanda Brown did with Zola Jesus are a whirlwind of bliss and euphoria- it’s dark but at the same time uplifting. Not many can make it work, but here; it well and truly did. I love LA Vampires for the unapologetic, underground electro feel. When you listen to Make Me Over it honestly feels like you are walking into a seedy club in downtown LA surrounded by society’s misfits. It sounds like the ideal night out to be honest. At least you’d hear good music!

This isn’t the kind of music you play whilst going for a gentle stroll on a Sunday morning. This is the kind of music you play whilst on your own and in the dark. Spinning yourself round and round in circles, then you collapse in a dizzy manner on the floor- falling so freely into a dream. I double dare you to do this whilst listening to LA Vampires, but make sure you have a soft landing. I don’t want you to harm yourself in any way! The music LA Vampires creates sends you off into a beautiful dream- but not like Chillwave does. Do not call LA Vampires Chillwave, completely different vibe here, trust me.

So Unreal will have you closing your eyes and nodding your head throughout the song. Just play it again when it stops, it is so perfect. Amanda Brown makes music that sets you free. When you listen to LA Vampires, you get that Los Angeles feel from it. As someone who listens to a lot of bands from LA, I can’t actually put it into words- you just know when you hear it. I love being able to hear a place in music. It’s not always a bad thing when something sounds “quite LA.”

If you’re going to ignore LA Vampires, then you are a fool. It’s different and it’s what you need in your collection, there’s no doubt about it. If you love music that makes you feel like you’ve stepped into the unknown and you don’t want to go back from it, then give yourself over to LA Vampires; it’s for the best if you do.

Zola Jesus.

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Around 2 years ago, a singer was brought to my attention. With most music I listen to- I discovered her music by accident at some unholy hour due to having an awful sleep pattern. By awful, I mean I don’t sleep. I should probably ease off the daytime naps I suppose.

Anyway, the voice in question is Nika Roza Danilova aka Zola Jesus. She’s only 22 years old, and when you listen to her music you cannot believe how young she is. I feel like her mum saying this- I’m only 3 years older!

I love her music so much because it is so dark, atmospheric and extremely intense. These are things that I look for in an artist. I love anything dark and intense, explains a lot- I know, I know.

I remember when I purchased Stridulum II; I came home and played it whilst cooking. I was so close to burning myself as I was giving all my attention to the music. I was utterly enthralled in the sounds I was being exposed to. I hadn’t heard anything like this in such a long time. I had heard her previous work, but this album really got me. There is something about it that just grips you and posses you like some kind of beast. Yet you cannot run from it. Her music is like being chased through a desolate forest in the rain- it’s terrifying but you don’t want it stop. I mean, obviously I’d hate to be chased through a forest. I’d probably trip up within seconds and head-butt a tree. Classy, I know.

Her music has such a dark vibe, and with some artists it’s can be quite exhausting to hear. Not with Nika. Her voice has an operatic tone mixed with darkness, it is truly wonderful.

Night is one of my favourites. It is like a comfort blanket. There are quite a few times where I’ve felt pretty shite and I’ve played her album- and all seems okay again. So, just because there’s an intense sound, it doesn’t mean her music will drag you down. Oh so far from it. Her voice will make you feel about 60 feet tall. Her music will make you feel like you can do anything and face anything. It’s so comforting. The ambience on Run Me Out is extremely saddening. You can feel just how frustrated she is- but there is this one person just exhausting her. “You know that I’m tired, you know that I’m ill.” It’s quite painful to hear this. We’ve all been there. We’ve all felt emotionally exhausted yet this one person continues to take and take from you- they just run you out of emotions.

Trust Me is another that feels like a comfort blanket. When you listen to it, it feels like a wave of reassurance coming over you. It is that powerful. It is that precious.

In interviews, she has stated she likes to listen to artists that stand out. She surely does that herself. Her voice, for her age, is extremely powerful and it just captures you. It holds you in a grip. When you listen to her, you cannot help but think “Where have you been all my life?” Her music makes you want to listen to nobody else but her ever again. I’ve spent weeks previously just listening to her music, and only hers. After hearing her music you cannot accept that anything else will be as amazing as hers. It’s like being caught in such a wonderful moment that you know nothing and no one will ever replace.

Yes her music is the kind you’ll never hear in a nightclub or in Asda as you do your weekly shop. It’s not the kind of music you play whilst getting ready to go out with mates. The only way you can truly capture the intensity of the music is by dimming the lights and listening to her on your own. There’s no other way. sheer silence and solitude is the only way you can fully appreciate her music. No interruptions. Just you and her music.

Her highly anticipated (especially by me) third album is out in the UK in September. I am holding out for a tour. I can imagine her live shows to be the most euphoric and intense experience ever. I’d imagine leaving one of her gigs feeling that a lost part of me had been found. I cannot explain it. It’s just, when a piece of music means that much to you and you witness it in a live environment- it means more. It does something to your soul and causes your heart to beat double time. That’s what live music does for me most of the time. Certain artists in particular have done this to me. I imagine Zola Jesus would do this to me.

I must add before I wrap this up, that you listen to her music with LA Vampires and as the act Nika + Rory. It is just as atmospheric and haunting. If she is creating music as amazing as this now- in ten years time, I can only hope she’ll be regarded in the same light as those such as Bjork and PJ Harvey.

I’m fully aware I sound like a mental obsessive fan, but it pains me that artists such as Zola Jesus are overlooked yet certain ones are rammed into our ears and we are forced to “enjoy” them and buy their music. No thanks. You stick to your meaningless, empty sounds- and I’ll stick to my intense, meaningful music.

Hopefully this year will put Zola Jesus where she rightfully deserves to be, or maybe yet again people will ignore this absolutely beautiful human being with voice of an angel. Who knows. All I know, is come September I will be in the possession of one of the best albums of this year.