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Poliça / s t a r g a z e Setlist
Poliça Tour Dates
02/27/2018 London, UK Oval Space*
03/01/2018 Rotterdam, NL "Cross-Linx Festival" 03/02/2018 Amsterdam, NL "Cross-Linx Festival" 03/03/2018 Eindhoven, NL "Cross-Linx Festival" 03/04/2018 Enschede, NL "Cross-Linx Festival" Link: On The Record with Channy Leaneagh The relationship between art and politics has birthed unbelievable cultural moments over the history of humankind. With the release of ‘Music For The Long Emergency,’ the Electro-Pop of Poliça and chamber collective Stargaze add their combined voices to the narrative that consumed politics in 2017… and beyond. In the midst of ‘Music For The Long Emergency’ hitting records stores this month, Channy Leaneagh of Poliça shares some incredible records with us that call out Grammy Chief Neil Portnow. From the looks of her collection, she might be calling out his lack of awareness of the greater musical landscape happening outside the United States Top 50 playlist on Spotify. But one can only guess. Let’s get on with Channy sharing her themed list of vinyl, ‘The Folks That Are Always “Stepping Up” 100% Higher: 2017 records that prove Neil Portnow doesn’t know what he’s talking about’.... [ Continue Reading On The Record with Channy Leaneagh ] Read More
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Drastic times call for a drastic musical soundtrack—
Local electronic foursome Poliça has responded with new album Music for the Long Emergency (Totally Gross National Product/Transgressive Records) recruiting European orchestral collective s t a r g a z e as collaborators and playing a hometown album release show to a crowded Mainroom of devoted fans at First Avenue.
The evening began with the first of two openers, IN // VIA, the newest project from locally-based ex-Dark Dark Dark/RONiiA member Nona Invie, playing a synth-laden dream-pop short set (with the help of Fletcher Barnhill on bass), that blossomed as more and more cinematic, as the set continued. A self-released EP, meditations, came out last spring, with new music forthcoming.
Outside of an angry punk band or two, no band in recent memory has started so polarizing before ever playing a note, than Divide and Dissolve, the Melbourne, Australia duo of T//R and S//N (Takiaya Reed –guitar/sax; Sylvie Nehill- drums) who asked for quiet as they began, then Reed went into a verbal diatribe decrying worldwide white supremacy, seeking to empower black and indigenous people, and reminding the mostly white audience, that this was not their land.
Similar statements were given before each song played, with the expected crowd response ranging from a smattering of applause to cat calls and insults- but inciting seems to be part of their purpose, so in that regard, it worked. Musically, they play a heavy, low tempo, skeletal doom rock blend meant to incite as much as their statements, with latest self-release being last week’s Abomination.
After a break, lights dimmed and the venue screen rose to reveal Poliça along with Berlin-based neo-classical ensemble s t a r g a z e playing an enchanting seventy-minute set, encompassing the entire new album (albeit, in slightly different order) and a few additional songs.
Bolstered by the lighting design by Paul “Arlo” Guthrie and expressive dancers Nadine Olmo and Ryan Spencer who would come out for a few numbers starting mid-set, this was clearly a piece of live performance art, the vocabulary of resistance emoted in both audio and visual form.
The collaboration began a few years ago, hedged along by musical matchmaker Kate Nordstrom of the SPCO Liquid Music series with the album coming together soon after recent elections and a concert in Nov 2016 at the Fitzgerald Theater testing the waters on the live version of this unique collaboration.
The music itself had an air of melancholy (as in the slower tempo of ‘Fake Like’) and at times, dystopia with rage rearing its head on the urgent sounding ‘Marrow’ which showcased dual drummers Drew Christopherson and Ben Ivascu against the somber string section, which they faced on stage, with Polica bassist Chris Bierden staying mostly in the background.
“It’s not our job to give you guys a comfortable show” vocal Channy Leaneagh said, “it’s time to feel uncomfortable” referring both to their opening acts and the tone of the album and live presentation. “It’s good to be cold again… and we know it, that’s why we stay here” Leaneagh said, glad to be back in her hometown, even if only temporarily.
Brooklyn electro-acoustic producer Daniel Wohl contributed the new ‘Angel’ to the project, a song that starts with a bareness but builds into a frantic, sensory wall of sounds that played to the strength of both bands’ individual sounds.
The crowd, though not as well-behaved as one in a seated theater, was mostly respectful and rapt, giving both the quiet and loud sounds the ample space needed to be heard cleanly within the room.
‘Agree’ is a sort-of love song, exploring that life goes on, even in darkest times set against the lush strings of s t a r g a z e and the lilting vocals of Leaneagh. Leaneagh’s ex-bandmate /ex-husband Alexei Moon Casselle (aka Crescent Moon) next came out to lend a vocal hand on ‘Cursed’, a song filled with distortion, sharp strings and rapped verses against a symphonic backbone for a hip-hop-meets-classical stinging result.
The obligatory Prince cover was even cleverly re-imagined enough that many didn’t even recognize the 1982 song from his breakthrough 1999 album (though the percussion work somewhat gave it away), as it turned out to be a novel choice. The album’s title track ended the encore-less night, with Leaneagh singing “this is all I am, this is all I can be” repeatedly to end the song, implying that action is needed and that this too shall pass.
With 2018 continuing the same almost daily chaos of the year before, the best art in more perilous times incites, calls to action, reflects the state of the world, and provides a glimmer of light in any darkness. With Music for the Long Emergency, Poliça and s t a r g a z e accomplish all of that, and manages to be mesmerizing live in concert as well.
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Divide and Dissolve |
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IN // VIA |
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Poliça / Stargaze Poster |
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