22 March 2020

DAVI RODRIGUEZ DE LIMA – Fantasma (2020, LP Sulatron Records)

This is a surprise release by Sulatron because Dave hasn’t used us in such LPs! Take a look at the press release to get an idea of what this is about:

Eight years ago, Davi Rodriguez de Lima left Brazil to live in Germany. A former drummer from relatively well known Brazilian indie band Ecos Falsos and from experimental punk band Orange Disaster has left behind friends, family and a name in the independent Brazilian scene to join his then-girlfriend – now wife and mother of his two kids. Going solo could not be more literal: Davi wrote, composed, played, recorded, mixed and mastered the album by himself… “Working alone has its ups and downs. Self-criticism, loneliness, and pressure together with freedom, independence, and self-awareness. Time becomes a mix between neurosis and patience”…
Those sensations translate to the album concept. Ghosts (fantasmas) are normally lonely beings, lost between worlds and bubbles, expatriated from life, family and friends… “This is exactly what I have been through in the last 8 years – a Brazilian immigrant building a new life in Germany – though with strong ties to Brazil”, he says, managing to stay in touch with his Brazilian world through social media… “It actually only strengthens this feeling of being between worlds. My presence is intangible, I am not really there. Those tools end up reinforcing this sensation of being dead and alive at the same time, this fantasma I have become”…

“Fantasma” has eight songs about this egotrip and all the trips between those sensations. It is also trippy in a more psychedelic sense: lots of delays, weird timbres, soundscapes, and blues. The album was born as part of Davi’s Master thesis in Sound Design and is therefore very experimental in ist production concept. The drums, for instance, are not really drums: they are actually a self-produced sample-based drumkit that uses foley techniques noises and recordings… “I recorded a wide range of sounds, from construction sites to milk cans; when nothing worked, punching a window did the trick”, he tells. Instead of bass, he used a Moog synthesizer and even built a tube guitar amp himself, in order to achieve different timbres… “All part of taking risks. A matter of trial and error, of experimenting, failing, trying again and failing better”, concludes. Instruments and words, cover design, mastering, etc. by Davi Rodriguez de Lima. Trumpets by Pedro Henrique Souza Rosa. Green 180 grams vinyl made in Germany. Limited to 300 copies!

The album kicks off with “Fantasma”, someone (or something) whispers, walk steps, a train approaches, the music starts… and you place yourself into an abandoned industrial kind of warehouse, full of “secrets”, a creepy soundscape that combines a weird mix of post-punk blues with a cold shoegaze attitude, an attitude that is spreading all over the LP. “Tamed” is a lo-fi dynamite tune ready to be exploded while “Off Track” is a heavy one, filled with anger, teenage angst, and controlled noise! Side One closes with “Eternal Children”, a slow, kind of torturous song, acidly distorted, mystical and super trippy in an unthinkable perverse way, an esoteric tune that your “inside” ghosts will love it! “Grey Times” that opens Side two, has a similar beginning with “Fantasma”, walk steps, no whispering and a siren (probably from an ambulance) echoed in total darkness, till the heavily distorted drumming lead the way, into a strange chaotic industrialized scenery… “Neblina Rosa” is sung in Davi’s native language, a “naked” tune that transforms into a hot electrified Bluesy tune bringing to mind bands like The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. “Banalized” is dark and noisy with an electric 80s New Wave atmos, a neurotic song becoming trippy in an experimental “ill” heavy way! The album closes with “Filho”, a cold “isolated” ballad with a dark mentality that plays with your mind… So, in conclusion, if you have ghosts, this album is for you! And if you don’t know if you have ghosts, then this album is Recommended! TimeLord Michalis