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65daysofstatic (UK)
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March 27, 20:00
YotaSpace 
 Focusing on instrumental post-rock with live and electronic percussion, 65daysofstaticis based in Sheffield, England. The band, whose name originates from an unreleased John Carpenter film, formed in 2001 as a trio (Joe Shrewsbury, Paul Wolinski, and Iain Armstrong). Armstrong left in May 2003 and by the end of the year Rob Jones (drums) and Gareth Hughes (bass) were added. The band released six studio albums: The Fall of Math (2004), One Time for All Time (2005), The Destruction of Small Ideas (2007), We Were Exploding Anyway (2010) and the last one Wild Light (2013), and also a live album Escape from New York (2009) and some EPs. Current lineup includes Joe Shrewsbury (guitar), Paul Wolinski (guitar, programming), Rob Jones (drums), Simon Wright (bass, programming).
To describe 65daysofstatic is not an easy task. Indeed, most who have tried can merely hint at the depths these guys reach with their wide-open sounds, melding seamless guitar shapes with ferocious drum‘n bass styled beats, live drums and computer glitch. A soundtrack to a new dimension, where rock, dance and electronica are equals. A refreshing glimpse into the future at a time when the music industry has arguably been far too obsessed with all retro things.
To describe a 65daysofstatic live show is an even harder task. Viciously euphoric, frenetic, overwhelming, bordering on chaos and really, really loud. It's what the band thrive on and how they win armies of new admirers every time they go out on the road.
Following the release of their hugely acclaimed debut album The Fall Of Math in 2004, 65daysofstaic spent several months touring the UK, playing to packed venues and festival tents. They recorded three radio sessions for BBC Radio 1 - for the late John Peel, Zane Lowe and a live from Maida Vale Studios 40-minute set for Huw Stephens. They were also "artists in residence" on John Kennedy's XfM X-Posure programme.
Their moods range from dismal to triumphant, and from relaxed to desperate. They are full of both energy and atmosphere. It is rare for a band to so effectively combine analogue and electronic styles and instrumentation, and with such enjoyable results.
The band has thus far released four albums: The Fall of Math, One Time for All Time, and The Destruction of Small Ideas, Escape from New York with the last one being their first live record. Scott Barlett says: "This new live album I think is the closest we have got so far to catching what we aim for. We were really lucky, cos The Cure let us use their Pro Tools rig, which was the biggest piece of music technology we have ever seen. Think it might have been sentient. There's probably a bit too much reverb in places (I hate reverb), but that's cos it was being played in Madison Square Garden, so can't really complain."
The band members have repeatedly stated that they enjoy playing live. Towards the end of 2005, in a mailout to subscribers of their newsletter, they said that they were "a little disappointed" only to have played 91 shows in that year. They have received critical acclaim from independent music websites, such as Drowned in Sound, for their live shows.
In 2006, they played to their biggest crowd yet at that year's Summer Sonic festival in Japan, alongside such bands as Metallica, Lostprophets,Linkin Park and Deftones. 2006 also saw their first European tour, playing in Belgium, Holland, Germany, Italy and France. They have performed frequently with live visuals from Medlo, long time collaborators with the band. They appeared on a UK tour in 2006 and are set to tour with the band again in 2007. Medlo have also produced the majority of their music videos, including Radio Protector, Drove Through Ghosts to Get Here and Don't Go Down to Sorrow.
In April 2010 65daysofstatic released the album We Were Exploding Anyway. Having pushed instrumental guitar music through textural and tempo barriers for three albums before this one, 65daysofstatic have reeled in the complexity and instead emphasised volume and dynamics. We Were Exploding Anyway dispensed with the subtlety and glitch-laden rock of yore, replacing it with the kind of cavern-defying hooks that The Prodigy, or even drum'n'bass goons Pendulum.
Since their debut The Fall of Math Sheffield the band has edged further and further into the realms of electronic music, supplementing their engulfing melodies and guitar work with synths, loops, and pulsing beats as their sound has expanded. On their sixth release, Wild Light, the band bring together these different elements seamlessly, and produce an album of epic proportions that combines meticulously arranged cinematic soundscapes with textured electronics. The emotive power of this record is driven by the flourishing guitars and in "Blackspots," they build perfectly into a restrained explosion of melodic hooks, providing a cathartic conclusion to the song. Their musicianship is evident throughout the record and they excel when the textured, scuzzy synths provide urgency and grit to songs like "Prisms," while allowing the guitars to play an ambient, melodic role. In among the burgeoning peaks sit slow-burning numbers like "The Undertow" and "Taipei," which provide breathers amid swelling pianos and give way to a timely moment of reflection between some of the record's more intense moments. The conclusion is typical of 65daysofstatic. Ending on "Safe Passage," the track gradually grows from roaming synths into a climax of drums, guitars, and noise before splitting into fragments as the last gasp of energy is finally expended and fades into silence. 65daysofstatic have constructed a dynamic album that embodies an array of emotions and flickers with both the raw intensity of their guitar-driven early work and the sonic intricacies of 2010's We Were Exploding Anyway with great effect. This is an ambitious, cohesive effort from the Sheffield band, and its complex and spacious sound is both beautifully engaging and highly rewarding.
65daysofstaticis are on tour right now with 10th anniversary show of their The Fall of Math. The set-list of the Moscow concert will consist all songs from The Fall of Math which had considerable praise of critics.
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