Scorpion Tea has today released their new eponymous album via GIVE/TAKE Records. Scorpion Tea are much more than a supergroup; they are an integral group. Integral in that their music is necessary in today’s indie music scene. Listen to it. It’s that unique combination of music that is inspiring to those who listen to it while original when brought around anything else released today, tomorrow, whenever.
Somewhat spanning the member’s personal influences, I also hear traces of influences through time and emotion brought to the surface. Expression as an excess. Beautiful.
Check out our other features with Scorpion Tea HERE.
Check out our exclusive interview with Scorpion Tea’s Edley ODowd HERE.
About Scorpion Tea
“In May of 2022, my longtime friend Chris Cruz messaged me,” recounts drummer Edley ODowd, the mastermind known for his work with Psychic TV, Toilet Boys, and Kylesa. “He had been working on an album while recovering from surgery. ‘Want to come hang out and play on this album I’m working on?’ Laughing, I said: To Colombia? Seemed crazy, but after being cooped up indoors with Covid hassles for two years, I booked a flight.”
The lush surroundings of Armenia, Colombia fueled their creative fire. Guitarist Cruz played demos he and lyricist Anthony Diaz had crafted earlier, which instantly resonated with Edley’s vision for Scorpion Tea. “My plan was to rapidly record the album on my own dime and shop it to labels,” Edley continues, “Within 24 hours of making my way back to the US, I had already enlisted my son, Fern Puma, to play bass.”
“It seemed like a moment later that Chris messaged me to let me know that Edley was looking to start a new project, and that they wanted me to be the vocalist,” recalls Diaz talking about the beginning of what became Scorpion Tea. “My enthusiastic ‘yes’ was almost immediately followed by ten new demos from Chris in our fledgling group chat AND news that we would record them in LA in just a few weeks!”
Recorded to analog tape and crafted under the scorching Los Angeles summer sun at Studio 22, Scorpion Tea’s sessions were led by producer Tomas Dolas (of Osees). “We spent six days in the brutal end of summer heat, with tons of equipment running, causing the heat outside to match the heat inside,” explains Cruz, “It was nothing less than hallucinatory.”
While the prepared quartet brought the power of performance, expressivity and their uncompromising ethics, Dolas and studio partner Joo Joo Ashworth (Air Bol Bol) also brought unique devices into the studio, including a legendary Eventide H910 Harmonizer, to assist with the album’s unique character. “Scorpion Tea were a real pleasure to work with,” marks Tomas, “Truly monsters playing broken instruments! They had such a great raw and dystopian energy in the studio. I think all that heat definitely got infused into the tracks!”
Scorpion Tea’s self-titled debut, available now on limited edition random-color vinyl with metallic foil-stamped jacket, is a captivating immersion of dark, heavy, and psychedelic where creativity knows no bounds.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/scorpionteatime/
https://www.tiktok.com/@scorpionteatime
https://scorpiontea.bandcamp.com/
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