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Gisborne not only tracked all of the instruments, but also engineered, mixed and produced the LP – in the middle of his living room. While it reflects influences that range from early Jack White, to Thee Oh Sees and Arctic Monkeys, the album showcases Velvet Starlings own take on neo-60’s-garage – best described as “beach-fuzz-psych” with a big cheeky nod to the UK Invasion.
Technicolour Shakedown is the follow up to 2019’s EP Love Everything, Love Everyone. Christian – who turned 18 in May – released his debut self-titled EP Velvet Starlings when he was 15. Both EP’s charted in the top 5 at Specialty Radio and hit #1 on KROQ’s “Locals Only.” Gisborne also caught the attention of, among others, BBC Radio, Shepard Fairey, and The Kinks’ Dave Davies who all count themselves as fans of Velvet Starlings. Several of the tracks have been licensed including, an international ad campaign, Netflix television and Amazon films.
Speaking about the album Gisborne says “in the doom and gloom of Covid I found myself reminiscing all the time about the days when we would wait in line for hours to see our favorite bands. The songs on the first album reflect everything I felt I was missing out on.” With a bevvy of new songs written and ready to unleash, Gisborne was craving the comradery of a band. He turned to brothers Foster and Hudson Poling who play drums and bass respectively. They first met in line outside of a 2019 Cage The Elephant show and, discovering a shared love of The Who and SpongeBob, quickly found themselves making a plan to meet up at a rehearsal space to jam. Gisborne had previously used session musicians to augment his live set but as his friendship with the Polings grew, so did his realization that they were the perfect fit for this new era of Velvet Starlings.
Looking to 2021 and beyond Christian says, “I think a Rock n Roll renaissance is coming after this crazy year of lock down. We’re hoping that a full front-to-back of Technicolour Shakedown will evoke the feeling you get at a rock n roll house party – wherever the listener may find themself.”
Los Angeles based, Kitten Robot Records will be releasing the vinyl for this LP in February, 2022. The video for the single, “Can’t Control” was produced in Scotland and features local Edinburgh artists, Martin Hughes (Angelica Mode) as the actor. Hughes brother, Brian Hughes co-directed the video with French director Joseph Calhoun. Gisborne met the Hughes brothers while touring Scotland at a Velvet Starlings show and struck up a friendship that resulted in the collaboration. “Can’t Control” is presently being championed by Scottish actor/DJ, Robert Carlyle known for his role in the award-winning film Trainspotting.
Velvet Starlings
Hailing from Los Angeles and the beach cities of Southern California, Velvet Starlings was founded by guitarist and organ player Christian Gisborne. And while known for his concert attendance record and impressive Lego collection, it is his musical prowess as a performer, writer, recording artist and producer that is putting him on the map.