Tempo Tempo presents:

Ecstatic Sunshine is an ongoing musical project that began in 2005 as a guitar duo comprised of Matthew Papich and Dustin Wong (Who has since left the project to pursue Ponytail and his own solo guitar musics), although Papich has playes with a selection of different musicians since. The essence of Ecstatic Sunshine has been located within Papich’s unique guitar work, however the shifting cast has allowed it to spread its reach effortlessly into new lands. The sound is a strange mutation of Krautrock (particularly Harmonia) but carries within it elements of afrobeat accompanied by a strange wash of sunny tropicalia. Echoes of punk, ambient, reggae and techno have also floated in and out of Ecstatic’s sound, though never feeling contrived and never supplanting the energy or vision of the original output.

Ecstatic Sunshine released their 3rd LP, Yesterday's Work, in December 2009 on Hoss Records (home to We Are Powers, Lichens and Wzt Hearts among others). Yesterday's Work presents a definitive sonic break from past Ecstatics. While the songs still revolve around the shifting guitar lines of Papich, it’s palette is much broader than previous releases; with Joe Williams’ (White Williams) production introducing a soft low end and delicate synthesized sounds to Papich's guitar work. Think Koln School Electronics and Penguin Cafe Orchestra, or a Harmonia record produced by Coxsone Dodd.



Reviews


“Terry Riley or Manuel Göttsching are historical antecedents, but Ecstatic Sunshine's approach is more homemade and playful, the sound of people getting together to make some colorful noise without a lot of analysis…. It has pulsing synths, some super deep and grinding bass, and, floating on top, a starburst guitar melody that tumbles forward in a sort of awkward but charming cartwheel… coming over as the theme to an especially hip retro/futuristic space opera." - Pitchfork

"Ecstatic Sunshine was up next. The sound of Matt Papich has changed since I last saw him, more than a year ago. And he’s now a one-man band. About a year ago Papich moved to Brooklyn to work with Joe Williams (aka White Williams). The result is Yesterday’s Work, released this past fall. It’s a staggering album, full of experimental guitars looping endlessly, linear song writing, all mixed up with heavy production, creating manipulated sound. It’s got a groove to it, and last night you could feel it ripple through the crowd. Papich moves with ease from guitar to sampler to mixer to “Kaos Pad,” making such a holy racket it seems definitive. A part of one particularly resonant song was so masterfully built that you could almost feel the collective swell of heartbeats, the tongues in the backs of peoples throats, choking, because it was nearly too much." - Microphone Memory Edition

http://www.myspace.com/ecstaticsunshine



Support

Support comes from Brad Field and Adam Parkinson doing solo sets. Both play in different groups and under different guises, perhaps most well known locally for their work as SDF. Expect totally different stuff from these sets, however, with Brad Field possibly playing tracks that change from one moment to the next, displaying anything from glitched-out electronica to lush, smooth guitar picking (in a very good way, that is) and a shiny, sheeny sort of chill. The transitions are absolutely flawless.

http://www.myspace.com/jeremybradfield

I won’t bother describing Adam Parkinson’s stuff or I’ll go into exhausting superlatives. If you’re a fan of Fennesz, Jim O’Rourke, Peter Rehberg, etc., and you like being swept away along that inner space, then check out his stuff here:

http://soundcloud.com/glassfacedman


And there'll also be some great tunes played between sets by Richard MacFarlane, AKA PRMNT Vibes, who regularly puts on some of the best gigs in town. Check out the group here for details of their gigs and we strongly recommend you join them for updates:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=119175775438&ref=ts



Doors open 8pm. £5 on the door, or you can buy advance tickets here:

http://ecstaticsunshinenewcastle.eventbrite.com/



If you wish to join Tempo Tempo and find out about their other gigs then join the group here:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=113505955327457&ref=ts