The Mae Shi - Hillyh (CD)

Los Angeles based band The Mae Shi are set to release their first album in the UK in February. This is preceded by the exquisite 'Run To Your Grave' single on January 21st.

Taking the DIY tack to a new level, The Mae Shi have been together since 2002 and have self-released various recordings over the years in America only.

This debut UK release will astound, enthral, confuse, excite and blow your mind in equal measures - 'HLLYH' is a perfect mish-mash of pretty much the whole spectrum of musical genres. Key artists they cite as influential include Ex Models, Deerhoof, Sparks, Brian Eno, Andrew WK, Jay-Z, Abba, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Captain Beefheart, the Motown catalogue, the Slits, Queen diva house, Iron Maiden, Squeeze, 90s trance, XTC, Don Caballero, Missy Elliott, the Minutemen and Detroit Techno (and that's not even all of them).

It's an invigorating collection of songs that will lift spirits throughout the British winter gloom. And to explain from whence these masters of musical mayhem came..

"We are The Mae Shi. We were born in Los Angeles in late 2002. If you are just hearing of us now, you missed out on four records and 250 shows of busted electronics, spazzier-than-fuck drums, crazy-ass boogie guitar, distorted caveman bass and throat-destroying vocals. You missed us playing in 100 different basements and garages to 100s of different kids. You missed our 59-minute-long debut EP and our 5RC debut full-length, Terrorbird, which was a hyper ADD-afflicted hip-hop concept album about monsters and the Old Testament. You missed six different home-screened t-shirt designs and our 2004 mix tape, which collected our favorite 1200 songs in under 80 minutes. You missed Heartbeeps, which was the next step in our self-improvement plan, in which we put our best foot forward and tried to state our case powerfully and succinctly in 15 minutes. You missed both our "Celebration 32 Shows in 30 Days Tour" and our "Victory Lap 43 Shows in 42 Days Tour".

"This is our story, and we invite you to come along. It's about self-improvement and trying to live life at the top of your lungs, living life rightly, respecting others, making something you're proud of, and trying to sort out all the static and figuring out what matters. It's about trying to forge that third way, that way everyone said it couldn't be done. We do this in basements and backyards and in fancy clubs we don't even feel comfortable in. We do this in living rooms and bathrooms and bedrooms and wherever the sound sounds best. We do this with ten dollar keyboards and Olvera Street guitars and with light-reactive synths we built ourselves. We do this with broken cymbals and busted speakers. We do this the first thing when we wake up. We do this after a hard day at work, when it's the only solace and life seems to be a constant source of frustration. We do this on weekends. We do this all the time."

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