Holy Fuck.

Holy Fuck.

That’s the band name, it’s Holy Fuck. OK, I’ve said it three times now I won’t belabor it. (Yeah, not much!) Not every band has a central conceit but this one here evidently does, which is as follows: they make electronic music, but not by the “usual” methods. & so, the typical tools –the sampling, the looping, the programming, & cetera– are actually not among the key ingredients here.

On first listen, you may find that surprising. Because, texturally, this music does sound pretty-well synthesized. & even rhythmically, you’ll hear a kind-of-a-sort-of-a mechanized groove. But. Not so fast bc something else is going on here, which entails a degree of looseness, of –I don’t know– warmth or something. & sweat. Not incidentally, you’ll perhaps notice the drumming. Which is not performed by coded lines of software, but rather by human arms & hands holding wooden sticks. Sticks, I say! (Also, I understand that HF deploys old analog instruments, non-musical noisemakers, & sometimes toys.)

It’s a kind of a balancing act, this music made by humans, yet all dressed up to sound like it’s made by machines. The new album’s (probably-incongruous) title is Latin, & it is set for release on May 11. Holy Fuck’s management has thus far ignored my polite request for an advance listen, but sometimes these things do work out. I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, download the advance track here:

HF - Latin America (mp3)