Bristol based six-piece DAMEFRISØR (pronounced dame-eh-frizz-yuor) release their debut EP Island of Light via tastemaker London label Permanent Creeps on 24 February. The band originally formed in 2019 at a Bristol club-night. Their music is an expansive soundscape, embedded in industrial post-rock but with an electronic twist, akin to Bauhaus. The band consists of vocalist Kazhi Jahfar, guitarists Garin Curtis and Jamie Brown, Sam Nobbs (synths/keys), bassist Megan Jenkins and drummer Nyle Dowd and together they create a world to lose yourself in, such is its drama and its all consuming instrumentation.
I adore the opener ‘D.O.D.’ with its crisp pulsating beats. The vocals are strong, clear and full of passion. The instrumentation then takes over and fires up slightly chaotically before calming again. The EP is an exploration of loneliness and the reality of feeling invisible in the modern world, and ‘D.O.D.’ is a powerful opener. There is no sense of melancholy however as the synths and beats make it dancefloor friendly. The band further explains:
“The song talks about the feeling of going through something but feeling as though no one is aware of your existence. Loneliness in cities is a recurring theme across the record, musically we feel like the song explores the intensity of trying to be seen with all efforts amounting to nothing. Lyrically it’s a sort of internal monologue reacting to the stressful atmosphere.”
On ‘The Grip’ its the bass that is given space, within the industrial atmosphere. Slightly slower paced it nonetheless still has a club element to it. The cavernous inducing soundscape clangs and shifts throughout while the guitars and synths layer over one another and have the most glorious fadeout in unison.
‘Above Board‘ highlights the dramatic vocal of Kazhi, and it more shoegaze in its atmosphere. Its a haunting track, full of reflection and brooding in its delivery. The hypnotic ‘52a‘ however is a combination of all six band members influences, which is ambitious in scope and perhaps complex to produce but DAMEFRISØR have achieved a unified whole. The band further explain:
“This track is very much an amalgamation of the six band member’s conflicting tastes. It was moulded from the demolition and reconstruction of each member’s sonic sensibilities to birth an audible cyborg. Part cold and industrial, part warm and emotive, we experimented with modular synthesis in processing acoustic instruments to create this sense of both.“
The final track is ‘Horizon (Extended Mix)’ and it brings us back to swirling synths and drum beats of the opener ‘D.O.D.’. Island of Light was produced by Alex Greaves (known widely for working with Working Men’s Club, bdrmm, Lice, amongst others) and it’s on this final track that the music runs free. There is a lighter quality here and at just under six minutes the track is able to weave its magic. If you have tickets to see the band live you’re in for a treat. I can imagine this music is going to fill the venues with the most glorious music.
DAMEFRISØR Live Dates
3rd March – The Exchange, Bristol (w/ Lynks & VLURE)
4th March – Broadcast, Glasgow
5th March – Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh
7th March – YES (Basement), Manchester
8th March – The Windmill, London
9th March – The Loft, Portsmouth
15th March – Rough Trade, Bristol
For more information on DAMEFRISØR please check out their facebook and bandcamp.