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Satellites ep
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Tundra "Satellites" – Video treatment: A group of people (the band?) walk through the wilderness on a summer evening near a pond or a lake. We never see close-ups of the people; every shot with a human in it is taken from a distance or with the figure in silhouette. Everything is shot in black and white, with a lot of greys on black. We see trees sway slightly in the breeze, and watch as moonlight ripples over the water. There are shots of the people sitting around a campfire and skipping stones in the water. Halfway through, the people take off their clothes and enter the lake. As the song ends, we pull farther away from the action, ending on an expanding panoramic view of the lake and the wilderness around it, the human figures becoming smaller and smaller until you can no longer see them.
This is taken from Tundra's debut ep, which also includes a long instrumental titled "Evlin Anjra" which is among the most beautiful drone rock pieces that I have ever heard.
'satellites' I can hear the impression of horns here, the way the shape of something is held, in its absense by the things around it. like a traffic jam in a west african city. let me explain, there is something here, in the rhythm and parts of the vocal melody, the way the spoken words at times recline over the insistent beat that evokes unbridled joy, the place where w. african music intersects with jazz. the hyper-picking patterns recall the kora. (live this is more apparent); it calls a dance...
who would have thought english guitar music could do this, and fit it together so you can't see the joins?
'èvlin ánjra' is a full sixteen minutes long and worth paying close attention to. halfway through, the arrangement breaks down into pizzicato strings and vocal harmonies, whoever arranged the strings has managed to create a balance, in tension, between the strength of the vocal melody and the ultimatum that is the bassline, with obtuse harmonies that pull in another direction. i'll tell you another thing, towards the utmost end of the song, another strange meeting, through the gap left by the strings, a banjo appears.subtle, plaintive, its flat notes recall both the early appalachians and chinese folk music.
the song, like life, doesn't resolve...
Oli
live
Tundracine 19/2/06
Tundracine - 'a fresh experiment in live music and film', took place at the intimate venue of The Marlborough Theatre. The evening opened with support from Blanket, followed by the band Tundra, fronted by Tom de Grunwald, who played behind a giant backdrop onto which a series of short films by local filmmakers were projected.
Tundra create music perfectly suited to the cinematic experience, their songs weaving a raw beauty and sense of wonder, soaring and poignant, dramatic and tender, as well as combining catchy melodies and heart rending lyrics, and this evening they lived up to this, playing a strong, atmospheric set.
The concept behind Tundracine is an imaginative one, but one, however, that the evening only partially managed to pull off. Due to some technical hitches, the blending of music and film didn't ultimately work that evening, as the films on show were not looped to run one after another, and as a result, there were significant gaps between each short film. This was off putting, and detracted from the atmosphere that the music and visuals were attempting to create, making it hard to fully get into the feel of either Tundra or the filmic experience. Further, the band were out of sight of the audience, playing on stage but behind a giant sheet onto which the films were being projected. This had a somewhat alienating effect, as part of the joy of seeing any band is their visual impact, and this is certainly the case with Tundra, who are an interesting and appealing band to watch.
So, the evening ultimately did not do justice to the original idea, which was a shame, nor to the promising power of Tundra's performance, a few technical hitches marring what was an ambitious and exciting project. However, this being the first of these monthly 'experiments', let them not be deterred from attempting another Tundracine, as, with a little more cohesion and fine tuning, it is a welcome break from the usual uniform fare of band performances we see so often in Brighton.
Chastock 4/9/05
At ten o'clock, the barn transformed itself into an impromptu stage and my two favourite home-grown rock stars each pulled off a dazzling set: T with his band Tundra and Charlie with Charlieville. I regularly wake up with Charlieville songs in my head. There's something peculiarly addictive about their brand of witty and rollicking pop songs, and I'm dying for them to hit the big time so that I can ebay all the early days memorabilia I have acquired. Tundra, on the other hand, surf a slow wave of sadness and glory, with gorgeous, melancholic, heartfelt songs. Pared down to three, they packed a serious punch. I leaned up against the doctor, my heart strings a-thrumming.They have some of the beauty of My Bloody Valentine, and some of the complexity of Sigur Ros, as well as a strange Northern other-worldliness that is all T's own. I'm linking to their website as a public service: both these bands you have to see.
Aspire to the North – St Peter's Church Hall 14/5/05
The event was a concoction of T's. At 8.30pm the darkened room was filling. Candles twinkled on tables and the end of the day glowed through the stained glass saints behind the stage. Tundra. They've dropped the string section and these days the band is pared down, sinuous and solid. They're the coolest group on stage. Tamora, with low-slung bass and pork pie hat, turns away from the audience and opens her mouth to a voice like a dark and frantic lark. The keyboard player looks like James Spader and T himself, resplendent in white, by turns clear as water and fierce as saltpeter, unfolds note by note his love song to the north. These are songs of loss and strange journeys, ferry boats and Arctic expeditions, of hope and a sad white-out beauty. Sometimes sexy (in 'This is not a love song', T leans into the mic and delivers the lines "I might let you taste my tongue" with such intensity that several woman sat near the stage actually shiver), sometimes achingly sincere, they are songs to haunt the space between waking and dream.
Hanbury Ballroom 31/5/04
...the band have improved about ten times since i last saw you and seem to have a cohesiveness and energy that was slightly lacking at the december show... next stop, the north pole.
Oli
An Eye for the Magnificent – Tundra at the Marlborough Theatre, Brighton, 13-12-2003
Their first gig, and they had to turn friends away at the door. How did all these people hear of it? Word of mouth mostly! Although the flyers were beautiful, suggestive of the empty space where magic happens.
On the night, the place was rammed and reverent. The performers stumbling over the audience to reach the stage. A few notes on a keyboard, the music kicks in, in slow motion, the bass sets the pace as sublime melodies gently emerge. The band hit their stride with a glorious pop song 'Around'. Bright eyed and bushy tailed with the promise of morning. Bass, drums and harmony converge, and turn on a dime, together. My heart sings, this is my favourite kind of music. Tamora takes over lead vocals and her voice rises high and strong, unaffected, unwavering. A tempered scream.
What more can I say aside from this ... if you're a lover of melody, and of songwriting with a kind heart, and an eye for the magnificent, then you should come along to the next gig by Tundra.
Oli
Tundra 13/12/03
First set: men pulling sledges of rations across the ice, solid and buoyant over solid and buoyant; storm-driven seas pounding bergs in the distance, delicate snow petrels and fulmars surveying the white like points of still conciousness, only feathers ruffling in the storm's winds; distant mountains singing to the sky.
Second set: swimming through sounds - a deep, vast, tree-lined loch surrounded by steep valley sides of pine forest and of sheer rock face; sounds of lives living lives echoing through the water, sounds of cool invigoration - swimming through them, alive, alive: rushes of delight, of hearts singing, rapture flashes up the spine through the head into the big sky world; smiling and swimming through music.
Flowers: sitting in a room of people captivated and won over, the musicians blossoming in brilliant colours and soft textures and joy. Very happy. Very with. Very closure; with long echoes into the night.
Bob Dickinson