Tesla Boy

Looking through my archive, it has been awhile since I last wrote on young upcoming artists. Work has been eating me up, but it hasn't stopped me from discovering good new music. Since I have been listening to a little too much electronic music lately, I ought to share my excitement over this Russian electro trio that has been favoured by the Valerie collective and making the blog rounds.

Tesla Boy consists of Anton Sevidov (vocals and keyboards), Dima Midborn (bass and background vocals), and Boris Lifshits (drums). Artists like M83 and Cut Copy have evoked pure pop 80s nostalgia with their brilliant releases back in last year, Tesla Boy's 2009 self-titled EP is offering a throw-back sound that is not unsimilar. I was instantly hooked upon listening to tracks on the EP, the take on 80s synth-charged vibe and melodramatic vocals combined with a hint of today stylistic sounds is catchy and nothing short of incredible.

I may be too young to feel nostalgic on the glam disco era, but these top-notch pop delights just steal my heart away. Currently unsigned, the hype on this terrific band is just getting started, hop on before everyone starts claiming them their own!

Tesla Boy - Fire
Tesla Boy - Neon Love

Battles @ Orange Club 19.03.09

After I witnessed the reverb brilliance of Battles in Big Day Out a year ago, me and the usual took no hesitation to lay our hands on the tickets to a rare outing by a math rock band in this part of the world.

My energy was drained from working during first half of the day, but that doesn't deter me from getting hyped up for the inventive, genre-bending sound that Battles would bring on to the gig. The boys from Twilight Action Girl warmed up the crowd after the door was opened late almost to 9pm. Then Killeur Calculateur took on the stage with their brand of hardcore punk which seemed to pleased most of the crowd.

It took a while for the technician and crew to set up, shifting keyboards stands and drumkits across the stage and plugging in wires and laptops, before the highlights of the night took the stage. The band burst out of the blocks with Race: Out, meshing together with Tij, SZ2, and TRAS, a set of funky beats bristling with intent that it sets down an immediate and impressive marker for what is to follow.

Ex-Helmet drummer John Stanier stomped his way off with his trademark up high cymbal. Pounding his drums with a scarily intense look on his face, the human drum machine created most of the band’s drive. Tyondai Braxton created live voice samples in front of our eyes, then looped them with keys and guitar like a painter at work. Ian Williams alternated between keys and guitar, and Dave Konopka in guitar complemented the math-rock superband. Highlight was one of the best tracks of year 2007 - Atlas. The epic track sent the crowd into an absolute frenzy, everyone was singing along to "singer is crook woo-eee-oh."

By the time the gig winds up an hour or so later, Stanier looked like he needs an oxygen mask or just a closet of towels. The crowd did manage to prise the band back on stage for an encore of HI/LO and Bad Trails, with Stanier's intense drumming still sounding incredibly fierce.

Despite the subpar soundsystem and ocassionally power outage, everyone left delighted with the rare reverb feast dished out by Soundscape. Definitely looking forward to more exciting events.

Battles - Tij