Rudy De Anda keeps crossing borders, Vazio keep it obscure, Distorted Duo keep the change, Slowie & Komposa keep it to themselves, Jupiterium keep Lemmy’s memory alive, and … well, that’s about all you get in your fittingly brief Wednesday Roundup. Something you don’t get: Christmas music!
1 | Rudy De Anda | Helado
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Conceived in the 1980s in Mexico and brought to California through the border inside of his six-months-pregnant mother, Rudy De Anda’s debut solo record is a love letter to the long historical lineage of rock ’n’ roll music as interpreted through his multicultural lens. “I write my own story, I don’t want to be defined by any scene,” De Anda proclaims of his personal journey, and his ability to adapt and flit between cities and cultures is part of why some have called his sound “deliberately difficult to classify, familiar but novel at the same time.” Since 2005, De Anda has played thousands of shows in various musical projects, but with Tender Epoch, tellingly the first recorded under his own name, he has clearly found his own voice with a wealth of stories to spotlight. It’s exquisitely crafted pop, with universal messages of heartbreak and loss that still feel appropriate played speeding windows-down on the highway in the coastal sunshine.”
2 | Vazio | Eterno Aeon Obscuro
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The revelation of black metal in Brazil, the band Vazio have released the video for the song Eterno Aeon Obscuro, a track from their debut album of the same name. The work comes with a message even more aggressive than the sound itself, characteristic of the band’s mix of extreme metal and experimental sounds. Says vocalist Renato Gimenez: “The clip’s scenes mix elements that make up the path: Ancestral rituals, extreme music, trance and obscure art. The moment it was produced was the height of the pandemic in São Paulo, a time of social isolation (April 2020) where a certain logistics was thought to make this independent audiovisual work possible, totally in the do-it-yourself. Made with almost zero funds but with a lot of commitment to do a job that involves the ancient and powerful cult of the dead.”
3 | Distorted Duo | Change
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Last week, Distorted Duo released their debut album Change. Today, the group presents the official music video of the track that gives its name to the album. Change is an extremely eclectic album, combining the main influences of musicians Isa Nielsen and Tiago de Moura. The group invite us to travel through a set of nuances, environments and sounds, all amalgamated by a common denominator: heavy music. Said Nielsen: “It was a bit difficult to carry everything forward in this pandemic context, but we were finally able to pull it off.”
4 | Slowie & Komposa | Trust Nobody
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Straight off the back of Signs, Slowie & Komposa combine for the second time in quick succession on Trust Nobody. Riding a monster Baileys Brown production every bit as murky & menacing as the snake-filled landscape described by the two Bristol MCs, Trust Nobody draws heavily on rap, grime & dubstep influences whilst ultimately sitting in a bass-heavy grey area somewhere between the three genres. Picking up where they left off on their previous collaboration, Trust Nobody sees Slowie & Komposa continue to step on the necks of clout-chasing MCs and snakes, extolling the virtues of keeping your circle small and tight.”
5 | Jupiterium | King of Spades
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “For the first time in history, Iranian and Scandinavian metalheads join forces to pay a tribute to legend Lemmy, who died on Dec. 28, 2015. King of Spades features Marko Hietala (Nightwish), Johan Koleberg (HammerFall), Niclas Etelävuori (Amorphis). “I think we can call 2020 many names but one can be the year of division, even in the metal music community, people are getting divided over their political opinions and this virus makes it even worse,” says Jupiterium’s Mohsen “Stargazer” Fayazi. “I believe in situations like this, Lemmy, an icon over anyone or anything, could bring us all back together and remind us that we, metal brothers and sisters are more alike than different! That’s what we tried to do in this tribute project.”
