Showing posts with label Dronegaze. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dronegaze. Show all posts

Wednesday, 11 September 2024

Dronegaze/Post-Rock trio SOFTSUN (with Yawning Man, Pia Isa members) to release debut album "Daylight in the Dark" on Ripple Music; first track streaming!

Dronegaze trio SOFTSUN (with Yawning Man, Pia Isa members) to release debut album "Daylight in the Dark" on Ripple Music; first track streaming!


SoftSun, the new dronegaze and post-rock trio formed by Gary Arce (Yawning Man, Fatso Jetson) on guitar, Pia Isaksen (Pia Isa) on bass and vocals and Dan Joeright (Earth Moon Earth) on drums, announce the release of their debut album "Daylight in the Dark" this November 8th through Ripple Music.

Watch SoftSun's otherworldly video for "Unholy Waters" + listen to the song on all streaming services


SoftSun is the result of a divine collaboration between very unique and visionary musicians. Pia Isaksen and Gary Arce along with Dan Joeright come from opposite sides of the world. Vocalist and bass player Pia Isaksen grew up in Norway, while Gary Arce and drummer Dan Joeright are based in the Southern California Mojave desert.

The environments they occupy are evident in the beautifully heavy yet ethereal sound of this band. Arce’s dreamscaping cinematic guitar work gives a stark contrast of balance to the heavy melodic bass driven compositions. Pia’s voice, ethereal in nature, levitates the sound and brings a dreamlike shoegaze quality to the songs. Cocteau Twins, True Widow, Yawning Man, Diiv would be appropriate reference points for this unique approach to songwriting.

Debut album "Daylight in the Dark" - Out November 8th on Ripple Music (LP/CD/digital)


TRACKLIST:

1. Unholy Waters
2. Daylight in the Dark
3. Exit Wounds
4. Continents
5. Dragged Across the Desert Floor
6. Soft Sun

SoftSun was formed in 2023 by Gary Arce, Pia Isaksen and Dan Joeright after Arce and Isaksen had been wanting to make music together for several years. It all started in 2020 when Arce played guitar on the first album by Isaksen's solo project Pia Isa. Discovering how perfect their musical expressions fit together they knew they really wanted to create more music together. With Arce's unique and beautiful guitar melodies and sounds, Isaksen's heavy bass and haunting vocals combined with Joeright's perfectly patient drumming, SoftSun delivers heavy mellow and dreamy music with its own sound.

After a few years of collaborating on two of Pia's albums from opposite sides of the planet (Moss in Norway and Yucca Valley in California) and becoming good friends, Gary and Pia finally met in person in late 2023. They instantly became inseparable and started planning their musical project.

The first SoftSun songs were written by Pia in Moss and sent to with Gary who wrote guitar melodies for them in Yucca Valley before Pia then got on the plane to California in January 2024. During three weeks they wrote more songs and got together with drummer and studio owner Dan Joeright who turned out to be a perfect fit for the band. After only three practices and two and a half days in Gatos Trail Recording Studio, the trio recorded their first album live. The vocals were done by Pia back in Norway before. Dan then mixed the album. On Pia's next trip to California six weeks later, the trio booked another studio session and recorded a few more songs. The result is their debut album "Daylight in the Dark", to be released in November 2024 through Californian independent label Ripple Music.

The album was engineered by Dan Joeright and Aaron Farinelli at Gatos Trail Recording Studio, mixed by Dan Joeright and mastered by Kent Stump. Artwork and layout by Pia Isaksen

SOFTSUN line-up

Gary Arce - Guitars
Pia Isaksen - Bass and vocals
Dan Joeright - Drums

SOFTSUN links


RIPPLE MUSIC links


Thanks to Purple Sage PR for all of the details.

Thursday, 27 June 2024

PIA ISA - Dissolve (Album Review)

Release Date: June 28th 2024. Record Label: Argonauta Records. Formats: DD/Vinyl

Dissolve: Tracklisting

1. Transform

2. Into the Fire

3. Dissolve

4. One Above Ten Below

5. New Light

6. Emerald

7. Tide

8. Drown or Float


Members


Guitars, bass & vocals by Pia Isaksen

Drums by Ole Teigen

Additional guitars provided by Gary Arce


Review


Heavy Psych/Drone/Doom Rock Soloist PIA ISA offers her new album Dissolve which is a long and deliberate slow journey into the Doomgaze or Dronegaze side of PIA’s music which she expertly delivered within her outstanding 2022 release Distorted Chants. PIA made a welcome return this year with the new album from Heavy Psych/Doom/Stoner Rockers SUPERLYNX which made a mighty impression with the underground scene.


Dissolve is a record that’s quite emotionally distant compared to Distorted Chants with epic Psychedelic beats that becomes quite NOMADIC with Drone Metal rhythms and the epic instrumental passages provided by Ole Teigen and Gary Arce just like the previous record. PIA adds a more personal touch with the lyrics throughout the album with the mood being quite reflective and eerily unforgiving at the same time.


Whilst Dissolve is a heavy record, the whole sound can be quite Post-Rock or Folk Rock in places but the overall creative sound is levelled between ice-cold Drone Rock and heavy Doomgaze atmospheres which draws areas of Psych, Sludge and Stoner that are quite abstract with PIA allowing her delicate vocals to lead the whole musical journey. The sound is quite reminiscent of 90’s Alt Rock, Desert Rock and Shoegaze surroundings that has a thrilling TANTRIC quality within certain parts of the album.


Standout tracks include: Transform, Into The Fire, Dissolve, New Light, Tide and Dream Or Float. 


Though, I consider this album to be one epic track broken down into individual chapters with PIA, Ole and Gary knowing the right time to play a sludgy groove that brings extra aggression to the mix and build upto exciting style of instrumental DOOMGAZE jams to slowly lose yourself in.


Dissolve allows PIA ISA to deliver another outstanding record that isn’t afraid to challenge genre expectations and reward the listener with a vastly superior slice of DOOMGAZE that’s haunting, refreshing and quite breathtaking to lose yourself in.


Excellent and Highly Recommended.


Words by Steve Howe


Thanks to Grand Sounds Promotion for the promo.


Dissolve will be available to buy on DD/Vinyl via Argonauta Records from Friday June 28th 2024.


Links


Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram


Saturday, 14 January 2023

Mila Cloud - Graylight (EP Review)

Release Date: October 14th 2022. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Graylight: Tracklisting

1.Graylight 05:20

2.Wanda 01:47

3.Tenkiller Lake 02:57

4.Grave Land 02:56

5.Gray Meadow 03:47

6.Lowaring 08:12


Members


Mila Cloud - Everything


Review


Graylight is the latest release from Polish Doomgaze/Dronegaze Solo Artitst Mila Cloud and it’s quite an emotional release that packs quite a punch with Mila’s style of industrial based Drone/Doom sounds that appear on the record.


The music moves at a delicious slow pace which allows Mila to blend Ambient sounds and textures with the haunting Drone/Doom extended grooves. There’s a Post-Doom or Post-Rock flavour to Mila’s style of Instrumental music. Throw in a welcome bonus of Shoegaze effects and Mila delivers a deeply engaging release that can be quite dense and heavy on the excellent opening track Graylight before moving into sombre Post-Rock/Indie Rock territory on the deeply engaging second track Wanda.


Graylight is Mila’s fourth release and they deliver a winning style of emotionally charged slice of Drone/Doom that firmly focuses upon the “SHOEGAZE” environment. Maybe not as heavy as you might expect but there are moments of beautifully played distorted heaviness with an air of calm, confidence and aggression around everything. The instrumental work is first rate with decent production values helping Mila along the way. 


The second half of the record is perhaps the strongest part of this release. As everything has more clarity and focus especially with the heavier moments. Standout tracks here include Grave Meadow and Lowering. Expect more of an Ambient driven score with a Post-Doom effect when the long drawn out noises and effects appear.


If you’re a fan of the whole DOOMGAZE sound  or SOLO ARTIST field then Mila Cloud is worth checking out. As Graylight is an unexpected dark and gloomy delight.


Excellent and Highly Recommended.


Words by Steve Howe


Links:


Facebook | BandCamp