Labirinto

Lost
by Enrico Vacaro

TRAMAVIRTUAL – see the original interview here

Labirinto releases EP (donwload) and also complete two years recording Anátema, it´s full “orchestra” record should come out in 2010.

The lost style of the pictures reveals not only the balance forest like sound – echoing misterys, just like post-rock does – but also does reveal the most recent trajectory of the band. The “island” in this mistery case refers to Labirinto, group from São Paulo City. Like the TV series, into music enviroment, the more one may explore, the less solutions are to come out.

An example of the excess of paths to be taken – either at the search for timbre, or harmonies or construction concepts – it is the long production of the Labirinto first full album, Anátema, that has completed two years since the beginning of the recording sessions, and it will be still in the oven in 2010. It is like a journey, an impossible adventure, TV series style like. The new record will be remarkable for the introduction of new instruments, and it should take the band sonority into an advanced stage of orchestration, reminding the canadian Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

Being part of the brazillian headline of post rock scene, Labirinto has released this year the EP called Etereo, that reminds the magnetic image builder vocation of the band, wich songs last over than ten minutes and also create an environment that fits perfectly at an imaginary motion picture or, again, the Lost TV series, that will bee back again on TV just as the record “Anatema” comes out. The EP is a good initiation to LP “Anatema”. Just like as it would be as an TV show pilot episode.

We talked with guitar player Erick Cruxen.

How is the prodution of Anátema going? When it will come out?

We are at the half of the recordings, we still have a long way to go. Labirino have been preparing this album for the last two years, putting a lot of dedication on the tunes, on the songs, on the compositions, on the effects, on the quality of the recording and mixing. It is a slow process, since we have already tried a lot of different sonority for the songs, and different timbre and dynamics. There are a lot of instruments recorded on the Anatema. Beyond cello and analogic synths we already use on the band, we came up with the use of violin, piano, banjo, brass and citar on the songs, and also we have a lot of musicians as special guests. We expect Anatema to be released on the middle of 2010.

How is the record going to be? Will It follow the same line of work of the EP Etereo?

Anatema will be completely conceptual, with long and image like songs. The record will be the telling of a tale we created, and the songs will be part of this context. The similarity between those and the songs of the EP Etereo happen to be due to the construction and the development of harmonies, and dynamics, and arrangement and effects. They became more complex in comparison of those from the band’s first EP.

Is it the excommunication record of Labirinto?

(Laughs). After anátema, our first album, everybody in Labirinto will be excommunicated. It is certainly one of the meanings of the record. There are others, but only listening and seeing the album one can sense it.

How was the participation of the band at the Dissenso collectanea and how does the band work the construction of images from the post rock?

It was pretty cool to take part of Dis1. There was a lot of repercussion and complements due to the collectanea, it did put together four experimental bands, from different regions of Brasil, (Constantina, Fóssil, Labirinto and Ruído/mm), and also many graphic pieces from several visual artists. We are anxious for the second issue.

As the songs are instrumental pieces, we built melodies and arrangements, as a sound landscape. It is a plurality of grooving, effects and textures that blend in to develop an idea, a scene or a feeling we intent to materialize. We try to make songs as pictures, searching for influences beyond music. Our references come from different forms of artistic manifestations, like cinema, literature, photography, I mean, several of those wich we are in contact on a daily basis.

I believe the post rock scene is a bit saturated, if you take for an example the present production of classic bands such as Mogwai, Explosions in The Sky e Pelican. Even so we still had some good national production like those of Fóssil e ruído/mm. Is there a way to be creative at the post rock? How to?

I believe this saturation is something punctual. Perhaps, It may be a big paradox, because what is the post rock? Certainly it is one of the most extensive and subjective classification, once its own definition points out to numbers of styles and musical influences, reinvented every instant. Also good and worst records are common for every band, on every style. There are many good projects coming up, called post rock, experimental, post metal. The important thing is not to be stuck to a single paradigm or cliche, searching new bands and references, at different points of the planet, since we got internet as a tool. At Labirinto, we seek for several different musical influences, wich make it easier to try out and explore new textures and image like ambience. That attempt may be called post rock, progressive, experimental rock, instrumental music. We let people be free to define it.

What are your plans for 2010?

Initially, release the record, and also carry out a few shows as part of release and publicizing. For the beginning of the second semester we are finishing arrangements for a tour in Europe. Besides, we expect to put together a few events and projects by Dissenso, promoting and publishing excellent altenative artists/bands material.

This post is to our international friends. He haven’t put before many information in english, so people from outside Brazil couldn’t understand much our blog posts without the google translator help.
Here below is an interview that Labirinto gave to a Brazilian blog specialized in music and pop culture in October 09.

SCREAM & YELL – see the original interview here

By Marcelo Costa

The 00 years definitely broke several myths among the rock audience. Instrumental music, ignored by major media, took advantage of the easiness for dissemination through the Internet and an increasingly stronger scene is present in the country. Not to mention that the World Wide Web brings people together, as a TV station defines. Many people who thought to be alone have found peers and references on the Internet. A new world opens up.

Labyrinth appeared at that time, knowing how to take advantage of being alive and playing in the new millennium. “Etéreo”, the group’s new EP, brings the two songs from the band that took part of the acclaimed compilation “DIS1″ plus a previously unreleased song, the delicate “Silêncio Póstumo”, with a lyricism that will surprise those who expected that the guitars that mark passages in “Arcabuz” and “Temporis”. The new EP can be downloaded for free at the new site of Labirinto (http://www.labirinto.mus.br/) and the reader can also follow day-by-day the recordings of the group’s new album, “Anátema.”

Contacted by e-mail, Scream & Yell talked to guitarist Erick Cruxen about the new scene of Brazilian instrumental music, list a series of classic albums that should be in every post-rock collection and claimed for good places to show: “There are good bands and a hungry public” he warns. Check out the chat below:

New EP released. Something changed in the sound of the band between the first work (the split “Pseudo-Segurança Compensatória” in 2005) and this “Etéreo “?
Yes, especially in relation to the construction and development of harmonies, dynamic arrangements and effects of music, which became more complex, detailed and longer. New instruments were added (cello, violin, piano, analog synthesizers) and new musicians are part of Labirinto.

How is the line-up of the band now?
The current lineup consists of Erick on guitar and effects, Muriel on drums, Joaquim on guitar and synths, Daniel on guitar and piano, Matheus on drums, plus guest appearances on bass, violin and cello at concerts and on recordings.

The band was formed in 2003. How the idea of assembling an instrumental band emerged? Aren´t there good singers or is instrumental music enough for itself?
The idea of Labirinto always was to be instrumental. However, we use the voice as another instrument, not as a main concept. We use vocoders, mellotrons, and voices with effects to produce an experimental sound. But there are only a few bands with vocals that we really like in Brazil. I think this is the most complicated “instrument” to have in a band. I’ve seen many good bands, with sharp instruments, trapped by this “evil”.

The instrumental scenario, especially in rock, has grown significantly in Brazil in this decade. How do you see yourself in this environment?
Certainly this kind of music grew and became more “accessible”, especially concerning the public. When we started, there was prejudice against instrumental bands with rock structure. Thanks to the internet, which helped spread hundreds of foreign post-rock bands, and to the many instrumental bands that emerged in Brazil, several people have come to enjoy that kind of music. Our audience has grown significantly, as well as experimental bands without vocals. What´s still not satisfactory are the venues and events for this “new” public. There are good bands and a hungy public.

You played the PIB Festival (Produto Instrumental Bruto). How was the show and the festival for you?
We played in two editions of the festival. The first time, as a competitor band, and the second as godmother band. The event was very nice in both years, helping to disseminate many instrumental bands. A defect in the festival formula is to be in the form of competition, which can generate unnecessary controversy.

How does the method of composition work in the band?
Initially, one of the band members has a basic musical idea, which is then elaborated and improved together. Effects, dynamics and arrangements are studied, until the music really moves and incite. Usually we played several times a new song before presenting it in a show.

So the rehearsals are part of the work-up then?
Yes. The rehearsals are essential to the composition of songs. Sometimes the band doesn´t need to be complete to do so. We try to build melodies, arrangements and dynamics, like a soundscape. A plurality of sounds, effects and textures are mixed to develop an idea, a scene or a feeling that we want to materialize.

“Etéreo” is now available for free download on the site. The free movement of MP3 is a good way for new bands?
No doubt. I find it very important for a band that believes in their music, get them available on the Internet. Especially the new bands. This is an irreversible process. However, much that is posted on the Internet do not receive the necessary treatment or care, especially in relation to the quality of the recordings and compositions. We must know to filter what we hear, and keep our quality guidelines always sharp.

Several parts of the new site has an English version. Is there an intention to win fans outside of Brazil?
We receive messages and contacts from many fans outside Brazil. Blogs, plays, festivals and bands communicate with us, trying to find out more about Labirinto. For 2010 we plan to disseminate and do shows for the new album overseas.

Any plans in mind?
We are studying some possible shows in Canada, USA and Europe after the release of “Anátema”. Before this, we shall tour northeastern Brazil, where we have many friends and admirers. It´s not easy to move the band. In addition to many musicians and instruments, we always carry the whole equipment.

Impossible to speak about Labirinto without quoting the Dissenso House. The compilation “DIS # 1″ was highly praised. How are the projects of Dissenso?
The year 2009 was very productive for Dissenso, really, there was a good response and praise for the “DIS1”. For 2010, several important projects will materialize. Dissenso is building one of the best recording studios in Brazil, providing services for bands, audio for film, television, radio and web. Also the second volume of the labels collection, the “DIS2” will be launched in 2010. Moreover, Dissenso will have a new venue for events and concerts, offering more space for projects and alternative bands.

Mario Bross, of Wry, pointed you as one of the bands today that he likes. I know it is a difficult consensus, after all you are many musicians, but what is Labirinto listening in Brazil?
The Brazilian bands we like and we listen to today are post-rock, shoegaze and metal bands. Wry, A Sea of Leaves, National, Ruído/mm, Musicas Intermináveis Para Viagem, Herod Layne, Hopping to Collide With, Hangin Freud, Marfusha, and Torture Squad.

And the classic post-rock? What should not miss in a post-rock discoteque?
Some essentials:
- Godspeed you Black Emperor! – f#a#infinity e qualquer outro disco deles
- God is an Astronaut – Far From Refuge
- Explosions in the Sky – Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever / How Strange, Innocence
- A Silver Mt Zion – He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts Of Light Sometimes Grace The Corners Of Our Rooms / Born Into Trouble As The Sparks Fly Upwards
- Do Make say Think – Goodbye Enemy Airship the Landlord is Dead
- Red Sparowes – At the Soundless Dawn
- Clint Mansell e Kronos Quartet – Soundtrack from The Fountain
- Sigur Ros – Agaetis Byrjun
- Mogwai – Mr. Beast / Happy Songs For Happy People
- Bathory – Blood Fire Death (it´s Black metal, but essential)
- Ennio Morricone – Soundtracks from the movies: Once upon a Time in the West / The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (a genius, a great influence).

You just released the EP, and already promised an album this year. How are the recordings of “Anátema” going? What comes around?
Certainly this will be our largest enterprise since the beginning of the band. We are preparing this album for two years, devoting much attention and dedication to the compositions, arrangements, effects and the quality of the recordings. “Anátema” is completely conceptual, with long songs and narratives, and probably will be released in early 2010. We are preparing some surprises for its launch.

Can you advance the concept of the album?
I can´t advance very much until now! (Laughs) But I can already say that the album is the narrative of a story we created. The songs will be part of that context.