CHEW
Chew - Photo by Jamey McDaniel.
“CHEW has been chasing its wildly fishtailing muse, crashing into genres and tripping out audiences all over the world since the dark, psych-electro duo formed in early 2016. Along the way, the Atlanta, Georgia-based two-piece group released three critically-acclaimed albums; toured throughout US, Canada, and Europe; and played guerrilla-style sets at South by Southwest and Bonnaroo.
For years, CHEW has been signed overseas, and its vinyl has been available as pricey imports here at home. That’s about to change now that CHEW has officially signed to CorpoRAT Records. The duo will be releasing its fourth album, Found Footage, via CorpoRAT, on [insert date here]. Sprawling with occult imagery, boom bap beats, eerie melodies, haunting etherealness, epic piano passages, and brawny riff-driven breakdowns, the new album promises to be one of CHEW’s boldest creations from an altered state of consciousness. “The two most impactful things to the creation of my music are improvisation and psychedelic drug experiences. It’s not about dropping acid and being crazy all the time. We are super serious about our music, but we like experimentation,” says Bresh who multi-tasks, operating samplers and the band’s strobe light show while playing synth bass and guitar. “I don’t ever want to havean idea come into my head, and then feel limited in any way. Whatever we do always has that slimy CHEW gel.”
CHEW is pure organized chaos produced from samplers and analog synths mashed with live instrumentation. The duo careens through hip-hop, noise rock, glitchy electronic, ambient, noise, industrial, and EDM. The band has been favorably compared to Metz, Battles, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Death Grips, Guerilla Toss, Jockstrap, and Sextile. The freewheeling but hardworking group also features Sarah Wilson who plays drums and synth basslines with a drum sample pad. CHEW also occasionally augments its sound with a bassist from a revolving cast of musicians, and it has been known to record and perform as a trio. Previously, Bresh and Wilson had been vets on the Atlanta scene playing in more conventional, guitar-driven groups. They met when they were paired together in a trio at an improvisational performance night curated by a local musician. The two felt an instant creative chemistry. “She basically finishes my musical sentences,” Bresh says. Wilson’s penchant for odd drum patterns, her innate sense of groove, her ability to write drum hooks on the spot, and her expansive dynamics fit perfectly into Bresh’s intrepid genre-defying compositional mindset.
CHEW brings its sensory assault onstage live in real time—without tracks or a click track. Further enhancing its performance is Bresh’s live strobe light chops and Wilson’s ability to trigger visuals from a projector attached to her drum kit. “We do everything just the two of us—it’s like a tap-dance onstage—but we rehearse like crazy,” Bresh says. The band came together quickly, and just as quickly set out on the road. “At that time, we had like 20 minutes of music, but we said yes to everything. Even gigs that required two hours of music—we just improvised to stretch the time,” Bresh recalls. This road dog mentality enabled CHEW to refine its aesthetic and its songs in real time—something the band still does with new music to this day. CHEW’s tireless touring also earned them a word-of-mouth buzz that eventually netted them a record deal in the UK.
CHEW has steadily released music since its inception, and over time has nurtured an ethereal musically with long-form compositions that patiently unfold with exquisite melodies and immersive textural passages. The band has recently been working with New York City-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Jamey McDaniel who can be thought of as an auxiliary CHEW member, and helped sculpt the soundscapes to perfection on Found Footage. The album’s first single, “Flesh,” is an ominous, psych-electro sprawl infested with disquieting melodies, haunting breathy vocals courtesy of Katherine Kelly Larson, swaths of synth ambience, Moog and bass contributions from Zeta bassist Tony Pereira, and supernatural thematics. The single’s alien autopsy-themed video splits the difference between David Lynch and the work of the artist collective Everything Is Terrible!—it is both campy and creepy.
Other album tracks will be crafted from expansive sound palettes, including guitar and bass-centric passages, a smattering of modular synths and analog gear, taut hip-hop beats, glitchy electronics, and even epic piano breakdowns. CHEW fans will be psyched to hear that the live show favorite, “Sunshine,” will finally be recorded and included on Found Footage. “Sunshine” is one of the duo’s most infectiously catchy songs. After nearly a decade hitting the road fearlessly, and consistently releasing records that challenge and ultimately satisfy its fanbase, CHEW has been feeling the hard work pay off. On the duo’s last European tour it played a particularly crazy, 500-person show in Mulhouse, France. “People came to the show in costumes—one dude was in a chicken outfit,” Bresh recalls. “Another guy came to the merch table bawling his eyes out, and it made me tear up. Moments like that make you feel grateful for everything you put in.” - Lorne Behrman