In depth with John LaMacchia: Bonus track "Drop" on Spylacopa Redux

"Drop" was recorded around the same time that the Spylacopa EP was recorded and released in 2008, so I always considered it as part of that same body of work. It all happened when I came across a bunch of cassette tapes that my dad was storing for me in his garage for some years. Going through them, I came across one in particular that had this really strange, slowed down and pitched down drum beat and bass line. Apparently the cassette was used for one of my earlier recordings I did with my old Tascam 488, 8 Track Cassette recorder.

When you play one of these tapes in a regular cassette player, you will only hear part of what was recorded and it plays back way slower and pitched down, which is where the song title comes from. It really inspired me.

I loved the way it churned and twisted, like a giant crocodile writhing in mud. So I decided to record my cassette deck, playing the cassette tape, directly into my Boss BR1600 16 Track recorder. 

Then I began recording the rest of what became the finished piece. It is still one of my favorite home recordings and I hope fans dig it too.

In Depth with John LaMacchia : Making the album

In 2005 I had left Candiria for personal reasons for a time and decided I would pursue Spylacopa as a solo project based in electronic and experimental music. Around that same time, I went to see The Dillinger Escape Plan play at Virgin Mega Store in Times Square. Greg Puciato and I had become friends and he had asked me what I was working on having left Candiria, I told him about Spylacopa and he expressed interest in collaborating. We quickly began trading files and sharing music with each other. Not long after that, another friend of mine, Jeff Caxide of Isis (the band) moved to Astoria, Queens. I told him about working with Greg on this new project and he had some ideas of his own to contribute. Then I met Julie Christmas at the Tool/Isis show in New Jersey. Both guests of Isis, we wound up sitting next to each other and talked about being from Brooklyn. She then told me about her band, Made Out Of Babies. I gave it a listen and was blown away by her voice. I must have asked Julie about three times before she finally said yes to being part of the project.

(promotional image from 2008)


At that point Spylacopa began focusing more on writing in more of a rock / metal format and direction. I believe the excitement for us had become more about what the individual contributions would amount to. We began fleshing out the ideas that we were developing with drummer, Troy Young and soon enough we had a handful of songs sketched out. Greg, Julie and Jeff began developing their ideas further from the demos and before you know it we were ready to begin recording.

Spylacopa Redux is available for pre order HERE

Spylacopa Spylacopa Redux

I am happy to announce that the masters and the artwork for the Spylacopa, self titled, vinyl reissue have been submitted to pirates press manufacturing and we are under way to getting this release out to fans! 

The album has alternate and extended versions of these songs plus a bonus track only previously available on the European release. The album has also been fully remastered and sounds better than ever thanks to Ken Schalk who did a great job on this and really breathed some new life into these recordings. There will be 500 of these puppies pressed up on standard weight, deluxe colored vinyl in three color configurations. Electric Blue and Grimace Purple A side B side, Black in Gold color in color and Transparent Kelly green with Easter Egg Yellow splatter. 

I also decided the artwork for the vinyl release should be different from the original CD digipack version but it should still keep the same concept intact. So, I reworked the concept and came up with something I feel works perfect for the vinyl format. I will reveal all of that soon enough. 

Now I am waiting on art proofs and test press copies of the album and a ship date. Once we have all of that taken care of we can set up pre orders. 

Pretty exciting!!  OK that is all for now. Thank you for supporting. 

 Here's a random photo of me to breathe some life into this boring blog post that only vinyl geeks will give a crap about.  

Summer of Discontent

***Please read this entire blog with an English accent***
It's been a very busy winter and spring. The most recent Rising Pulse Records release, Spylacopa's Demon John went off without a hitch and was to my pleasant surprise, well received. I was hesitant only because Demon John was a bit of an experiment. Sort of an adventure in lo fidelity and limited resources, if you will. I do have plans to release one more video for Demon John before we bid it a fond farewell and allow it to exist in the world on it's own, meet new people and grow.

I also plan on re releasing the Spylacopa debut EP on vinyl. I feel a "10 inch, deluxe colored vinyl, with some additional bonus tracks would be perfect for it actually. I am in the process of securing some distribution for Rising Pulse Records in the great ol' US of A. So the EP may be the perfect way to kick off that relationship. There's other stuff to talk about but I really can't, or they will kill me. I will literally be killed by THEM. So, I guess you will have to wait a bit.  

-OK fish and chips, tea time and a Smiths song. Bye

New Spylacopa album February 3rd!!!

Big news! February 3rd, Spylacopa will release another full length album. I Will not spoil any other surprises just yet but I am really excited about this record! I feel it truly encapsulates what I set out to accomplish with it and once again, with the help of a great cast of guest musicians and artists, the record sounds fantastic! This one is personal and I would be thrilled if you gave it a listen when it comes out. It will be available first and foremost on band camp. The success of the previous Spylacopa release, Parallels, through that website has been shockingly fantabulous. So why not put our best foot forward?
 A short film / video for the opening album track will be released first. The first song on the album is sonically, pretty darn epic and I feel it's a great way to kick things off. It will be followed by two more short films / videos that will be released throughout the first quarter of the year if all goes as planned. The album is cinematic in nature and I am really excited about the small group of people I have been working with on these video / short film projects. So keep your eyes and ears peeled for some more information regarding the new Spylacopa album which will be out February 3rd!
Doh!! Almost forgot. Mark your calendars for February 3rd for a Spylacopa record release party at Lucky 13 Saloon in Gowanus. I will have some pretty cool exclusive items available just for that special occasion and for those who attend.

New news and stuff

Yeah it's been a minute.. so what. While we were away, some things happened. Meek Is Murder's Onward/Into The Sun 2XEP dropped in three gorgeous deluxe colored vinyl configurations. You can pick that up here Onward/Into The Sun if you have not. You totally should.. those dudes rule.

 Secondly, I co curated this art and music event at Saint Vitus Bar this past Thursday, called Special Effects : A Custom Painted Effects Pedal Art and Music Event. It was a gas. We had some cool stuff happen. My band Morn also played. Along with Moon Tooth and Godmaker. Who both rocked the hell out. You can check out Ryan and Shannon's Fuzzrocious Effects company here http://fuzzrociouspedals.com they have a bunch of the artists custom painted effects pedals available for purchase. 

Whats next you ask?? Well Candiria is going to play the Afro Punk music festival which should be a good time. We will be sharing the stage with Death Grips, Suicidal Tendencies and some other fools. Miss Lauren Hill performs on our day, along with Grace Jones and a bunch more fools.... Actin foolish. Afro Punk : August 22nd time of day TBA

Lastly, I am working on another Spylacopa release, it is at this time called, Not Like The Others. Rightfully so. For many reasons. Going to press up some more vinyl and do some custom silk screened artwork this time around. More about that soon. Until next time. -J

Parallels Pre Orders and Meek is Murder

Heyo!! It's been a busy week at Rising Pulse Records. The pre order for the new Spylacopa full length 12" LP is off to a running start. With them being pressed up in three gorgeous color configurations, why wouldn't we be!? They are just about to come off the press so we can have our first glance at the LP's in Baby Blue w Magenta and Black Splatter or Silver and Royal Blue Marble (A side B side) or the Easter Egg Yellow w Orange Crush, Aqua Blue and Doublemint Splatter. The "proverbial we" Can't wait to see these puppies. We are doing a raffle giveaway for the first 100 pre orders for a hand numbered and signed, test press copy of the LP so if you haven't yet, head over to the Rising Pulse Records on line store and pick up a copy HERE
In other news, Rising Pulse Records and Meek Is Murder have tied the knot so to speak and the band will be releasing a double EP / split 12" LP on deluxe colored vinyl (of course). Is that an industry first? The band is doing a lengthy PR run for the next couple of months leading up to the release so I am sure there will be plenty of info floating around about the band if you are unfamiliar or the release if you are. The band premiered a track on Noisey/Vice this past week. Please have a listen HERE
Look at these cats .. stylin' no?

Testing Testing ... M ... I ... M ...

Hey folks! It's Been a minute but we have some great news! The new Spylacopa record, Parallels is scheduled for a late March release. We'll get the exact date to you soon but in the mean time we just wanted to inform the masses that we received the test pressings from Pirates Press manufacturing and the test pressings sound fan-freakin-tastic!! So things are moving ahead and the record is being pressed up in some brilliantly beautiful colored vinyl configurations as I type this which makes me a little giddy inside. The photo above is a shot of the test pressing in motion, on my home system, which is the best way for me to approve test pressings when they come in. Just your basic set up, nothing too special but it does the job. In other Spylacopa related news. Independent film maker and my good friend, Steve Perlmaster has put together a really incredible cast and crew for a short film inspired by the music of Spylacopa. The first song off the new record, Hexes, will have an accompanying short film that will be released some time in the not so distant future. Here's a shot of my bud Steve, mid shoot, kicking ass and taking names. With inspirations for this film ranging from Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction to Brothers Quay's Crocodile Street we are sure to be entertained by this short film for certain. More on that coming soon.

There's even more great news!! Rising Pulse records is proud to announce that we will be releasing a limited edition vinyl Double EP of two Meek Is Murder EP's, one which is completely, brand spankin new!!! The band and I sat down for some beverages at the Headless Horseman in Union Square to discuss details and came up with a plan which we will unveil in the coming weeks. In the mean time check out there latest release, Everything Is Awesome Nothing Matters Here

Autumn

This November will be a very busy month for Rising Pulse Records indeed. Well Rising Pulse and it's minions I should say. First off, we just wanted to give you all a heads up about a recent release by Candiria Drummer, Mr. Ken Schalk who just put out his debut Mister Sparx full length, available in digital format and across all digital retail web sites such as iTunes, amazon etc.. So please check out Mister Sparx Hear it as a physical thing Fans of Weather Report, The Yellow Jackets, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock will dig this for sure. My personal favorite is "No Quit In Th' Quest" The future of Jazz is safe, Thanks Ken!!

Next up, Sunday, November 9th, 6PM start time, Joseph Milazzo and John LaMacchia present for your viewing pleasure, The New World BESTIARY art show at Greenpoint Brooklyns, Saint Vitus Bar. Here is the beautifully executed flyer by Mr. Milazzo in all of it's glory for you to view. Please do come early! We are kicking this off at 6PM so we can have it wrapped at a decent hour for all the early Monday morning risers.

Finally things are moving along for Spylacopa. Ken Schalk is finishing up the two final mixes and the artwork is coming along quite nicely. We are looking at a 2015 late winter release. So far the working album title is "Parallels" lets see if that sticks. We will be pressing 300 limited edition deluxe colored vinyl 12" LP's, three different color configurations will be made available for this release. So get em quick cause they may not last. More news soon and a sound bite or two will be appearing in the not so distant future, that is a promise.

In the thick of it

We truely are in the thick of it now. Mr. Ken Schalk (Candiria, Ghosts Of the canal, Mister Sparx) is in the process of finishing up mixes for the new Spylacopa full length LP 12" which is due out this winter in 2015. We are so extremely excited about this that we went ahead and had a tee shirt designed by Artist Lev Sluzhitel. You can see his work at http//:lev.fm Here are sample images..