The Veldt - Sanctified.Background - Identical twins Daniel and Danny Chavis may originally hail from Raleigh/ Chapel Hill, North Carolina, but they have been East Village residents for the past 28 years. They are also co-founders of the ground breaking band The Veldt, who lifted their band’s name from a Ray Bradbury science fiction story. Musically reared in the church and juke-joints of their native southern state, the twins have been performing since they were children, listening to music that included gospel, Motown and Pink Floyd. They now make music, together with bassist/programmer Hayato Nakao, returning to their roots with the release of The Shocking Fuzz of Your Electric Fur: The Drake Equation Mixtape EP. The album releases on April 8 and to celebrate, the band is doing a whirlwind tour of Central Canada (see tour dates below)
The first single is the emotionally wrought Sanctified, a ballad that perfectly captures the lush sound of Danny’s screeching guitars and decibel-breaking distortion, along with Daniel’s soulful wail and Hayato Nakao’s deep bass grooves and guitar feedback, the track serves as the perfect re-introduction to this dynamic band. The title The Shocking Fuzz of Your Electric Fur was borrowed from an E.E. Cummings poem. Its raging sound was influenced equally by the emotional soul of Marvin Gaye, free jazz warriors Sun Ra and Pharaoh Sanders, various Drake hip-hop tracks, and their own fertile electric imagination.
In their early days, the Chavis brothers making a name for themselves playing throughout the south at a time when fellow southerners REM and Superchunk were securing major label deals. As more black rock bands (Living Colour, 24/7 Spyz) began selling records and gigging throughout the world, The Veldt was courted by various labels, including IRS Records and Capitol.
Initially signed to Capitol Records in 1989, The Veldt embarked on a musical journey that changed their lives. Soon, they were in the studio with dream-gaze guru Robin Guthrie working on their initial recordings, playing American concert halls with Cocteau Twins and The Jesus and Mary Chain, and recording Marigolds with Linco ln Fong (Moose).
The Veldt were a sensation from the start as they became a part of a movement of innovators who came of musical age at a time when rhythmic rebels were reflective, gritty and wild. Their sound inspired future generations of alternative artists, including TV On the Radio.
Although The Veldt had signed to two major labels after leaving Mercury Records in 1995, the brothers decided to remain indie and self-released their 2008 album White Music for Black People. “The major labels were always trying to get us to change our sound, our look or both,” Daniel laughs. “But, we had no interest in being the next Lenny Kravitz or Tony! Toni! Toné! Unfortunately, not everyone shared our vision. We weren’t trying to be rock stars, we just want to play our music and pay our rent.”
Apart from Robin Guthrie and A.R. Kane, who produced 'And It's You' from this EP, they have collaborated with TV On The Radio, Mos Def and Lady Miss Kier (Deee-Lite), and have shared the stage with My Bloody Valentine, The Pixies, Echo & The Bunnymen, Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Manic Street Preachers, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Oasis, Living Colour and TV on the Radio, among others.
They eventually changed their name back to The Veldt. The Shocking Fuzz of Your Electric Fur serves to mark the band's re-emergence and will be followed by another full album of material on their Resurrection Hymns LP later this year (via Sona BLAST! Records). Indeed, for these veteran musicians and passionate noise technicians, this newest EP marks a new beginning. The Shocking Fuzz of Your Electric Fur will be released via UK label Leonard Skully Records on April 8, 2016.
Live April Dates:
04/01 London, ON - CHRW 94.9 FM In-Session
04/01 London, ON - 765 Old East Bar & Grill
04/02 London, ON - CHRW Saturday Morning with Howie Zowie
04/03 Toronto, ON - Silver Dollar Room
04/06 Peterborough, ON - Red Dog Tavern
04/07 Montreal, QC - Barfly
04/08 Ottawa, ON - Zaphod's Ottawa
04/11 Raleigh/Chapel Hill, NC - Cat's Cradle
05/06 Philadelphia - Union Transfer (with Brian Jonestown Massacre)
05/07 Boston - Paradise Rock Club (with Brian Jonestown Massacre)
05/09 New York City - Webster Hall (with Brian Jonestown Massacre).
The single and the first of five tracks on the new EP, 'Sanctified' reinforces the pedigree of The Veldt. It's one of five songs that are distinctive, appealing and give understanding to how and why they have shared stages live, with so many notable acts. 'Sanctified' typifies the quality and musical style across the new EP and raises expectations, of what is to follow later in the year. Within their genre and dynamic interpretations, The Veldt are a band who have it 'in bucket loads'.
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