An in-depth exploration on the history of the Fender telecaster, a weapon-of-choice for many math rock musicians and enthusiasts. Featuring photos and insight from a collection of math rock bands.
Øgïvęš Big Band is not just an exercise in exotic symbology, it is a supergroup in the Bristol underground prog and math scene. Comprising the troupe are guitarist Ben Harris (Øgïvęš, ANTA, Rainbow Slicer), bassist Ben Holyoake (Lambhorn), and drummer Oli Cocup (Lambhorn, My Octopus Mind). Sharing a passion for musical experimentation and the avant garde, the trio set out to warp all your favourite heavy rock tropes and throw your expectations back in your face.
In Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5, Billy Pilgrim is a war veteran with a peculiar predicament: he's got himself 'unstuck in time'. WHAT. 'All moments, past, present and future, always have existed, always will exist'...
It’s been a whole year since Delta Sleep released their sophomore album Ghost City. Insincere exclamations of how quickly the time passed aside, in this time, Delta Sleep have enjoyed transatlantic success and found themselves no longer having to play the early slots of sweaty math rock all-day festivals confined to the gloomy and oppressive basements of Shoreditch bars.
Adding odd meters and angular riffs to indie rock is like sprinkling chilli on your chocolate ice cream. Conceptually, it seems problematic; they are simply different elements. But, when blended well, it's a delectable and slightly bewildering sensory experience.
Describing the music of Dublin trio Alarmist is a difficult task to indulge in. In the case of their latest release, Sequesterer, genre classification serves only as a mere reference for newcomers: electronic music, jazz, progressive, experimental, post, math rock… you name it. Alarmist pushes boundaries to deliver an unparalleled sonic experience, even for the seasoned melomaniacs
Math rock is a genre of excess, of indulgence. It is a genre that, due to the weight of its complexity and technicality, is susceptible to becoming overwhelming in the average listener. So often it is that the listener becomes lost, cast away from the musical narrative and this, unfortunately, makes the genre susceptible to not being taken seriously...
In this article, we pick apart the historical and descriptive aspects of what defines 'math rock', and explore when and where the iconic sound changed it's style. By doing this, we can attempt to answer a fundamental question: was Soundgarden math rock?
In 2016, Feed Me Jack released their magnum opus Ultra Ego and subsequently called it quits. The album proved to be the most bittersweet of swansongs; it took the ears and hearts of math rockers worldwide. Just as their destinies as a game-changing band became a likelihood, the project came apart. Here was a band that was in touch with the delicate balance between technicality and emotion. And then 'here' turned to 'there'.
Son Step have an eye for the oddball. The Philadelphia quartet's arsenal comprises quirky synthesizer textures, folky vocal harmonies, and knotty drum lines.
