Album: Kokomo - Monochrome Noise Love

Band: Kokomo
Album: Monochrome Noise Love
Label: i.corrupt.records, dunk!records, Aloud Music Ltd.
Year: 2016







Tracklist
01. Pills And Pillows
02. Kill The Captain, Feed The Fishes
03. Monochrome Noise Love
04. Licht/Staub
05. Jüngling Mit Apfel
06. Beware Of Pity
07. I'm Bill Murray
08. I'm Not Dead
09. Me Vs Myselves
10. Deathmaster Danger Dance
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"Monochrome Noise Love is our fourth album, the first one we wrote and recorded as a five-piece and the complete opposite of a concept album. You will face a new discovered lightness and ten new songs that each stand for itself – although we had the plan of writing a concept album in the beginning.

In the course of time it got more and more clear, that we will take all the time and freedom we need for this album. Every song arouses the need to try something new, incorporate new thing or write something we always wanted to and to slip in instruments that were needed to make our music complete.

Monochrome Noise Love is darker and more sophisticated than our previous albums. But: Monochrome Noise Love sounds like Kokomo – it is authentic, imperfect, fragile and loud."


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The Inquisition: 076.Kokomo

1. How did you came up with the name of the band? 

Our name was taken from the novel „Torture The Artist“ by Joey Goebel. So it has nothing to do with the Beach Boys song of the same name. If you want to find out more about the name, you will have to pick up the book ;) 

2. Do you have a standard procedure of creating a song? Do you just jam around or is there a main riff and the track is build up on it? 

It depends. Sometimes it is Rene who brings an idea to the rehearsal and we work something around it. Often we start the rehearsal with a jam and if something good comes up, we will work with it. We are lucky that our rehearsal room is also our studio, so we can record ideas, listen to them at home and work on it again. After sometime in the writing process we have a „library“ and can work with it e.g. combine two or three ideas into a song. 

3. What are your influences and what kind of music do you hear when you are at home? 

Everybody likes different music for different moods at home. Maybe the next questions can answer this one here too. 

4. Which is the one album you can't live without? 

Rene: Whirr – Sway

Benni: Deftones – White Pony 

Tobi: The Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream 

Ansgar: Pg.Lost – In Never Out 

Oliver: Keith Jarrett – The Köln Concert 

5. What's the first record you've ever bought? 

Ansgar: First CD was a Cypress Hill single 

Oliver: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication 

Rene: Blink182 – Cheshire Cat 

Tobi: Nirvana - Bleach 

Benni: Metallica – Black Album 

6. Name a band that you would like to share the stage or tour with?

Benni: Turbostaat 

Oliver: Blood Brothers or At The Drive-In 

Rene: Circle Takes The Square 

Ansgar: Chelsea Wolfe 

Tobi: Deftones 

7. Did the internet and specially the blogs helped to spread your music around the world? Name a place (country) that you were surprised to know your music has reached to? 

Without the internet Kokomo wouldn't be playing concerts. Our first tour was book via myspace and it was back then a good way to spread your music. Today you have so many opportunities to make your music public e.g. bandcamp, iTunes, Spotify or Soundcloud. And of course you can find any album as a leak somewhere. We are very grateful for every review or mentioning we get because it gives some support and without this support we would not have been able to play some many countries in which people seem to be familiar with our music. If we have to point out one surprising moment it would be the first show we played in Romania where people were singing along although we don't have lyrics. 

8. Do you support the idea of bandcamp where fans can decide the price or services like Spotify? 

We put our music as “name-your-price” on bandcamp so people can decide if they want to spent some money on the digital music, but we think that within our genre people are also still interested in a physical copy if they like the music. 

9. Where do you see yourselves in 5 years? 

No Idea ;) We are by now a band for 8 years so 5 years is a huge amount of time to set some plans ahead. 

10. Is the artwork of an album important nowadays in the digital era?

For sure it is! You can also read question 12 as answer to it.We think that people still love a valuable artwork and appreciate the thought the artist put into it. But you also have to make something worth buying because you have to get peopleto get interested in a CD or LP that is more interesting than a MP3 file. A good artwork is a way to set yourself apart from other artists and we spend a lot of time and thought on our designs to make something special and appealing.

11. What is your favourite album cover? 

Ansgar: Brand New – Daisy

Tobi: The Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness

Oliver: Sigur Ros - ( )

Benni: Converge – Jane Doe

Rene: Celeste – Morte(s) Nee(s)

12. It seems that a lot of people are turning on vinyl again. Why do you think that is and which is your preferable media format? 

During the last album production for Monochrome Noise Love we got to know that there is a urge for vinyl releases right now, because the pressing plant are booked and it takes a couple of months until you get your release on vinyl. Except our first album Matterhorn Bob And The Black Fair, every release has been on CD and vinyl or only vinyl. Again we think that in our genre people like to hold a release in there hands and a LP is a great medium which gives a lot of space for design and specials e.g. the format, different vinyl colours or the size. For the S/T LP preorder we did some handprinted sleeve and this time every preorder will get a special sealing. But we also release on CD everyone who likes your music can get a physical copy and we try to design it as appealing as possible with rough cardboard digipaks for example . 

13. What's the most vivid story or moment as a band? 

Over the years there have too many stories or moments to pick out just one. It reaches from our fee/merch-money that was used to buy drink by our merch guy without our notice to a 36 hour drive home from Istanbul to Duisburg or broke down vans in Romania or broke down pedal boards at dunk!festival or sold out shows in Leipzig... There have been really a lot great moments with this band so far, but the most important thing that you spent the time with your best friends.

Kokomo's amazing new album "Monochrome Noise Love" comes out today!

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Video: O'Brother - Deconstruct

The Inquisition: 075.Latitudes

1. How did you came up with the name of the band?

Latitudes was one of a few names we had kicking around at the beginning of the band, and we decided that this was the name that suited the music the best.

2. Do you have a standard procedure of creating a song? Do you just jam around or is there a main riff and the track is build up on it?

Most of the songs start with a couple of riffs, then we will spend time on structure. Then we will look at keyboard parts and potentially vocals.

3. What are your influences and what kind of music do you hear when you are at home?

So many to list! I think we all have varying tastes, both within heavy music and beyond. In terms of influences probably Neurosis, Deathspell Omega, King Crimson and Opeth to list a few. As I type I am listening to The National, and the latest Krallice and MGLA have been on heavy rotation too.

4. Which is the one album you can't live without?

I'll say Metallica - Master Of Puppets. An album I first heard when I was 14. It still has the same power and emotional resonance when I listen to it now, and it was a massive influence on my guitar playing.

5. What's the first record you've ever bought?

Queen - Greatest Hits. I remember listening to the middle part of bohemian rhapsody and thinking is this heavy metal? It sounded heavy when I was 11 haha! My kids like it now, so it still goes on in the car.

6. Name a band that you would like to share the stage or tour with?

Peter Gabriel fronted reformed Genesis. Realistically maybe Terra Tenebrosa or Krallice. I think a couple of the guys would be keen to play with Deafheaven too.

7. Did the internet and specially the blogs helped to spread your music around the world? Name a place (country) that you were surprised to know your music has reached to?

We've had emails from all over he world, and we would never have had that sort of exposure without the internet or the work of blogs such as this one.  I think we recently charted on the Turkish itunes charts with Old Sunlight so that was a bit of a surprise!

8. Do you support the idea of bandcamp where fans can decide the price or services like Spotify?

Yes, I am a regular user of bandcamp, and I think choosing what you pay for a download is a far better option than illegally downloading for free. Ideally more people would still be buying CD's and vinyl.

9. Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?

Well we have already started looking at a few ideas for the next album, so hopefully in 5 years we will be enjoying our music having released another album. Our lives have already changed significantly during the 10 years we have been a band, so there is no reason why we can't continue for the foreseeable future.

10. Is the artwork of an album important nowadays in the digital era?

Yes. I am still collecting CD's and vinyl, so perhaps I am a little biased. I think it would be incredibly boring if bands were not concerned with a visual representation of the music. Our bass player Jon has always overseen our album artwork, and he was in close contact with Thomas Neulinger in preparing the artwork and layout for Old Sunlight.

11. What is you favorite album cover? 

Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse, I can look at that for hours. 

I love Necrolord's artwork for the last Blut Aus Nord album too.

12. It seems that a lot of people are turning on vinyl again. Why do you think that is and which is your preferable media format?

Vinyl, although I don't get the opportunity to listen to it as much as I would like these days. It as rare luxury to be able to sit down and enjoy an album whilst indulging in the artwork and lyrics. It has long been the case that metal labels are prepared to go to extra lengths to create an amazing package. Shopping for second hand vinyl is great too, I got heavily into 70's rock and prog this way.

13. What's the most vivid story or moment as a band?

Most recently that would be playing at Arc Tan Gent festival near Bristol last summer. We were in a good place having just secured the deal with Debemur Morti to release Old Sunlight. We played to a great crowd, even though it was early in the day. Then we got very drunk afterwards.

We've had many great moments as a band, some not so good, and some not particularly vivid these days. I'd have to say that finishing the recording of Old Sunlight was a big moment for us. Events leading up to this were fairly tumultuous for us as a band. Recording at Skyhammer studios with our trusted producer Chris Fielding was a great experience , and we are thoroughly proud of our new album.

Latitudes recently released "Old Sunlight" and it's already a candidate for the album of the year!

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Premiere: Coastlands - Western Skies

Coastlands' fantastic new single and vintage video from their forthcoming album:

You can stream & buy the track here:
https://coastlands.bandcamp.com/track/western-skies

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Compilation: post-engineered vol.2

Band: Various Artists
Album: post-engineered vol.2
Label: Self Released
Year: 2016








Tracklist

01. So Hideous - Yesteryear

02. Vasudeva - Stop Making Yourself Miserable

03. A Swarm Of The Sun - Infants

04. Errata - L'Eperdu Des Astres

05. Our Ceasing Voice - One Of These Nights

06. All We Expected - Flood

07. Adolf Plays The Jazz - Care

08. le_mol - Time To Get Pumped, Robert Pattinson

09. we.own.the.sky - Muzzle

10. Ranges - If I Were The Devil

11. BOG - The Dead [Fétichisme]

12. SVK - Wormwood (previously unreleased)

13. Telepathy - Cystine Knot

14. Astralia - Mekto

15. Pray For Sound - 23-55

16. cecilia::eyes - Loreta

17. Milanku - L'ineptie De Nos Soucis

18. Shipwrecks - Telescope

19. Outwailed - Dream Walls

20. All These Fallen Trees - Middle-Aged Mutant Financially-Responisble Turtles (Demo) (previously unreleased)

21. Set And Setting - Coping

22. Sleevenotes - Whiskey Dreams

23. Tengil - My Gift To You // The Tunnel At The End Of The Light

24. Amos Val - In the Afternoon a Great Event

25. If These Trees Could Talk - The First Fire

26. Capillaries - Seventy Five Down

27. Audrey Fall - Wolmar

28. Coastlands - Eons (Live in Seattle) (previously unreleased)

29. Cities Of The Plain - Edith Was The Love Of His Life,

30. Cloudkicker - Dovetail

31. Caves Of Steel - Last Citizen Of The USSR (Live at VIVID. A post-rock festival) (previously unreleased)

32. Colaris - Lemuria

33. Our Friend, Surrender - Wrap The Sun Around Your Wounds

34. Release The Long Ships - Rainmaker (previously unreleased)

35. Midas Fall - A Song Built From Scraps Of Paper

36. Spurv - Tre (previously unreleased)

37. Tidings - Mighty Fallen

38. Ashes And Iron - Superstition Drags Us Down

39. Kokomo - Monochrome Noise Love

40. Glaciers - Southwest Of Heaven

41. The White Mega Giant - Pulse Rate

42. -ghost island- - The Last Star's Light

Download from Bandcamp | Google Drive: mp3 / flac | Mega: mp3 / flac | Mediafire: mp3

Artwork made by my friend Kapiller Ferenc.
You can see more of his work here:
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42 tracks, nearly 5 hours of music! This compilation has been in the making before vol.1 was released and finally I've managed to put the whole thing together! I want to thank all the bands who participated in this and their labels for giving permission to use the tracks and their patience! Enjoy and share! 

Let me know in the comments if you enjoy the compilations being so long or you prefer a compilation with around 20 tracks in the comments.

Also the next compilation (vol.3) will  focus on post & black metal mostly and I'm searching for a name. Something like "post-engineered vol.3 (blank) edition". I would appreciate it, if you threw some ideas.

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The Inquisition: 074.Yndi Halda (answered by James Vella)

1. First the question all Yndi Halda fans would like to ask...What's the story behind the huge delay of your next release?

Not much of a story, I’m afraid. Nothing interesting, anyway. We live far away from each other and aren’t able to spend much time together. We also all have our own lives, jobs, responsibilities and obligations away from the band - some creative and some not - and it really took us all that length of time to finish writing and recording the album. 

2. How did you came up with the name of the band?

It’s taken from an ancient Norse poem named Odin’s Raven Magic. The translation into English is “enjoy eternal bliss”, also the name of our first album. We saw a copy of the poem and we loved the shape of the words and their meaning. It fit perfect what we wanted to do musically. 

3. Do you have a standard procedure of creating a song? Do you just jam around or is there a main riff and the track is build up on it? 

We don’t have a standard procedure at all. Sometimes Jack or I will bring an idea for guitar to rehearsal and the band arranges it together into something useable. Sometimes one of us brings a fully-formed movement with suggestions for the whole instrumentation. Sometimes we just play in a room together. Sometimes Daniel and I write as a team together and then show the others. Likewise Jack and Oliver. It has never been a singular process, but all engaged and diplomatic. 

4. What are your influences and what kind of music do you hear when you are at home? 

As I answer this interview I am listening to Damien Jurado. I’m a big fan of his. I have right now on my iPod: Angelo De Augustine, Deeradorian, A$AP Rocky, Hamad Elrebh, Julia Holter, KS Chithra, Lorde, Cindy Lee, Mbongwana Star, The National, Yong Yong. I like to keep it to a very small number of records so I can listen closely, and then replace one at a time. 

5. Which is the one album you can't live without? 

Mount Eerie - Dawn. The complete spectrum of human emotion across two sides of vinyl. 

6. What's the first record you've ever bought? 

UB40 - Food for Thought. I misheard the lyrics when I was a kid. I thought it was a song about being a green banana. 

7. Name a band that you would like to share the stage or tour with? 

Good question. There are a lot of bands I’d love to play with. I love The National. Mount Eerie too. It would be fun to play with a brutal black metal band but most of my favourites are broken up. Emperor, Weakling. Maybe REM. If you’re asking across history then John Coltrane. 

8. Did the internet and specially the blogs helped to spread your music around the world? Name a place (country) that you were surprised to know your music has reached to? 

Yes it has made a huge difference. I think starting as an instrumental band helped at the beginning. The music traveled fairly easily without needing lyric translations. We’ve received notes from Nepal, Peru, Guam, a Navy ship. The level of interest from those places so far from our home is truly humbling. It makes being in a band so fulfilling, to know that our music can travel without us and can mean something to someone so far away. 

9. Do you support the idea of bandcamp where fans can decide the price or services like Spotify? 

I like both. I know Spotify’s artist-compensation model is flawed, but as a music listener I like it plenty. I like to share mixtapes with Spotify. (You can listen to my mixtapes searching for alilysings). I check out a lot of new music on there and just consider it part of the search sweep, which also includes YouTube, Soundcloud, blogs and so on. Bandcamp I love. I spend a lot of time searching for new music on Bandcamp and deciding the price to pay artists. 

10. Where do you see yourselves in 5 years? 

As a band, working on album #4, having finished world tours for albums 2 and 3. In our own studio where we can work all night without disturbing anyone. As a human, a much more difficult question.

11. Is the artwork of an album important nowadays in the digital era? 

Yes, I believe so. I love album artwork. I get swallowed up by a record sleeve in a very different way to being swallowed by the music itself, but I like it just as much. I think small-scale portrayals of the artwork are necessary but no competition and no replacement for a full 12” print. We spend a lot of time working on our artwork and it’s very important for us and for the record. 

12. What is you favorite album cover? 

High Time by Pit Er Pat.

13. It seems that a lot of people are turning on vinyl again. Why do you think that is and which is your preferable media format? 

I like vinyl. Big artwork print, solid sound quality, lots of space for sleeve notes, they look great on a shelf, no plastic. I’d be happy if the vinyl revival becomes the norm for a while. But it would be fun to see MiniDisc again too. 

14. What's the most vivid story or moment as a band? 

Ask me again on my deathbed.

Yndi Halda are back with a new album after 10 years! "Under Summer" is going to be released on March 4th.

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