ANIMATO
Los Angeles, California, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2012 | SELF
Music
Press
Artist: Animato
Rating: 9.0
Songwriting - 8.5 || Music - 9.5 || Vocals - 9.0
Web: animatoband.com
Location: Los Angeles
Genre: ElectroFunk / Synthpop / New Wave
Animato puts the 'm' in monster music. This five-piece electrofunk/new wave band from the 'City of Angels' (LA) consists of Joey Medina, Steve Mungarro, Jason Ywahu, Rexelle, & Raul Martinez. Heavy on energy and light on boring, the band's self-titled EP is filled with catchy melodies and dance grooves that will get your head nodding and your sweat glands pouring. Animato is a modern edition of great 80's new wave acts that came before them like, The Talking Heads and Wang Chung, bringing synth-driven music that puts your endorphins in motion and your lip-sync talents to good use.
ANIMATO, the EP, offers five incredibly infectious tracks that really got my day off to a great start. Of the tracks available on the project, my favorite song is Lovers Leap, because it kicks the EP off on the right foot and has a great collection of catchy melodies. From the outset, the kick and reverbed toms almost force you to nod your head, so by the time the piano and vocals come in, you're already in the mood for that thunderous stadium sound. The build ups and bursts of open vocal notes make the song easy to sing along with (a key element in every hit song), and the creative synth pads fill the gaps nicely. I'm a vocal guy, so when I hear great vocals and melody arrangements backed by amazing production...man, I live for this kind of stuff! This is a must hear track for anyone who enjoys the creative music productions of guys like Will.I.Am and Dr. Luke.
Overall, ANIMATO (the EP and the band), is 100% official and worth the money and time spent enjoying the sounds. Other tracks I really dug on this EP include: Souls for Gold and Resist. Each of these tracks adds its own defining color to make this an awesome new release. I hope to hear a full LP from Animato some time in the near future because, I'm officially a fan. The only thing that can stop this band is itself. The key to this EP's success will be gaining as much media and radio attention, coupled with lots of live performance dates. Go check this band out if you like electrofunk/synth pop. I'm sure you'll like what you hear.
Reviewed By: Shaine Freeman, host of The Miews podcast (Twitter - @ShaineFreeman) - I Am Entertainment: Shaine Freeman
“Electrofunk, Synthpop, Indie Rock” - a maneira com que Animato se descreve não poderia ser mais explicativa, já que a banda transita com fluências entre essas referências. Por outro lado, “música muito boa e cheia de energia” também define bem o som feito pelo quinteto de Los Angeles.
Dá vontade de levantar e dançar enquanto canta a música. Ouça e entenda.
É um som bem contemporâneo, cheio das influências de outras bandas que tanto gostamos aqui no Monkeybuzz. As guitarras e os sintetizadores pesam sem medo para acompanhar um clima Pop mais sujinho e obscuro que permeia todas as faixas do EP que carrega o nome do grupo, lançado em 2014.
Isso está presenta também nas músicas mais lentas, como Crossfire. O que fica ao ouvir o disco, no entanto, é a vontade de dançar com faixas como Lovers Leap e Resist, que agradam em cheio quem gosta de uma farra feita com banda completa. E “completo” é um bom termo pra comentar um conjunto com tantas vozes, duas guitarras e tantos elementos eletrônicos ao mesmo tempo.
A agenda de Animato em Los Angeles é bem agitada, com shows frequentes para mostrar esse som tão presente na cena alternativa da cidade. Fique atento para a chance de ver uma apresentação, se você tiver planos de ir a Califórnia em breve.
Animato encontra-se em estúdio trabalhando em algumas faixas que serão lançadas digitalmente em breve. Enquanto isso, ficamos com o EP. - Monkeybuzz: André Felipe de Medeiros
Discography
Photos
Bio
Los Angeles band ANIMATO is a high-energy, electro dance machine comprised of Joey Medina (Lead Vocals/Guitar/Keys), Steve Mungarro (Bass/2nd Vocals/Synth Programming), Rexelle (Keys/Synth Guitar/2nd Vocals/Percussion), and Jason Ywahu (Drums/Programming). The band began to form in late 2012 in the wake of the breakup of previous Los Angeles band “The Tender Box.” Joey and Steve (originally hailing from southeast LA) of the now defunct group decided to join forces and start a new project that incorporates a more electronic-infused sound. And after an active search, they then brought on San Diego native multi-instrumentalist Rexelle (also known as Maria-Rexelle) in late 2012, and Boston native drummer Jason Ywahu in early 2013 to add the final pieces of the puzzle. The result of this “Social Experiment” as the band calls it, is a musical collaboration that encompasses a myriad of influences combined with 80s Electrofunk, Synthpop, Darkwave, and Britpop.
Since then, ANIMATO has independently released their self-titled debut EP in September 2014 along with the music video for “Souls for Gold.” This song is featured in the upcoming film “Looking for Lions,” which was officially selected to premier at the 2014 Austin Film Festival.
Earlier this year, ANIMATO was featured in the nationally broadcasted Guitar Center New Year Sale TV commercial.
A few months later, ANIMATO won the national “Musician of The Year” title at the 6th Annual RAWards Indie Arts Awards held by the RAW: Natural Born Artists organization.
And just recently, ANIMATO won the Skinnie Magazine/Acropolis Records Battle for The Vans Warped Tour, which won them a slot to perform at the Vans Warped Tour in Ventura, CA.
“Heavy on energy and light on boring, the band’s self-titled EP is filled with catchy melodies and dance grooves that will get your head nodding and your sweat glands pouring.” – I Am Entertainment Magazine
Band Members
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