Vasa

Probably the best demo we have heard at Podcart. ‘Jigsawng’ was stumbled upon via SoundCloud by our own Kirstin Lynn and we were stopped in our tracks. Then began 7 days of listening to this track non-stop. The thing I love most about this band is that they have worked hard behind the scenes to produce something that is incredible as a first taster and not just put out anything. If this is their debut song then I am going to need a cold compress for what is to come. Next we see them live….. - Glasgow PodcArt

I think it’s safe to say that Vasa were absolutely bricking it before going onstage last night, but they had every right to. First gig at the well known Glasgow venue Pivo Pivo and there were a lot of people present, purely to witness the bands debut. The great turn out was not surprising considering Vasa were even listed in the Glasgow Podcart’s “Ones to Watch 2012? list back in December.

As Vasa took to the stage being second in the line up, the floor quickly filled out with all eyes on them. After an introduction from bassist, John, the band exploded into their first piece and near enough blew the pint out of my hand. The crowd all listened intently, as looped melodies circled the room, intricate in detail and ranging in tones. Obviously the band is composed of skilled musicians, displayed for example by guitarists Blaine and Scott, adopting at times a finger tapping technique upon a clean sounding guitar tone, reminiscent of another Glasgow band, Trapped in Kansas.

Being purely instrumental based can understandably be challenging for a band in keeping an audience interested as the lack of vocal melody can provide gaps which may sound repetitive or empty. For me, Vasa shrugged off such generalisations. Their music takes you on a journey, where the dynamics are constantly varied and the melodies float beautifully over the top of the bass lines and percussion. The variation made a dramatic difference to Vasa’s overall sound, where one minute they would be sailing in an ocean of clean guitars and tip-tapping on the cymbals and the next rocking out with a well rounded, meaty punch. They looked great onstage as well, oozing confidence and showing no signs of the nerves expressed prior to their performance.

A great first gig and I’m really looking forward to seeing Vasa again and following their achievements through 2012. - Watch This Space

Probably the most exciting new Glasgow band we’ve come across recently, instrumental four-piece Vasa had us gripped and nodding along in agreement to their first demo when we took a trip and fell into them, ear holes gaping late last year. Sharing their name with an unfortunate Swedish warship, their music might get you wetter than a man overboard, but I doubt these chaps will be sinking anywhere any time soon. - Glasgow PodcArt