Duben Tosk - New Waves

Welcome to your new favourite band.

Last weekend we were invited to a private gig in a rundown basement below an office block in central London. The invitation we received was intriguing and mysterious. “Music that the world has created is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our minds. We provide that catalyst for change,” it decreed, loosely paraphrasing Einstein.

With our interest piqued we decided to attend. “Entry only between 7.30pm and 7.35pm,” the invite informed us. 

There were about thirty of us in the queue. At exactly 7.30 the door opened and a man dressed all in black with a balaclava over his face beckoned us down a single stair into a small room, all cold concrete and graffiti, virtually filled with dry ice. “What is today?” one of the slogans on the wall read.  A single strobe light in the centre of the room was flicked on and it became apparent there was a small stage at the end of the space. Standing on it, motionless, were four figures, three men dressed in a similar manner to the person who had let us in, and a slender girl dressed in leopard print and glitter. The men stared at us with an unsettling intensity from behind their keys, drums and guitars, the female vocalist had her back to us, her microphone clasped in both hands high above her head.

Before we had time to compose ourselves a sound began to emit from the stage. First there was a low dirty electronic throb which gradually built into a wail of cacophonous guitar and raging noise. “We are all made by our beliefs,” a dark hollow voice boomed out. Then the strobe light cut and the band launched into the most incredible music we’ve ever heard. The lead singer, (who we later find out was called Duben Tosk and is born of Hungarian and Norwegian parents) a petulant and ferocious bundle of energy, bounced off seemingly invisible walls on stage. As she did so the band created a soundtrack that possessed a relentless ferociousness yet was wonderfully melodic and beautiful at the same time. For twenty five minutes they transformed the small crowd of hesitant stand-offish music heads into a sweating melee of moshing. By the end three of the audience were up on the stage half naked, two of them, complete strangers, making out with each other. We almost wanted to join them. This music had some unearthly almost unreal power that we’ve never experienced before. It was quite simply the most unbelievable gig we’ve ever been to.

As soon as it was over they were gone without a word of explanation. No time to question or congratulate.

A day later we receive an email from the band. “We will be releasing our debut single in August 2014. Our album, which was recorded in a sound-free studio, will be released in early 2015. Before then we will be playing a series of unannounced gigs in May in the following cities: Paris, London, New York and Tokyo. The album will be called Always Forever Destroyed and it will only be released on a vinyl format that has been manufactured to disintegrate after just 1 play, ensuring that the listening experience is utterly unique."

We begged with the band to hear the songs in recorded form, so life-affirming and mind-blowingly good did they sound in that steaming underground bunker. Finally an agreement was reached – the band will let us stream 10 seconds of their debut single 440 Hz on Breaking More Waves for just 12 hours, before we take the clip down. We agree instantly, even although normally we hate previews like this.

This band are the real deal. We’re 100% convinced they will blow your mind. They have the songs, the energy and the most captivating front woman we’ve ever seen. Take a listen to this clip and you’ll see what we mean. Believe the hype.

Duben Tosk - 440Hz