Hailing from Lisbon, Portugal, the trio of Maquina combine krautrock, electro, industrial, and shoegaze on their first full-length album, Prata. Trust me, it all works quite well.
Opener “Body Control” unleashes groovy fuzz bass to get your hips moving and then bonks you on the head with hard-edged synths, guitars, and howls. “Denial” has a spooky edge to it (and is a song about turmoil, after all), and there’s still time to put it on your Halloween playlist, so why not?
The beat and pulse of “Subversive” are infectious and will probably cause you to stomp the gas pedal if you listen to it while driving. “Kontakte” (“Contact”) has this weird, almost unsettling bounce to it that might be the throbbing of a UFO engine as it approaches you on a dark night…only to reveal a goth dance club inside it run by sexy aliens.
The opening bass of “Desterro” (“Exile”) brings to mind some of the same energy label mates A Place to Bury Strangers often unleash. Ending with “Concentrate,” Prata comes to a close with chugging drums and growling, simmering danger. It’s like a snake slithering across the room at you…and the snake is an android…and it’s programmed to lead you onto a monorail in the Lisbon of 2099.
There isn’t a bad track on this album, and it makes you want to catch them live. I’m sure it’s a wild experience…just like Prata.
Lisbon trio MAQUINA. (‘Machine’) are today announcing album ‘PRATA’ (‘Silver’), due out April 5th on Fuzz Club, and sharing the first single ‘denial’. In support of the release, MAQUINA. will head out on a European tour withA Place To Bury Strangers, followed by festival appearances at Primavera Porto, Sonic Blast and Fuzz Club 2024.
Drawing from minimal krautrock repetition, pounding industrial techno and EBM, MAQUINA. explore the boundaries of these genres with force, carving out an adrenaline-fuelled sound that’s equally suited to dark, sweaty back rooms and the dance floor. On the new single, MAQUINA. write: “denial is about an inner turmoil and restless contemplation. The raw, haunting lyrics explore the struggle to find solace within oneself, amidst a sea of conflicting emotions. The plea to ‘shut me down’ echoes the yearning for respite in the face of overwhelming darkness.”
Though their sound might have the club in its sights – ‘PRATA’ follows their aptly-titled 2023 debut EP ‘DIRTY TRACKS FOR CLUBBING’ – this is an organic dance music that’s equally punk and psychedelic, played by a guitar-drums-bass power trio formation firing on all cylinders, without a synthesiser in sight. Having already amassed a notorious reputation in Portugal for the all-out energy of their live shows (as evidenced in this live video broadcast by Canal180), it’s no mean feat to replicate that in the studio but on ‘PRATA’ they have managed exactly that – owing to a creative approach largely rooted in improvisation, both on stage and in the studio.
Describing ‘PRATA’, recorded and co-produced by Carlos de Jesus (Sunflowers) at Arda Recorders, they write: “This album was composed spontaneously in the studio throughout the year 2023. It’s music of colour, delving into depths and dimensions that resonate with scale and contrast. Pushing sounds together to make noise and pushing noise together to make sounds. Emphasising textures that evoke feelings and soundscapes rather than relying solely on textual narratives. The music breathes life into auditory canvases, painting sonic panoramas pushing into a world of tactile sensation and immersive experiences.”
MAQUINA. tour dates: 06/04 – Köln, DE @ Club Volta* 07/04 – Karlsruhe, DE @ P8* 09/04 – Milan, IT @ Arci Bellezza* 10/04 – Bologna, IT @ Covo Club* 11/04 – Rome, IT @ Monk* 15/04 – Zurich, CH @ Bogen F* 17/04 – Marseille, FR @ La Makeda* 18/04 – Toulouse, FR @ Le Rex* 20/04 – Madrid, ES @ El Sol* 21/04 – San Sebastián, ES @ Dabadaba* 04/05 – Eindhoven, NL @ Fuzz Club 2024 07/06 – Porto, PT @ Primavera Sound 8-10/08 – Âncora, PT @ Sonic Blast 24 * with A Place To Bury Strangers
Keep your mind open.
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