Subtle Body’s influences draw from ex-Yugo punk such as Paraf, Tožibabe, and Kaos, alongside classic post-punk bands like Rakta, Xmal Deutschland, Siouxie and The Banshees, Neu!, Rudimentary Peni, and Décima Víctima. Their music also incorporates ambient and experimental synthesizer music which serves as contrast and furthering the bands atmospheric vibe.
Featuring prolific members involved in a variety of projects including Diuretic, The Berserk/Plomo, and Lottery. Most of the group has played in lots of different kinds of bands over the years, usually within punk, hardcore, and grind..
The band began under unusual circumstances. Mike recounts “ I was taking a casual stroll by the graveyard on a dark, moonless night when I heard the sound of a faint whistling. Upon investigating I was pleased to come upon my friend Chips emerging from the dense fog surrounding us. As we walked on among the crypts and mausoleums, we became aware of an ominous whispering, accompanied by the soft glow of a campfire. But of course there was nothing to fear- Dave, Bo, and Rachel were merely performing some inexplicable ritual. I never learned the nature of it.”
The debut album was recorded in a single session within the mythical Grey’s Warehouse in west Philadelphia, a massive warehouse of unending hallways home to practice spaces, churches, workshops, and studios. Drums, bass, and guitar were recorded live, with synth and vocals added separately. The session moved quickly due to the band being well practiced going in, with most live takes requiring no more than two attempts. “Honestly it was very chill and smooth and fun. Eric did a great job and was super easy to work with!”
Subtle Body is Mike: Drums & Electronics, Rachel: Synth, Dave: Bass, Chips: Guitar, Bo: Vox
Contact
Booking: mjmartin1218[at]gmail.com
Bandcamp
Press
“[A] twenty-three-minute descent into the gothic side of basement punk. Dave’s bass swims in a murky sea of haunting vocals, freaked-out drums, and plenty of synths in “The Body”, the first non-intro track, and most of Subtle Body’s rockers (“Infinite Casualties”, “Social Dispute”, “Stolen World”) follow in much the same fashion. Nevertheless, Subtle Body still have the capability to swerve into a strange synth ambient piece right in the middle of the album (“Eyes on the Ground”), and are even able to more or less successfully merge their weird and punk sides with “Estrangement”. Subtle Body wrap up their first album about as quickly as possible, but there’s still time for one five-minute epic in “Black Candle”, which is effectively four minutes of pounding garage-post-punk and then a weird electronic outro; altogether, the future is looking nice and bleak for Subtle Body.” – Rosy Overdrive