Jammerzine has an exclusive interview with Scorpion Tea Drummer Edley ODowd. With the added bonus of the premiere of their new video for ‘In A Vile Suit’, from their upcoming self titled album releasing October 27th via GIVE/TAKE Records.
Talking with Edley was a real treat in and of itself. I actually forgot it was an interview. His knowledge and tastes in music are deep. Having been with the likes of Psychic TV and Toilet Böys, Edley is already an alt-legend in his own right, but with Scorpion Tea, there is a certain type of catharsis in the music and between the members. A merging of styles, likes, and influences into what becomes Scorpion Tea. I will let you hear from Edley about what that name means and the reason why I even mention that here.
But, to say Scorpion Tea is an original musical juggernaut is an understatement. Think freight train with split personality disorder. Each song is different. Almost from other bands. Yet everything is cohesive and signature. True greatness with a touch of variety. Sometimes that works (like here) and sometimes it comes off like one of those Chinese Buffets that have pizza and fries. Why does it work so brilliantly here? The people in the band. This is a true team.
Check out the livestream for ‘In A Vile Suit’ followed by an exclusive Q&A from the band on GIVE/TAKE’s Youtube channel BELOW.
‘In A Vile Suit’ is a surreal anthem for the antagonized featuring a purely hardened punk slowed to a powerchug of f*ck you and p*ss off attitude and emotional pent up rage that only a lockdown can provide. Think of it as the gateway drug to an album fill of gritty musical pills found on the floor still in that floordirt but just as tasty and mind altering. Check out the remixes, also releasing today, below.
In this interview, we talk with Edley about all things Scorpion Tea, from the new video, releasing today (embedded below) as well as the upcoming album dropping October 27th!.
About ‘In A Vile Suit’
“In a Vile Suit,” the third single from New York’s Scorpion Tea, is a cacophonous storm and a visually rich, horror-inspired trip of a music video through the most heinous of circumstances ever imagined: joining a band.
Dense and discordant guitar shrieks, pounding drums, sumptuous fuzzed-out bass, and sinister sung-spoke vocals set the tone for the story in guitarist Christian Cruz’s directorial debut. A mysterious undulating figure in a mask lures Pepto G. — who plays bass for the band — into a mysterious and baroque garage sale. “What happens after that,” states drummer Edley ODowd (Psychic TV, Toilet Boys), “you’ll just have to see for yourself.” According to Cruz, “In a Vile Suit” represents a person escaping reality by embodying a different avatar in order to let their darkest desires come to the foreground.
Along with the single, Scorpion Tea has announced the pre-order of their full-length album…
The band’s self-titled debut album is releasing worldwide on October 27th, just in time for a certain spooky holiday.
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 well-rehearsed and 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 sessions, including a legendary Eventide H910 Harmonizer, to assist with the album’s unique character. “Scorpion Tea were a real pleasure to work with,” marks Dolas, “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 full-length, available for pre-order 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. Pre-orders receive “In a Vile Suit,” “They’re Thriving Without Us,” and “Scarlet Misquote” immediately.
As a bonus, name your price on Bandcamp for four acute remixes of “In a Vile Suit” from Canada’s Employer, labelmates DEATHDANCE, BRIDES, from Norway and Darkness_io.
About Scorpion Tea
Self-described by drummer Edley ODowd (Psychic TV, Toilet Boys) as “a band of monsters playing broken instruments,” Scorpion Tea formed through the bonds of friendship, having survived the New York City punk and hardcore scenes together. Meshing cultural influences from Ecuador, Colombia, Eastern Europe, and Puerto Rico with their collective thirst for punk, goth, death rock, and city pop, Scorpion Tea has created a sound described by vocalist Anthony Diaz as “the phonic expression of a den of ravenous creatures.”
Fern Puma’s bass lines, dripping with dapper strength, smartly pair with songwriter and guitarist Christian Cruz’s delectable, unnerving riffs and the bold flavor of Edley’s thunderous, yet sensitive drumming while Anthony’s involute lyrical profile elicits an impending storm over a haunted forest. The resulting noise is a harmonious blend with a rich and complex profile that anyone with an ear for the heavy will enjoy.
The group’s self-titled debut album, recorded at Studio 22 in Los Angeles by Tomas Dolas (of Osees), available for pre-order 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/
https://www.instagram.com/scorpionteatime/
