It all happened very fast. When ‘Wait For Evolution’ came out, De Staat had already laid a healthy foundation with truly mesmerizing live shows. Belgium band, dEUS took them on a UK tour and shortly afterwards De Staat was invited to play on major Dutch and Belgium festivals and venues, again to great responses. During the Lowlands gig in the Summer of ‘09 no one other than Chris Goss (Masters of Reality, producer Queens Of The Stone Age) was watching the band and liked what he saw. He introduced them to Mascot Records who signed them in a heartbeat and released ‘Wait For Evolution’ internationally in the Spring of 2010. It turned out Holland wasn’t the only one adoring the band, also internationally the album was greeted with euphoric reviews. That year the band spend a lot of time on the road; sharing a stage with Iggy Pop in Toronto, playing to thousands of people in the beautiful valley of Glastonbury, opening for The Stranglers in the legendary ‘Le Bataclan’ in Paris, doing small showcases in Lower East Manhattan or Berlin, just the kind of jazz they love. And they could use a change of scenery, new people, new music and a new audience because it gave lead singer and songwriter Torre Florim all the more inspiration for the follow-up of ‘Wait for Evolution’: “Machinery”

When De Staat went to record ‘Machinery’, this time with a full band in tow, the options were much bigger. The challenge was to define the sound through the contributions and interaction of each member of the band. Not only would the album be a team effort instead of Torre recording by himself at home, with nothing more than two cheap mics, one dusty old laptop and one beginners guitar (the one’s that come with a small amp and a bag included). They also have some expectations to live up to, they have to prove all the fuss around them was well-deserved. Fortunately ‘Machinery’ meets all those expectations. The album is described by the band as a “gut-inducing slab of psycho funk.” It’s a dark sonic adventure that takes the listener through underground caves of blues, funk and electro where halal butchers, serial killers, whistleblowers, rats and sweat-covered bodybuilders cross paths.

The musical influences on ‘Machinery’ are best experienced through the sound. First impressions cite the rhythms and soundscapes of minimal music-composer Steve Reich, combined with the raw analogue sound of garage rockers Dead Weather.

Photo: Courtney Chavanell

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