‘Thank You Lord For Satan’ | Album Premiere
Exclusive album premiere of ‘Thank You Lord For Satan,’ a self-titled album by the musical project of Paloma La Hoz (a former member of 12 Garras and Mitad Humana) and Henry Gates (known for his work as Resplandor). Out today via Buh Records. Vinyl LP edition will be available in December.
Both musicians have a long history in the independent scene of Lima, Peru. Two years ago, and after the confinement caused by the pandemic, they began to work together on new songs, with a unique mix of psychedelia, folk, soul and synth pop.
As a result, eight songs emerged that now make up the self-titled debut ‘Thank You Lord For Satan,’ an album that portrays the everyday story of two people living and discovering a moment of creative euphoria. Not only does the duo exhibit a great talent for composition, but also for performance. The way in which both voices interact gives their sound a personal as well as a mysterious quality. Listening to them is like accessing a secret exchange.
On songs like ‘A Million Songs Ago’ and ‘Wet Morning’ they immerse themselves in the sound of neo-psychedelia. Delay effects, distortion and tremolo on the guitar are combined with the whispering and melodious voice of Paloma La Hoz. While on ‘Sad Song’ and ‘Text message’ they show a crooner side, with Henry Gates on lead vocals, paying homage to some of his musical heroes, with arrangements that grow from an acoustic format to a chamber pop sound. ‘Isolation’ is a melancholic experimental song, where the naked voice of Paloma La Hoz is accompanied by a discreet instrumentation which includes field recordings. In a related style, although with a gospel orientation, is ‘Devine Destinity.’
In ‘Conversations al Amanecer’ and ‘When We Dance’ the duo explores more unclassifiable paths within the pop song format. The first song makes soul and dub coexist, while the second mixes neo-psychedelia and synthpop, with an unexpected arrangement of trumpets and a vocal exercise by Paloma La Hoz, between spoken word and rapping. And although the references manage to give an idea of the path that the duo is traveling, the results are rather personal and work as a mosaic of sensations.
“One day we listened to old material that Henry had recorded, I took one of his guitars to see what came out”, says Paloma La Hoz. “I added some pads to give it a warm and magical atmosphere in line with what I was feeling, as well as a voice melody and lyrics. Henry added a bass line, more guitars and then we produced it together. Thus was born ‘A Million Songs Ago’ and, with that song, Thank You Lord For Satan”.
The songs on the album have been composed and recorded by Paloma La Hoz and Henry Gates. They feature Christian Vargas (drums on ‘A Million Songs Ago’), Alonso Bentin (drums on ‘Wet Morning,’ ‘Conversations al Amanecer’ and ‘When We Dance’) and Jorge “Vhako” Venegas (trumpet on ‘When We Dance’) and were mixed by Jorge Balbi and mastered by Francisco Holtzman.
Headline photo: Hilda Melissa Holguín
Thank You Lord For Satan Instagram
Buh Records Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp / YouTube
