Death Letters
They're not even allowed in the amazing venues Austin has to offer without supervision, but that didn't keep the Dutch band 'Death Letters' from taking off to Texas in September 2010 when only 18 and 19 years old. They were there for a one sole purpose only: recording their second album with one of their favorite producers. This particular producer has worked with bands from the likes of ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, JET, The Datsuns and The Dandy Warhols and rolls by the name of Chris 'Frenchie' Smith. Not long after they finished recording, they returned to their 'second home' Austin to play the prestigious SXSW Festival before heading up north for a short tour.
How they got here? Well, here's the tale of two youngsters chasing their dream in a far-away land.
During the Great Depression of the 30’s, American blues hero Son House wrote his signature song "Death Letter”. Somewhat 76 years later in 2006, singer/guitarist Duende Ariza Lora (19 years old) and drummer Victor Brandt (18 years old) borrowed the name for their band, inspired by the song’s characteristic raw emotion and urgent rhythm. Also influenced by groups like The Thermals, Oceansize, Death Cab for Cutie, Cult of Luna and At The Drive-In, Death Letters aren’t even close to their twenties yet, but are already bursting with talent and growing experience.
Hitting it off immediately in their first rehearsal, Duende and Victor became a tight musical pair and recorded their debut EP “Play It Like You Mean It” shortly afterwards. The EP was a success receiving excellent reviews. Things really kicked off when the guys, then aged 15 and 16, entered a band competition and made their first TV appearance. They went for gold and got it; a backstage gig at Holland’s finest summer festival ‘Pinkpop’. With the media all over them it was time to get serious; that same year they recorded their first full-length album.
Their self-titled debut album was released in February 2009 throughout The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The album delivers thirteen solid tracks drenched with rock, blues and a steep dose of punk boiled down to true grittiness written with blood, sweat and the occasional tear.
With their debut out, Death Letters began to play venues and festivals including Paradiso, Zwarte Cross and Paaspop in the Netherlands, the odd show in France as well as several German festivals. Death Letters then toured in Norway in the Summer of 2010 before catching a plane to Austin. After three weeks in the Texan heat, they returned home with a very precious recording called Post-Historic Though the punk influences remain, this new album will have a substantially different vibe, drawing more on a complex, psychedelic post rock sound than the blues rock they started out with.
The stage provides Death Letters with a free license to exalt untamed madness through their energetic live sets. Frontman Duende literally jumps, flies, kicks and dives across the stage never compromising the integral performance of any song. His voice remains sturdy and sharp, his howls perfectly coordinating with his skills as a guitarist in spectacular licks. Now add Victor’s loud and incredibly taut drumming and you have a stage performance that impresses contemporaries and creates even more devoted followers.
Watch out for Death Letters – things are only going to get more intense from here... Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
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