"Some are Wolves" by the Skating Party, the musical project of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Gregory James and from the 2021 EP "Night Ruins", is a surreal pop dream with pearly 60's Brit pop guitars swimming in a psychedelic sea. The song, about a woman "who is lost in her vices and sought by many", for me conjures up a glitter ball dance of characters that exist in former times and now, maybe in another parallel universe. I love the dense haze of sound that is dissected, at times, by what sounds like radio transmissions and tube amp feedback. I love James' vocal aesthetic that has a hint of John Lennon.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://www.facebook.com/theskatingparty/
https://www.instagram.com/theskatingparty_official/
https://twitter.com/theSkatingParty
https://theskatingparty.bandcamp.com/
http://www.hiddengemrecords.com/
The Skating Party is the recording project and moniker of Philadelphia multi-instrumentalist, “Gregory James.” Early records leaned heavily on Prince-esque synths, LinnDrum programming, and hook-laden guitars in the like of the Cure meets the Cocteau Twins. In more recent years, the songwriting became more atmospheric, emphasizing reverb-soaked vocal melodies, dreamier guitar lines, and more live drumming tribal drumming.
After originally releasing 2 albums and a compilation on Philly imprint label, Hidden Gem Records, “the Skating Party,” was regularly invited to contribute to compilations with “the Blog that Celebrates itself Records,” “Fadeawayradiate Records,” “Shiny Happy Records,” and more.
In June of 2018, the Skating Party released their 4th record, titled “Been Caught Feeling,” which is a sonic blend of dreampop/shoegaze with Gregory at the helm for all instrumentation just like previous releases. It is the most consistent record to date as was voted #1 of the 1st Semester of Shoegaze/Dreampop releases of 2019 by Shoegaze Alive 9 blogspot.
In 2019, Hidden Gem Records & the Skating Party curated a 2nd compilation with the usual suspects, “the Death of Pop,” and “the Arctic Flow,” as well as Philly locals, “Telyscopes,” and “Panophonic.” Each artist contributed an original song to the 10 track cassette, titled, “Colorwheel Volume 2.”
2020 marked more releases with Hidden Gem Recs, Fadeaway Radiate Recs (UK), and Shiny Happy Recs (Indonesia). The Skating Party was invited to perform on Shiny Happy Rec's "My Secret World - Quarantine Sessions," live stream. Throughout the year, a total of 78 artists from around the world would contribute to the broadcast, and digital compilation was released to summarize the performances by Shiny Happy Records.
the Skating Party, Bedroom / Lo-fi Pop, Lo-fi Rock, Dream Pop, indie rock, art rock, Philadelphia, multi-instrumentalist, Gregory James, post punk, ""Some are Wolves", EP "Night Ruins",
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