BY ALTUĞ KARAKURT (EE/III)
altug.karakurt@ug.bilkent.edu.tr
I spent more than two months of the summer in Barcelona for an internship. In this column and the following, I want to talk about the concerts I attended, the local Spanish bands I discovered and the music scene in Barcelona in general.
All of the bands that I am mentioning here have Bandcamp profiles. Make sure to check out their freely available tracks and support them if you enjoy their music.
Os Meus Shorts
I first learned about Os Meus Shorts when I found the vinyl of this, their self-titled second album in a local record store and instantly fell in love with the improvisational attitude of the band. This is a project of the Catalan guitarist Nico Roig; the name means “my shorts” in Portuguese. The durations of the recordings on this album vary from a few seconds to roughly two minutes, and none of them seem like completed compositions. Rather, it feels like the musicians came up with a good musical idea, or a catchy phrase, and recorded such segments in order to remember them for the future. This is an audio sketchbook containing a brilliant collection of jazzy, minimalist tunes, filled with inspiration and musical genius. I think “Os Meus Shorts” could be a gold mine, especially for DJs and electronic musicians who are into remixing. So many recordings on this album are real gems, waiting to be discovered and expanded into a complete song.
Berlinist
Berlinist has one of the most unique sounds I have heard recently. The Barcelona-based band combines chamber music with art/dream pop and a little bit of ambient. The band uses violins, a cello and soft, uplifting vocals in the lead, while a grand piano, backing vocals, bass guitar, synthesizers and drums support the leads with beautiful sound textures. I had the chance to see them live at the concert promoting their debut album, “Winter Hexagon,” in Sant Gaieta church, and it was a mesmerizing experience. The musicians made great use of the church’s architecture and created a very uplifting atmosphere with the echoing acoustics and well-designed lighting, which went perfectly with their musical style.
Due to the amazing first impression the band left on me, I bought one of the 100 limited-edition white vinyls of the album and have been listening to it quite frequently since then. Their sound textures are truly one of a kind; I’m still impressed by the complexity and beauty of some of their musical phrases. However, the structures of the songs don’t come up to the same standard. Despite being very beautiful and dense, the songs lack progression or a clear structure that would keep the listener’s attention. If the band can manage to extend the listener’s attention span, I think they will have a very bright future. I highly recommend them to shoegaze, dream pop and art pop fans, as well as fans of classical music. Berlinist combines influences from many directions very skillfully and creates a very beautiful, elegant and uplifting sound.
El Altar del Holocausto (EADH)
EADH is an instrumental post-rock band from Salamanca, Spain. I saw them live in Barcelona during the promotional tour for their sophomore release, “SHE.” EADH is a trio, consisting of drums, bass guitar and electric guitar. Their sound isn’t very unique, and it really can’t be, considering how large the post-rock scene is. However, they have a distinct, characteristic sound, and they are very good at what they do.
EADH is an amazing live band. They wear white robes and white cloth masks and use candles to illuminate the stage. I think this indeed gives their performances the haunting atmosphere the band is going for. Musically, they make great use of guitar effects and create their atmospheric sound mostly with the reverbed guitar parts, played on top of the strong sonic foundation built by the thick basslines and well-written drum parts. EADH is unfortunately a very underground band; they deserve much more publicity and recognition. I had the chance to talk with them for quite a while after the concert and got them to promise to play a show in Turkey sometime in the next 10 years. Now this promise has been made public, and I hope they will actually get the support they deserve to be able to play around the world. If you are looking for fresh, atmospheric, haunting and well-performed post-rock, EADH is just the band for you.
Syberia
Syberia, a Barcelona-based post-rock band, was another gem I discovered through a local record store. I played their latest album, “Drawing a Future,” in the store and loved their style. The band’s sound is as heavy and dense as Liturgy’s, and their song structures can be compared to those of many traditional atmospheric post-rock bands. Their songs start off calmly, and as they progress, new layers are added on top of the running piece, tied up with reverb and distortion to make a big wall of sound. This formula is quite common and not really original anymore as such, but Syberia doesn’t stop there and builds on this tradition by also using palm-muted, heavy, distorted guitar sound. I find their application of ordinary post-rock formulas to harsh, heavy sounds quite interesting and enjoyable.
Next time, I will finish up my Barcelona diaries with two metal festival reviews.