Early last year UK electro punks Jensen made their striking entrance with the impressive Zero One EP, a three track seductive abrasion which instantly drew keen focus upon the band whilst suggesting greater things would loom across their horizons. Almost a year later and the band has unveiled Zero One [Redux], a fully re-mastered update of their debut with two additional tracks. Things may not be driving forward as rapidly as one would have imagined certainly on the recording front but as the new EP shows artistically and skilfully the project is not losing any of its potential and magnetic resourcefulness.
Born from the demise of the impressive Ourfamous Dead, Jensen is the studio project of the previous band’s founder Andrew Reeves. Ourfamous Dead was a force which was no stranger to acclaim whilst earning a strong reputation for live performances which saw the band alongside the likes of The Blackout, Funeral For a Friend, and Gallows. Their last single Claws At The Door was the band at its height but Reeves was not happy with the sound and maybe its direction so bravely bringing it to a close he threw himself into exploring the ideas and explorations rising up inside him. Revisiting put aside older tracks he had written, Reeves was soon sculpting the flavours and imagination he wanted, with the exciting Zero One EP the result. Recruiting the talents of Vier Jennings, Simon Green, and Robin Speight also from Ourfamous Dead to create a live band, with early 2014 the launch pad for the band to hit stages, Jensen recently signed with Armalyte Records with Zero One [Redux] the first offering to tempt whilst Jensen work on their debut album.
The band opens up the EP with Ghosts, a track which emerges from a blistering sonic wash to smother the ears with a compelling and confrontational squall of noise punctured by the passionately shouted vocals of Reeves. His delivery successful battles against the tide of sonic abrasion and a web of electro noise which smothers and seduces as irrepressibly as the contagious chorus. It is a raw and caustic brew which never takes it easy on the ears, the electro punk feistiness and bristling embittered energy giving no respite from its riled tempest or the agitated acidic and emotive ambience wrapping it all. Nevertheless the track only enthrals and captivates throughout this stormy treat laying down melodically crafted electronic bait at its heart which is irresistible.
The Corrupter follows and instantly is a different kind of beast from the same creative litter. With a darker heavier breath and imposing intensity, the song surrounds and probes the senses with thumping rhythms and corrosive riffs drenched in electronic provocation and smouldering persuasion. Finding a more industrial coarseness than its predecessor, the track has a fiery corrosive resonance which, with the again effected and expressive vocals, provides a magnetic grazing which recruits the imagination as fully as the melodic fascination and rousing incendiary presence of the excellent provocation.
Continuing the diversity Stars next provides a primarily electro rock persuasion which is less temperamental sonically than the previous tracks but no less engaging and enjoyable. With the vocals getting a clean production this time which for personal tastes works much better than when coated in additives, the track pulsates and bulges with inventive essences and spices. Industrial and punk add their tempting to the mix making up an electronic embrace complete with chafing guitar and melodic acidity. It completes the re-mastered songs from the original EP release and definitely all benefit and excel with the new touch and expressive aspect placed upon them.
The extra tracks on the EP are provided by the enjoyable Have A Ouija Board remix of Ghosts by Scottish maths/electronica retro-futurist duo i!, which closes up the release, and before it a blazing cover of the Duran Duran classic Wild Boys. It is as inflamed musically as you would suspect going on the evidence of the earlier songs, and is bursting with metallic rapaciousness and a scuzz kissed almost pestiferous edge to the electronic stomping and abrading riffery to leaves you wanting more and actually improves the addictive original.
Released on the 27th January, Zero One [Redux] not only re-confirms and pushes the promise already shown by the band, it makes the anticipation for Jensen’s full-length debut a rather impatient one. Still in evolution it is hard not to be excited about the Leeds band and what they have in store for us ahead.
The Reputation Radio Show has a well established recognition and notoriety for finding, championing and promoting the best of the independent artists and sounds around the globe. Unrelenting and tenacious the promotions company/radio show is acknowledged as the prime source for finding the best talent of all genres with the introduction of the same followed closely. The intense and heavier world of sound is discovered and unleashed through The Bone Orchard, a show where anything with muscle and a riotous tendency is eagerly presented. From all forms of metal and industrial/harsh electro through punk and psychobilly on to noise and psyche with all in between, The Bone Orchard bears their individual shadowed fruits eagerly.
This past week saw the latest episode bringing six of the most impressive and exciting bands around as well as bringing a debate on some aspects of music. Hosted by the blue hued Pete Ringmaster and Reputation Radio Show CEO and mastermind Johnny Summers, the show cleared the sinuses and lit up the ears of all those with urges to match and compliment the great sounds played.
Opening with the traditional opening intro provided by Mr Strange of The Shanklin Freak Show, a band the hosts would talk about at length within the show giving the audience the latest developments from their carnival, the show immediately treated the eager crowd to a track from the debut album Defaced from UK rock band The Self Titled to be released June 18th. Mr Nobody is a stunning track, a metal and rock fusion with stirring vocals from frontman Mark Campbell over a brew of inventive and powerful sounds. With an insatiable thirst for gigging and an equal demand wanting them for shows, The Self Titled are one of the best bands in the country right now, their sharing of stages with the likes of Forever Never and Sarah Jezebel Deva as well as acclaimed festival appearances, leaving nothing but devoted fans in their wake.
Next there was a burst of real punk rock from another band from the UK in the mischievous bruising shape of Dirt Box Disco. With self declared influences ranging from Kerbdog, The Damned and the Ramones to The Bonzo Dog Doodah Band and Showaddywaddy, the quintet from Burton on Trent make music which is honest, feisty, and insatiably infectious. The contagious track played, I Am Rock n Roll, was an exclusive from Legend another album to be released June 18th. The song played and the album the song comes from is one which revives the true 1977 spirit of punk meshing it with rock sounds as anthemic and voracious as you could wish for.
Before a lively debate about bands including cover songs in their live sets which saw the hosts at opposing lecterns but ultimately ended in the blue man being right, so he claims, things became intensified with the devastating aggressive sound of Amongst Carrion. From South Wales the five piece metallers woke up the airwaves with their track The Fear In Her Eyes taken from their latest EP We That Should Not Be. With a melodic groove recalling In Flames and the brutal riffage of an August Burns Red, the track easily declares the band as an emerging force in UK extreme metal. They have definitely moved on fully from their early days as a cover band, the point which inspired the following discussion.
Continuing the UK theme Leeds band Ourfamous Deadprovided the next outstanding track with their forth coming single Claws At The Door. A rampant brew of hardcore, punk, and electro the song is the latest step in the vision of band founder and song writer AJ Reeves. Fresh off a UK tour with another Bone Orchard favourite The Sun Explodes, the quintet are a band on an accelerated rise pulling in acclaim and fans with each show and release persistently. Having supported the likes of The Blackout, Funeral For a Friend and Gallows, the band is fast approaching the point where others are eager to share stages with them.
As the final featured band of the night, US melodic metal band Vajrastunned and thrilled the listeners with their epic masterpiece Inside The Flame. Taken from their forthcoming album Pleroma, to be released in July, the song is a hypnotic and powerful example of the darkly melodic progressive rock fused with Eastern Indian influences which they inventively create. Led by the glorious voice of founder/producer/keyboardist/songwriter Annamaria Pinna, the band is one with a craft and imagination which is sure to find a feverish demand over the months ahead.
Closing out with Irish metallers iBURN, a band which is frequently requested since the debut of their song Where It Begins taken from their new EP of the same name, and another band which leaves you wanting more, The Bone Orchard dished up another formidable dose of new and impressive music. If anyone tells you there is nothing good or new coming out, place them in front of the podcast of the show, and they will soon be put right by this group of bands alone.
With the show primed to unveil more outstanding artists and sounds across the weeks ahead you can catch this, previous and future shows over at The Bone Orchard page at The Reputation Radio Show site as well as watching a selection of videos from a host of the bands featured on the show.
Get in touch with the show via boneorchard@reputationintroduces.com
RingMaster 16/06/2012
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The past year has seen many bands emerge to grab firm attention and distinct acclaim for their sound. One such band that has easily garnered praise is UK electro rockers Ourfamous Dead. Their debut single and the following I Am Human EP brought them impressively into hungry ears and the eager focus of a great many, something their forthcoming new single Claws at the Door should easily increase. We had the chance to let fly at band founder, songwriter, and vocalist AJ Reeves with questions to find out more about the band and their music.
Hi Guys, many thanks for chatting to us.
First of all can you introduce the band?
Hi there, the live band consists of Simon Green on Bass and Vocals, Robin Speight on Drums and vocals, Rich Jennings on guitar and vocals, Callum Knight on guitar and myself (AJ Reeves) on vocals.
How long has Ourfamous Dead been going and how did it all start?
Ourfamous Dead is coming up to 3 years. It started with myself writing and recording songs in my bedroom then taking it to a live situation with a live band. We then took to the local scene. Since then I relocated to Leeds to take everything to a larger audience.
Is the band your first musical endeavours?
I suppose it isn’t really, I’ve played classical piano since I was around 6 years old and I’ve played in a few small local bands prior to Ourfamous Dead.
The band name makes one think of people who have gained more fame and acclaim after their demise, but what is the story behind the name?
It passed the two week test. The worst thing about a band is creating a band name. Basically I figured if you write it down and come back to it at a later date, if it doesn’t suck as much as the others then it’s the one.
Your music is quite distinct combining elements of punk, hardcore and electronica. What are the major influences that have helped you arrive at your finished sound?
Firstly I wouldn’t say this is our finished sound. There’s going to be a lot on the album that’s different from anything we’ve done before in terms of sound and arrangement. What’s led to the sound of the work that’s out there at the moment primarily is a mix of the stuff I was listening to at the time. I was trying to establish the band and gain a fanbase so I guess I was trying to fit in with a specific music genre or scene. I don’t regret that but it is not the way I want the band to continue.
You sit between and link the likes of Enter Shikari, Silent Descent and The Browning whilst offering a punk infused energy to set you apart. How do you see yourselves though?
It is strange, by the time I’ve recorded a song I’m usually sick of it so looking back in retrospect is pretty difficult. At the moment I would just say we’re different. Especially if you come to a live gig. We’re currently only playing 3 of the songs we’ve released. The rest are new and completely different but still very much us.
You are about to release your new single Claws At The Door, a formidably excellent song. Tell us about the song and its background.
Basically this song is around 2 years old. I wrote it first as a piece of music with no lyrics, so primarily it had no meaning at all and it was only a “thing”. The band then learnt the music and we began playing it live and I would just make up lyrics for it at each gig. As the lyrics developed it became more apparent it was about the duality of man. And that is essentially what it is. I only finished the lyrics for the song when I was stood in the vocal booth laying down the vocals. That’s your OFD fact of the day.
How has your music evolved since your debut promo a year ago through to this new release?
A heck of a lot. I am human was written almost three years ago (claws at the door isn’t too far behind that either) and I’ve already had a lot of material for the album and beyond. I basically wanted to test the water with I am Human to gauge the response it received. I was pretty happy even though I view the EP as being somewhat immature. I felt the need to write songs that were aimed at a specific genre. I looked at popular bands at the time and aimed to write songs that they could have written. It is not exactly what I wanted to do but I figured it would build an audience. Now I am writing stuff that people aren’t ready for and I’m slowly breaking that sound into our music. The debut album will be a transitional album. What comes after that will define us. or so I feel.
How are your songs constructed from seed to the finished result?
I often come up with the music first. Lyrics are definitely last.
Your outstanding EP I Am Human took you to the awareness and acclaim of many new fans and the media such as magazines like Rocksound. Obviously all bands hope this will be the case with each release but did it exceed your hopes the response you got?
To be honest, I wasn’t expecting too much from it. Id chosen those four songs with diversity in mind. A kind of showcase of the different routes the band could take. As I said earlier I was testing the water with it. I have so much material written and nothing properly released so I just drew a line under it and thought we needed to start somewhere. At the same time I didn’t want to select some of the newer material. Who wants to ride the fastest rollercoaster at the theme park first? the rest will seem substandard after that. That’s exactly what I did with I am Human.
Live you have shared stages with the likes of The Blackout, Funeral For A Friend and Gallows, which shows the varied styles you can easily sit alongside. Is there a certain crowd other than your own fans of course that take to your music over others?
I’m not entirely sure. We definitely don’t go down well in Castleford. We accidentally played a gig there some time ago and the people In attendance didn’t know what was going on. We played four songs, nearly got into a fight and left.
As you mentioned earlier there is an album in the works. Is there a date for its release yet?
As of yet, no. I don’t want to put a date on it because I don’t want to release anything sub standard again. Even though a lot of the songs are there, they are still being crafted. That as well as funding. I don’t want anything to leave that isn’t industry standard. To get that standard isn’t cheap and funding a band as a student is difficult. Even between the five of us is still tough and we’ve done a lot recently. We just bought a van for the tour and the video single package was done too. At the moment we are waiting to see where we are after the tour to see when we can commit to a date.
What treats and new things will we find within album walls?
Less hardcore influence, darker synths and percussion, same accessibility.
You are about to start a UK tour with The Sun Explodes, another favourite here. It should be one explosive and thrilling series of shows. The anticipation for you must be high?
Indeed, we actually played our first gig the other night, it was great. The final night is pretty close to my home town (and is TSE’s home town) so it should be busy. I am looking forward to seeing some old faces and of course the TSE lads are awesome guys.
You have a reputation for lively and high intensity gigs; this is the arena you really enjoy as a band?
It is indeed. Its great writing music to go together in the studio but afterward we have to re map everything so it works live. It is an exciting prospect bringing all the songs to a live audience and we really love doing it!
In a time where more and more show promoters only put on bands who guarantee fan attendees, how have you found it to this point trying to play to more and more people?
It is an uphill struggle, constantly. 90 percent of promoters don’t care if you’re the best underground unsigned band in the world. They would rather have a covers band play if it meant 50 ticket sales than support real music. Everything is a popularity contest these days. “Tag your band on here and get all your chummy mates to “like” us and your post. The band who gets 10000000 likes (and get people looking at our Facebook page) can play.”
It is backwards. We hate spamming shit everywhere because we know people get sick of it. We therefore have to do things the hard way. The old fashioned way. Get out there, play your music, get a real following. Your music speaks for itself that way.
Most promoters don’t even promote anymore. The amount of people who say “yeah you can play, how many ticket sales?”. We’ve done a few of these before and the promoter hasn’t done anything. One of them literally just left the bands to it. No posters, no advertisement, nothing apart from a Facebook status half an hour before the gig. The two bands that played did all the promoting, brought their fans through and made the promoter his money.
How do you feel about the internet and its wider base for music, something that brings great positives and equally large negatives?
Yes basically the internet has given the modern musician a medium for getting their name and music out there. In that respect it is great, its free. The other side of the coin is, it is now nearly impossible to make money out of your product, your music. People can get your music for free one way or another and CDs are pretty much obsolete. If you can’t stay ahead of the game and think of other ways to keep people interested, you are always going to fall behind. Basically the good and the bad cancel each other out in my opinion. We embrace the good but don’t rely on it. We still do things the way bands always have before the internet. This was good old fashioned hard work. Get out there constantly gigging, getting our heads down out in the cold flyering etc….
After the tour and working on the album, do you have more in store for the rest of the year?
More gigs, more records, possibly another music video.
And hopes?
Some funding would be nice, as would someone to back us. Someone in the industry who believes in what we’re doing.
Again thank you for taking time to talk with us and good luck with the tour and single.
Would you like to end with any last words for your growing army of fans?
As the twilight weeks of last year closed their eyes there was one release which lit up those dark nights with a sound that roughed up the senses whilst mesmerising them at the same time. The EP in question was I Am Human from UK electro rockers Ourfamous Dead. Consisting of four tracks which stokes up limbs and emotions through infectious hook fuelled electronic punk sounds and eager explosive melodies, the release though not quite perfect installed the band as one to keep a close eye upon. Now the band returns with their new single Claws at the Door to not only repeat the irrepressible energy and intent found on the earlier release but to take it forward many huge steps to produce a song which is a feast for the ear.
Formed in 2009 the Leeds based band has made formidable strides in capturing attention and acclaim through their debut single Untitled Part 2 and the EP as well as their high energy live shows. The quintet found themselves under positive media scrutiny and as they continued to work hard sharing stages with the likes of The Blackout, Funeral For a Friend and Gallows. Now with the new single the anticipation that it will ignite 2012 for the band is more than a strong wish.
Claws at the Door is a track that demands and seizes attention from its opening dark electronic prowling around the ear right through to its punk punchy chorus to the siren bred climax. Showing a stronger maturity to their song writing the song is a well rounded and incessant beast which beats up the ear with the mix of punk, hardcore and electronica the band is becoming well known for. The vocals of AJ Reeves once more massage the ear with fine clean tones and a grouchy harsher delivery ably supported by the combined group shouts and chants of the rest of the band. This vocal blend is a perfect ally to the similarly enthused music, the guitars of Callum Knight and Rich Jennings, the pulsating bass of Simon Green, and the thumping rhythms of drummer Robin “Bobbyo” Speight, as one in pushing down defences with their aggressive punk urgency and revitalising them with a flowing melodic infection which permeates deeply. As the synths swirl and ignite emotions behind the forceful barracking, the song leaves one breathless for more and gives rise to an impatient anticipation for their forthcoming debut album.
In a mere few months the band has grown to reveal a sure hand on their creativity and a firmer definition to their sound. Ourfamous Dead have forged their own style which still lies between the likes of The Browning and Enter Shikari with flavouring of the likes of My Passion and Linkin Park but as the single indicates has evolved into music with its own breath and heart.
With a tour alongside another band to watch out for The Sun Explodes through April, a video for Claws at the Door due any day, and the previously mentioned album on the horizon, now is the right time to introduce yourselves to Ourfamous Dead, one of the most exciting UK bands around right now.
compelling and confrontational squall of noise punctured by the passionately shouted vocals of Reeves. His delivery successful battles against the tide of sonic abrasion and a web of electro noise which smothers and seduces as irrepressibly as the contagious chorus. It is a raw and caustic brew which never takes it easy on the ears, the electro punk feistiness and bristling embittered energy giving no respite from its riled tempest or the agitated acidic and emotive ambience wrapping it all. Nevertheless the track only enthrals and captivates throughout this stormy treat laying down melodically crafted electronic bait at its heart which is irresistible.
