Contackt Coming

Back in 2011, we were asked by the guys in Thousand Foot Whale Claw to play the first Slow Pump SXSW party. We have maintained a friendly connection with that group of like-minded astral journeymen over the years, and have now joined their burgeoning imprint, Holodeck Records. A growing number of sound artists in Austin are producing forms of cosmic music exploring minimalism, ambient droning, electronica, and the sonic experimentation and expression typical of the 70's German avante-rock movement. The guys behind Holodeck are doing a great job ensuring that a lot of this music is not only heard, but presented in a worthwhile manner.

An initial result of this cosmic union is the imminent release of Sungod's CONTACKT. Contackt finds the duo returning to heavier forms of galactic rock. Welcoming echoes of the pink machine give way to leviathan riffs spewing waves of freaked out fuzz glory. Robo-sequences underly free rock bombast settling into heady delay pulses. Motorik syncopation zooming down highways in the futurespace; riff-lazers firing and the air scorched by flames of bending tone. Twin guitar interplay dancing in a hyper-sphere; intense drum happenings into galloping glory and walls of terror.

Intermixed with those heavy waves of acidic-triumph are muted pieces of varying ambiance: Lonely hand drum in black hole caverns of analog drone. Dub echoes across the sky and modulated filter sweeps across the surface of the third-eye. Melancholic piano and emotive fuzz slide flow with deep evolving drones and the strings of life. Robo-sequence reprised into phase dimensions of low end existence, crumbling rim shot echoes decaying into nothingness.

Tracklisting:
A1. Mesa
A2. Smell of Physiqal
A3. Gas is Better than Gas
B1. Opiate Fields and the Blazing Glory
B2. Comrade Voyager
B3. Gas (Version)
B4. Third Reichel

Lineup:
Braden Balentine: Electric Guitar, Moog Opus 3, SCI Six-Trak, Hand Drum, Piano
Mike Sharp: Drums, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Moog Opus 3, SCI Six-Trak, Voice, Shakers
Alex Hughes: Electric Bass, Contrabass (A2)
Justin Grove: Watercolors, Pen and Ink, Artwork

As of now, Contackt is streaming (free) and downloadable (5 bio-survival tickets) at the Holodeck Bandcamp. 100 cassettes are set to be released in early March, certainly in time for SXSW. When we have the tapes, a full post will follow with all the details. At that time, the album will also be posted on the Sungod Bandcamp.

Dim Lights, Thick Smoke

To celebrate the death throes of winter and the emergence of the vernal spirit, Austin-based psychonauts The Young have prepared a months worth of electrified bacchanalia. Over each weekend of February, a far-reaching collection of hazy souls work themselves into amplified fury in search for specific abstract truths. Sungod are among the second presentation of these celestial sound-fields.

Spacetime Coordinates:
[Hotel Vegas (Austin, TX) , 2013-02-08 (9:00 post meridiem)]

The Sungod Energy-Orchestra shall incarnate as a four piece, with the now familiar yet vital additions of Kristine Reaume and Nick Lombard. The ritual comprises two distinct movements: The first, as of this writing, is the newest Sungod composition and finds us returning to spaced out fuzz mantras over primitive psych-drum machinations; yet be prepared for a radical dive into the soul of fire music as we reach in earnest for the sounds of the pyramids. The second movement splits the way between drift-studies of an eternal sadness and demonic riff incantations of arcing lazer fire and metallic rhythm-shimmer. A classic soft-to-loud escalation into black hole waves of radiation splendour as spidery, melancholic guitar weaves and flute percolations build into a plodding doomscape of voluminous fog.

Lineup:
Braden Balentine - Electric Guitar, Percussion, Moog Opus 3, SCI Six-Trak
Nick Lombard - Electric Guitar, Djembe, Drums
Kristine Reaume - Moog Opus 3, SCI Six-Trak, Flute
Mike Sharp - Drums, Electric Guitar

Desert Wave Refraction

In the coming days, the four-power-piece incarnation of the Sungod shall materialize the vessel of continuous transformation. Employing spectral waves of minimalist sound architecture, the Sungod energy ship will reign in the darkness of cosmic light alongside the acoustic stylings of Daniel Bachman and avant-space stylings of Ian McColm.

Spacetime Coordinates:
[Avant Garden (Houston, TX) , 2013-01-17 (8:00 post meridiem)]

Lineup:
Braden Balentine: Sequencing, Moog Strings, Electric Slide Guitar
Nick Lombard: Farfisa Organ
Kristine Reaume: Flute
Mike Sharp: Acoustic Slide Guitar, Electric Slide Guitar, Fingerpicked Electric Guitar