Wet Day Ritual is the brainchild of Samwauw, or simply Sam, a younger artist with rather a lot on his thoughts. Since releasing its first mixtape final yr and a brand new EP, About August, in February, Wet Day Ritual has began choosing up consideration within the Winnipeg indie scene, nabbing a gap spot for Montreal’s Braids and Winnipeg’s Dwelling Hour on the West Finish Cultural Centre on March 26, a high-profile slot for such a brand new undertaking.
Listening to their music, it’s simple to inform why they’ve began choosing up warmth. Every tune is overflowing with concepts — distorted synths, guitars, hyperactive beats, auto-tuned vocals and surprising samples careen out of the combination at a speedy clip. It’s thrilling stuff, conveying this wide-eyed feeling of the fun of creation. Speaking to Sam over Zoom, his pleasure and ambition are palpable.
Sam bought his begin as a drummer in a band, however when he took it upon himself to purchase dwelling recording tools, he was excited by the chances of recording and making music on his personal.
“I bought into synths and bought […] Reaper, just a few freeware [stuff] […] It’s simply been a means of increasing for the previous 4 years.”
After releasing some music below the identify Samwauw, the Wet Day Ritual undertaking began to ensure that Sam to construct an area the place he might bounce concepts off others freely, however with out the constraints of working within the construction of a band.
“I’m at all times within the means of making an attempt to kind this out,” he mentioned. “I believe 4 months in the past it was a band, and now I believe it’s simply me getting my buddies to assist me write stuff.”
Many of the collaboration Sam does with Wet Day Ritual is inherently idea-based, slightly than musical.
“I suppose [it’s] nonetheless collaboration nonetheless, however I don’t suppose in that regard I’d name it a band,” he mentioned.
“You consider a band, there’s like two to 4 individuals up there with their guitars after which there’s the drummer and I’ve been making an attempt to virtually get away from that […] I liked enjoying in a band as I did, however I do know I’ve bought extra stuff to do.”
As a substitute, Sam bounces concepts and tracks off buddies in a Discord server, permitting for a wider collaboration on the grounds of concepts and aesthetics, whereas he nonetheless writes and information all the things the undertaking places out.
Speaking about this idea-based work on creative ideology and aesthetic consideration, Sam brings up a sequence of rants he wrote in regards to the undertaking “The Re-Assume” volumes one by three.
“I talked rather a lot about how I can’t draw back from what I grew up on […] [808s & Heartbreak]-era Kanye, T-Ache, Kesha, all these things that we see proper now and we’re like, ‘Oh my God, that’s so old-fashioned, that’s so uncool,’ however I really like [it] to demise,” he mentioned.
“I can’t draw back from that as a result of that’s my formation as a musician […] like Black Eyed Peas, ridiculously over-the-top onerous synth pop stuff, and I really like that stuff.”
“Nothing is absolutely uncool now — we’re in a fantastic place the place all the things is type of ‘in’ and that’s great and horrifying nevertheless it lets you do no matter […] you need, and in order that’s what I do. I need to be, or no less than I wished to be on the final EP, like a type of bridge between T-Ache and Kesha and Animal Collective and Deerhunter.”
Whereas the undertaking continues to be simply starting, Sam made certain to notice there may be rather more to come back.
“I’ve bought cool concepts and I believe rather a lot about this […] And possibly if it’s not as superior as I need it to be now, it is going to be.”
The brand new Wet Day Ritual EP, About August, is out there on all streaming platforms. Tickets for the present on March 26 can be found at reallovewpg.com.