Dreamwave

Bristol (via Brighton) quartet Dreamwave sign to Velvet Echoes and share raucous kraut-punk of ‘Mindcave’ - out today (16th February).

A chugging Osees-like blast of rancorous, psychedelic noise, replete with cosmic solos and space-age nostalgia, ‘Mindcave’ offers a bona-fide introduction to Dreamwave’s colourful universe, one that broaches the whole spectrum of neo-psychedelia from space-rock and gooey psych-pop, to shoegaze dreaminess. 

Recorded at Wiltshire’s Nine Volt Studios with producer Dom Bailey, The band's first bona fide studio effort to date is accompanied by a music video filmed at Porth yr Ogof cave in Wales, an adventure in itself, as the band explain:

For the ‘Mindcave’ video, We woke up at 3am so that we’d get there early enough to have it to ourselves. After an hour of filming, and about the first 20 seconds of footage captured, 2 National Park rangers came down and asked us for a permit to film - we didn’t have this because we didn’t know we needed one. They told us they were going to fine us £1000. It took 2 weeks, 12 emails and 8 phone calls to acquire the permit we needed to legally film at the cave.”

More about Dreamwave:

A band of psych-lovers, for psych lovers,  Each member of Dreamwave had, by their own accord, fallen into the seductive clutches of neo-psychedelia and krautrock before life brought them together. Take the band’s chief songwriter Benjamin Symons, who had his own personal ‘Eureka; moment while watching an ice skating video soundtracked by ‘Eisbaer’ by Grauzone.

Starting as a bedroom project by university housemates Symonds (guitar,vocals) and Cameron Organ (bass) in 2018, then friend (and eventual full-time member) Hester Battin (vocals, keys), heard their demos, and encouraged them to form a band for a gig she was putting on at The Bees Mouth in Brighton.

This ad hoc, do-it-yourself approach, existing right from the band’s inception, filters too into their music: the band’s first two singles  were all recorded and produced by the band themselves across various lounges and bedrooms in Brighton, then Bristol - where the band has since relocated  and where Alex Andrews (drums) completed the line up. Even for 'Mindcave', a genuine studio venture, the band still insisted that takes from Symonds’ home demos (some dating from when he was 15) stayed in the final mix along with the rawly recorded ‘live takes’. 

In their brief career so far, the band have received backing from BBC Introducing Bristol,  and can boast performances at last year’s Glastonbury festival, and as support for various international psych figureheads  like Holy Wave, Boogarins, Night Beats and System Exclusive (of Castle Face Records).