Moonshine Booze present ‘Happy’ as the second single off their debut album ‘Desert Road’, released via Seahorse Recordings. This fantastic and lively track takes you by the bootstraps into a surreal and gritty place where dark fantasies come to life and your worst nightmares are realized. The soundscape is unbridled with a cynical mix of western-funk-tex-mex-rock with a few bizarre twists and hints of steampunk, truly creating their own unique sound.
The single ‘Happy’ is accompanied by a new surreal video shot against the backdrop of picturesque Kafkaesque scenery. Written by Emiliano Zapata and realized with the masterful supervision of videographer Jessica Montebello, who shot and edited the clip, in addition to her tremendous artistic contribution involving certain peculiar characters.
This story juxtaposes the immense landscape of the scorching desert with a smoky and dark journey that projects through an illusory door. Darkness and light, solitude and freedom side-by-side and yet opposite, and the fragile equilibrium of the characters, such as the emblematic clown, obsessed by chronic mood swings. These are allegories of the most arduous and torturing journey the mind can conceive – a journey towards happiness and the demolition of ‘social rules’ that inevitably tide the mind within stringent tormentuous borders.
Combining grit blues rock with alternative country, Moonshine Booze’s music has been described as psychedelic country blues-tinged rock, as well as brazen desert alcoholic acoustic rock. The album’s release was preceded by their first single ‘The Place’, along with a fiery retro-freakish yet humorous video.
Photo by Lama Donna
The initial idea behind this band was to put out a series of classic covers from Johnny Cash to Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Little Walter and J.B. Leinor, which were to be completely rearranged while still preserving the rude and crude grooves of their roots.
The idea led the band to finally isolate themselves in the studio for over three months to write, record and complete their debut album ‘Desert Road’. Strongly influenced by the likes of The Who, Johnny Cash, The Rolling Stones,Tom Waits, The Kinks and ZZ Top, they managed to create 14 unique tracks for their debut release, integrating what the band had collectively gained from their previous musical experience. In the recording process, they did not follow any formal rules or standard, but simply adhered to the motto “if it sounds good … it’s good!”.
Moonshine Booze formed in the summer of 2014 in Teramo, Italy. This trio is comprised of Andrea Manila (vocals), Emiliano Zapata (guitar) and Fabio Manchos (drums). The video for ‘The Place’ was a collaborative effort between Emiliano Zapata and Josh Heisenberg, with Zapata writing the scenario, Josh handling the filming and editing, and both on direction.
‘Desert Road’ is now available across digital stores and streaming platforms and can also be found via Seahorse Recordings’ Bandcamp.
TRACKLIST
1 Intro
2 Desert Road
3 Brainless
4 Happy
5 The Place
6 World of Pain
7 Rambling
8 Smooth Out
9 No Mas
10 What Goes Around
11 Lemon Box
12 Death Melody
13 Henry Mancini
14 Dusk
CREDITS
Andrea Manila (vocals and acoustic guitars)
Emiliano Zapata (guitars and backing vocals)
Fabio Manchos (drums & percussion)
Marilu (bass)
Lorenzo Di Antonio (guitars and backing vocals)
‘The Place’ video by Emiliano Zapata and Josh Heisenberg
TORCHED MAGAZINE 