i can't remember where this is from, but sent to me by Rachel rachilton@hotmail.com
Sunna
The Sound Of Science
"The only lyrics I've caught hold of over the last ten years have been Kurt Cobain's. He's the only song-writer that I've gone 'fuck me, this guy's tellin' the truth'," says Jon Harris, the charismatic leader of new Brit rockers, Sunna.
Welcome to Denver, Colorado. As the temperature hits the '80's the crowd outside The Fillmore Theatre are buzzing with anticipation. Apart from catching the awesome APC live experience they're about to witness up 'n' coming Brit Rockers, Sunna, who are currently making waves Stateside after being personally invited to tour with Billy Howerdel's band on their sell-out US dates, And that's not all. 'Power Struggle', their forthcoming single has already been snapped up in the States and features in the latest Hollywood blockbuster 'Hollow Man', a remake of 'The Invisible Man'. All this before their album 'One Minute Science' has seen it's UK release. Tonight, the crowd are 'up for it' and Sunna receive rapturous applause from the newly converted, despite the odd breakdown of instruments. "Every single show we've done on this tour, we're a support band. In England everybody's round the bloody pub until the main act comes on, but everyone here's been up there, it's been packed. When the lights go down everybody cheers for us," says Jon, now sitting on the tour bus. "And they get their tits out a lot more," quips guitarist, and long time friend, Ian McLaren who joins us too. Previously both Jon and Ian had a band which signed to RCA but according to Jon the deal went "tits up". Back in Bristol Jon got involved with Massive Attack's 3D and Daddy G and contributed guitar parts to MA's 'Mezzanine' album. Ian returned from travelling and with the help of producer Neil Davidge they began writing and recording 'One Minute Science', their utterly compelling debut. "The title comes from the way the songs were created," explains Jon. "There weren't laboured over, it was all quite spontaneous. Because of my quick learning of computers and Pro-tools it was a cross over point for me from being just a rock band doing guitar music to actually incorporating technology. I still managed to create this album quite quickly despite all this computer shit going on," he laughs. 'OMS' is a fabulous blend of dark and dirty riffs, distorted guitars, energy and melancholy all wrapped up in barbed wire to create a diverse and captivating record. "There is a continuity of lyrics", says Jon. "The music has a lot of diversity to it but the actual style of songwriting's got a line to it somewhere. All the songs are quite dark in mood and attitude but they all have…what's the word…a light at the end of the tunnel. I write songs that are dark in meaning but actually pull something positive from it at the end." Comparisons to Mr Reznor are inevitable on some of the songs but Jon admits to actually not knowing any of the NIN catalogue. "When I was growing up I was more into the new wave stuff," he reveals. "Flock Of Seagulls…" quips Ian, laughing. "Bands like Bauhaus were a big influence on me, Daniel Ash was my kinda guitar hero. Siouxie And The Banshees, Cure, I liked that kinda stuff", continues Jon. After recording the album the band got offered a deal by Melankolic, the label run by Massive Attack members. Jon was reluctant at first after the dealings with his former label but eventually a deal was inked. The inspiration for the single 'Power Struggle' derived from the common bee, which also feature in the video, about 30,000 of the little winged stingers. "Initially when I first created that song I got a sample of some bees and I could hear a loop so I looped it up and then put a beat to it. Then I copied the loop with a distorted guitar…" he explains. "The bees have 90% publishing", laughs Ian, before continuing. "The only person who got stung in the video was the beekeeper." Sunna are completed by bassist Shane Goodwin, drummer Richie Mills and Rich Cahill aka Flatline on decks and samples (and also possibly the only person who's never heard of Iron Maiden). With the release of 'One Minute Science' in the UK are they hoping for chart success? "Personally I'd like to get a big underground thing going. If we get enough people listening to our stuff on that level, getting on support tours and stuff then I'm happy with that," says Ian. Sunna will be supporting Smashing Pumpkins on some of their European dates before a full UK tour in November. Science never sounded so good.
Album Review
You might think that having Massive Attack's ex-bassist and the drummer from Cable doesn't exactly make Sunna much of a supergroup but, than again, you'd be hard pressed to think - certainly in recent times - of any high-profile collaboration that's turned out an album of the sheer quality of this one. By the time main man Jon Harris is howling "I don't like you and I never will!" as the chorus of mighty opening track 'I'm Not Trading' the sense of listening to a band of scarcely-matched ambition and articulacy is unavoidable. Recent single 'O.D.' (definitely autobiographical, which begs the question how much else of this is) might chiefly have showcased their palpable pop kick but the tricks on the show range from the genuinely Nivanaesque tenderness of 'I Miss' to the thrilling scrape-yourself-off the industrial tread of 'Power Struggle', all of them executed with a flawless fierceness. The British Deftones anyone?
Iain Moffat (he gave it - 4 smiley faces out of five)