Ahora mismo en jamendo:

Flood of news

Mayo 22nd, 2009 by patuquitos

Hi to all The Kiss people everywhere…

It’s been a small eternity since last post: no WCS release commentary, no new fake interview, no nothing. Anyway. The Kiss is everything but dead. The reason behind the wait is that I’ve been thinking hard on a variety of issues I want to address. Here we go:

WEB PRESENCE

When TKTTAT was taking its first steps, I started opening accounts in every social network on the Internet, and let’s face it: many of them are now dead, and the world has kept changing fast. The Kiss wants to be ahead, on the forefront, so I’m going to focus in the future (which is Jamendo) and some sites that are woth conquering (say Spotify and iTunes). I will keep Last.fm, MySpace, iLike and the Facebook ‘group’, but the rest are GONE. Fuck ‘em for good.

SECOND SINGLE

There’s a second single from WCS in the works. Aiming for summer. Fighting to include outtales and… remixes.

THE KISS… GOING MAC?

The process of making better sounding music reveals itself as more and more frustrating as time passes by. I cannot sonically outdo the shittiest amateur project out there because of budget limitations, but I’m going to put an end to that. I don’t know when. Maybe next year, maybe 2011, maybe even later… but I plan going Macintosh. Just be ready.

VICTORIAN BUG

Since I was born, my interest in noise and drones has been legendary (to myself, the only one who knew). And, as much as I love TKTTAT as a main project, I need room for making music who, simply put, can bleed the ears of the listener. You already know about ‘Always In The Wrong Mood’, the apocryphal collection of records from good old Patuquitos whose first volume saw the light of day almost two years ago (and expect many more to come). It tries to be a showcase of my abilities making music rooted in other genres, in order to let people listen to some tunes I think are worth, or just for fun. But I needed a non-miscellaneous label to put a continued body of work, totally devoted to ultra-experimental, freeform abstract noise, not just one AITWM volume.

Think of Glenn Branca, Sunn O))), Throbbing Gristle, Acid Mothers Temple, Windy & Carl and metal Machine Music by Lou Reed mixed in a demonic razorsharp blender, and VICTORIAN BUG, my new project, will pour out of it.

It will be entirley web-based. No physical releases. No compromises. No established rules. All bridges will be burnt… EVERYONE IS INVITED TO JOIN.

That’s it. I’m OK and getting bigger and stronger.

Useless reminder

Marzo 16th, 2009 by patuquitos

Did I told you that the physical copies of Hi, America! see the light of day tomorrow?

Of course I did.

Although you’ve been able to download the single since last week, now you can enjoy a beautiful CD with glossy presentation.

Cheers.

Limited first listen for musical press (imaginary)

Febrero 16th, 2009 by patuquitos
The last known musical traces of The Kiss That Took A Trip are seven minutes of crawling layers of thick drones, sprinkled with mortuary strings, and reminiscent of death row claustrophobia. It was the closing track of an orchestral pop recording about love and politics. A recording that came after a piano based pitch black side project, a new age single and a (kind of) post-rock debut.

You’ve read the story: it’s pretty hard to know what to expect from Worst Case Scenarios, so entering this highly secretive first listen for the musical press is, no two ways about it, an exciting experience.

The only cues to date are the words from the man himself: “I’m ecstatic about it. In the beginning, I was very concerned with the goal of making an album that truly sounded like an album. A record with sections, evolving sound, but cohesive and with an unmistakable feeling. I think I made it. [...] It’s not heavier or rockier, it’s just more emphatic. I’ve added guitars and drums that run the gamut from simple autopilot grooves to awkward inadequate pounding. It takes more time for the music to deliver quietness. [...] I would say it’s elevator rock.”

The first impression is purely technical: this album sounds better. Period. Still short of sharpness and clarity, but it sounds better.

The record opens with a harmless intro. Its straight message (via field recording) makes up for its conventional nature, something you don’t have to worry about with track two. ‘Yours is a fitting name’ revolves around a bouncy and playful melodic synth pattern, mixing electronica and post-rock with ease. Imagine a less dramatic ‘Binary soul’, more suitable for cocktail drinking and aimed for catchiness. Things slow down to classic guitar post-rock with ‘This is the furthest I’ve been from you’. Brushed drums and three intertwining guitars shaping a mutating theme that recalls Explosions In The Sky playing for elderly people. It sounds shiny, impeccable, shamelessly claiming the credit for the (maybe) last drop of the post-rock drying lemon. ‘Mary Ward’ and ‘Hi, America!’ are the closest The Kiss has been to making a traditional rock song. The first is a long midtempo that borders melancholy without never really stepping on it, and it’s the first sonic proof of some influences Trello has quoted in the past (hint: A-Ha). The latter is the most anthemic song The Kiss has produced, so its first single status is no wonder. Probably not the best by The Kiss That Took A Trip, but its nonrelenting drums and sharp guitar tones echo the late 80s, U2 and distorted Depeche Mode, so the doubt crosses your brain.

With ‘Google the one you love’, a slight change in direction is noted. Whereas the previous four songs (although pretty diferent from one another) share tricks and spirit, ‘Google’ is admirable in its defiant structure (continuous start-stop) and weird choice of instrumentation. Using celesta, organ and vibraphones, the song manages to still rock and be more than the sum of its parts. There’s even room for short organ soloing and a synthetic voice that debuts the first TKTTAT lyrics ever. More descriptive than anything, and not pretending deepness of any kind, the words use the music as a background. If there’s a surprise in this album, it’s gotta be this. To close the imaginary A-side of WCS, a song many could misinterpret as filler, ‘One trick pony’, reveals itself falsely quiet and, along ‘Google’, they are the first two songs using repetition in true TKTTAT fashion.

A reworking of the intro comes next, giving way to the epic-sandwiched second half. ‘City in decay’ is an elephant of slow moving downtuned guitar figures and martial drums, with few deflections from the main theme, that releases tension only towards the end through solo strings and gentle guitars. It reminded colleagues around me of something from Godspeed’s first album, only way more direct. The next songs try to sound vulnerable and allow the listener some relief. ‘Tha ahteists lament’ is the first actual ballad, all about pianos and string sections, self-corrupting with dissonance the purity and accesibility of an universal tune. ‘Tiananmen’ is a low profile song, minimalistic and playing with strange chords, but sweeping strings make glowing appearances too. The triad ends with ‘Demerol’, the most electronic and chillout we’ve heard from this musical project. The song seems to have not much going on in it, but it’s all a masquerade.

What takes us to the huge finale in a state of unreadiness. ‘Who goes there…?’ starts ominous and almost sexy. As instruments make their appearance, the song raises the menace bar and, about 3:00 mutates itself all of a sudden, looking for beauty instead. This second build-up explodes at the middle of the tune, giving way to an agonic third build up that finds its end in the only possible way: collapsing under its own weight in  white noise cacophony. After almost 11 minutes, this monster feels like an hybrid of Massive Attack and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and the most logical conclusion possible to the record. It sounds like a summary of it, too. It has all the ingredients of Worst Case Scenarios put together. And, maybe going too far, it sounds career-defining, even if we’re talking about a debut album. I have the feeling that this song will remain a measure stick for this man for years to come.

All in all, well over an hour long, the thing never drags (OK, maybe a couple of times, “One trick pony” and “City in decay”), and you couldn’t tell the running time. For those liking TKTTAT as a niche of synthy repose, this album would be a serious test. For those finding TKTTAT too “sad”, this might be the answer to their prayers. But, as always, if you like TKTTAT because it’s consistently changing but being truth to its identity, you know what you’ve got to do.

Soon… first single

Febrero 5th, 2009 by patuquitos

Hi, world.

As I love to look up to my releases like serious all-time classics, Worst Case Scenarios won’t be an exception, so expect some singles off it. In fact, I’d like you to know that Hi, America! will be the advance one. Both digital and physical releases will exist.

Hi, America! will include two juicy unreleased extra tracks:

1. Hi, America!
2. Gone the way of flesh
3. (Heads shaking in) Disbelief

This time you can hold your breath.

Done! Done!

Enero 27th, 2009 by patuquitos

Just blogging to let you know it’s 100% done.

A lot of news on the way.

Follow my steps closely, people.

‘Worst Case Scenarios’ starts now!

Enero 22nd, 2009 by patuquitos

The recording is almost finished. A couple of minimal touches here and there.

I have the pleasure of unveiling the tracklist for Worst Case Scenarios. 11 tracks and 1 short reappearing passage that works as an introduction and interlude. Here we go:

01. [king's piss... the beggar's song]
02. Yours is a fitting name
03. This is the furthest I’ve been from you
04. Mary Ward
05. Hi America!
06. Google the one you love
07. One trick pony
08. [king's piss... the rally anthem]
09. City in decay
10. The atheists lament
11. Tiananmen
12. Demerol
13. Who goes there…?

Now you’ll have to pardon me. I have to leave. I have to put an end to the sessions and I need some photos taken of me (with menacing backdrops).

See you.

Studio update

Enero 11th, 2009 by patuquitos

Hello, world.

Now that the virtual recording (that is, 95% of sounds) is almost done, most of the sonic work left is to record some guitar parts by myself (a couple of dummy ones… hooray!). I should take some pics of the event so people think I’m an actual musician.

I’m proud of the album, in the same old sense I’ve been using the word ‘proud’ in the past: proud of the insane amount of work I do on my very own, more than proud of the music itself. Not bad for a beginner amateurish amateur.

Come back soon. A lot of news on the way.

Hugs.

Coming soon

Enero 5th, 2009 by patuquitos

Good morning/afternoon/evening/night, wherever you are.

As some of you might know, the recording sessions for THE KISS THAT TOOK A TRIP debut album started the last week of 2008, as a stupid “goodbye awful year” metaphor and a wish of peace and wealth for years to come. Things are getting done kind of fast, and I’m starting to realize this will be a risky release. In typical TKTTAT fashion, the brighter the light hits, the more unexpected the songs turn out sounding.

My aim is not to miss the january 31st deadline, so I can start working in artwork after that. The machinery should start moving in march, in order to achieve an april/may release. Maybe (just MAYBE) this release could see a higher number of physical copies, instead of the usual (and laughable, OK) 30 ones.

After a very even struggle between three album names, Worst Case Scenarios has won by a very narrow margin. So yes, Worst Case Scenarios is the album title (with an ending ‘S’, not to be confused with the dEUS album, although who could…). Not only it will be, obviusly, the longest TKTTAT release so far, but a fairly long album, period, because it will run slightly under 70 minutes. It will feature a few epics, including the closing track, which I can anticipate is the mother of all TKTTAT epics. And, against all odds, it will even sound A BIT professional.

This is where it all really starts. Beware of beauty!

Entering the studio

Diciembre 21st, 2008 by patuquitos

Tough times since last posts, people. All kinds of turmoil.

To cut a long story short, let’s just say that I’ve finally moved to my new home and that my daytime job is slowly draining every ounce of energy inside my body. Anyway, I’ve managed to finish writing the album. Done. At last. It’s DONE.

Monday 22nd, TKTTAT will be entering the studio to nail the thing down and make your jaw drop sometime in the second quarter of 2009 with epic elevator rock.

I have a list of pending comments on many MySpace friends, just give me a little more time.

Blurry furry hugs.

Hello world!

Noviembre 25th, 2008 by

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