Shoegaze

From Infinite Vacation to Central Pacific State Beach

by Rey Montano

Rey Montano - Central Pacific State Beach


I guess if I had to describe my “story,” the story that at least gets told through my music, it would be a story of adolescence, at least for now. I have lived in Fresno for all of my (admittedly short) life, and I think it can show through my music at times. But I’m always looking for a way to escape. Whether it be the mountains or the beach, make no mistake that I’d rather be anywhere than Fresno from at least July up to September. Our summers are scalding and long.

If I can’t do that, though, I still have the long-standing escapist cliche of music.

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Cruel Optimism – The story behind the music of Natural Velvet

by Corynne Ostermann of Natural Velvet

Natural Velvet


My name is Corynne Ostermann; I’m a multidisciplinary artist and musician playing bass & providing vocals for the Baltimore-based group Natural Velvet.

Natural Velvet started in 2012, and I’ve been involved since the beginning, as well as with my bandmates Spike Arreaga (guitar), Kim Te (guitar), and Greg Hatem (drums, production). I genuinely feel so lucky to have had my bandmates’ attention for as long as I have had, and as a result, I’m very protective of them and the long-term sustainability of our project.

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Artificial Empathy

by Remi of Aurora Falls

Aurora Falls


We are Aurora Falls, a post-rock band from Poland. We are a mixture of musical souls 🙂

We gathered at the beginning of 2021 to play some music, and we stayed longer. From the very beginning, we loved to seek space in our musical improvisation, somewhere between shoegaze, post-rock, blackgaze, or dreampop.

After a year of playing together, this concept finally took the shape that we call Aurora Falls. At the end of 2022, we decided to record some of our songs to share it with the world. That’s how it started.

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Without Any Constraints

by Nethracedicon

Nethracedicon


Greetings! I want to let you know that I have an Avant-garde/Alternative Rock music project called NETHRACEDICON.

I’m sure you’re probably thinking, “Nethra-what!?” And, you’re correct. This is not a word. It’s a fictional title I have given myself, as an independent recording artist. “Nethra” is actually a male first name that can be found in India. Also, at the tail end, you can find “Icon,” which someone I used to work with pointed out to me.

When I was 20, and still in college at Texas A&M University, I hooked up with some musicians who were needing a drummer for their Reggae group, Raggamuffin. During the Fall of 2005, I became their active drummer and managed to capture multiple rehearsal sessions with a portable device. This was my introduction into “do-it-yourself,” home audio recording and I’ve been doing this ever since.

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Radical Presence

by Alexander Jones aka THATS NOKAY

Photo Credit: Jake Hanson 


A few years ago I found myself banging away on a $12 Casio from goodwill in a basement in Edmonds making some weird experimental pop songs.  Soon a pandemic was upon us and I decided to buckle down and learn how to make beats and use Logic to record.  Some friends gave some pointers and drum kits to download, and soon I was off and running, making beat tapes and collaborating with vocalists over the instrumentals.

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The heyoka chants but who’s listening?

by The Pilgrim

Heyoka Chants by The Pilgrim


The Pilgrim is the artistic name I gave myself as a singer-songwriter and guitar player because I’ve done and studied so many different stuff, lived in many places, traveled and changed my life more than once. I’ve lived many lives in one, in the search for myself, guided by inspiration, challenging myself, learning so much and preserving my essence and sensitivity.

I live for freedom, truth, justice, compassion and altruism. I want to get moved, I want to cultivate special experiences, relationships and feelings, I want to investigate the dark sides of the soul.

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Music is my poetry

by Mila Cloud

Mila Cloud


Music is something very intimate and personal, so it’s not easy for me to write about it. On the other hand, it is essential to me; it is something I want to share and what I want to talk about.

To describe this experience, the language of poetry would be more appropriate. On the other hand, such a language would be too hermetic and, as a result, incomprehensible. Besides, I can’t write poetry. Music is my poetry.

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Vampyre Villa

by Zach Pliska

Vampyre Villa by Zach Pliska (Vazum)
My band Vazum‘s new album Vampyre Villa has a variety of moods and styles which people have picked up on. It floats between deathrock, shoegaze, goth, and post-punk which is why we call ourselves a deathgaze band. We’re interested in combining the rawness of deathrock with the depth of shoegaze.

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