Steady Sun, Aircraft, Weekender

Dylan Nowik's five-piece brainchild is growing up. The band is poised to release their second full-length LP this summer, and will be supporting the release with a run of shows across Brooklyn. Flora's eleven tracks are the result of two weeks' time occupied exclusively recording last summer in an Upstate New York Barn, and seven months of creative deliberation in post. Says keyboardist Slack Barrett, "Dylan is so meticulous, you know, with mixing and final touches...but the result is essential to our sound, and I see the time he spends as a well-practiced ritual."

Recording Upstate offered Nowik some new opportunities, and the change in scenery encouraged ingenuity. Their debut album, Good Evening, released in September 2013, was recorded at Rose Studios in Brooklyn, and is described as being "folky, baroque pop" whereas Nowik sees Flora as the result of a fascination with rhythm, textures and soundscapes. There are sonic eccentricities throughout the album, such as recordings of bugs in Vermont, and a massacred crash cymbal. Says Nowik, "Andrew wanted a different cymbal on 'Waiting', and nothing was working, so he and I went from the barn out to the street at like 2pm and just started thrashing this thing on the road with hammers, making a big racket. It fractured though, and we used it".

Nowik rarely left the easel on which his artwork was taking shape; over the course of two weeks, other members made their way in and out from the city and laid down parts. The result is a lush patchwork of sound, complete with DD-7 delay-scapes, dictaphone recordings of conversation, fuzzed out harmonies and smooth yet enormous transitions that pull you in like a current as it gets closer to a waterfall. The mist rising up from that waterfall is Flora: airy and beautiful, the intangible result of a journey over the edge of an everlasting dance between delicacy and force.

Steady Sun is Dylan Nowik, Andrew Emgee, Slack Barrett, Danny Rose, and Peter Victor-Gasper. They are pioneering a new genre, coined by Nowik as "Jive Daydream", and they are looking forward to sharing it with you.


Aircraft is a four-piece Psychedelic Surf-Pop band from Buffalo, NY. Their 2013 debut, "Sonic Boom," was met with enthusiastic reviews and prompted a two-week promotional tour throughout the northeast. Emphasizing thoughtful song-writing and energetic live performances, Aircraft defines their sound by simultaneously respecting and transcending their musical influences. Their songs are built on charismatic lead vocals supported by lush harmonies, melodic guitar work, and a powerfully attuned rhythm section. With an active touring schedule and new album in the works, Aircraft is committed to building their audience one show at a time.

Justin John Smith - Vocals, Guitar

Tyler William Skelton - Guitar, Keys, Vocals

James Warren - Bass, Vocals

Ian Belknap - Drums & Cymbals

"Undoubtedly one of Buffalo's live music treasures."

buffablog.com
"A melting pot of famous rock sounds, like that of Arcade Fire, Brand New, and MGMT mixed together.. Almost anyone with a voice can sing along."

716localmusic.wordpress.com

"Super catchy."

inyourspeakers.com
"Hard work and the release of their first album, Sonic Boom, last April have kept local fans and music blogs buzzing, and the band doesn't plan on slowing down any time soon."

92.9 JackFM

"Fearless not only of avoiding convention, but also of occasionally adhering to it.."

Brad Gower
"Because they're more psychedelic than strictly new wave, the pop songs come off explosively, big and shiny within that pleasingly tight song structure. Phoenix by way of early Pink Floyd with terrific vocal harmonies and a fun Talking Heads vibe."

buffablog.com


The Sheehan brothers, Derek and Nic, played in a number of bands together and separately in Philadelphia over the course of a few years, some lasting longer than others, some garnering more attention.

The two made a fresh start recruiting Tom Anthony (Bleeding Fractals) and Emily Cahill (Gypsy Death and You) in early 2013 forming Weekender. Since then their endeavors have won the hearts of many a local, including producer Kyle "Slick" Johnson (Modest Mouse/Wavves), who signed on to work with the band on new material. The quartet peaked the interest of upstart Brooklyn based label PaperCup Music and joined their roster to release their debut EP, Spanish Peaks. Opening for acts like The Growlers and Peace, Weekender's emergence has been warmly welcomed by the Philly music scene and the blogosphere alike.

With the 2013 debut EP, Spanish Peaks ("...a perfect psych-pop daydream."- Diffuser.fm), tour dates and a follow up record in the works, this young group is quickly building a reputation as one of the hottest up-and-coming acts in the neo-psychedelic scene