L.A. Witch: L.A. Witch 2017 + Octubre 2018 + Play With Fire 2020

 

Los Angeles' L.A. Witch is a gothy, atmospheric rock trio centered on singer/guitarist Sade Sanchez.

They gained widespread buzz with their 2017 debut, L.A. Witch, which showcased their road-hardened sound and aligned them with gritty, leather-clad outfits like the Kills, the Jesus and Mary Chain, and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
               

L.A. Witch is an American garage-rock trio formed in Los Angeles, California in 2011. Founded by

L.A. natives Sade Sanchez (vocals, guitar) and Irita Pai (bass), the band's sound has been described as a "mix of forlorn psych folk, lethargic lo-fi blues and boozy garage rock drones steeped in moody, drugged-out surf reverb." The group's influences include Black Sabbath, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, and seminal L.A. punk rock bands X and the Gun Club.
            

Raised in the Valley on the edge of North Hollywood, Sanchez first began playing guitar at age 15. She

quickly discovered punk rock, especially the horror-infused style of bands like the Misfits, the Cramps, and Dead Moon. The band cites The Gun Club as one of its early influences, with Sanchez noting that "When our band first met, that was one of the connections we made. There’s something about their vibe — it’s blues-y, twang-y, kind of country, but also poetic and goth-y — that inspired me."
           

It was during this period that she met English and the two began playing together, even winning a battle of the bands as a duo at Burbank High, where English was a student. After high school, the duo went

their separate ways, with Sanchez forming the noise-rock outfit Silver Drones with bassist Pai. However, Sanchez eventually reconnected with English, and by 2015 Silver Drones had morphed into the trio L.A. Witch. They hit the road that same year, touring almost nonstop for the next three years and picking up well-earned comparisons to many of their idols.
               

The band toured extensively before releasing its eponymous debut album in 2017, recorded at Hurley

Studios in Costa Mesa and mixed in Highland Park, Los Angeles. [14] Their second album, Play With Fire, was released in 2020, followed by a cover of the Gun Club's Ghost on the Highway. The band tours frequently in the U.S. and internationally. Joining the band on its 2022 European tour was guitarist Lauren Andino of the Los Angeles-based duo Tremours.
               

But as more listeners come under the band's aforementioned spell, Pai refutes attempts by journalists to sort them into pithy (and sometimes inane) categories like "beach goth." For L.A. Witch, it was more

about following the kind of sonic aesthetic that they each already naturally gravitated to. For starters, she says the band "really loves horror movies. I think the soundtracks of those films really played a huge role, in terms of influencing that — especially early horror movies. I think that kind of sound just feels right. I can't describe it, it's just something you're attracted to."
              

L.A. WITCH - L.A. WITCH 2017

                   

With a desert rock sound that is positively arid and a penchant for grim lyricism that feels Tarantino-

esque, L.A. Witch’s debut record is as self-assured and succinct as first albums come. At just nine tracks and only 32 minutes, it truly seems like a mirage for the sun-scorched, dust-caked traveler.
        

Though they’ve been buzzing since 2013, the band has taken their time to properly coalesce. In that

time, they switched drummers (Ellie English replaced Crystal Nava) and honed their sound into something more cinematic, which boasts more eclectic genre influences beyond late ‘60s psych rock and bluesy guitar.
            

L.A. Witch – L.A. Witch
Label:S uicide Squeeze – SSQ155
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: Sep 8, 2017
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Post-Punk

TRAXS

                  

01. Kill My Baby Tonight    3:07
02. Brian    4:03
03. Untitled     3:14
04. You Love Nothing    3:36
05. Drive Your Car    3:16
06. Baby In Blue Jeans    4:29
07. Feel Alright    3:34
08. Good Guys    2:07
09. Get Lost    4:22

LINE - UP

                 

Bass, Keyboards – Irita Pai
Drums, Percussion – Ellie English
Vocals, Guitar – Sade Sanchez

Flac Size: 223 MB

L.A. WITCH - OCTUBRE 2018

                   

The name is a partial misnomer. Though the band hails from Los Angeles, they do not partake in any

sort of witchcraft. Yet their ability to conjure a specific time and place through their sound does suggest a kind of magic. On their eponymous debut album, L.A. Witch’s reverb-drenched guitar jangle and sultry vocals conjure the analog sound of a collector’s prized 45 from some short-lived footnote cult band.
             

The melodies forgo the bubblegum pop for a druggy haze that straddles the line between seedy glory and ominous balladry; the production can’t afford Phil Spector’s wall-of-sound, but the instruments’

simple beauty provides an economic grace that renders studio trickery unnecessary; the lyrics seem more descendent of Johnny Cash’s first-person morality tales than the vacuous empty gestures of pre-fab pop bands. This isn’t music for the masses; it’s music for miscreants, burnouts, down-and-out dreamers, and obsessive historians.
               

L.A. Witch – Octubre
Label: Suicide Squeeze – SSQ166
Format: CD, EP
Country: UK, Europe & US
Released: Mar 22, 2019
Genre: Rock
Style: Garage Rock, Psychedelic Rock

TRAXS

              

01. Haunting    3:22
02. Sleep    3:53
03. BB's Momma    2:59
04. Heart Of Darkness    2:28
05. Outro    1:56

LINE - UP

                 

Bass, Organ – Irita Pai
Drums, Percussion – Ellie English
Guitar [Additional], Piano [Additional], Organ [Additional] – Mr. Pharmacist
Vocals, Guitar – Sade Sanchez

Flac Size: 172 MB

L.A. WITCH - PLAY WITH FIRE 2020

               

In the dimly lit interior of a small nightclub, where the stale smell of a thousand extinguished cigarettes

drowns out the smell of spilt beer and broken dreams, a band plays against a backdrop of cheap golden tinsel. Outside, palm trees line the night’s horizon. In the years to come, the streets will swell into highways and interstates, but for now Los Angeles is still a young city growing daily with transplants from across the United States, all looking for a new life.
               

It’s still a city largely cut off from the rest of the country, and in the years before the Manson family

forever tarnishes the infinite hope of the Western enclave and before the Hell’s Angels of Altamont interrupt rock n’ roll’s peaceful trajectory with unprecedented violence, there is still a dreamy California sound for those dark rooms suffused with neon light. The three women of L.A. Witch wouldn’t be born for several decades, but their sound transports you back to those warm Californian nights in smoky rooms.
           

L.A. Witch – Play With Fire
Label: Suicide Squeeze – SSQ173
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: Aug 21, 2020
Genre: Rock
Style: Garage Rock, Psychedelic Rock

TRAXS

           

01. Fire Starter    3:21
02. Motorcycle Boy    3:49
03. Dark Horse    3:34
04. I Wanna Lose    4:03
05. Gen-Z    4:08
06. Sexorexia    3:14
07. Maybe The Weather    2:46
08. True Believers    2:02
09. Starred    2:59

LINE - UP

            

Bass, Keyboards – Irita Pai
Drums, Percussion – Ellie English
Guitar, Vocals, Photography By [Back photo of Sade Sanchez] – Sade Sanchez

Flac Size: 347 MB

Manos Hatzidakis - New York Rock & Roll Ensemble: Reflections 1970 + Raining Pleasure: Reflections 2005

 

MANOS HATZIDAKIS (The Composer Who Shaped Greek Music)

                

Manos Hatzidakis (also spelled Hadjidakis; Greek: Μάνος Χατζιδάκις; 23 October 1925 – 15 June

1994) was a Greek composer and theorist of Greek music, widely considered to be one of the greatest Greek composers. He was one of the main proponents of the "Éntekhno" form of music, along with Mikis Theodorakis, is the founder of the Orchestra of Colours, an ensemble performing lesser-known works and the music of Greek composers, and influenced a broad swathe of Greek culture through his writings and radio broadcasts.
                     

In 1958, Hatzidakis met Nana Mouskouri, his first "ideal interpreter". It was 1960 that brought him

international success, as his song "Never on Sunday" ("Τα παιδιά του Πειραιά"), from Jules Dassin's film Never on Sunday (Ποτέ την Κυριακή), won him an Academy Award and became a worldwide hit. Hatzidakis did not attend the Academy Award ceremony in 1961, and refused to collect his award. He said that the film Never on Sunday with a prostitute as its protagonist reflected negatively on Athens.
                      

Hatzidakis studied music theory with Menelaos Pallandios, in the period 1940–1943. At the same time, he studied philosophy at the University of Athens. However, he never completed this course. He met and connected with other musicians, writers, and intellectuals including George Seferis, Odysseas

Elytis, Angelos Sikelianos, Yannis Tsarouchis and especially the poet Nikos Gatsos who became a close friend. During the last stages of the Axis occupation of Greece, Hatzidakis was an active participant in the Greek Resistance through membership of the United Panhellenic Organization of Youth (EPON), the youth branch of the major resistance organisation EAM, where he met Mikis Theodorakis with whom he soon developed a strong friendship.
                    

Hatzidakis's first composition was the tune for the song "Paper Moon" ("Χάρτινο το Φεγγαράκι"), from Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire staged by Karolos Koun's Art Theatre of Athens. His first piano piece, "For a Little White Seashell" ("Για μια Μικρή Λευκή Αχιβάδα"), came out in 1947, and in 1948 he set a collection of Gatsos poetry to music: Blood Wedding. In 1949, Hatzidakis shook the musical establishment by delivering an influential lecture on rembetika, the urban folk songs that

flourished in Greek cities, mainly Piraeus, after the Asia Minor refugee influx in 1922. Hatzidakis focused on the economy of expression, the deep traditional roots and the genuineness of emotion displayed in rembetika, and exalted the likes of composers like Markos Vamvakaris and Vassilis Tsitsanis. Putting theory to practice, he adapted classic rembetika in his 1951 piano work, Six Popular Pictures (Έξι Λαϊκές Ζωγραφιές), which was later also presented as a folk ballet. Also in 1949 he co-founded the Greek Dance Theatre Company with the choreographer Rallou Manou.
                      

Hatzidakis lived in the United States from 1966 to 1972, during which he completed several more major compositions, including Rhythmology (Rythmologia) for solo piano, his compilation, Gioconda's

Smile (produced by Quincy Jones), and the song cycle, Magnus Eroticus (Megalos Erotikos), in which he used ancient (Sappho, Euripides), medieval (stanzas from folk songs and George Hortatzis' romance Erophile) and modern (Dionysios Solomos, Constantine Cavafy, Odysseus Elytis, Nikos Gatsos) Greek poems, as well as an excerpt from the Old Testament book "Song of Songs". He released the album Reflections, a collaboration with the New York Rock & Roll Ensemble.
                

Hatzidakis died from a heart attack on 15 June 1994 in Athens at the age of 68. In 1999 the city of

Athens dedicated the museum Technopolis in his memory. Along with Mikis Theodorakis, Manos Hatzidakis was Greece’s greatest composer—and his music can also easily be described as the soundtrack of 20th century Greece. His loss on June 15, 1994 deprived Greek music of one of its two main musical ambassadors.
                        

Famous quotes by Manos Hatzidakis

                       

“The only antibiotic to fight the beast inside us is Education.”
“When you get used to the beast, you get to look like it.”
“I don’t care about fame. It imprisons me in its own confines, not mine.”
“To make music, you need three things: art, technique, and experiences. Without them you can not write music.”
“I believe in songs that expose us and express us deeply—not those that flatter our frivolous and violently won habits.”
“The two enemies of politics and culture are populism and elitism.”

THE NEW YORK ROCK & ROLL ENSEMBLE

                 

The New York Rock & Roll Ensemble was formed by three Juilliard students (Michael Kamen, Martin

Fulterman ---now known as Mark Snow--- and Dorian Rudnytsky) as well as two rock musicians, Brian Corrigan and Clifton Nivison. Beginning with their 1968 debut album they broke tradition by using classical music instruments in rock songs and rock instruments in classical pieces.
                    

This fusion, daring at the time, impressed legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein so much that

he invited the group to appear at one of his Young People's Concerts with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra where they performed their signature song "Brandenburg", based on the first movement of Bach's Fifth Brandenburg Concerto.
             

Brandenburg appeared on the group's second LP "Faithful Friends" (1969). This LP had higher

production values than their first and contained many of the songs that were part of their live act. Their third album, "Reflections" (1970), was actually recorded prior to Faithful Friends and was a collaboration with Greek composer Manos Hatzidakis on the score for a film that was never produced. Rhythm guitarist Brian Corrigan departed after the third album and after being part of the only movie appearance by the group, "Zachariah".
                   

        
The band then shortened its name to The New York Rock Ensemble and switched to Columbia

Records. Roll Over (1971) was their most overtly rock album and, at that time, their biggest seller. Their album Freedomburger (1972) was an uneven collection of songs. Soon after the tour supporting this album the band dispersed. Kamen, joined by Rudnytsky and other musicians, gave it one last try when they released New York Rock in 1973.
                 

New York Rock & Roll Ensemble – Manos Hatzidakis - Reflections
Label: Warner Music Greece – 7567-80635-2
Series: Μουσικό Αρχείο της Warner Music Greece
Format:    CD, Album, Reissue 2006
Country: Greece
Released: 1970
Genre: Rock
Style: Classic Rock

TRACKS

                  

01. Orpheus   2:31
Songwriter – Dorian Rudnytsky, Manos Hatzidakis
02. The Day   3:30
Songwriter – Brian Corrigan, Manos Hatzidakis
03. Love Her   4:17
Songwriter – Brian Corrigan, Manos Hatzidakis
04. Dance Of The Dogs    2:58
Songwriter – Manos Hatzidakis
05. Kemal   4:01
Songwriter – Manos Hatzidakis, Martin Fulterman
06. Dedication   2:47
Songwriter – Clifton Nivison, Manos Hatzidakis
07. The Three Answers   3:48
Songwriter – Manos Hatzidakis
08. Street Song   3:26
Songwriter – Brian Corrigan, Manos Hatzidakis
09. Bitter Way   4:15
Songwriter – Brian Corrigan, Manos Hatzidakis
10. Noble Dame   3:11
Songwriter – Dorian Rudnytsky, Manos Hatzidakis

LINE - UP

             

Bass Guitar, Cello – Dorian Rudnytsky
Drums, Oboe – Martin Fulterman
Keyboards, Oboe – Michael Kamen
Lead Guitar – Clifton Nivison
Rhythm Guitar – Brian Corrigan
    

NOTES

Arranged By – Manos Hatzidakis, New York Rock & Roll Ensemble
Orchestrated By – Manos Hatzidakis
Producer – Manos Hatzidakis
Producer [With The Colloboration Of] – Adrian Barber, Bruce Tergesen
Written-By – Brian Corrigan (tracks: 2, 3, 8, 9), Clifton Nivison (tracks: 6), Dorian Rudnytsky (tracks: 1, 10), Manos Hatzidakis, Martin Fulterman (tracks: 5)

Flac Size: 220 MB

RAINING PLEASURE - REFLECTIONS 2005

                 

The band was formed in September 1990 under the name Rest in Peace. A year after their formation the band started appearing live locally. In 1992, they changed their name to Raining Pleasure and started

touring Greece. In 1994, the band self-recorded and released a demo of their work (limited to 160 copies); since then, most of its songs have been rerecorded and included in their studio albums. For two more years, the band continued touring Greece and, in 1996, had three of its songs released through Pop & Rock 's magazine compilation Dytiki Akti '96.
                  

Near the end of 1996, the band signed a contract with Lazy Dog Records based in Thessaloniki; in early

1997, they released their first full-length studio album Memory Comes Back which was well-received from the independent press at the time. Their second release, Nostalgia, appeared in August 1998 also under the Lazy Dog banner. In fall 2000, Raining Pleasure signed a contract with Chrysalis Records, originally obtaining the label as an imprint for their Minos EMI releases. This made them one of the relatively few English-speaking bands in Greece to sign with a multinational record company.
    

In December 2001, Raining Pleasure's major label debut Flood was released to critical acclaim. The

album performed exceptionally well on the charts, spending 15 weeks on the international chart where it peaked at No. 1 before chart regulations necessitated the album's move to the local repertoire chart where it peaked at No. 5 (an unprecedented feat for a Greek act performing in English).
                  

Raining Pleasure gave a series of successful concerts in Greece, which resulted them in supporting bands like The Cure, the Pixies, The Dandy Warhols and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club in their

Greek shows. In 2004, the group's album Forwards & Backwards was introduced by the double A-side single World / Identical Twins. Singer Elly Paspala contributed vocals to the track Identical Twins. Both songs in the single became airplay hits. The band has announced that since September 2022, they have resumed rehearsals. They have announced that they are playing back together. Their plans (for live shows etc) are to be announced.
            

Raining Pleasure – Reflections
Label: EMI – 0946 311536 2 4, Blue Note – 0946 311536 2 4
Format:    CD, Album, Copy Protected, Digipak
Country: Greece
Released: 2005
Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: Alternative Rock

TRACKS

                      

01. Orpheus   2:55
Drums – Jay
Guitar – Jeremy
Guitar, Flute [Mellotron Flute], Organ, Electric Piano [Wurlitzer] – Spiràl
Vocals, Bass – Vassilikos
Written-By – Dorian Rudnytsky, Manos Hatzidakis
02. The Day   5:42
Drums – Jay
Flute [Mellotron Flute[, Strings [Mellotron Strings], Keyboards, Electric Piano [Wurlitzer] – Spiràl
Guitar – Jeremy
Violin – Nikos Mavridis
Vocals, Bass – Vassilikos
Written-By – Brian Corrigan, Manos Hatzidakis
03. Love Her   5:24
Drums – Jay
Flute [Mellotron Flute], Strings [Mellotron Strings], Organ – Spiràl
Guitar – Jeremy
Vocals, Piano, Bass – Vassilikos
Written-By – Brian Corrigan, Manos Hatzidakis
04. Dance Of The Dogs   2:48
Drums – Jay
Guitar – Jeremy , Mick Schirmeyer
Organ, Strings [Mellotron Strings] – Spiràl
Vocoder, Bass, Guitar [3 Guitar Notes] – Vassilikos
Written-By – Manos Hatzidakis
05. Kemal   5:02
Drums – Jay
Guitar – Jeremy
Organ, Flute [Mellotron Flute], Strings [Mellotron Strings], Electric Piano [Wurlitzer] – Spiràl
Performer [Everyone] – Russians
Violin – Nikos Mavridis
Vocals, Bass – Vassilikos
Written-By – Manos Hatzidakis, Martin Fulterman
06. Dedication   3:10
Drums – Jay
Guitar, Mandolin – Jeremy
Piano, Organ, Strings [Mellotron Strings] – Spiràl
Violin – Nikos Mavridis
Vocals, Bass, Piano [A Bit Of Piano] – Vassilikos
Written-By – Clifton Nivison, Manos Hatzidakis
07. The Three Answers   3:25
Bass, Piano [Chembalo], Flute [Mellotron Flute] – Vassilikos
Drums – Jay
Guitar – Jeremy
Organ, Flute [Mellotron Flute], Choir [Mellotron Choir], Electric Piano [Wurlitzer] – Spiràl
Written-By – Manos Hatzidakis
08.Street Song   3:19
Drums, Percussion – Jay
Guitar, Mandolin – Jeremy
Organ, Strings [Mellotron Strings] – Spiràl
Vocals, Guitar, Electric Piano [Wurlitzer], Strings [Some Mellotron Strings] – Vassilikos
Written-By – Brian Corrigan, Manos Hatzidakis
09. Bitter Way   6:54
Drums – Jay
Guitar – Jeremy
Keyboards, Flute [Mellotron Flute], Strings [Melloron Strings] – Spiràl
Vocals, Bass – Vassilikos
Written-By – Brian Corrigan, Manos Hatzidakis
10. Noble Dame   4:20
Drums – Jay
Guitar – Jeremy, Spiràl
Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Percussion [Bottles] – David Lynch
Vocals, Bass – Vassilikos
Vocals, Electric Piano [Wurlitzer] – Elly Paspala
Written-By – Dorian Rudnytsky, Manos Hatzidakis
 

LINE - UP

Drums, Percussion – Jay
Guitar, Mandolin – Jeremy
Keyboards, Guitar – Spiràl
Music By – Manos Hatzidakis
Vocals, Bass, Keyboards – Vassilikos

Flac Size: 260 MB

Raining Pleasure on Urban Aspirines HERE