In a Quiet Room https://vimeo.com/188403633
NYC-Raleigh four-piece The Veldt have released a new video
for ‘In a Quiet Room’, created by Tokyo-based videographer Toshikazu Kaneiwa.
This track comes from their five-track EP ‘The Shocking Fuzz of Your Electric
Fur’, released via Manchester
label Leonard Skully Records.
With 4AD legendary recording artist A.R.Kane contributing
production on this EP, it effectively merges the alternative bliss rock sound
The Veldt has become known for with the hallmark dreamy electronica that led to
A.R.Kane becoming famed as ‘father of dreampop’. These tracks combine intense
energy, layers of atmosphere and guitar with beautiful falsetto vocals.
The Veldt are identical twins Daniel (guitar, vocals) and
Danny Chavis (guitar), Hayato Nakao (bass) and Marvin Levi (drums). Upon signing to Capitol Records in 1989, they
recorded a debut album with Cocteau Twins dream-gaze guru Robin Guthrie, which
was never released, and then recorded a new once, called ‘Marigolds’, with
Lincoln Fong (Moose).
After switching labels, Mercury Records released
‘Afrodisiac’ in 1994, produced by Ray Shulman (The Sundays, Bjork, Sugarcubes),
before changing their name to Apollo
Heights (they have since
changed it back to The Veldt). Earlier this month, Pitchfork included this
album in their top 50 shoegaze albums of all time, calling this “the great lost
American shoegaze classic, with influences from Prince to Cocteau Twins to A.R.
Kane to the Jesus and Mary Chain (who contributed a remix) fused into something
beautiful and unique”.
Video producer Toshikazu Kaneiwa is an indie filmmaker
hailing from Tokyo, Japan. A long-time friend of the
band, their support for each other's art has been mutually complementary. Veldt
bassist Hayato Nakao composed music for some of Toshikazu’s short films,
including "Believe" and "Surface", while he would offer his
skills in photography and creating videos for the band (then Apollo Heights).
“They guided my soul when I was in NYC in 2001-2014,” explains Toshikazu.
“I was truly inspired when I heard ‘In a Quiet Room’. This
sound is so beautiful and sad, and I felt compelled to do the visual work for
this song,” explains Toshikazu Kaneiwa. “At the same time, I met k.a.n.a., who
is an artist with so much talent - she can dance, act, paint and sing... and I
got an idea for the video and I told her my directional plan. She said yes. I
really appreciate that she brought a very strong performance into this video.”
The Veldt were part of a movement of innovators who came of
musical age at a time when rhythmic rebels were reflective, gritty and wild.
Their sound inspired many alternative artists, including TV On the Radio, and
led to them working together. They’ve also collaborated with Mos Def and Lady
Miss Kier (Deee-Lite), and have toured and played with The Pixies, Throwing
Muses, Echo & The Bunnymen, Cocteau Twins, Manic Street Preachers, The
Jesus and Mary Chain, Oasis, Living Colour, and most recently with The Brian
Jonestown Massacre.
'The Shocking Fuzz of Your Electric Fur' EP marks the band's
re-emergence after a notable hiatus, going down in history as one of the most
memorable shoegaze comebacks in 2016, as demonstrated by their recent North
American and European tours. In early 2017, The Veldt will release new music
through SonaBLAST! Records. The new EP is available on vinyl from
Manchester-based Leonard Skully Records and on CD and digitally at
http://theveldtmusic.bandcamp.com
Keep up with The Veldt
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