Estel

ESTEL formed in 1999 in Dublin city. We are independent. We enjoy doing it ourselves. Many recordings have been released featuring us [ check out http://www.estelrocks.com/releases.html for more precise information.]. Some folks dig us, some folks hate us [normally through the medium of the internet, of course!]. We have shared the stage with bands like 90 DAY MEN/ BILGE PUMP/ THE APES/ PARTY OF HELICOPTERS/ FUNERAL DINER/ BLACK EYES/ THE EX/ HOOVER/ CULT OF LUNA/ MIKE WATT AND THE SECONDMEN/ LIGHTNING BOLT/ DJ SCOTCH EGG/ ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE/DAS WANDERLUST/ THE DULOKS/ OWLS/ THE LIARS/ MICHAEL GIRA/ DEVANDRA BERNHARDT/ CHECK ENGINE/ NINETYNINE/ ART OF FIGHTING and every irish band ever, ever. We have recorded music in the studio with ADRIAN CROWLEY/ MIKE WATT/ STEVE MACKAY and more. Below are a couple of pieces written about us that might make things clearer or not. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ You couldn’t possibly find a band in Ireland more underground than Estel: formed in the late Nineties they’ve shied away from trends and snares of media attention and survived a tumultuous line-up history to record four albums, of which the latest is The Bones of Something, released on their own label, Little Plastic Tapes. Despite the band’s imposing appearance of seriously-dedicated anti-rockers, I don’t think you have to be clued-in to any one genre to appreciate the syrup of layers: if your demands of bands include reverie so deep you jolt-to when the music stops, the sweet guitars and synths of Estel will surely pull you under. Strange to think one of the band’s splits led to the formation of polar opposites Cap Pas Cap. Far removed from the pastel-neon aura of current experimental in Ireland, Estel delight in dark, selfish music and anyone who doesn’t like it can bloody well jog on. [OFF HER ROCKER] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Estel have now been strutting their uncompromising stuff for nigh on a decade and their number of line up changes almost rivals that of The Fall. Throughout that time, they've given ne'er a tinker's cuss about courting popularity. As fads have come and gone along rock's lost highway, Estel have always purposefully missed each turn marked 'chart action', preferring to veer into unmapped, weird and progressively forbidden territory wherever possible. Even in these open and enlightened times, their characteristically undomesticated instrumentals do not sit comfortably in any scenester's pigeonhole long enough to be flavour of the week. All of which suits this four- piece down to the ground- but the consequences is playing support gigs like this (tonight's headliners are Londoners LR rockets) to an audience who don't get it or necessarily want it. At the very least, it lends the performance an edge; Estel's aloofness, if not there sounds, should provoke a charged reaction from the punters. Yet what they get is an apathetic, squatting ovation. Driven by Steven Anderson's mesmeric bass and Andrew Bushe's dominant drumming, the melodies (if we can apply such a staid term here) are bludgeoned in by Tommy O'Sullivan's plethora of wig-out guitar tricks and founder- member Sarah Sheil's unpredictable keyboard skills. Apart from the upset to their cosy, preconcieved notions, part of the audience's difficulty with Estel may be the seamless nature of the set - one nightmarishly inventive construction almost blends into the next without space for reaction. But these are the outer limits of post- rock and the continuation beyond the progressive- the place where you Journey to the centre of john's ma while being menaced by Little mucous monsters. Estel's inherent daring and outsider positioning make a mockery of the staid nature of popular music in all it's forms. Bravo, Estel- here's to the next 10 years. [JOHHNY CRAIG. IN DUBLIN MAGAZINE] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Another band to shake a few musical foundations with an astounding and mostly intrumental sound is Dublins 'Estel' . Tracks like Estels 'Mark' see Pink Floyds 'See Emily Play' colliding with Gongs 'Camembert Electrique', while 'Fun House' has so much jazzed up funk that you'd expect the late James Brown to suddenly asscend from his grave through a trapdoor in front of them just so he can 'get down to it' again too. Their back catalogue of tracks are all equally unique and captivating musical journeys that refuse to be restricted by any specific genre or tag ...apart from perhaps 'epic' rock. So if you'd like to have your sence of musical order scrambled before being taken on an epic roller coaster of a voyage throughout a stunning landscape of sound then visit Estel's MySpace page here...[RYAN O'RIAN WEBSITE] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Flagbearers of the alternative scene in Dublin, this is a band that everyone with half a brain wonders why they havnt made it big yet! Noisey, ambience that clashes with solid riffs, thundering keyboards and a solid rythmn section give this band the credit they deserve. With an up and coming new release featuring Mike watt (minutemen) and Steve Mckaye (Stooges), be sure to do your homework on this amazing band and pick this up! [HEADWRECKER DISTRO] +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ This Irish quartet plays dark, instrumental, goth rock. Angry at times, gloomy at others, they communicate these sentiments well with their urgent tempos, nimble guitar lines and dour melodies. It all gels together beautifully, creating a cathartic swell of emotion. [PUNK PLANET] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ estel are attractive yet understated, over bearing yet never around, soft yet unrelenting, yes this underground band have traveled the skys of uncertanty for so long that their freshness is uncanny with that of an assure sky of tranquility, to describe estel in one word would be an uncertain travesty of ages yet my attempt results in this: cool breeze carrying a deadly virus: must we cry in the face of destruction or conjure up the hope that all is lost and the end is nigh, post apocolyptic music for the person that just wont listen, let it be said estel are here to stay and their last album {a compilation of their geatest hits} sees the band off in a kinda rude demeaning manner. article by mossy byrne. [SOGGY PARADE MAGAZINE] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The danger with instrumental music is that it become an insipid and escapist exercise in pleasant mood creation (think new age, smooth jazz or chill-out electronica), allowing listeners to tune out both from the music itself and whatever situation it is intended to mitigate. Sometimes writers will call this anesthetizing electronic music "mesmerizing" or "hypnotic", forgetting that hypnosis is really an extreme form of concentration. In their vigilant exclusion of such commercial elements as melody, hooks, uplifting lyrics and instrumental virtuosity (all transparent means to the shallow end of unreflective pleasure), Estel encourage listeners to actually pay attention to what they hear, to consider the sounds in and of themselves rather than merely use them as a magic carpet to some banal happy place. If listeners rise to this challenge, they afford themselves that rare opportunity to become mesmerized by the full depth and intense focus of their own thoughts.[SPLENDID ZINE] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Estel are a progressive, experimental, psychedelic band from Dublin with their influences being Satan, underground music from the 1950’s to the present day; including prog, punk, metal, kraut, no wave, new wave and all other crazy types of shit. Estel has been in existence , in one form or another, since 1998, having released several albums on their own Little Plastic Tapes label, the most recent being the fairly disturbing ‘The Bones Of Something’ This recent album sounds like something from one of David Lynch’s bizarre acid dreams, never mind one of his films! [MANTUA FEST. BLURB] +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Estel delivered what is typical of their sets over the past 18 months, leaving behind the melodic stoner orchaestrations of their second [sic] album Angelpie, I Think I Ate Your Face and souping everything up with some viciously hypnotic synth drone over some pounding drums. And their set truly was hypnotic, whether that’s an indication of the unwillingness of a Dublin indie crowd to move beyond impersonating head nodding corpses or that the echoes of a live Doors favourite "Not To Touch The Earth" could really be heard amidst the musical spirals. [SOUNDTRACKS FOR THEM] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Estel have been tearing it up for over nine years with plenty of releases and shows under their belt to vouch for their abilities as a band. Sometimes brooding, sometimes driving, Estel offer a break from the usual non stop punk rock action and offer up their own interpretation of early 80's post punk and new wave with plenty dashes of rock thrown in for good measure. Working through various line ups and always under their own steam, Estel have gone from strenght to strength, managing to play punk, indie, metal and all other kinds of shows and still holding their own and gaining a bigger and better reputation. Armed with new songs and a new drive, expect Estel to kick your teeth in. [CURFEW FEST 07 PROMO] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ By some strange stretch of the imagination this quartet appear to have been lumped in with the post rock crew, maybe because it’s their desire to play instrumentals, yet it’s not as if their style encourages chin stroking fascination, in fact it tends to throttle the very life out of you with it’s unrelenting force and friction, for Estel tread a fine line between controlled genius and reckless insanity, with Sonic Youth on one side and Hawkwind on the other. [LOSING TODAY] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Along with the likes of Jimmy Behan, Joan of Arse and Damien Frost, Estel are the much undervalued and underexposed anti-christs to the Frames, Mundy and Damien Rice’s hand-minging preachings. [HOT PRESS]

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