domingo, 26 de março de 2017

Cloudy Eyes with Pia Fraus - An Interview


Absolutamente desnecessário fazer as honras de apresentação para os estônios do Pia Fraus.

Um banda a frente do seu tempo, resumidamente, os seis amigos, estudantes de arte começaram suas experiências sonoras lá no distante ano de 1997, uma época que experimentar soar como um mix de shoegaze, class of 86, dreampop, com fortes influências de Stereolab era um tanto quanto fora do contexto do domínio do Britpop da época, mas mesmo com as adversidades daquela época o Pia Fraus construiu um carreira e discografia absolutamente impecáveis. Clássicos cultuados como "In Solarium" de 2002, "Nature Heart Software" e "After Summer" ambos de 2006, fizeram o culto aos estônios crescer com o passar dos anos, e lá se vão 20 anos desde os primeiros passos da banda.

Mas não pense que eles acabaram, em nenhum momento houve um ruptura, continuaram a produzir, obviamente com tempos maiores entre um trabalho e outro, além de outros projetos paralelos de seus integrantes como o Imandra Lake do líder Rein Fuks, até chegar ao dia 13 de Março, sim pouco menos de 15 dias atrás e o Pia Fraus colocar no mercado através de sua gravadora, a estônia Seksound, um split ao lado dos heróis da noisepop, o Rocketship.

E muito em breve vem um novo trabalho e assim a vida caminha para o Pia Fraus, imune aos anos e suas modernidades, os estônios permanecem fiéis as suas origens, e os novos tempos dão a eles, um status maior de cult band e heróis de sua época.

Se por um desvio de caráter você não sabe do que estamos falando aqui, eis a história do Pia Fraus passada a limpo, resumidamente pelo próprio Rein, delicie-se a apaixone-se novamente, ou, pela primeira vez pelos queridos estônios.

***** Interview with Pia Fraus *****



Q. When did Pia Fraus start? Tell us about the history...
RF: We started in 1997 when we all studied in art school in Tallinn. First we started playing with Reijo on bass and myself on guitar. We recorded some weird songs with my sister’s cassette player. In 1998 we were joined by Tõnis, Joosep and girls. We were teenagers, everything was new and interesting for us.

Q: Who are your influences?
RF: My biggest influences at that time were Estonian bands like Borax, Dallas, Dreamphish, Röövel ööbik, Zahir. Also The Wedding Present and Stereolab.


Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
1. J.M.K.E “Külmale maale” (Estonian punk classic!)
2. Stereolab “Peng”
3. The Pastels “Illuminati”
4. Nick Drake “Pink Moon”
5. Bonnie “Prince” Billy “The Letting Go”

Q. How do you feel playing live?
RF: Playing live has always been the hardest part for me. I really like to spend time in the rehearsal room with my friends. I like recording and the producing process but I don’t feel comfortable on stage. But I still do it and it’s been almost 20 years.

Q. How do you describe Pia Fraus sounds?
RF: I’m always looking for some balance between a warm and a soft sound, lo-fi, guitar noise and airy synths. I never wanted to sound like a regular indie rock band.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs.
RF: Thing are a bit different with this new album we’re working on at the moment. I wrote about 20 new songs and picked 12 songs for the album. I started recording alone, recorded all my parts, guitars, vocals, and some percussion and then invited other Pia Fraus members to lay down their parts. The recording process is almost finished and soon we'll start mixing.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
RF: There are so many great bands in the world these days. It's not easy to pick one or two... I can recommend some stuff i like - Soda Lilies, She Bit Her Lip, Lazy Legs.

Q: Which band would you love to make a cover version of?
RF: I really like making remixes and cover versions. I have one dream to cover an Arthur Russell song and a few more ideas I can’t talk about right now. Have You heard the Pia Fraus version of Depeche Mode’s “Condemnation”? We have also covered Michal Jackson’s “Heal The World” but never recorded it.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
RF: It’s really hard and almost impossible to make future plans for Pia Fraus because there are so many busy members in the band but I can promise that we are gonna release our best album next autumn. I’ll definitely make more music in the future with Pia Fraus, Imandra Lake, or some new project. Stay tuned!

**
*
Thanks

https://piafraus.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/Pia-Fraus-154856150137
https://soundcloud.com/seksound