An interview with filmmaker and musician Joe LiTrenta, one half of US ambient/electronic duo Bengalfuel

Tracks include 
Check
She Just Doesn’t Give a Fuck
Little Slivers of Death

Download it

Lots of links here: http://www.lizardbreakfast.com/

http://bengalfuel.bandcamp.com/

This interview was first broadcast on 13 August on You and the Night and the  Music with Adrian Arratoon

October 2011

Crushed Beaks – Think Lucky

For the first time in this position I didn’t have anything in mind for this article, usually something is on the tip of my audio tongue. Not this month. It left me in quite an exciting position as it meant doing what’s most important and that’s searching for the good stuff. I’ve searched through French Electronica to Australian fuzz-core moving sideways across Baltimorean Hip-hop and spoken word from South Essex. In the end I found myself talking about a subject I’m not 100% sure how I feel about yet: Lo-Fi. It being the opposite of Hi-FI meaning High Fidelity, the enjoyment of wondrous sound and the purest of mixing, Dolby 5.1, Bang & Borethefuckoutofson, music layered in a way that few could orchestrate but everyone agrees is just the best way to listen. Or is it?

Recently it’s struck me that maybe a bit of fuzz isn’t so bad? Maybe the instant quip that the acoustic isn’t perfect isn’t all that should be considered. Cast your mind back to the best gig you ever saw, was the sound crisp? Were you seated in a comfy chair? Was your belly full of rich warm foods? Did it get you really excited? It’s been said that watching a gig from the rear of the room or The Gods might not be the best way and the performance ultimately ends up a little long in the tooth and the punter starts thinking about that last tube home.

The subject brings me to the London band Crushed Beaks and the song Think Lucky.

From its initial burst of gristled guitar from the vacant space of silence it sounds honest and full of energy. The melody is one influenced by years of well honed indie listening. It’s drums and guitar. The intro fades and welcomes a verse anchored by crackly drums and rough yet slight guitar, Matthew Poile’s deep voice spits the verse in a punchy lackadaisical manner. The energy subsides allowing in the bridge, ‘’this Title is not a love song……’’ with twitchy out of key guitar leading into the punch and crunch of the chorus.  Poile saves the pinnacle of the track to display another character to his voice with a warm and whiney passionate chant. The lovable thing about this chorus that you wouldn’t be able to enjoy from a well polished gem is that you can make up your own chorus, the melodies great so just let out some words ‘’ It’s not just the way you say it, we’ve had ideals, WE’VE HAD IDEALS!’’ You can feel the power radiate through the sound. The gush of noise from the intro then bookend’s the vocal chorus, moving at a frenetic pace the feeling it’s all going to run out too quickly, like good hardcore does, becomes ever present. No Age seem an obvious comparison along with a tinge of The Pixies. The verse rumbles back into presence and the mumbled words of the vocal carry the song, but you know what’s coming and the chorus re-engages with your ears and wets your sweaty palms. The short, sharp shout of the chorus encourages you to enjoy every millisecond as you know it’s going to be over all too quickly, as the second chorus finishes you know your not complete but the track is done with you, sapping it’s distorted energy and slowly fizzling down with some barking guitar. There you have it, in 3:09 seconds more energy than you can find in a week of work, laid down on a low key computer or Dictaphone and bursting with power and energy. Even if Terry Date decided to produce Crushed Beaks I’m not sure I’d want to hear it. Isn’t a bands best stuff always their first album? Then by that token a bands first demo, in this case Think Lucky is a treasure indeed.

So let’s not delve into Hi-Fi vs Lo –Fi but maybe we shouldn’t dismiss bad sound quality in an instance but appreciate the energy, the honesty and the warmth of it. It’s certainly more fun to be involved in some roughened madness than lost in crystal clarity.

Liam DCR

Demos by Crushed Beaks“> Demos by Crushed Beaks