Watch Sun Atoms’ new “The Cat’s Eye” music video featuring Alex Maas of The Black Angels via The Big Takeover
Let There Be Light is due 10/1 via Little Cloud Records (US) + The Acid Test Recordings (EU)
[click here to pre-order the LP]
WATCH: “The Cat’s Eye” (Dir. by Susana Della Sala) –
YouTube / The Big Takeover / Spotify / Apple
Today the Portland band Sun Atoms are sharing their new single/video “The Cat’s Eye” featuring Alex Maas of The Black Angels & Jasno Swarez of The Vandelles. The Big Takeover has the premiere. The video was created by award winning Italian director, Susanna Della Sala. Let There Be Light is due out on October 1st, 2021 via Little Cloud Records (US) + The Acid Test Recordings (EU).
When asked about how the collaboration with The Black Angels’ Alex Maas came about, Jsun stated:
“Alex and I first met when our bands were supporting Black Rebel Motorcycle Club in 2007. Alex and Christian invited my band to Austin to play the debut Levitation Festival, as it used to be held the weekend prior to SXSW. Alex and I hit it off and we played music at the Angels’ practice space after all the after parties, Alex allowed me to sleep in his giant closet space in his room each spring as we returned to play the following Levitation Festival and the next 3 years of SXSW. It was a huge closet and it was dark during the day, which was perfect for recovering from all that Austin had to offer, especially playing the after parties with friends like The Warlocks and Spindrift that were also staying at the Black Angels house during those times. We have continued to play many shows together. Alex and I have shared early versions of songs with each other over the years. When Alex sent me some mixes of his critically acclaimed solo album “Luca“, I reciprocated with some early Sun Atoms mixes and he replied that he loved The Cat’s Eye and had some ideas for it. We were taking a break from mixing because Gorillaz were using Stephen Street’s studio in London and when we came back to mix, Alex had sent this beautiful vocal chorus which worked well with Pete’s “Here Come The Warm Jets” guitar freak out. Alex said that the song was begging for the Mellotron flute lead which definitely took the song to a new level.”
Bio:
The Boston Globe called Jsun’s music “Dreamy and decadent in all the right places.” Sun Atoms is the debut solo effort from Portland, Oregon’s Jsun Atoms. Produced by The Dandy Warhols’ guitar pedal maestro Peter Holmström and mixed by London’s legendary Stephen Street (Blur, The Smiths, The Cranberries). The rich pedigree is evident in this 8 song LP, Let There Be Light, coming out October 1st on Little Cloud Records in the USA and The Acid Test Recordings in Europe. The album opener is a kaleidoscopic collaboration with The Black Angels’ Alex Maas on vocals and Mellotron. At the center of the Sun, atoms under intense pressure from gravity undergo a process. This album is an incredible combination of psychedelic dark wave and postmodern pop due in part to some first-rate guest performances including the leader of Brooklyn’s The Vandelles, Jasno Swarez, producer Peter Holmström (Pete International Airport, The Dandy Warhols), Gregg Williams (Sheryl Crow, Blitzen Trapper), St. Louis beat boss drummer Bob Mild, and Sacramento punks Pets, to name a few. The genres bend and blend song to song through such luminary influences as Love and Rockets, Moon Duo, The Cure, Nick Cave, Spiritualized, and Leonard Cohen.
Sun Atoms’ bands (The Upsidedown, Daydream Machine) have been tour support for The Jesus and Mary Chain, Black Rebel Motorcylce Club, Allah-Las, and Luna. My Bloody Valentine’s Colm Ó Ciosóig and Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval picked Atoms’ music for their Brooklyn Vegan playlist and had his band open for them on tour. The Dandy Warhols’ have had Sun Atoms’ bands as main support in Australia, Canada, and several tours of the States. He has also performed several times at The Black Angels’ Levitation Festival, SXSW, and Joshua Tree’s Desert Stars Festival. Sun Atoms spent the pandemic year in the studio with long time collaborator Peter Holmström, crafting the songs and sending files back and forth from London, Brooklyn, Austin, and Sacramento. The vision comes from the sun being at what is thought of as the center of our solar system, but the sun, like other stars, is a ball of gas. Atoms’ music has been featured in more than 40 television shows and movies including Sons of Anarchy on FX, Ray Donovan on Showtime, Animal Kingdom on TNT, and True Blood on HBO. Magnet Magazine said of Atoms earlier works, “the shoegazing vortex that sucks you in never lets go.” Sun Atoms curated the most recent Portland PyschFest, bringing together acts from as far away as Sao Paolo, Brazil to support Los Angeles headliners The Warlocks and Dead Meadow. Atoms’ music is currently featured in the award winning arthouse movie “Neolovismo” recently nominated for Best Film and Best Screenplay at the Milan International Film Festival.
press photo credit: Heather Boyd
Tour Dates
9/22 – 9/26 @ Treefort Music Fest – Boise, ID
10/22 – Star Theater – Portland, OR
10/23 – Lo-Fi Performance Gallery – Seattle, WA
Sun Atoms
Let There Be Light
Little Cloud Records (US) + The Acid Test Recordings (EU)
[click here to pre-order]
Street Date: October 1, 2021
Track List:
1. The Cat’s Eye
2. Half Robot Half Butterfly
3. Captain Tunnel Vision
4. Don’t Take Me to Your Leader
5. Super Switch Kid
6. Fell for You
7. Two Wolves and a Lamb Voted on What’s for Dinner
8. Praying Mantis
SUN ATOMS LINKS:
