Vasudeva announce new album
Album release: 10th April
Label: Skeletal Lightning
More info: Vasudeva’s website
Today, New Jersey instrumental rock trio Vasudeva return with the atmospheric and heavily textured new single 'Breaks', their first new material since their critically acclaimed 2017 album 'No Clearance'.
'Breaks', the first single to be taken from their forthcoming LP 'Generator', is the vibrant sound of a band who’ve already achieved so much and sees the band experiment with the dynamics of their instrumentation in a completely different way to that of previous material, honing in on much bigger and more focused concepts.
Speaking about the single, the band said, "This is the first song we wrote for this album and we knew we wanted it to be the opening track. It starts with white noise and the opening of a door and a person, who is Grant [Mayer], walking over to where the piano for this album was recorded and then beginning to play. There are layers of white noise and guitar feedback along with a lot of plug-in automation that changes parameters for the whole song, whilst simultaneously building that into a wall of sound. This is the only songs we didnʼt demo out extensively."
Vasudeva have always been hard to pigeonhole. Growing up on the quieter streets of New Jersey, but with New York City just moments away, childhood friends Corey Mastrangelo (guitar), Grant Mayer (guitar/keys) and Derek Broomhead (drums) would spend their summer days running from punk shows to late night raves, living a dichotomous life that wormed its way into their music.
Forever too danceable for their post-rock peers, but too post-rock for their dance music friends, Vasudeva’s career to date has been spent on a tightrope, the tension between walking that fine line adding an angst to their atmospheric tracks. On their new record, Generator, however, things are different. There is a sense of peace and assuredness to the New Jersey trio - no longer three kids in their early-twenties trying to find their way, it feels like Vasudeva have finally found what they were searching for.
A seamless and soaring record, Generator sees Vasudeva truly completely comfortable in their own skin for what feels like the first time. Written, produced and engineered by the band over the course of three months in early spring with the help of their long-time friend Kevin Dye, it is an entirely personal, (almost) chronological time capsule of the band as they entered their late twenties; growing and evolving as people, their music following suit. There is a sense of a new beginning, a new chapter. Mastrangelo, Mayer and Broomhead were, for the first time, able to tap into their wide, varied set of influences; exploring textures, using midi and incorporating drum machines and synth sounds that they first fell in love with through their affinity for dance music.
Harnessing electronic drums and voice notes recorded by Mayer when commuting in New York City, using real keys and reel-to-reel tape machines, Generator masterfully blends the analog and the electronic. “Stockmar” sees Vasudeva at their most R'n'B inspired, the slowest track on the album showcasing their growth, yet named after Broomhead’s childhood street where the band spent endless amounts of time growing up. Things change, but they are always rooted in the past.
The record is undeniably textured, layers of instrumentation complimenting each other - nylon strings piggybacking off piano chords in “Drop”, programmed bass sitting atop Broomhead’s ever fidgeting drums in “Yamaha”. Everything has its place, but nothing feels regimented.
There is an overwhelming emotional quality to the music Vasudeva creates, and in Generator this voice is at its strongest. While there are still the walls of sound that featured in their previous works Life In Cycles and No Clearance, as can be heard in the new single "Breaks" there is also much clearer focus on production, texture, and experimentation in this record.
Obsessed with this level of production, Generator speaks to the notion of technology pushing Vasudeva forward in their everyday lives. There is an overwhelming sense of calm to Generator, the landscape created by Mastrangelo, Mayer and Broomhead enveloping the listener, the music ebbing and flowing, creating worlds while saying nothing at all.
'Generator' is out on 10th April via Skeletal Lighting - Pre-order HERE
