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Your Year In Spacebomb: Weekend Playlist By Spacebomb Records

Marilyn Drew Necci | January 8, 2021

Topics: angelica garcia, Bonny Light Horseman, Fruit Bats, Laura Veirs, Playlists, RVA Mag Weekend Playlist, Spacebomb, Spacebomb House Band, Spacebomb Records, Spacebomb studios, Tim Heidecker, Weekend Playlist

It’s been a while since RVA Mag brought you a week-ending playlist from Virginia’s most influential artists, musicians, and institutions, but just this once, we’ve got a new one for ya — so get stoked.

This week, we bring you a playlist that, we must confess, was created not for us specifically but for fans of music as a whole, from Richmond and beyond, by our friends at Spacebomb Records. “2020 has been a very different & difficult year for almost everybody,” the label said in a statement. “At times, we wanted to hide away from it all, and sometimes that was all anyone could do. But in the end, we focused on what we do best and tried to share great art with the world. We couldn’t be prouder of these musicians and releases and are humbled we are partners in sound with so many talented people.”

Over the course of 2020, Spacebomb has brought the world an even dozen new albums, including highly praised new releases from local fave Angelica Garcia and folk supergroup Bonny Light Horseman. There were also releases from popular artists like Fruit Bats and Laura Veirs, musically inclined comedian Tim Heidecker, and several releases from studio mainstays the Spacebomb House Band.

This playlist will give you a tour through all the highlights of Spacebomb’s 2020 — and considering how tough the year has been for everyone, knowing this much great music came out of it right here in Richmond is a pleasant silver lining.

Enjoy, Virginia.

Open this playlist from mobile in your Spotify app HERE.

Purposeful Dissonance: Opin’s Media & Memory

Robin Schwartzkopf | October 9, 2020

Topics: Egghunt Records, electronic, experimental, Jon Hawkins, landis wine, media and memory, music, Opin, richmond va bands, Spacebomb studios, Tori Hovater, WarHen Records

On their latest album, Opin trades in a traditional lineup for a fresh approach, in which every member can play every instrument. 

After their 2017 debut album and an EP the following year, Opin is back with an experimental, electronic sound journey perfectly suited to a year of oddity and struggles. The band’s new album, Media & Memory, drops Oct. 23, and will be accompanied by a remix album.

A broken wrist and unfamiliar instruments — not to mention a pandemic and months of lockdown — might not sound like a recipe for success for a band recording their sophomore album. But for Opin, the Richmond-based trio made up of Jon Hawkins, Tori Hovater, and Landis Wine, the project was an experimental journey years in the making. 

PHOTO: Opin by Warren Parker

The new record, Media & Memory, comes three years after the band’s debut self-titled album, but a lot has changed since the first album’s release. After releasing their first LP with Egghunt Records, Media & Memory arrives via WarHen Records at the end of the month. The new album is the result of more experimentation in writing and production than the band’s previous projects. 

“I feel like we hit our stride with this record, because about 90 percent of it was written with three of us in a room,” Hovater said. “Jamming, picking apart ideas, and playing things over and over again, deciding what we did and didn’t like.” 

While their first album had more of a piecemeal recording process — band members and producers sent bits of material back and forth, from city to city — Media & Memory represented a chance to work together and build the album’s sound from the ground up. 

“We were unlearning what we had to do, and figuring out what we wanted to do,” Wine said. “It sounded more focused, more like a band, and like less like a group of people trying to duplicate the sound of a record.” 

“We all realized we were into the same sound and going for the same thing,” Hovater added. “Rather than ‘this person wrote this song, this person wrote this song,’ we were all able to see it playing in a room together. We gave immediate feedback on each other’s ideas and built on things.” 

With more time to work together, the band was able to try out new instruments. They also took advantage of the group dynamic to learn different techniques. Wine picked up a Bass VI guitar, and Hovater built her keyboard and digital synthesizer expertise. As they discussed how they traded instruments during the recording process, Hovater and Wine bounced answers off each other with a similar ease and excitement. 

“I think our gear and hitting our stride in a collaborative writing process are very intertwined,” Hovater said. “If you asked us two years ago who our bassist was, we would say Jon.” 

Wine added that Hawkins had never played keyboards before joining Opin. 

“Now, anybody could be bassist, anybody could be playing the hook,” Hovater said. “Between us, we all trade parts around and we’ve all written different parts. It’s really cool, because A) We don’t get bored since we don’t do the same thing all the time, and B) It keeps things interesting. It’s a fun way to use our gear to play any part at any time.” 

Although Wine injured his wrist in the middle of recording Media & Memory, the band didn’t go on hiatus. Instead, a few songs were dropped, some were rewritten, and two tracks were added to the final project. 

“That was dumb as hell,” Wine laughed. “But I was determined. I was like, ‘We’re gonna do this.’” 

A tight record at nine tracks, Media & Memory still has room for a lot of experimentation — and even more character. With so many different ideas, the songs are a cohesive listen with what Hovater calls “a purposeful dissonance.” 

“We have a lot of fun. We have major stuff going on, minor stuff going on, and lines that maybe don’t seem like they should fit… but they lock in with everything,” Hovater said. “If I listen to a part someone is writing, the last thing in the world I want to write is a complementary part that you’d expect to hear.” 

“The more we played together in a controlled environment — and just got used to doing that over and over — we developed our own way of interacting with one another,” Wine added. “Thematically, [the album] develops its own mood after a while.” 

PHOTO: Opin by Warren Parker

The band gathered at Spacebomb Studios to record the album live. It didn’t leave much room for error, but tracks with the relentless spirit of Media & Memory. 

“This record is gnarlier, dirtier, spookier, and more cinematic than what we have done before,” Hovater said. 

After two years of work and facing both personal and global struggles, Opin’s newest release is a small bright spot in a mess of a year. The trials Media & Memory faced during its journey to completion are evidenced in the raw artistry found in each song, and the sprawling creativity of the album in its entirety. 

Find Opin on Facebook and Instagram, and stream their music on Bandcamp. 

Top Photo: Opin by Monica Escamilla

30 Century Spacebomb

Jonah Schuhart | May 1, 2020

Topics: 30 Century Man, Andy Jenkins, Cameron Ralston, Pinson Chanselle, richmond music, richmond va bands, Scott Walker, Spacebomb, Spacebomb House Band, Spacebomb Records, Spacebomb studios, Trey Pollard

With coronavirus keeping the music scene on lockdown, Spacebomb House Band present a Scott Walker tribute that takes us straight to outer space.

The Spacebomb House Band is just what it says in the name: the house band for the Spacebomb Records stable of artists, and for the label’s recording studio. However, while their day job may be to act as a backing band for the label’s many talented signees, they do a lot more than that, and they proved that this month with their cover of Scott Walker‘s signature tune, “30 Century Man.”

Walker, who originally gained fame as a baritone pop singer and grew over the course of his 50-year career into a pioneer of avant-garde musical explorations, released “30 Century Man” on his 1969 album Scott 3. Originally a barebones tune consisting solely of acoustic guitar and vocals, the Spacebomb House Band’s version puts a spacey, psychedelic spin on the Walker original. Featuring a full rock n’ roll ensemble performing the music, it retains the spirit of the original through the Walker-esque baritone vocals of guest vocalist Andy Jenkins, a Spacebomb recording artist himself.

The idea for the cover came when the band’s guitarist, Trey Pollard (who also acts as the head of the studio’s publishing department), suggested the band produce more cover songs. The group developed a list of potential options, and bassist Cameron Ralston chose “30 Century Man.” From there, the group had to figure out how they wanted to reimagine the original. In the end, their basic approach became a straightforward rock n’ roll take with a sound deliberately reminiscent of the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

“I didn’t have any interest in trying to do a very true version of [the song],” said Ralston. “Just because that already exists in the world, and it was already done so well. It felt very futile, and I always heard it as a rock n’ roll song.”

The Spacebomb House Band version was recorded in just a few takes, with the entire band playing at once. They used no metronome, instead keeping time with each other.

“We wanted it to be just as fast as we could make it,” said drummer Pinson Chanselle. “[With no metronome] we didn’t have to adjust to the click.”

Chanselle says abstaining from a metronome also allowed them to “float” slightly on and off tempo in a very natural way, adding to the song’s freeform vibe. 

The only part of the song not recorded simultaneously were Andy Jenkins vocals. Ralston says he had chosen Jenkins to contribute vocals from the beginning.

“For some reason I just always heard his voice [while imagining the song],” said Ralston. “There’s something about it that reminds me a little bit of Scott Walker, so I thought it would be a good way to connect the dots a little bit to the original version.”

Andy Jenkins. Photo via Facebook

Despite the song’s release date of April 10, it was actually recorded this past winter, well before the coronavirus epidemic hit America. While the musicians at Spacebomb say they can’t pull off that kind of session during the pandemic, each of them are finding ways to keep their creative juices flowing. 

“I think for all musicians…this has been a real wakeup call. Everything has come to a halt,” said Ralston. “[But] we’ve been communicating pretty regularly… and just trying to stay creatively active, mentally with each other.”

On top of staying in touch, both Ralston and Chanselle have taken the time to produce whatever music they can inside the house. Ralston has been recording what he can while working on ambient music with friends. Meanwhile, Chanselle has been honing his percussion skills by recording raw drum parts. 

“Anything you can do to keep that creativity and that energy stoked is positive right now,” said Ralston.

Top Photo: Cameron Ralston at Spacebomb Studios, via Spacebomb/Facebook

Natalie Prass drops new EP 11/20 featuring Simon & Garfunkel, Anita Baker and Grimes covers

Brad Kutner | November 12, 2015

Topics: Natalie Prass, Spacebomb studios

757 songstress Natalie Prass has returned to RVA’s Spacebomb studios to record a few new tracks, and among is some high quality covers.

[Read more…] about Natalie Prass drops new EP 11/20 featuring Simon & Garfunkel, Anita Baker and Grimes covers

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