With their emotive melodies, propulsive rhythms, angular guitars and dark cinematic electronics, TRAITRS have quickly become one of modern post-punk’s fastest rising independent bands. Consisting of Sean-Patrick Nolan and Shawn Tucker, TRAITRS formed during the summer of 2015 in Toronto, Ontario Canada and released their debut in April 2016. After gaining buzz in the European and North American dark music scenes, TRAITRS released their critically acclaimed LP Butcher’s Coin (Pleasence Records/Manic Depression/Alchera Visions) in May 2018. Backed by the strength of lead single ‘Thin Flesh’, the duo embarked on a series of Lengthy tours overseas, performed in over a dozen countries including showcases at Wave Gothik Treffen, Castle Party, Extramuralhas, Nocturnal Culture Night, Wavefest….
Traitrs in their own words on their sound: Our sound is a cinematic blend of post-punk, goth, alternative and post-rock. The bands that influenced us most: New Order, Tears For Fears, Phillip Glass, Protomartyr, Talk Talk, The Smiths, Placebo, The Cure…
“Oh, Ballerina”
Nolan: “While on tour, I became obsessed with the minimalist composer Phillip Glass. His music completely changed the way I thought about melodies and composition, so ‘Oh, Ballerina’ began as this minimal and abstract piano piece with some atmospheric textures and very little else. I played it for Shawn and he liked it so we took it to rehearsal and recorded a 10 minute demo. I had insomnia a few nights later and decided to listen to the demo very late at night and mid-way through the improvised recording, it was like the song suddenly revealed itself to me. Like a crack in the sky, I suddenly heard the drums and bass in my head and realized that what we worked on was literally just the beginning. At 3 am, I grabbed my laptop, quickly programmed some drums and we finished scripting it all the next day. We opened all of our fall 2019 shows with ‘Oh, Ballerina’ just to study the audience’s reaction to see if it held up with the rest of our catalogue and it always did.” Tucker: “I approached this song the way I imagined Placebo challenged songs like ‘Brick Shithouse’ or ‘The Bitter End’. Keeping it simple, minimal, but punchy and effective. That’s really what motivated the passion and drive in ‘Oh, Ballerina’. Lyrically the track focuses on obsession with someone else to the point of murder, based on a true story I had come across online. I felt the tone of the story perfectly mirrored what’s happening in the track instrumentally, dynamically and vocally. Keep running away now because you’re scared.”
Released Mid November 2021 by Freakwave.
Tracks:
01. Sea Howl
02. Mouth Poisons
03. Prostitution
04. Magdalene
05. Oh, Ballerina
06. TV Hours
07. All Living Hearts Betrayed
08. From This Old Mirror
09. Ghost And The Storm
10. Winter
11. The Way Through A Bird’s Love
English