Music you should listen to: Sultan Bathery

The india-inspired punks from Sultan Bathery

When scrolling through music blogs around you sometimes find the craziest stories only rock'n'roll can write. Like the one of Sultan Bathery, which I encountered first around half a year ago. The three Italian punks went to India, and then came home to Vicenza to form a psychedelic garage band.

The reason they felt so inspired? The, quote on quote, “worst place they’ve ever been to” – the town they named themselves after: Sultan Bathery. There they got stoned, reveled in the absence of female company, and ate spicy food to the point of hating how much they loved this strange place.

Maybe the sinister beauty of this desolate Indian location struck a literal chord with the Italians, because as a band, the three childhood friends developed an equally should-be-contradictory lo-fi mix of jangly garage rock, rich psychedelia and Ennio Morricone-adoring soundscapes that quickly earned them a buzz after the release of their debut 7” EP Fireworx in 2012 for Slovenly Recordings.

The Fireworx EP

Just a few days ago, they released their long anticipated debut full-length album. The self-titled piece is a musical trip that is electric and bumpy and leads to the eternal gods. Their mix of neo-garage, lo-fi rock and psychedelia is one hell of an experience. On the new LP, they've got buzzing and fried guitar solos on "Mirrors" and "Dead Leaves"; "On the Run" is a rolling blues. Each track offers a different hue, but everything's complementary and certainly lives in the same wheelhouse.

Slovenly Records, the label Sultan Bathery's debut album is released, is one to recommend. They have got a cool roster of artists from all over the world holding it down with some real rock'n'roll, it is worth to check out the releases from all over the place.

The crazy-good debut self-titled LP of Sultan Bathery, you just have to dig that image.

To prove that this Italian guys are some pretty crazy dudes, I found a piece of an weird interview:

Is hell real for you?
For sure! It’s within ourselves and we contribute to creating it. Hell is the response of matter to our extreme requests of egotistic pleasures. Dont mess with Karma!

Have you ever been arrested on battery charges?
Never arrested, except the singer, when he was younger broke into a closed swimming pool, got high with friends, and it ended with hands on wall and gun in the back.
The bass player was searched by police for something that cannot be written here, stayed away from home for a while and luckily ended up with nothing.
But actually, we are really good guys.

What kind of animal represents you the best?

Monkeys! Crazy and tricky!

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