The Parisian experimental, dark post rock / ambient band BANK MYNA (think Godspeed You! Black Emperor) will release their debut album “VOLAVERUNT” on February 25th on vinyl and digital by Araki records, A la dérive records (CA), Stellar Frequencies, Duality records, and Cold Dark Matter records, and today we’re pleased to give you an early stream of the full album, along with a special commentary, track by track rundown and the band’s top picks for French and Spanish bands worth a check!
Pre-orders for the LP version of the album are available now at this location.
With their new visualizer for the track “Los ojos de un cielo sin luz” (watch beliow), the band offers a cryptic and magnetic video narrating an introspective and cathartic journey within a troubled subconscious. Their new video for the track ‘Los ojos de un cielo sin luz’ is composed entirely of archive images and was assembled by Daniel Machón, the band’s bassist.
Paris-based band initiated in 2013, Bank Myna is the architect of a unique universe where dark post-rock, drone, sound experiments and doom-like incursions mingle.
Among a mystical voice and dronian soundscapes, Bank Myna’s music offers free structures within which the sounds are ample, deep and the play on textures permanent. Ecstatic vocals lead the way to slow movements before letting the sound space tear up under bass and guitar feedbacks.
Progressive, intense, torn between shadow and light, the Parisian ensemble likes to give breadth and power to its compositions in an abrasive and instinctive live act, oscillating from flutterings imposed by drone sounds to dazzling noise and heavy rock explosions.
Deeply inspired by Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Anna Von Hausswolff, Big Brave, or even Swans, the band completes its instrumentation with a violin and experimental devices (clock bells, noise boxes …) in order to give new sounds and atmosphere to its long improvised ambient tracks. This work results in an organized chaos where daydreaming and distorted sounds alternate, laying the foundations for VOLAVERUNT, a monochrome album, composed in one go and based on a single soundtrack.
We caught up with the band to give you some keys to grasp the album’s universe, through their special track by track rundown below.
Los ojos de un cielo sin luz
It’s the album’s opening track and probably our most cinematic track with ample, dense and rythmic-free movements. It lays on cryptic and oppressive background drones and is driven by lyrics-less vocals and pulsating guitars. Our aim was to get a dark and dense texture. A bit like the torpor you can feel in a waking state.
The Open Door
2019 was a turning point in the band’s history. Our drummer left Paris and the band, and we found ourselves with no rhythmic basis. We turned this constraint into a new musical “foundation” and tried to make the most of it. We gave ourselves freedom in structures, we played with textures and drones.
The Open Door was the first track the three of us wrote. It’s quite ambient at the beginning and it slowly turns into a ritualistic journey with near-tribal rhythms. This had to be the front door of the album, like a rite of passage.
Aurora (Vi ska sova)
Aurora (Vi ska sova) is a very peculiar track: it lies entirely on a rhythmic loop that is voluntarily hypnotic and does not evolve. It has allowed us to explore an entire electronic dimension thanks to which the track dynamism is driven by arrangements and textures. We felt like Swedish language (‘Vi ska sova’ = ‘We will sleep’) could add an extra dreamy highlight on the track and could be evocative of the album’s general atmosphere.
The Sleep of Reason
Within the album, The Sleep of Reason is like the plunge into the deep deep world of the unconscious, of the hidden dreams and unconfessed fears.
We discovered Goya’s engravings during the composition of this album and there was one that really marked us, called “𝘌𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘯̃𝘰 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘰𝘴” (“The sleep of reason produces monsters”). On it, there’s a man who seems to be struggling with nocturnal creatures, representing the many inner dark thoughts and external fury that assail him. It really matched the track we were writing and that’s how we ended up borrowing part of its title to name this piece.
Des mains, des yeux
It is conceived as the album’s outro, as the “waking up” part. We wanted to link it to the current context, hence this title that means “hands, eyes” in French. Over the last two years, we have been used to hiding our faces, by force of circumstances. Little by little, we have become indistinguishable beings, drowned within the crowd, with mostly our hands and our eyes as sole ways of expression.
Lastly, we asked BANK MYNA to share some underground French & Spanish artists that they have been listening to a lot lately and have some kind of resonance with their music. Here’s what we’ve got.
Filiamotsa
They are a French noise/rock/psyche duo from eastern France. Their sound is pure madness, mixing violin and heavy drone/synths sounds. It’s tense, it’s dark and very immersive. They’ve collaborated with GW Sok from The Ex and they’re really extremely brilliant! We’d love to share a stage with them.
Manta Ray
This band was part of the movement called Xixón Sound, an alternative music movement from the 90’s born in the spanish region of Asturias. Daniel discovered them by chance in 1998 thanks to a TV show Los Conciertos de Radio 3, which broadcasted late at night a full concert of an alternative band. At that time, he listened mainly to the mainstream grunge bands (Nirvana,Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins…) so when he saw this concert it really struck him, the sounds, the instruments, the way of making music was kind of a revelation for him at that time.
Extract of the TV show:
Subzero fun
Subzero fun is a shoegaze-psychedelic-noise trio from Paris that you definitely have to check out if you are into this kind of music. Listening to them exposes you to drum rhythms and heavy bass riffs that will stick in your head while you get drown under the ethereal sound of the guitar. It has always impressed us how prolific they are, 4 EPs in 3 years, each one better than the other! Considering how their sound has evolved over time, we can’t wait to hear what comes next!
Pauwels
We’re part of the same label called Araki Records and that’s how we got to know them. First time we listened to it, it was like a slap in our faces. We’ve loved it so much that we decided to invite them to play with us for our release party in Paris on March 12. They have a math rock side, an experimental side and a noisy side. All mixed up, you have these intense, energetic and enigmatic tracks you can’t help playing on repeat. Their sound is pretty hard to describe but sharing the stage with them should be a fun chaotic messy experience!
Echo Says Echo
They are our rehearsal studio roomies. We love their delicate yet heavy post-rock sounds. The melodies are insanely captivating and the bass riffs are stunning, really. Their last album is quite a masterpiece. Each song is like a little universe with twists and turns allowing you to dive from one world to the other. We have been following them for some time now and we are so happy to finally be able to share the stage with them for our release party on March 12. Their stage energy really gets to you and you can’t help but move along with them.
BANK MYNA – upcoming French tour dates:
04.03.22: @Fotomat – Clermont-Ferrand, FR
05.03.22: @Le Farmer, Lyon, FR
12.03.22: @Olympic Café, Paris, FR
19.04.22: @Le Lezard Bar, Le Mans, FR
20.04.22: @L’Alimentation Générale, Paris, FR
05.05.22: @The Message, Troyes, FR
06.05.22: @Café Français, Vesoul, FR
07.05.22: @La Colline, Nancy, FR
