Los Plantronics
Shortnin Bread

LOS PLANTRONICS – releases concept album “SURFING TIMES” may 2015. First up a 7” vinylsingle from the record called “Shortnin’ Bread” out now!

A “Global Surf-Orchestra-A-Go-Go” experience; featuring jaw-dropping wildguitars, exotic organs, swooping strings, outlaw bandido brass, blasting sax, savage jungle drums, sizzling percussion, weird melodies, and most of all: – intoxicating moments where raw passion & personalitymeets a red hot production! Surfing Times(a adventures surf-related concept album), -is a head spinning trip from berzerk surf to crooning mariachi tunes; – there are instrumentals & vocals alike in a program that will just wipe you out! Surf Psychosis & Mariachi Madness?? AMEN!!!

Counterculture: SURF INSTRUMENTALS -“one of the coolest and smallest subgenre ever!” – Julian Cope.

On “Surfing Times”, the Oslo based raucous 9-piece orchestra are using their surf foundation for exploration -seeking unknown destinations. The result is a magical musical ride, from the “roots of surf”; – wild 50’s rock’n’roll, instrumental nuggets & frantic R&B,via the Surf-Age, 60’s garage & Tex Mex, to a place where surf meets psych, latin-exotica & hot swinging movie soundtracks. And there’s even a mariachi version of Gene Clarks masterpiece So You Say You Lost Your Babyin there! It’s sort of a soundtrack to apsychedelic exploitation surf movie set in Mexico.

The Concept:
Los Plantronics wouldn’t be able to play like an authentic surf band even if they wanted to,but when artist Johnny Stingray (uk) send them an amazing period piece of art* (Rick Griffin-isque), they used about 3 seconds to decide that this should be the artwork for a new album. They even decided to keep the title, Surfing Times, as well. The only thing they now had to do was to record 12 songs that would fit inside the cover (hence motto:“What you see is what you get”) which makes the whole process totally reverse to a normal recording process. The band really put their heart & soul into it; sat down on their Mexican beach blanket and re-arranged six tunes from the golden area and wrote six new ones to fit the project.

* As seen in the book SURF GRAPHICS

The Recording:
While recording an album full of instrumental surf rock style guitar, that’s not only a three chord album, but has some more substance to it, and is musically different than most music out there, you need a certain production. To achieve the authentic tribal sound, meanwhile, the band moved to a small cabin in the middle of the woods with 20 degrees below on the outside while recording live to 2,5” tape atSnaxville Recordings (which is possible as far as you can get from any surf environment). Snaxville is small studio in a barn in Skogbyda somewhere between Oslo and Sweden where engineer and vintage whizz Henrik Maarud is manning the equipment (see artists: Amund Maarud, The Grand, Morudes etc.).

Mixing and additional recordings done atAmper Tone Studio (Oslo) by Bård Ingebrigtsen, on a desk from 1973 preferably used by ABBA, Keith Richards, Joey Ramone, Joan Jett, Black Keys, Yo La Tengo, etc.

A creative storm was brewing and the effect is stunning, -if you’re in the mood for traveling to Trashville and get yourself lost in some surfadelic twang!!