Livid Records

The Illustrated

The Illustrated is a three piece band, but it began as a sort of jazz-influenced improvisational avant-punk two piece. Bryan Beardsley and Matt Murphy have been in numerous bands together, some of whom toured, some of whom put out records on Forever Escaping Boredom Records (Kit!, Dirty South Apocalypse).

The Illustrated has recorded approximately three hours worth of studio material, and have assembled the best tracks onto a debut album called Alphabaggage, which is also a sort of soundtrack to film pieces and fiction created by Matt.

The Illustrated toured the Northeast Coast in 2004 with Asthma Atttaq (Forever Escaping Boredom Records) and up the east coast again with fellow label mates Swiss' own - Daze.

Bryan, Matt, and Andrew Sink are all members of the Minge Collective. They all live together and collaborate on art projects. Bryan Beardsley is finishing a solo album, which will be released this summer by Throw The Dynamite Records. Andrew is currently working on a 100 song album with Chris Caswell, which members of the Minge collective lend tracks to.

The Illustrated is currently recording a new full length, tentatively titled Betageist.

Daze

Add up the ages of the members of Daze, a four-piece rock outfit from Zurich, Switzerland, and the result is far less than 100. Young though they may be, "Slow down to speed up" the bands North American debut, is the result of over ten years of honing the bands sound.

At the core of Dazes history are the nearly identical Eigensatz brothers, Mathis and Moritz, who formed the bands first incarnation while in their early teens. They picked up the guitar and bass, respectively; as with any teenaged garage band, drummers came and went. But thanks to a steady aural diet of the Ramones and the Beatles, along with the telekinetic bond that only siblings share, Mathis and Moritz were already writing original rock songs. From the beginning, they were punky and crunchy, but with pop melodies and a distinct Anglo sensibility.

In 1998, the brothers Eigensatz met drummer Peter Baracchi, who proved his mettle as a permanent band member after several rehearsal sessions and live gigs. As a trio, Daze went on to self-release four albums, the last in 2004, Silhouette. Internet surfing led American filmmaker, Adam Frey, to discover the album on the bands web site. Frey immediately requested five songs for the soundtrack to Hunting Dragonflies, his independent, surreal thriller released in 2005.

Meanwhile, Daze had racked up over 100 live shows throughout Switzerland. Their reputation for shredding, high-energy shows led Downer, a band from Berlin, to ask Daze to join their tour of Germany. For their first foray out of their homeland, the Eigensatz brothers decided to amp up the bands sound even more. Andy Keller, a lifetime friend and, until then, also Dazes faithful roadie, was brought aboard on second guitar to become the fourth and final member of the bands current line-up.

With new creative input, and the broadening of musical tastes and technical skills that comes with growing up, Dazes sound has matured over time. What began as a sound distinctly influenced by the tail-end of the grunge era morphed into something more akin to early American punk, a la Mathis and Mortizs beloved Ramones. Add a heavy dose of power pop, polish with a Britpop sheen, and the result is Daze, 2006.

This fresh quality was recognized by the founder of South-Florida-based Livid Records, Charles Furment, who discovered the band via their Myspace page and contacted them to release their next album. "Slow down to speed up" is both Livid Records inaugural release and Dazes North American debut. Rec Rec in Switzerland, will oversee the albums European release and distribution. "Slow down to speed up" bursts with big, simple riffs over loud chords that will set listeners teeth on edge with anticipation. Atop float the vocals of Mathis, who doesnt scream, but instead sings mellifluously, on key. The result is a fine balance between the pretty and the ugly, a spine-chilling tension.

The Swiss may have been neutral until now, but watch out: Daze is invading North America, and they are coming for your rock n' roll soul.