Australia has some explaining to do. Mostly because whenever I hear music that comes from that part of the world I love it. I don’t understand. It must be something in the water. Before I get into Miami Horror’s most recent release called “Illumination” I have a confession to make. When I first heard this record, well mainly the first tune I wasn’t too pumped. That’s why it should be a global rule to always listen to at least the first 4 tracks when introducing yourself to a new artist. I live by that motto and therefore I’m all about what Miami Horror has to say. ”Illumination” is their first full length release and it came out in mid 2010. This electro pop dance party on plastic seems to be just what the doctored ordered for those of you who obey the rules and regualtions of “thirsty thursday” or thirsty whenever. To get the party started here’s a track called “Holidays”.
Holidays – Miami Horror
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Honestly I felt like the 80′s just slapped me in the face on first listen. Ok fine, on the second listen and third as well. It’s obvious where Miami Horror’s musical inspiration is drawn from. Melbourne’s Ben Plant is the man responsible for the pop synth electro rhythms on “Illumination” having planted the roots of his music and Miami Horror in his apartment with various synths and toys. Wanting to make Miami Horror a full on band he acquired the likes of Josh Moriarty, Aaron Shanahan and Daniel Whitechurch who round out the rest of the band.
“It started out that I didn’t want to have any guitar on the album besides a little funk guitar or disco bass,” Ben grins while explaining the turning point for Miami Horror’s evolution. “But then Josh came in and started playing all these other parts that sounded amazing. Paired with what I was working on, nobody was doing anything like it, so I knew we had to turn those sounds into a live thing and just go wild.” – MiamiHorror.com
The record sounds massively fit for any dance club or rock club. They are refined and extremely tight as a band. They have played major festivals at home and have opened for major acts such as Phoenix, La Roux, Friendly Fires and Lily Allen abroad.
They have a lot of sick videos up on there site here (I got scolded by youtube when I embedded them on this page). I don’t really condone the use of drugs nor do I preach it but if you watch this videos you might as well be trippin’ your ass off. One of my favorite tracks on the record is called “I Look to You”. The video is a prime example of how they pair their music with psychedelic visuals.
I Look to You – Miami Horror
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“We’ve spent about ten months alone mixing the album, which is a process that should normally take two weeks,” Ben laughs. “We always just said ‘f**k it, we have to make the album that we want to make’ and this is it. We made it.” — MiamiHorror.com
With a definite case of perfectionism this record is fun to listen to, dance to, party to, drink to… pretty much anything accept sleep to. They have just wrapped up a North and South American tour and are on their way down under for a full blown Australian tour.
Grand Illusion – Miami Horror
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I can’t stress enough how much fun this band is to listen to especially if you enjoy getting down with your bad self alone with only your boxers on in the living room when your roommates aren’t home. But enough about me, I’m stoked that I gave them the four song shot because I would have hated to miss out on this band.
You can buy “Illumination” HERE. Check out the bands FACEBOOK page HERE.
Ok fine, here’s the last track on the record just for kicks…
Ultraviolet – Miami Horror
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By: Steve Rippin | Beat-Play Ambassador Los Angeles | @stevewithMWL|Music Without Labels & Beat-Play, LLC
