Posts Tagged ‘Lena Simon’

LA LUZ – ” Watching Cartoons “

Posted: July 22, 2021 in MUSIC
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La Luz has always been a band with a vision. Their discography is a study in balancing both heavenly and haunting sounds for a lush style of rock music that’s all their own. On their self-titled fourth album, La Luz fearlessly launch themselves into a new realm of emotional intimacy with a collection of songs steeped in the mysteries of the natural world and the magic of human chemistry that has found manifestation in the musical ESP between guitarist and songwriter Shana Cleveland, bassist Lena Simon, and keyboardist Alice Sandahl.  
 
To help shape La Luz, the band found a kindred spirit in producer Adrian Younge. Primarily known for working with hip-hop, soul, and jazz acts, Younge saw in La Luz a musical kinship that transcended genre. “We both create music with the same attitude, and that’s what I love about them,” he says. “They are never afraid to be risky and their style is captivating. I don’t work with many bands, but I love taking chances on people that share the same vision. We both love to be ourselves, and it was an honour to work with them.” The album was recorded at Linear Labs Studio in Los Angeles.
 
On the heels of La Luz’s previously launched single “In the Country,” the group is sharing a new video for “Watching Cartoons,” directed by Nathan Castiel.

 This mixed media adventure follows the band as they spend the day watching cartoons but it becomes clear that something is not quite right! After being gifted a mysterious TV, the band starts getting sucked into their favourite cartoons. Will Shana save Alice and Lena before it’s too late? Tune in to “Watching Cartoons” and find out.

La Luz recently announced a 34-date world tour with North American shows in 2021 and European dates following in April and May 2022. 

LA LUZ – ” In the Country “

Posted: June 18, 2021 in MUSIC
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La Luz is a band from Seattle, WA, started in the summer of 2012 by Shana Cleveland (guitar), Alice Sandahl (keyboard) and Lena Simon (bass). Everyone sings. Songs by Shana and La Luz.

Available June 15th La Luz is sharing its new single “In The Country” the group’s first new material since the release of Floating Features, their acclaimed album of 2018, available today at all DSPs from Hardly Art.  Shana Cleveland, the band’s frontperson, offers this, “I moved to the country a few years ago after living in cities for most of my life. Being out in the middle of nowhere makes it easy to imagine how it would be possible to leave society altogether. I love how in this track some of the most unnatural elements of the arrangement (synthesizers, fuzz, effects) create an atmosphere around the instruments that ends up feeling very natural–I can hear bugs buzzing around and bird sounds in different directions.”

You can watch La Luz’s new visualizer for “In the Country,” which was created by the band’s own Lena Simon, 

La Luz has announced a 34 date world tour with North American shows in 2021 and European dates to follow in April and May 2022.  

LA LUZ – ” Floating Features “

Posted: July 2, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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A Seattle by way of Los Angeles four-piece who drag the sounds of 60s girl bands and classic surf rock into a sun-kissed Californian present. Exuding effortless cool, La Luz take the lazy, endless summer mood of Los Angeles at sunset, and essay on it through driving rhythms, honeycombed vocal harmonies, and breezy surf and garage rock guitar figures straight out of the Takeshi Terauchi playbook. On Floating Features, the four-piece write rich, vivid, and impressionistic studies of life viewed through the surreal, hallucinogenic haze of the city of angels, earning their spot in the Californian sun. La Luz hasn’t made one single weak song- everything they do rips. This new album just continues their unbeaten streak.

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With comparisons to Mild High Club, The Shangri-Las, Dum Dum Girls La Luz started in the summer of 2012 by Shana Cleveland (guitar), Marian Li Pino (drums), Alice Sandahl (keyboard) and Lena Simon (bass).

LA LUZ – ” Brainwash / T.V Dream “

Posted: March 15, 2018 in MUSIC
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Earlier this year, Seattle band La Luz made a solid cassette EP that came out via Burger Records (which included the great track “Sure as Spring”). It was full of surf-tinged garage pop, which is what they offer once again with “Brainwash” (their forthcoming single out July 17 via Suicide Squeeze). The track achieves a more mellow vibe, but that’s not to say the track is devoid of power. Though they apply a soft touch with their “oooh” vocals and paced, minimal intro, they also scream and play their instruments really loud in a few concentrated, raucous bursts. But at the core here is a sweet jangling melody– the perfect thing to support the simple organ solo that comes in just before the outro. Yes, right at the point where most bands pegged with the word “garage” would opt for a blaring guitar solo, La Luz go for something softer and more tonally appropriate.

La Luz is a band in Seattle, WA, started in the summer of 2012 by Shana Cleveland (guitar), Marian Li Pino (drums), Alice Sandahl (keyboard) and Lena Simon (bass). Everyone sings. Songs by Shana and La Luz.

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LA LUZ – ” Weirdo Shrine “

Posted: December 24, 2015 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Before he tragically and suddenly died at 25 years old, Ariel Panero was a staple in New York’s vibrant DIY scene. The young promoter’s involvement stretched far and wide, ranging from his work with record label Famous Class to performing with his band Tough Knuckles. Perhaps most notable was his Less Artists More Condos (LAMC) concert series, which saw Panero booking bands to play unique venues around the city.

After his death in 2010, Famous Class took to honoring his legacy with a series of singles named after LAMC. The A-side of each 7-inch features an unreleased track by a band the label likes. That artist then gets to choose another up-and-coming band they like to be included on the B-side. The 16th edition in the LAMC canon features Seattle surf-noir outfit La Luz backed with Brooklyn garage rockers Scully and will hit stores August 25th. Before the physical release, La Luz has shared their contribution, “Believe My Eyes”.

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The track was recorded during the band’s sessions with Ty Segall for their excellent new album,  “Weirdo Shrines” . Much like the LP, the song smolders with hazy guitar tones and otherworldly harmonies. Frontwoman Shana Cleveland coos mysteriously overtop Lena Simon’s thumping bass line. Keyboards and lead guitar lines intertwine, merging into the surf rock mist. It’s a lovely mix of pop prowess and unsettling fever dream.

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In Spanish, La Luz means “light” and that’s the perfect thing to evoke when your songs give the illusion of veering in the opposite direction. But lift out most any lyric—which is a good excuse to give a closer listen to the delicate, four-part harmonies that are fast becoming the band’s signature—and you’ll find that the aches and pains of love and loss, of living in a world where no foothold is ever a promise—all this is delivered with a nuanced dose of perfectly timed exhilaration, like the whole thing might just be worth it in the end. It’s Alive is the debut LP from Seattle’s La Luz.