Band Crush: This Bliss
With heavy beats, layered textures, and character-driven vocals, This Bliss explores the world of trip-hop and electronica through the lens of a storyteller.
Hey it’s a new week and here’s a new crush! We’re checking in with This Bliss! Other than that we’ve all just been in quarantine so there’s not much else to talk about it so here we go!
Let's start at the beginning. How did you all get together and decide to make a go of it?
It all started with a hard drive. Years ago, when Nick and I were working on a different studio project, he started playing random selections from his prolific collection of original instrumentals. I soon discovered, he has thousands of instrumentals just waiting to be realized into song form. I loved them. It was a new method of co-writing to me: 'finding' the song in the layers of synths and drum machine tracks. I gravitated to the downtempo tracks that alluded to Portishead and British Dub. Before long, we had amassed a collection demos, which ultimately became our first release, Forensic Styles.
The live band was masterminded to bring our content to life in a way that was true to the cinematic vision of the record (please see figure 1:).
From there, it's been a natural artistic progression of pushing the boundaries of what our 'sound' is, pursuing where we want to go sonically, and also sharing the instrumental writing duties across the band. As a result, the follow-up EP, Dramatization of Real Events, is intentionally more pop/rock than the first release, showcasing awesome guitar tracks and uptempo 'dancier' beats. That said, I'm most excited about where we are now as we work hard on our third release!
We recently reformed with a new member, Danni Vitullo, and I took over guitar responsibilities. Our band collaboration is still key, but we take different approaches to songwriting. Sometimes the original beat inspires the song but ultimately doesn't even make it to the final form. We're also experimenting with different electronic influences and how we produce the tracks. We're NOT a rock band (not that there's anything wrong with that!) and this new record will feature what we do best: heavy beats, mono synths, lots of vocoding, and of course, storytelling.
What do you hope to leave people with once they put down their headphones or leave your show?
Emotion. Goosebumps!?! In all seriousness, we hope listeners connect with the music.
What do you think Boston does well for artists and where does it need to improve?For a long time, I've considered Boston to be one of those special places that appreciated original music and presented opportunities for local bands to play shows and create music. Granted, the music industry has changed so much with the dominance of streaming services and an emphasis on social media without a great deal of real content behind it. Venues are closing, rehearsal spaces are torn down for luxury condos, and the general attention span for new music seems to last all of ten seconds. That said, I think Boston still has a special community of artists and supporters. We tend to be too siloed genre-wise, and it would be great to tap into the power of said community holistically because I think it would benefit both creators and consumers.
What other Boston artists are you crushing on?
This Argonaut record is SO good. And while we're at it, most of those musicians are also in Coo & Howl, who released a record just this past fall. Great people. Great music. Awesome. Tony Hamoui is a producer that works out of the New Alliance Gallery and he is involved in two projects that are beautiful, melodic, and progressive. VqnC: So good! ALSO, there's a new J/Q album coming soon from the New Alliance Gallery that is epic, spacious, chaotic and very catchy! Pumped for new music!
You can find This Bliss on their website, you can see them on Instagram, and you can listen to them on Spotify.