- Exclusive Video Premier / Interview -
Hellsinki, Finland's up and coming instrumental two-piece rock band Socks and Ballerinas have just released a new video for their song "Torpedoes" from their recent album "Soap!"
Like a mix between Battles and Ratatat, Socks and Ballerinas makes complex music that you can still dance to. I love it when bands blur the lines between genres like this, and hope to hear more from them in the future.
Lots of strange sounds that you wouldn't expect could be made from a guitar and drums come out of these tracks. It's like they're trying to not only make music but also see what kind of weird sound effects they can make as well.
Poppy and upbeat with a side of zaniness "Salmon Soup" begins with a creaking noise followed by super catchy guitar riffs and sectioned off parts.
S&B gives me all I can handle in a couple seconds and then tones it down so I can process what just happened! Socks and Ballerinas' music is like interval training in exercise, which involves a series of high intensity workouts interspersed with rest or relief periods. My favorite song from the album is "Magenta" starting out with an ascending riff, then going into a light thrashy riff, I hear an unconventionally noodley guitar riff like one I've never heard before. Fuzzy bass lines super low and heavy form the background alongside upbeat drumming patterns. An eerie pause like that of the sound right before the attack in a slasher film peeks in for a second. After all of that, the song seems to take on more of a dance vibe. This tune could be played in a club or in a rock bar and no one would complain.
Interview:
1. Who are you and when/how did your band start? We’re Katy and Leo, a duo of weirdos. Socks and Ballerinas formed in 2016 as a result of an unexpected encounter in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. We wanted to make strange sounds, so here we are! 2. It's very nice to meet you Katy and Leo. Why do you make music? ‘Cause it’s like breathing, you can't choose not to! Also to express our inner child, making something playful but with the capacity (maybe?) of two grown ups. 3. I know what you mean, I can't not write about music that I love. What kinds of things influence your music, other bands? If so which ones? We get a lot of inspiration from other medias, like illustration, literature and cinema… although we play instrumental music. As for other bands we would probably name Bearcubbin’, Battles, Ratatat but also many others. 4. What are you trying to convey through your music?
Color surfing! Kinetic fruits! Blooming parades! All those feelings words can’t express, that’s why we have music. 5. Where do you see your band in the future? After a great year of gigs we definitively see more stages ahead (as soon as the covid-19 situation gets better - people stay home!) and possibly international tours. We are working on lots of new material for the next album, more news coming soon-ish, but that’s surely in our near future! 6. Tell me a funny story about your band or something weird. Once we played at a gig at a pretty unusual festival in Helsinki right in front of an old train yard. While playing our set an old steam train started to move right behind us, in perfect timing with the music: we didn’t notice it at all! In the meantime a random guy walks on stage and all of a sudden, for no reason starts planting some flowers in a pot right next to us, (he can even be seen in the background, blurred, in one of our pictures).
HaHa well I guess sometimes nature takes over. It was really fun getting to know your band a little better. I am very much enjoying "Soap!" and I hope someday you can come play one of my festivals. - M Chan Facebook.com/themathrocktimes/
