Jammerzine has an exclusive interview with the entire band known as Denude, and on the day of the release of their new album titled ‘A Murmuration of Capitalist Bees’ via Expert Work/Dipterid Records (check it out below). Kicking off this new age of murmured capitalism is a record release show tonight (January 10th) at Sleeping Village in Chicago, Il (details HERE).
In this interview, we get to talk with the entire band, James David (Murder in the Red Barn, Fuiguirnet), Jesse Schomisch (Fuiguirnet), and Matthew Parrish (Piglet, Dr Manhattan), about the origins of this supergroup as well as the recording process and everything ‘A Murmuration of Capitalist Bees’ and the state of the music business and how the world influences the new music coming out.
A Murmuration of Capitalist Bees
‘A Murmuration of Capitalist Bees’ is that rare set of uncut gems that take the old school and make it fresh new cool with the originality and fervor of the golden era of independent music, when alternative was still the alternative, yet give it a fresh coat of iridescent paint and present it with all of the fervor and earnestness that only the best artists and truthful poets could ever do.
This is more of, or as much of, an experience as it is an album. Each song is it’s own world in a solar system of gritty influence and dirty charm. A sucker punch through the groin into the heart is the best way to deliver music like this. And it delivers. What I love the most is the similar diversity that the album, as a whole, gives the listener. Each track seems like it was created as a single, yet is different enough from each of the other tracks that it could stand on it’s own and still feel right. Hints of a concept and dashes of a story, ‘A Murmuration of Capitalist Bees’ if a fluttering of the independent heart.
About Denude
Denude, the Illinois-Wisconsin based math rock trio, is unveiling their debut LP, A Murmuration of Capitalist Bees. Formed by veterans of Chicago and Milwaukee’s underground scenes, Denude brought together James David (Murder in the Red Barn, Fuiguirnet), Jesse Schomisch (Fuiguirnet), and Matthew Parrish (Piglet, Dr Manhattan), musicians whose collective history spans decades and is steeped in the rusted vans and DIY spaces of the Midwest.
The roots of Denude run deep. Back in the early 2000s, Matthew Parrish, then the drummer for Piglet, attended a show at Chicago’s Fireside Bowl to see James David’s band, Murder in the Red Barn. “I was eager to form a connection with the band,” Parrish recalls. The two groups became fast friends, playing countless shows together in basements, skateparks, and DIY art spaces across Milwaukee, Chicago, and St. Louis.
Commenting on today’s release, third and the last single off their upcoming LP, Jesse Schomisch explains: “Phalanx’ is Denude at our most punk, at least so far. It’s noisy and dissonant, overtly political and irreverent, tense but with a satisfying release.”
Their debut album, A Murmuration of Capitalist Bees, was recorded with minimal production over three days at Howl Street Recording in Milwaukee. Engineered by long-time friend Shane Hochstetler (Child Bite, Call Me Lightning), the album captures the raw, immediate energy of the band’s live sound. With just 14 hours of live tracking and very few overdubs, the result is a tight, visceral eight-track LP that reflects the DIY ethos Denude embodies. While the lyrical aspect shows the full palette of different themes confronting the anxieties of contemporary life with its capitalism, environmental threats, wars, economics, and existentialism. “His delivery doesn’t pull any punches,” says Parrish. “At times, it feels like he’s shouting into the ears of listeners out of sheer frustration”.
Known for their no-frills performances and refusal to hide behind digital personas, Denude aims to connect directly with audiences, preferring to be on the floor with their fans rather than isolated in green rooms.
LINKS:
https://denude.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/denudeband
https://www.facebook.com/denudeband
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1Ea4tACLLqCVcmu5tQgthP
