I think there is a good argument that environment influences the music a band creates. After all, a great many genres are often associated with specific geographic regions. And this shouldn’t seem particularly surprising. Bands from a city get to know one another pretty well. They play with each other. They learn from each other. And they build off of each other. A certain commonality and shared influence is to be expected.
So that makes Turtle Giant a unique and interesting case. The trio consists of São Paolo, Brazil natives Frederico Ritchie (Guitar, Bass, Keys, Vocals), António Conceição (Vocals, Guitar, Bass), and Beto Ritchie (Vocals, Drums, Guitars). After forming in Brazil in 2010 and building a local following, the threesome took their music abroad. Indeed, they spend the better part of 2011 living in Barcelona and performing across Spain. Still restless, this year they set sail again, this time for Macau, China, where they recorded their latest EP and currently reside (read my review if you want to hear me gush over said EP).
It would be very easy to imagine how the multi-national aspect of the band’s development might explain the character of the All Hidden Places EP. Indeed, tunes like “Germany Pt. I & II” have a true vagabond-like nature to them. The track features complex, drifting melodies and thoughtful, alternating rhythms. The tune is centered, yet unrestrained. The tune’s opening half is expansive and floating. It wafts freely across expansive sonic planes. But at the song’s half way point (“Germany Pt. II”) the melody is pulled in tight with a tense, upbeat rhythm that needles sharply through bright, ringing guitar riffs and crisp percussion. We’re honored to debut the first half of the song for you today.
Later this week the second part of this tune will be popping up somewhere on the Internet. To celebrate the release of the tune, the band will be hosting a contest on their Facebook page tomorrow and the first person to find both parts will be receiving a special prize. I won’t ruin the surprise, but you may want to start following them on Facebook for a chance to win.
