------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*****Contact - spartacusr@gmail.com ------ or phone Ben on 021 1413869******
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WOULD YOU LIKE TO Explore Lee Prebbles Surgery Studios...?
>
Influences
Aotearoa is a huge influence
Any music which is crossing new genre bridges
Music that takes you on a journey
Music made for music and with friends for friends
Analogue greats of the past
Robert Moog
In no order of influence - also simply music we like...
Sun Ra, The Little Busman, Linval Thompson, King Tubby, Tom Waits, The Arabs, Bob Marley & the Wailers, Lee Perry, The Abyssinians, Jethro Tull, David Bowie, Phoebe Snow, J.J.Cale, Jesus Rodriguez, PINK FLOYD, CAN, The Doors, Hendrix, Departure Lounge, Burning Spear, Monk, Quincy Jones, Miles Davies e.t.c, Feliciano, Trinity Roots, Bob Dylan, Lou reed, Velvet Underground, SYD BARRETT, Black Seeds, Inkling, Safari, Ragamuffin Children, Jess Chambers Steel Pulse, J. Cash, RADIOHEAD, Osibisa, Peter Tosh, Madness, Rare earth, Andy Bautista, Beatles, Paul Ubana Jones, old Fat Freddys Drop ,Led Zepplin, Pentangle, Lou Reed, Dub Connection, Ryan Prebble, The Specials, one million bucks, The Night Show, She'll be right family, Dry & Heavy, SOFT MACHINE, Age Prior, Tessa Rain, Leonard Cohen, THe Pentangle, Harriet & the Matches, The Phoenix Foundation, Flying nun Massive, Massive Attack, Scribes of Ra, Module, Bunnys on Ponies, C L Bob, Alphabethead, Calexico, The Flaming lips, The Raskolnikovs, Blur, Super-Grass, Cassette abc, The Chandeliers ........ and many more
}
REVIEW's "When the fever takes hold"
Rating: * * * *
Wellington is a weird wee town when it wants to be and this is one of the oddest musical releases to come out of it in many a year. Spartacus R conjure up a disorientating and delusional fever on this unpredictable and unique debut. Blending everything from straight blues, rock and jazz to a more warped cocktail of psychedelia, prog and avant garde, it has a similar screwy sentiment as a band like New York instrumentalists Battles but without the energised chipmunks playing the instruments.
While the spare vocals are a little twee and take some getting used to, Fever is odd and strangely enthralling as it moves from the romantic jaunt of cosmic singer/songwriter ditty Synthia, into the spooky desert slope of the title track, and on to the the fuzzed-out, high-frequency bedlam crescendo to eight-minute epic Foxbug and Snail.
As is often common with releases out of Wellington, there are some familiar names involved in this project, the most notable being Prebble, with two of them (Ryan and Tim) in the band and Dr Lee Prebble (Black Seeds, Phoenix Foundation) recording it with the band at The Surgery in the capital.
However, don't expect anything similar to those two bands from Spartacus R, expect something more odd yet just as appealing.
Scott Kara
Sparta/Border Music.
Four stars (out of five)
Wellington six-piece experimental space-rockers Spartacus R may have released their debut album but you get the sense they've been around many years, aeons even, such is the intimacy of When The Fever Takes Hold.
Despite a title that suggests frenetic funk, this is an album that cruises along in mid-tempo (groovy, yes; sweaty, no).
The secret to the success of the eight expansive tracks lies in the group's jazz ethos, a balance between off-the-cuff jamming and complex composition.
Produced by studio wizard Dr Lee Prebble, the album brims with details (a horn stab here, a keyboard tinkle there) yet sounds effortless.
Nice work.
Single download: Get On Gone.
For those who like: Ennio Morricone, perhaps on a visit to Detroit.
- Shane Gilchrist
"POWERS OF TEN" @ CtrlShift07 Student Congress... LIVE
"CONSTRICTED SPACES" Dir. Franco VR
"CARTER OBSERVATORY" live jam 2007
While Spartacus R have much local industry and musician support, the music itself differs considerably from that around NZ at the moment. It follows a lineage of music with histories more likely to be found in parts of Germany, England or the 'States. Taking inspiration from bands such as Radiohead, Can and Pink Floyd.
“I am completely musically ‘turned on’ by Spartacus R. Their music is is well crafted and intricately sincere. Fresh,
contemporary retro, and completely unpredictable...Beautiful.”
- Warren Maxwell, Founding member TrinityRoots, Fat Freddys Drop and The Little Bushman.
“I’ve seen Spartacus R grow over the last 5 or so years and have always found their sound exciting, challenging and thoroughly enchanting. I was honored to help them produce their first full-length album and feel that it has truly captured something special, something that often only gets heard in a live environment. Sit back in a comfy chair with a nice drink, turn off the phone and let it envelope you. This album is something special, it won’t appeal to everyone, but it is the kind of music that everyone should listen to.”
- Lee Prebble, Audio Engineer & operator of The Surgery.
Kia Ora Folks! MUNT fm is having a Parihaka Special next Tuesday the 18th from 2pm til 4pm. We are inviting all bands/artists involved to jump on air, play some tunes and have a BBQ! Let Dayle know if ye can make it! Chur
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
