ARTIST: Sunny Day Sets Fire
TITLE: Summer Palace
LABEL: IAMSound
GENRE: Indie
BITRATE: 211kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 58m total
RELEASE DATE: 2008-05-06
RIP DATE: 2008-04-10
Track List
----------
1. Wilderness 3:23
2. Stranger 4:44
3. Teenagers Talking 4:02
4. End of the Road 4:41
5. All Our Songs 4:28
6. Smallest Heart on Earth 6:14
7. Mandarins 5:04
8. Siamese 2:46
9. I Dream Along 4:16
10. Adrenaline 3:23
11. Hollywood 4:04
12. Brainless 3:24
13. Map of the World 2:20
14. Lack of View 5:59
Release Notes:
n a swirling event of coincidence and musical attraction, Onyee and Mauro found
each other between paychecks and popcorn. Both were ushers at their local
repertoire Chelsea cinema in London when they realized their similar palates for
bands, artists and sounds exacted a nice beginning for some collaborative
efforts. Ideas occured and the two recruited friends to fulfill orchestral
duties. An act was born. Sunny Day Sets Fire dug their toes into the ground, and
got pumped for the future comings of their psych-pop band life.
It is a landscape that is both rich and broad. Any band can drown themselves in
old vinyl for some choice inspiration, but the Sunny Day worldly influence and
background provoke a top spirit and caliber to their topsy-turvy psychedelic
stack-up. Collectively, the band hails from Hong Kong, Italy, Sardinia, Canada,
and of course, London. The result is something of a pop hybrid in the vein of
The Beach Boys, The Flaming Lips, Architecture in Helsinki, and Of Montreal.
Upbeat 60's beach rock collide with new patents. Catchy melodies spill into
astral instrumentation and kaleidoscopic guitar tangents. These tunes are very
much alive and optical.
Lead guitarist Max, deriving from Sardinia, says it best: "Our music is the
result of the clash of five different backgrounds that in most cases, come out
in a very unconscious way. Any imput coming out from anyone of us triggers
something from the musical and visual imagery of the rest of the band members.
[This] adds to initial ideas of the songs and in a way that often transform them
into something a bit different."
Mauro, originally from Italy, is the lead vocalist, 12-string guitarist and
occasional drummer of Sunny Day Sets Fire. He cites "Harmony Corine (director),
black metal bands and Surrealism" as personal influences, and acts as the band's
main songwriter and composer. When his rounded and endearing chorals flirt with
the whimsical electronics, the result is snappy and fun. The rest follows as
effortlessly as a picnic.
In [year], after Onyee (a Hong King native) and Mauro found each other at that
fateful cinema, the two performed as a duo for a handful of exhibition openings
and artist video projects. Onyee contributed her appreciation for Velvet
Underground, 60's Motown girl groups, and Leonard Cohen, as well as the "pure
memories and emotions you get from watching gigs, [and] from looking at work of
art and performances."
Evolution knows how to ignite. When Mauro whipped up a set of songs with a
mint-fresh direction, Onyee (sporting her talents with back-up vocals, drums,
synth and glockenspiel) got motivated and pulled Max from shaking cocktails to
play lead guitar. Now things were rolling, now music was being made, gigs were
being played, and bands like Sunny Day Sets Fire were really covering ground. A
year and a half later, Ed joined on the bass, the band's only London native.
So, Ed, what influences you? "Touring and the exposure to new sounds, attitudes
and altitudes. Fearless freaks. Michel Gondry... James Jamerson... Paul
McCartney & The Beatles' Sgt Peppers... Salvador Dali." Ed's addition adds
another layer of novelty and complexity.
But that wasn't enough. "We needed a Timpani player! So thanks the almighty we
found Matthew," Mauro says. "We started playing as a four-piece and after having
some fun, guess what? We wanted to have much more fun."
In addition to his percussion roles, Matt the Canadian toils in synth and
backing vocals. He notes favorites in Sonic Youth, Television, Stereolab, Chuck
Berry and more. Daydream Nation "taught me about what a band should be."
Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs "taught me that music could be like a book" and
Television's Marquee Moon "taught me about musicianship and striving for
excellence." Surely, he nested into the forward-thinking Sunny Day Sets Fire
just fine.
In the summer of 2006, the band signed to American indie label IAMSOUND Records
with the four-song Brainless EP release