BATTLEME, THE TAMBO RAYS, SAN FRANCESCA
Battleme is the story of an artist’s re-birth and re-discovery. It is the timeless sound of an artist coming of age. A view from the other side. Songs with no boundaries. Battleme is Matt Drenik, an artist who grew up surrounded by music and found himself at a crossroads in 2009. After fronting the Austin, TX rock band, Lions, he was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease known as uveitis. His vision was in question. With no known cause and no known cure, Drenik’s writing began to change. His new songs bended genres, never allowing them to be categorized. He fell back in love with childhood records such as The Flaming Lips’ “Clouds Taste Metallic” and Beck’s “Mellow Gold.” He started to find a singular voice in these songs, a voice with no boundaries. He decided to call the project Battleme. Wanting a change, Drenik moved to Portland, OR in the summer of 2010. He wrote over 40 songs in his basement. A handful of songs got in the hands of Thomas Turner of Ghostland Observatory who offered Drenik a deal on his label, Trashy Moped Recordings. With Turner signed on to produce, the two lived and breathed the songs for the next six months. The result is a sprawling mix of post-modern rock and soul — powerful hooks, bottom heavy grooves, and ethereal textures blended effortlessly with drifting, falsetto vocals. Genres coalesce, dividing lines disappear, and Battleme allows the sounds to create their own field of vision. Battleme’s eponymous debut on Trashy Moped Records was released April 24, 2012.
The Tambo Rays
San Francesca formed in 2009, they garnered attention with their dark and cinematic sound. Influenced by classical music and jazz as equally as underground hip hop and subversive literature, the band adds a unique element to the crowded indie rock scene. San Francesca has three releases to date: Iron Ghosts EP (2010), The Ghost and the Waves (2011) and SSS11 (2011). Their 4th album "We Live In Public" is on Side With Us.
