Chameleons

The legacy of The Chameleons dates all the way back to 1981 when the band were discovered by the legendary BBC Radio host John Peel. Following their debut single ‘In Shreds’ for Epic Records in 1982,  the band released three seminal albums: the widely acclaimed ‘Script of the Bridge’ (1983), cited by many sources to be a masterpiece way ahead of its time, its follow up ‘What Does Anything Mean?  Basically!’ (1984) and for the US based Geffen Records ‘Strange Times’ (1986). Their unique sound  quickly captivated the public through their very own mix of melancholic, yet energetic and powerful tunes, hypnotic ethereal riffs and the potent, timeless lyrical style. The Chameleons are considered to be  one of the most influential guitar bands of the 80s and 90s, contributing substantially to the post-punk,  shoegaze and indie scenes and are often regarded as one of the most underrated bands ever to emerge  from the city of Manchester England.  

A soul-powered rock band on the heavier end of the shoegaze spectrum, the Veldt are dream pop at their core yet just as known for driving riffs and stirring vocals. Led by Daniel and Danny Chavis, identical twin brothers who proudly cited the likes of Echo & the Bunnymen and Public Enemy as inspirations in early interviews, the Veldt were misunderstood from their late-’80s beginning. They arrived as outliers between waves of underground bands from their native North Carolina, sharing little in common with the likes of the dB’s, Let’s Active, Superchunk, and Archers of Loaf. Established in 1986, the band didn’t make their recorded debut until six years later with the Marigolds EP, and in 1994 released their first album, Afrodisiac. That they had key single “Soul in Jar” remixed by the Jesus and Mary Chain and Diamond D, pioneers in their respective fields of noise-pop and boom-bap hip-hop, explained much about their categorically evasive if natural approach to sound. Active in fits and starts since the mid-’90s, the Veldt evolved into Apollo Heights in the early 2000s. Entropy Is the Mainline to God marked the studio return of the Veldt in 2022. The next year, they seized control of a shelved album produced by Cocteau Twins’ Robin Guthrie, referencing its year of recording with the title Illuminated 1989.