Panacea (band)
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| Panacea | ||
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 Promotional photo for Panacea's forthcoming album. Left to right: Pawel Cholewa, James Paterson, Mat Eccleston and Adam Buick.
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| Background information | ||
| Origin | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | |
| Genre(s) | Progressive Rock | |
| Years active | 2005-2007 | |
| Label(s) | Independent | |
| Website | Panacea Online | |
| Members | ||
| James Paterson, Adam Buick, Pawel Cholewa, Mat Eccleston | ||
Panacea is a four-piece progressive rock band from Melbourne, Australia. It consists of Adam Buick on drums, James Paterson on lead guitar, Pawel Cholewa on vocals and rhythm guitar, and Mathew Eccleston on electric bass. Adam and James formed the band and Pawel soon joined on vocals. They went through many bassists before Eccleston, but it looks at present that the band has found a long-term lineup. The majority of the songs are written by Pawel, with additional input from James and (more recently) Chloe Brien. Adam Buick also occasionally sings harmony when the band plays live - on studio tracks Pawel doubles the harmony parts himself.
Eccleston's bass style is of particular interest, often utilising a fretless bass. On some songs he utilises the slap bass technique. On occasion he sounds his bass by slapping or tapping the body of the instrument (rather than the strings).
They initially recorded four songs with no special equipment: Shame of Reality, Apple Cores, Nostalgia and Evening River. These four songs made up the Beautiful Dreamer EP, released as a free download on their website. Since then they have landed several gigs at places such as Ruby's Lounge and Revolver Upstairs on Chapel Street. They proceeded to secure studio time to record The Faded Colour TV Screen, Hope of Clarity and Winter's Rain as well as an improved version of Nostalgia. Their studio-recorded songs appear on their self-titled EP, released in July 2006. With the release of this CD, Beautiful Dreamer was removed from their website; the band has not indicated any intention of rereleasing it. However, Shame of Reality (which has become their signature song) is a live staple, and all its songs (with the sole exception of Evening River) are slated to appear on their forthcoming album. Panacea have announced that they will be going on hiatus for much of 2007, but their decision to release the album so soon before this suggests their firm intention to resume after this break. Their final farewell show will be at Ruby's Lounge, Belgrave on 9 February 2007.
Contents |
[edit] Songs
[edit] Beautiful Dreamer EP
[edit] Shame of Reality
Panacea's first song is an up-tempo rocker, confronting the issues of a person punishing himself for past sins. It begins in 4/4 time, going into a fast triple time for the bridge and James' solo, then back to 4/4 for the last chorus and outro. Unorthodox times are a feature of much of James Paterson's music, influenced by math rock. The section in the middle of this song is unusual in that it is in simultaneous 3/4 (on the bass and lead guitar) and 6/8 (on the rhythm guitar and drums). A part of the solo is arguably 9/8.
Although the song has a special place for both the band and their fans, its time signatures make it less than a breeze to play, and it is partly for this reason that it was not rerecorded for the Panacea EP. Because of its status as Panacea's signature song, they often play it with an extended solo intro at live gigs - techniques often used by far bigger acts. Its lyrics have been changed significantly - mainly in the verses - since its original recording; Pawel has said that he was never completely happy with the original, more abstract lyrics.
[edit] Apple Cores
Apple Cores was a slower, moody piece, making use of atmospheric wah-wah guitar effects and sparse drums. Its lyrics focus on rhymes and imagery rather than having any concrete subject. It is seldom, if ever, played live.
[edit] Nostalgia
The original recording of Nostalgia features the only example of multi-tracking on the EP, with Pawel accompanying himself on harmony vocals during the second half of each verse. It also features a less prominent drum part from Buick than the final polished version.
[edit] Evening River
The recording of Evening River appearing on Beautiful Dreamer gradually accelerates; this is likely a result of recording with no tempo track (there are no drums appearing on the track) rather than an error in the recording itself. The song is not often played live. Pawel's vocals are very quiet, not in balance but in timbre, the first half of the song and the pianissimo outro sounding almost like a whisper. It ends, not with a fade-out but neventheless almost inaudibly.
[edit] Panacea EP
[edit] Winter's Rain
Winter's Rain was the first studio-recorded song to be released by the band: it, and later Faded Colour TV Screen, were released to the band's official website a few weeks before the simultaneous launch of their myspace page and self-titled EP, both featuring the two songs. The record begins with arpeggios on James' guitar, with a prolonged crescendo roll on the crash cymbal and ominous bass drum. The song, though in easily followable 4/4 time, features irregular beats, heard as 3/8-5/8 or 3/8-2/8-3/8, especially prominent in the chorus. It features a heavily distorted solo on James' lead guitar, which continues under the chorus.
[edit] Hope of Clarity
Featuring once again Pawel's dominant harmonies and countermelodies, it tells the story of "the daughter of no one". She is dissatisfied with the distantness of the people in her world and imagines a world of "green fields and faraway stars" to wish upon.
[edit] The Faded Colour TV Screen
This song is often played as the last song at live gigs, its thrashing chorus and solo section offering an appropriately loud and energetic finalé. Although only 4:36 on the EP, live renditions can stretch to fifteen minutes, featuring a frenetic solo from James and sometimes a "duelling guitars" section between James and Pawel. Like Shame of Reality, this has introduced new lyrics since its recording, in this case an additional verse thrown in at the end.
[edit] Nostalgia
The rerecorded version of Nostalgia is essentially a cleaner version of that appearing on Beautiful Dreamer.
[edit] Other Songs & Live Performances
Since the release of the Panacea EP, the band has introduced several new songs at live shows.
[edit] A Righteous Call
A melancholy yet rocky number, A Righteous Call features adventurous time-signature changes similar to Shame of Reality (the piece begins in 6/8 and merges almost imperceptibly into 4/4) and sustained, powerful vocals. Along with The Faded Colour TV Screen, it has become the band's token "audience participation" song, with Adam leading slow claps throughout the intro section.
[edit] Genevieve
Genevieve was premiered at about the same time as A Righteous Call. It is a little more pop in tone than Panacea's other work, while retaining their recognisable style.
[edit] Winter's Rain (reprise)
A largely improvised piece, built around a slap-bass hook, that usually segues from Winter's Rain but is sometimes used as an encore. Its lyrics change a little every time it is performed. It is musically unrelated to Winter's Rain but is in the same key.
[edit] Eris
Most recently, the band has composed the epic Eris. It is their most complex song, and is composed of several "sections" (in the style of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody or Green Day's Jesus of Suburbia), changing key, tempo and time signature multiple times. Eris shows the increasing breadth of Panacea's influences. The song also features an extended a cappella vocal section from Pawel.
[edit] The Cure
This piece has not been played live, but Pawel has confirmed it has been recorded; it is an acoustic piece featuring pianist Andrew Tait.
[edit] Future LP release
On 7 December 2006 Panacea announced that their first full-length album will be released in mid-January 2007. Exact track and title details for this album are unknown. Pawel has confirmed that Genevieve and A Righteous Call as well as at least three additional brand-new tracks (including an instrumental interlude and possibly Eris and The Cure) will be included.
A Righteous Call was recently uploaded to the band's website as a taster for the album; the recording also features Tait.
[edit] Links
Panacea Online The band's official website.
Panacea.co.nr Older website (out of date).
triple j Unearthed Panacea featured on ABC's Triple J Radio.
