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Official band bio:
Formed around the year 2000, High Watt Electrocutions has since been creating dark, loud, psychedelic, droney, cinematic space rock. Centered largely around ever ongoing studio experimentation, the band isn't so much a band in theory as it is an exercise in capturing moods and letting instrumentation speak through overall atmosphere.
Utilizing a mechanical and metallic near industrial attack, along with occasionally primitive rhythms, this is welded to purposely indistinct vocals to create a truly chaotic and unsettling vibe, with occasional moments of serene, low key melodic passages occasionally leaking through as briefly optimistic interludes in an otherwise pessimistic approach to mood music.
Their critically acclaimed 2007 release, "Night Songs", was a collection of songs and sonic experiments that took nearly 7 years to release, and now the band is set in 2008 to release it's new album, "Desert Opuses"; a loud, chaotic Middle Eastern themed record. It is also being released on 140 gram gold vinyl, mastered by John Golden (Melvins, High On Fire, Sonic Youth, Comets On Fire). Whereas "Night Songs" was longer and more epic, "Desert Opuses" is more succinct and to the point. Though it is still epic and perhaps more consistently unrelenting than it's predecessor in it's dark, uneasy tone, it also adds a more aggressive, robotic edge to it's space rock psychedelic veneer that ups the ante from the previous album.
"Desert Opuses" on 140 gram golden yellow translucent vinyl, limited to 400 copies. New: now available on cd. Vinyl includes one song only on the record, "The Desert Winds". Purchase of the vinyl includes coupon for free digital download of the album, in 320 KBPS sound, and also includes a different mix of "Obliteration" and a track not on the vinyl, "Stripped Ruins". The cd has a track, "Evilution", that isn't on the vinyl.
"Desert Opuses" track listing:
1. "Mountains Of The Pharoahs"
2. "Ode To Snake Charming"
3. "Slow March"
4. "Light At The Speed Of Sound"
5. "Obliteration" (mix differs on cd version)
6. "The Ruins of the Pyramids"
7. "The Desert Winds" (vinyl only)
8. "Headphone Opus"
9. "Tut Will Have His Revenge"
9. "Evilution" (cd only)
10. "Stripped Ruins" (cd only)
"Desert Opuses" available for sale locally at Into The Music and War on Music.
Special deal: if you buy "Desert Opuses" now, you get entered into a limited time draw to win a special test pressing of "Desert Opuses", featuring one of a kind freehand custom drawn artwork, as well as custom hand cut lettering on the front jacket. There are only five test pressings, all on black vinyl, and this edition is the only one in existence with this custom drawn artwork, making it truly individualistic. As well, there is an online link location that is etched into the runout grooves on side A that has some bonus alternate mixes of songs on the album that is only available to the winner of the draw.
Reviews of "Night Songs":
Load of Noise Zine:..."The atmosphere produced as the first few songs sound out is one of dusk forming before your very eyes whilst you enjoy the evening with close friends. The songs possess a progressive 70’s influence as the runtime unfolds and the music revolves around calming, tranquil passages before becoming slightly heavier around track six ‘Electric Midnight – Scene 1’. That title is revealing also as much of the album has a cinematic feel such is the emotive power and grand scale achieved on most of the tracks. This is a diverse and original work and there is plenty to experience on this album should you require a mellow chill out; and who doesn’t in these strange times?"
All Music Guide, (3 1/2 stars out of five): "Using a music store's worth of instrumentation, the album's moods are varied; its tracks admirably suggest specific "times" (10pm, 11pm, etc.). The overall feel, though, is '70s psychedelia. Fuzzed-out electric guitars, delicate acoustic ones, primal drums, and moody keys bob and weave in various combinations..... The production pans instruments in unusual locations; this is a soundtrack, not a collection of songs. Around five in the morning, the album brightens somewhat. Wickedly pulsing washes and acoustic jangles lead to gorgeous clean tones and winsome noodling. The denoument feels indefinite, woozy, like waking up from a strange dream."-- Cosmo Lee, All Music Guide
"Night Songs is a concept album in the classical sense, presenting an esoteric epic that has no fixed storyline, but follows the events of one long and strange evening, as each track has a traditional song title and an exact time of night.....They’re all about textures and feeling, and when there are vocals, they’re often buried in the mix under the swirling fuzzed-out guitars, strings, percussion, and other layers of sound.....The recommended setting for Night Songs is a long dark night of solitude and heavy drug use; at that point, it should all make sense."--Joel Geraghty, Stoner Rock
"Fans of Black Sabbath, Hawkwind, and acid should dig this. Night Songs is pure, 100 per cent uncut psychedelia.... there's nothing immediate about this album. These long, slow songs require a dedicated listener, but it's a very satisfying ride if you can survive it" (A minus rating)-- Jared Story, Uptown Magazine
"Spacemen 3 drone and Stooges feedback mindblenderfuck. Sweltering throbbing summer sex like mechanical robots pounding hipbones like well lubed oilrigs. Festering for eternity until the music stops.... Only recommended for elitists who actually get good loud music."--Chris Duda, Sugarbuzz Magazine
"On their debut full-length recording, the Winnipeg-based High Watt Electrocutions offer an impressive range of neo-psychedelia and space rock songs that resonate for miles. At close to 70 minutes in length, Night Songs does pose demands on a listener's attention span but its dense layers are well worth exploring and returning to for repeated listenings. With this recording, High Watt Electrocutions convey an excellent comprehension of how to spin musical repetition into hypnotic cascades of sound."-Rob Nay, Exclaim! Magazine
Price per "Night Songs":
"Night Songs" cds also available at Stoner Rock.com.
Local inquiries: cds are now stocked at Music Trader in Osbourne Village and Into The Music.
Anyone interested in promos for review or radio play, please contact us privately. All non-MySpace inquiries can be directed to highwattelectrocutions@yahoo.ca.
Full "Night Songs" cds and songs also available individually through Nimbit ($.99 cents per track), as well as cds ($9.99) and digital album ($7.99). All of the "Night Songs" tracks are also available through ITunes, EMusic, as well as Rhapsody.
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