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Japanese Television Video Bruno's Nightmare

  • Published in News

From the ashes of three London psych-rock bands rose Japanese Television; Al Brown, Alex Lawton, Ian Thorn and Tim David Jones - who formed with a shared vision of creating a modern psychedelic space-surf-soundscape.

The band went into the studio with Kristian Bell (The Wytches) who artfully captured the raw spirit of their live performances to 8-track tape. The tracks make up their debut self-titled 2018 EP, which was named EP of the year by both Gideon Coe and Amy Lame at BBC 6 Music, followed by EP II which sold out physically within a matter of weeks.

‘Bruno's Nightmare’ is the third single from EP II. A driving krautrock infused cut, ‘Bruno’s Nightmare’ invokes images of just that; haunting psychonautic guitars awash over dreamy futuristic synth to soundtrack your minds late night illusions.

The new video was written and directed by JTV drummer Alistair Brown, the follow up to his last music video ‘Never Fight A Man with a Perm’ for Brit awarded rock band Idles. Alistair had this to say about the film:

“We first met Brian, AKA. The Doctor, at around 1am in a sweaty basement club in Manchester whilst on tour and whilst playing a set. He felt like a being from another dimension. His movements were like nothing we'd ever seen before. Everyone in the venue was mesmerized. He kindly agreed that night to be in a video for us.” Fast forward 8 months and this is the result; Bruno’s Nightmare.

Tour dates:

06/02 - The Victoria, London

07/02 - The Lanes, Bristol

08/02 - Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham

09/02 - Tyne Bar, Newcastle

10/02 - Flying Duck, Glasgow

11/02 - Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh

12/02 - The Lantern, Halifax

13/02 - Mabgate Bleach, Leeds

14/02 - JT Soar, Nottingham

 

 

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Gnoomes, The Shacklewell Arms, London

  • Published in Live

Last Thursday I got to see a band that was once arrested for looking suspicious because they were wearing denim jackets and hats (and for being high, mostly); Gnoomes introducing their new album MU! at The Shacklewell Arms.

Unfortunately I didn’t make it on time to catch the first band (Terravi), so I sat down at the bar area with a beer and cheesy chips (damn good, btw) to wait for the second one. The venue was surprisingly empty for a Thursday night, so there was nobody standing between me and the guy who suddenly dropped his entire drink after reaching his table and I got to witness it all (and point and laugh).

The second support band was Japanese Television, which I’d missed in other occasions so this was a pretty lucky line-up for me. Instrumental psychedelic rock tends to bore me after a bit, but these guys have some unique spookiness in their sound that keeps you alert and curious, like a crocodile dentist.
They weren’t very engaging with the crowd and each of them seemed to be on their own little planet, but the crowd was absolutely loving it. Harry Dean Stanton (yes, he’s dead) was standing nodding at the very front, approving of their performance. If you think you’d enjoy music that sounds like the soundtrack for a cheap-budget space ghost movie, make sure you check them out at their EP launch this July at The Waiting Room (Stoke Newington).

And then it was Gnoomes’ turn. They weren’t wearing denim jackets or hats and they looked dead serious; especially their newest member Masha (synths).
MU! is an adventurous yet spotless album, and they performed it beautifully. Their sound was intricate and deep, enough to make this man next to the stage shake and make praying motions (really intense and creepy).

One of the things that made their sound so detailed and diverse was the ridiculous amount of pedals lined up in front of the guitarist; rampant during songs like 'Ursa Major' and 'Utro', more melodic and Tame Impala-like for 'Glasgow Coma State' and very melancholic '90s sound for my favourites, 'Sword In The Stone' and 'How Do You'.

It was clear that the addition of a new member had made them much MUCH better, giving each of them the opportunity to develop and enhance their sound, and I bet the crowd could tell; it was a perfect gig. They don’t seem to have any more gigs planned in London for now, but do yourself a favour and go see them next time, and check their album out in the meantime! 

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