Picastro
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Picastro is a Canadian
slowcore Slowcore is a subgenre of alternative rock and indie rock. The music of slowcore artists is generally characterized by bleak lyrics, downbeat melodies, slower tempos and minimalist arrangements. Slowcore is often used interchangeably with the t ...
and
rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...
band based in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. The band is fronted by guitarist/vocalist Liz Hysen, and currently includes
cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...
Nick Storring, synth and guitarist Matthew Ramolo (Khora) and
drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...
Germaine Liu. Past members included Evan Clarke, Rachel McBride,
Owen Pallett Michael James Owen Pallett (born September 7, 1979) is a Canadian composer, violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist. Under their erstwhile moniker of Final Fantasy, Pallett won the 2006 Polaris Music Prize for the album ''He Poos Clouds''. Pallet ...
, Stephanie Vittas, Kurt Newman, Alex McLeod and Zak Hanna.


History

Picastro formed in 1998 in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
. In 2002 they released their debut album, ''Red Your Blues'', with slow, heavy instrumental music overlaid with Hysen's vocal work. The band toured the U.S. and performed on
WFMU WFMU is a listener-supported, independent community radio station, licensed to East Orange, New Jersey. Since 1998 its studios and operating facilities have been headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. It broadcasts locally at 91.1 Mhz FM, in ...
as well as recorded a session for Daytrotter Session and several videos for La Blogtheque. ''Red Your Blues'' was featured as "Album of the Week" in the
London Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
following its release on Monotreme and the band appeared on Gideon Coe's
BBC 6 BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...
show. The song "Winter Notes" appeared on the television show "24". Following this, ''Metal Cares'' was released on Polyvinyl Records and Monotreme and the band toured Europe several times, performing on VPRO and various festivals. After releasing the album ''Whore Luck'', Picastro performed at the X-Avant Festival in 2007. The song "Towtruck" was featured on the BBC and included on the Wire's, ''Wire Tapper,'' volume 13. The band's 2009 album, ''Become Secret'', featured mainly the lead singer Hysen; 2012's ''Fool, Redeemer'' was a collaboration between Hysen, Aidan Baker and Leah Buckareff. The band continued to tour Europe expanding into the Balkans, Eastern Europe and the Baltics. in 2014, Picastro released ''You'', which contained more extensive contributions from the other band members. The band then went on a European tour."PREMIERE: Picastro’s “State Man” video is a cracked, distorted mirror"
''Chart Attack'', Chris Hampton - Apr 14, 2015


Discography

* ''Red Your Blues'' (2002) * ''Metal Cares'' (2005) * ''Whore Luck'' (2007) * ''Become Secret'' (2009) (vinyl) * ''Become Secret'' (2010) (CD) * ''Fool, redeemer'' (2011) split with Nadja released on Alien8 * ''You'' (2014) *''Exit'' (2019)


References


External links


Picastro
on Myspace
Polyvinyl records

Blocks Recording Club

Picastro on Bandcamp
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1998 Canadian post-rock groups Musical groups from Toronto Shoegazing musical groups 1998 establishments in Ontario