RISING – DVA Damas

I can tell you nothing autobiographical about DVA Damas. A mysterious 10" record arrived on my desk some time in the last three months, disappeared and then like Houdini was back like magic. I subsequently played the record of stripped back rhythms that sounded like the B-52’s on smack repeatedly, studied the run out grooves for any sliver of information and bided my time until I heard the music somewhere else, which thanks to the wonderful Keytars&Violins last week I did. I now had a name but a cursory look on the internet revealed little more information.

Released on Downwards – the UK micro-label best known for excursions in to brutal and uncompromising techno and experimental electronics from the likes of British Murder Boys, Surgeon, Regis et al, the band are not the most obvious fit for the label. However with their cold eyed stares and bare bones grooves you can practically feel the menace snarling out of the speakers, and when you factor in the aforementioned techno artists background interest in metal things starts to make a bit more sense.

Complementing the current ‘witch’ house aesthetic with lo-fi production, but with a rhythm section to die for, DVA Damas occupy a patch in the music playground prime for exploiting – somewhere between the blank dystopia of Factory Floor, Zola Jesus‘ sonic warbling and yes, the B-52’s.

Check out their Soundcloud where you can download everything for free. I don’t know when, and I don’t know how, but sometime in the very near future you are going to be crossing paths with DVA Damas.

Published April 13, 2011.