Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Raised in a remote Saxon forest and with a tendency towards fantasy and strangeness, Smatka’s debut EP showcases an act who may soon be knocking for admittance to the Ranks of the Great Eccentrics. Mixing a love of opera and theatrics with pop-experimental noise, and with her trace of accent rendering her menacing purr of a voice instantly, exotically recognisable, Smatka creates something at once surreal, dramatic and satisfyingly danceable.
Bullishly idiosyncratic but with an ear for a great pop tune, the EP begins with a high-pitched, menacingly soft squeal of noise before erupting into the minimally elastic pop beats which soundtrack the story of the small-minded ‘Mr V’. Second track ‘I Just No’, opening with a stomping, operatic intro, features a similar penchant for whiplash electric beats and a sense of the fun of experimentation, as well as having the kind of punchy energy which just demands that the listener dance. Top it all off with the terrifyingly, explicitly Freudian soundscape of ‘The Daughter’, all hollow drums and whispered implication, and the whole adds up to something well worth checking out by those who like their admirable innovation packaged in a manner which gets the dancefloor heaving.
- Drowned in Sound
Discography
None.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Drowned in Sound (www.drownedinsound.com):
"Whilst Smatka is a real life person (!), it is also the name of this here project. Why? Why the hell not… it was better than calling it “The (insert noun)s”. Besides, they spent far too long scouring for a name by rearranging fridge magnets to form meaningless word juxtapositions.
Inhaling the dark undertones of fairytales, the project was conceived in November 2005. Leaving microphones speckled with lipstick and amps punctured with stilettos, the first demo recordings were completed a mere month later!
While other projects may draw their influences from music of yore (see the Killer’s guidebook on how to rip off Joy Division), literature is the spark that ignites Smatka’s song-writing talents. Along with Leo, Vinni Kiniki and Maria, a solid structure of musicians sprung up amongst the decaying musical landscape of 2005.
Though it may still be early days, this troupe have garnered comparisons to Nick Cave, Bjork, Dresden Dolls and Kate Bush…Those naughty journalists are yet to pigeonhole them as cabaret-style-dark-birthday-partyish-postpunk-pseudo-electro-classic-songwriting-piano-soundscapes or whatever?"
Links
