About
About Springtime / Canto de Iemanjá
Brighton’s very own Merry Pranksters Wax Machine release a new double A-side single, with the three minute, psychedelic explosion of Springtime coupled with a tripped out version of Canto De Iemanja from Vinicius De Moraes and Baden Powell’s seminal 1966 Brazilian album Os Afro-Sambas.
Ahead of the release of their new self-produced LP Hermit’s Grove, Wax Machine today line up a new double A-side single. Springtime is a “meditation on the cycles of nature, the dance of duality, the swinging of the cosmic pendulum.” while Canto De Iemanja, originally featured on Vinicius De Moraes and Baden Powell’s Os Afro-Sambas album, is about the goddess of the sea Iemanja and a chant Brazilian-born, Italian/English-raised bandleader Lau Ro has often found themselves singing to the sea in their hometown of Brighton.
“The ocean is a muse of mine I go to the sea whenever I can. Her presence enlivens, refreshes and brings me deeper awareness. This version is a homage both to my motherland and the great big blue that separates us.”
Two EPs in 2018 preceded their debut album Earthsong of Silence in 2020, with Clash Magazine declaring that Wax Machine “occupy a space somewhere in the gaps where English psych-folk, sun drenched West Coast sounds, Brazilian Tropicália and spiritual jazz overlap.” That year they also had a track featured on the Mr Bongo Record Club 4 compilation.
Although there is constantly evolving line up both in studio and on stage, long time collaborators Toma Sapir (drums, percussions, samples/synths), Isobel Jones (Flute/Vocals) and Ella Russell (vocals in Canto De lemanja) all appear on both albums.
A tour de force live, the group have shared the stage with the likes of the Babe Rainbow, Kikagaku Moyo and Vanishing Twin. The band are currently in the midst of a UK and European tour, ending with a homecoming show in Brighton on 27th May.
