DIRTY SOUND MAGNET - Live Alert (Sealed) (LP)

In a parallel universe, this album is called "Live in the UK" and you can hear a warm english crowd cheering between tracks. But it appears that some mysterious force decided to change the face of the Earth around March 2020. Before Covid-19 kicked in, Dirty Sound Magnet had already made all necessary arrangements to record the live shows of their April UK tour 2020. They felt that after having spent so much time on the road playing their albums "Transgenic" (2019) and "Western Lies" (2017), the songs had evolved beyond the album versions. It's in the nature of the band to improvise on stage and to change song structures as they see fit. The trio considers a song alive as long as it evolves on stage. That is how new parts emerge and how the band ends up having various live arrangements for their songs. Many fans have expressed the desire to be able to enjoy these live versions at home. The band was ready and eager to produce this record. Sadly, the European spring shows got canceled abruptly. Stavros (Guitar, lead vocals), Marco (bass, backing vocals) and Maxime (drums, backing vocals) decided to record a live album anyway because they knew that these live versions would present the band in its truest and most authentic form. This album had to exist. It was clear that this live session would have a different flavour without an audience and therefore they’ve come to the conclusion that the only way to compensate was by recording amazing versions of the selected songs. The location of this live session was also a very important parameter and the band chose the place where all the magic happens, the laboratory where their sound and songs are created: their own studio in Fribourg, Switzerland. The band took a few weeks to rehearse the songs intensively. Once they felt in top form and ready to record and shoot, they called their film-maker friend Michael Maillard who filmed the entire session with his assistant Xavier Schaller. In Stavros’ words: ‘They were our audience! The presence of these two people gave us the energy we needed to perform as we would in front of a packed crowd. We felt so comfortable that we naturally went into wild improvised jams. It was a beautiful moment and the final result exceeds our expectations. This album simply presents three friends doing what they like the most. This is our Live Alert…’