They say the whole world gathers in New York. It’s no wonder that such an eclectic and awesome array of music has been produced by musicians who have made this city their home. Vladimir Komarov and Atsuo Matsumoto are but two such musicians – together they are known as The Dayoffs. Having announced their self-titled debut album, slated for release on November 10 via German boutique label Emerald & Doreen Recordings.
There are so many different sub-genres of the rock and pop genres here, but they are all so tastefully blended on some songs, while jumping from one to another sub-genre in yet other tracks. There is no consistently in that respect, but there is in terms of the excellent sound, impeccable taste and great production quality. This is big impact music. The Dayoffs is a rock duo with an elastic, transparent and multilayered sound and catchy riffs and hooks due to some solid pop sensibilities. ‘Love Love Love’ is a prime example of this, oscillating between winning elements of Teenage Fanclub, Ash, The Boo Radleys, Ultra Vivid Scene and Pet Shop Boys.
The videos for leads tracks ‘Love Love Love’ and ‘State of Madness’ focus on the duo, their life and environment in New York City. The latter for was filmed by the prominent Russian movie director Fedor Lyass. Atsuo is Japanese and Vladimir is Russian. Despite living in different parts of Manhattan and supporting opposing soccer teams, these two have much in common. Not only are they born on the same day, but they are both musicians and recording professionals.
The two met in 2012 at the legendary Stratosphere Sound Studios, when Vladimir was tracking for a project and Atsuo was engineering the sessions. During the first recording hour both realized that their recording methods and musical tastes are similar. Soon they teamed up to produce a bunch of records, including the debut album ‘Country Mile’ by James Atkin (EMF) and ‘Voshod’ by Russian post-punk heroes Manicure. Vladimir Komarov is a musician, sound producer, DJ, and journalist and otherwise known as a pioneer of Russian shoegaze and indietronica. While his Russian music projects ‘Hot Zex’ and ‘Punk TV’ became staples of the nascent Russian indie rock scene, they were also were well-received abroad. Atsuo Matsumoto is a Japanese musician and sound engineer and, apart from The Dayoffs, he is a member of Andy Chase's Camera2band.
Always busy working on other people's music, Vladimir and Atsuo recorded some instrumental improvisations during studio downtime, gathering enough material for a debut LP. Hence, their name TheDayoffs – from constant lack of studio time for their own music. The Dayoffs sound seems to gravitate towards Teenage Fanclub, which is interesting considering that it was at the band’s Manhattan's gig in thesummer of 2014 that Vladimir and Atsuo decided to jointly explore this sound further. "This is a rock album. Speedy, noisy but lyrical – as guitar as could be. We did this on purpose. It was like playing with old toys – sweet, nostalgic and big fun. Maybe too sweet sometimes – but I don't mind.
These songs came out of nowhere, uncalculated and with a lot of improvisation," explains Vladimir Komarov. "It took us more than two years to complete this 30-minute record as we are perfectionists. Every time I listen to it, I have nothing I’d like to add. This means that it is offthe table and I'm very excited to know that our next record will follow different direction". The Dayoffs debut LP will be made available across all the regular digital sales and streaming platforms.
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