#chantrell

ah! hello!!

Chantrell

4. If your character was a work of art, how would you describe them?

Hmm... If Chantrell was an art piece, I would picture her as something painted acryllic, vibrant with autumn and summer colors(orange, yellow, and green) at the top, and earthy, dark browns as the piece descends into the earth and roots of the trees.. Very big autumn color vibes, and it just kind of guides the viewer’s eye from one place to the next because there’s such a nice contrast/mix between bright and dark, showcasing Chantrell’s whole vibe and personality perfectly. You would think the artist forgot to paint leaves on the pretty much barren ground, but shshshsh. You better fuckin bet there’s mushrooms and fungi dotted among the roots of those trees also drawing a little bit of attention to the earth itself, how would you see them if there were nothing but leaves! Case and point.

14. Does your character value promises? Are they good at keeping them?

Oh, absolutely not. She’s completely aware of the fact that she isn’t good at making promises, but she occasionally forgets sometimes how much she struggles with the commitment that comes with them. One of her biggest flaws that she’s completely aware of is seeing an opportunity and failing to take action… It’s a gamble if she would value them or not, she might remember how bad they are at keeping them and be hesitant towards the person on the other side of the promise, but if it were important/essential to the other person then she’d try her hardest to uphold it. It’s something they’re just trying to flex past, though it can get to them.

20. Can your character flirt? Are they aware that they’re flirting? How do they do it?

Oh man! Hohoho man! Well, Chantrell could flirt but she’d only really do it if they were encouraged to or it was clear the person on the receiving end of her flirting liked her back. Both of which situations are very rare to come across for her, so you can imagine if she did she’d be rusty as hell. Lots of really dumb pick up lines. They are totally capable of flirting on accident too, she’s the type to believe she’s all confident and brazen when it comes to flirting, and then someone tells her she looks stunning and she’s just like “Oh thanks! You as well. Man it’s so nice to have friends that deliver compliments so well : :) (<- oblivious cow face)” Zero thoughts on this she/they’s brain lemme tell you.

51. What makes them a hypocrite?

Oh man I have a couple of really good answers for this one but you’d have to get to know her first ;)

But for now… again, the whole flaw of just not taking action but trying to act confident in herself. She can tend to be all bark and no bite which… does instill a lot of grief for herself. She’s trying to get better, it’s just a little rough. Hopefully being out in the world proves something that she can learn from because if not, she’s just going to continue to be all talk.

Lynnet

37. What are some ways your character acts silly?

Goofy name aside, GoGo Penguin are a jazz-electronica outfit hailing from Manchester, UK. Their new album, named Man Made Object, is their third full length release and follow up to 2014’s ‘v2.0’.

Several things stand out, especially for someone who’s never heard the band’s music before. The most noteworthy thing being that GoGo Penguin are a very performance based group; relying a lot less on effects and textures, instead creating music that’s very clean and dry, made interesting through changes in movement and unique playing and structuring. At least, for the first half of the album that is.

The album opens up with tracks that are simple in their instrumentation: drums, bass and piano. Although obviously jazz influenced in terms of style, the music has a very minor atmosphere that almost makes it sound like post rock in nature. Bands such as God is An Astronaut and Explosions in the Sky spring to mind.

Rife with complex drum rhythms and piano phrases, the most notable track from the first half of the album is second track Unspeakable Word; that opens with a happy, ragtime influenced piano riff but is soon accompanied by a negative, in places heavy atmosphere that is reminiscent of the tracks that precede and succeed it, sounding baffling as a whole.

GoGo Penguin bring variety to the record with more synthetic sounds being introduced in tracks such as ‘Smarra’, then being followed up by the oriental sounding Initiate, arguably the strongest track from the record, with its' diverse range of drumming styles and extremely moving and catchy piano work. This track also demonstrates the group’s consistency in sound, coupled with the bands ability and willingness to experiment.

The album closes off with two tracks; firstly Surrender to Mountain, followed by the closer Protest. The former of which, possibly the most epic in atmosphere and movement, provides the album with a stunning climax before the latter track, probably the most aggressive and experimental in many ways, brings the record to a close.

To conclude, the album’s brilliance is made fore-frontal through the band’s consistent, simple sound, paired wonderfully with diverse and technically sagacious playing that keeps the album interesting and very much listenable right up until the final seconds. A band one can definitely see going places in the future.

Support the band: http://gogopenguin.co.uk/ 

Experimental noise rock trio Three Trapped Tigers are back with their follow up effort to the critically acclaimed Route One or Die; an album that was widely praised for it’s jazz style instrumentation, phrases of absolutely crazy drumming patterns and atmospheric synth work. The band have been relatively quiet since that time, apart from the equally good Numbers: 1-13, and look ready to take the underground music scene by storm with this record.

Although the signature sound of TTT has remained present since their previous album, the group have gone to great lengths to develop their sound into something that’s far more aggressive and space like in energy and presence. Synthesiser master Tom Rogerson adopts a sound that sounds fatter, glossier and is often even reminiscent of early video game arcade music, heard in notable tracks such as Kraken, Engrams and the conveniently named Rainbow Road.

Drummer and personal hero Adam Betts continues his unrelenting percussion pounding brilliance; temperamentally shifting energy and movement whilst continuing his use of drum machines and cowbells that made previous tracks such as Cramm and 6 such a big hit. Right from the get go with album opener Silent Earthling, Adam sets the tone for the record with a thunderous drum riff that warns the listener of the chaos that is to come.

Big strong points for the album include Blimp, with Matt Calvert’s smooth harmonic work being first rate and giving the album a softer touch in the midst of more angry instrumentation. As well as Engrams with it’s beautiful synth introduction and ferocious cowbell work. This is one track that doesn’t need more cowbell!

The album closer, Elsewhere, although slower in movement at the start, picks up and sets an unusually minor atmosphere to bring the album to a brilliant, massive close, needless to mention the unique sampling at work.

Betts, Rogerson and Calvert have proven time and again that they’re among the best at what they do, and have continued and refined their sound by mixing musical professionalism with unrivalled creativity. I had the pleasure of seeing these guys in Leeds on May 9th, and with a headline slot at ArcTanGent, one of the biggest festivals known for hosting left-field music, they’ll definitely be worth the listen.

Support the band: http://threetrappedtigers.believeband.com/