We are stoked to announce that Tonota80 have joined Engineer Records and we will be re-releasing their second record, Killer Sands and Beating Hearts on CD here in the UK and in the US too.
For fans of melodic power rock in the style of Husker Du and Dinosaur Jr, but don’t let us tell you how great they are, here is what Buzzing Music has to say; http://www.buzzinmusic.co.uk/tonota-80-killer-sands-and-beating-hearts-debut-album/6937
The band are proof that social media can sometimes be a good thing.
Richard Pronger (bass and backing vocals) first met David Bloomfield (guitar and vocals) and John Edwards (drums and vocals) many, many years ago. David and Richard first met in a Maidstone Music Shop. Shortly after, Richard recorded a demo tape in his bedroom for David and John’s band (The Andy Pandys) which also featured bassist Stuart Ellis (The Claim).
As the years passed, they went their separate ways. Richard taught guitar and bass and has continually dabbled in the recording process, nurturing his immense musical talent in a band called Hedgegrow Technologies.
David and John spent many years in The Strookas, a three-piece band inspired by the blistering guitar work of Husker Du, Radio Birdman, Dinosaur Jr. and Swervedriver.
‘Out of the blue, through our partners contacting each other on Facebook’, Richard recalls, ‘David and I got back in touch. I was remastering some old recordings.’
Fast forward 2 years and Tonota 80 have released their second CD, following the acclaimed debut CD/EP ‘Jonesing for Chips’.
Following a few BBC 6 Music Steve Lamacq airings, Tonota 80 set to work on writing songs for a new CD/ LP.
Richard’s knob-twiddling talents, along with his Beach Boy harmony driven ideas, has led to David and John approaching their song-writing and playing in a different way.
‘I think the time was right for the three of us to get together’ David reflects. ‘We have all experienced such a lot of differing musical influences during the time we have been apart that the sounds we made when we got back together were really exciting and different to anything we had done before.’
‘Recording has been a breath of fresh air’ recalls John. ‘Richard has a portastudio, and had a small room where we somehow managed to build a massive sound. Luckily, this meant it was cheaper than booking a recording studio and so we were never having to work against the clock and rush things. This has resulted in a collection of songs that are musically more experimental, thought through, analysed and, quite frankly, brilliant’.
‘Killer Sands and Beating Hearts’, the debut CD/LP features 12 storming tracks covering varying subject matter such as love, politics, domestic abuse, Sylvia Sims, social media, being out of control, war and pizza!
Promoters, radio stations and reviewers please get in touch and we’ll send you a CD.
For now though, here’s Tonight to check out; https://soundcloud.com/user-294929229/tonight-2
