Sonixcursions:001

photo © 2018 Yiu Wah

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Sonixcursions – for our first trip, I’ve selected a number of bands who have been consistently producing stellar outersounds for over 20 years. Many of the bands on this episode can be traced back to the very early issues of the Masstransfer zine – starting with the opener Adrien75 (who Is Still Alive) and the lunar/tropical vibe of “Hawaiian Ring Drum Rum”; plus a throwback track from the band Seely; the dreamy electronics of Lazy Salon (Sean Byrne of Lenola/Twin Atlas); and the California-via-Philly psycountry rockers The Asteroid #4.

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Masstransfer << Rewind: Seely

This article was originally published in the first issue of Masstransfer, 1997.

With a style that fits somewhere in between the math-rock time signatures of Polvo and the dreamy textures of Windy & Carl, Atlanta’s Seely has opened eyes on both side of the Atlantic. The band was formed two years ago by the nucleus of guitarists Steven Satterfield and Lori Scacco, with the rhythm section of Joy Waters and Eric Taylor being added shortly after. They recently played at the venerable Lounge Ax in Chicago with a set consisting of 9 songs. Seely opened with “Exploring the Planets” off their latest album on U.K.’s Too Pure label, “Julie Only”, an album that had me mesmerized from start to finish. Prior to “Julie Only”, the band had released an album entitled “Parentha See”, on the American label Third Eye. That project stirs mixed feelings from the band because of friction between them and the label’s owner. Most of the tracks from that album were re-recorded in Chicago with the help John McEntire, ending up on “Julie Only”. They followed with some songs off their forthcoming album: “Adios”, a mellow instrumental; “Love Letters to Rambler”; “Consumer Pet”; “It’s Your Day Karen”; “The Sandpiper”; “How to live Like A Kings’s Kid”, another track from their current album; “San Salvadore”, an unreleased track to be included on an upcoming compilation CD; and finally, “Like White”.

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