Maquina band – 7th Level Music

Maquina. release two blistering tracks from their upcoming album, “Body Transmission,” due July 10, 2026.

oday Lisbon trio MAQUINA. announce details of their forthcoming new album ‘BODY TRANSMISSION’, set for release on July 10th via Fuzz Club. Along with the news they share two singles and the first batch of extensive touring plans for this year, including UK dates next month.

MAQUINA. embody all the sweaty togetherness and euphoria a collective music experience has to offer. The buzzy Lisbon trio have been getting punks to dance and club kids to pogo – “making the bubbles connect a little bit” – with such fervour they routinely pack out venues and inspire multiple waves of crowdsurfing at any given live show, with over 250 gigs and numerous festival appearances across Europe already under their belt. Still on a high after their first tour of Brazil and KEXP performance, the three-piece ring in a new chapter with their second LP ‘BODY TRANSMISSION’: a head-banging trip through high-energy noise-rock, motorik metal, and industrial punk that doesn’t stop moving.

Today they start the party with the high-octane thumper “pressure/pleasure”, staring into the strobe lights with pounding beats, threading a little ‘00s electroclash through a backbone of chuggy, thrashy guitar.

Second single “agony”, also online today is equally unapologetic in its delivery, both snarling and visceral – fitting for a politically charged lightning bolt written during our current moment of intense global conflict. “False speech / is belief / is distraction / to deceive,” spits Halison Peres, reminding us that art cannot be created in a vacuum. “It’s about the false speech that politicians always try to push, towards some enemy or something, to deceive what they really want to do,” reflects Peres of the track, which depicts a ‘no man’s land’ where humanity finds itself stranded amid misery and chaos.

“pleasure/pressure” video: https://youtu.be/XHf4T1hFP3k
“agony” video: https://youtu.be/8F3aMeorKw4
Other streaming options for both tracks: http://maquina.lnk.to/pressurepleasure
‘BODY TRANSMISSION’ album links: http://maquina.lnk.to/bodytransmission

Bottling the raw power of their now-legendary live shows, ‘BODY TRANSMISSION’ – co-produced by the band alongside Hugo Valverde – arrives following MAQUINA.’s 2024 debut ‘PRATA’, also released on Fuzz Club and largely driven by improvisation, locking itself into the flow state of a live performance. For their new full-length, the band – Halison Peres (drums/vocals), José “Mendy” Rego (bass), and João Cavalheiro (guitar/effects) – opted for less jamming and more “editing”, taking time to mull over the direction of each track while also looking to condense 10-minute meanders into three or four-minute “bangers” that slap.

The result is a full-body rush geared towards the dance-floor with “no breaks”; a club-ready rock record steered by the trio’s guitar, drums, and bass combo. “It was the most challenging and fun we’ve ever had in the studio because we pushed ourselves to write songs rather than just capturing jams,” say the band. “We wanted it to feel heavy, focused, and relentless. We kept the tempo up and the energy peaking – it’s an ‘always-on’ record.”

MAQUINA. live dates:
01/05 – Barcelona, ES @ Miceli Fest
09/05 – Barreiro, PT @ Gasoline (DJ Set)
15/05 – Nijmegen, NL @ Sonic Whip
17/05 – Todmorden, UK @ The Golden Lion
18/05 – Glasgow, UK @ Flying Duck
19/05 – Newcastle, UK @ The Cluny
20/05 – London, UK @ Downstairs at the Dome
21/05 – Paris, FR @ Garage Mu Festival
22/05 – Den Haag, NL @ Sniester Festival
23/05 – Le Havre, FR @ Foul Weather Festival
30/05 – Freamunde, PT @ Route 66
19/06 – Santa Maria de Lamas, PT @ Basqueiral
20/06 – Lucerne, CH @ B-Sides Festival
21/06 – Martigny, CH @ Caves du Manor
23/06 – Bilbao, ES @ Kutxa Belza
24/06 – Madrid, ES @ Cafe Berlin
25/06 – Santander, ES @ The New
26/06 – Bergerac, FR @ La Claque Festival
27/06 – Paimpol, FR @ Paimpol in Rock
28/06 – Bourlon, FR @ Rock in Bourlon
04/07 – Sintra, PT @ Festival Aqui ao Lado
18/07 – Lisbon, PT @ Musa de Marvila (DJ Set)
31/07 – Constância, PT @ Rock ao Luar
06/08 – Aveiro, PT @ Novas Quintas Teatro Aveirense
07/08 – Nürnberg, DE @ Brückenfestival
09/08 – Liege, BE @ Micro Festival
16/08 – Santiago de Compostela, ES @ Capitol*
10/09 – Sibenik, HR @ Ship Festival
12/09 – Orleans, FR @ Hop Pop Hop Festival
*supporting Amyl And The Sniffers

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Kate at Stereo Sanctity.]

Review: Maquina – Prata

Hailing from Lisbon, Portugal, the trio of Maquina combine krautrock, electro, industrial, and shoegaze on their first full-length album, Prata. Trust me, it all works quite well.

Opener “Body Control” unleashes groovy fuzz bass to get your hips moving and then bonks you on the head with hard-edged synths, guitars, and howls. “Denial” has a spooky edge to it (and is a song about turmoil, after all), and there’s still time to put it on your Halloween playlist, so why not?

The beat and pulse of “Subversive” are infectious and will probably cause you to stomp the gas pedal if you listen to it while driving. “Kontakte” (“Contact”) has this weird, almost unsettling bounce to it that might be the throbbing of a UFO engine as it approaches you on a dark night…only to reveal a goth dance club inside it run by sexy aliens.

The opening bass of “Desterro” (“Exile”) brings to mind some of the same energy label mates A Place to Bury Strangers often unleash. Ending with “Concentrate,” Prata comes to a close with chugging drums and growling, simmering danger. It’s like a snake slithering across the room at you…and the snake is an android…and it’s programmed to lead you onto a monorail in the Lisbon of 2099.

There isn’t a bad track on this album, and it makes you want to catch them live. I’m sure it’s a wild experience…just like Prata.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Kate at Stereo Sanctity.]

Maquina release powerful industrial psych single – “denial.”

Lisbon trio MAQUINA. (‘Machine’) are today announcing album ‘PRATA’ (‘Silver’), due out April 5th on Fuzz Club, and sharing the first single ‘denial’. In support of the release, MAQUINA. will head out on a European tour with A Place To Bury Strangers, followed by festival appearances at Primavera Porto, Sonic Blast and Fuzz Club 2024.

Drawing from minimal krautrock repetition, pounding industrial techno and EBM, MAQUINA. explore the boundaries of these genres with force, carving out an adrenaline-fuelled sound that’s equally suited to dark, sweaty back rooms and the dance floor. On the new single, MAQUINA. write: “denial is about an inner turmoil and restless contemplation. The raw, haunting lyrics explore the struggle to find solace within oneself, amidst a sea of conflicting emotions. The plea to ‘shut me down’ echoes the yearning for respite in the face of overwhelming darkness.”

Listen to single “denial”:https://youtu.be/8QyfC_O3mDc
Pre-order/pre-save album ‘PRATA’:http://maquina.lnk.to/prata

Though their sound might have the club in its sights – ‘PRATA’ follows their aptly-titled 2023 debut EP ‘DIRTY TRACKS FOR CLUBBING’ – this is an organic dance music that’s equally punk and psychedelic, played by a guitar-drums-bass power trio formation firing on all cylinders, without a synthesiser in sight. Having already amassed a notorious reputation in Portugal for the all-out energy of their live shows (as evidenced in this live video broadcast by Canal180), it’s no mean feat to replicate that in the studio but on ‘PRATA’ they have managed exactly that – owing to a creative approach largely rooted in improvisation, both on stage and in the studio.

Describing ‘PRATA’, recorded and co-produced by Carlos de Jesus (Sunflowers) at Arda Recorders, they write: “This album was composed spontaneously in the studio throughout the year 2023. It’s music of colour, delving into depths and dimensions that resonate with scale and contrast. Pushing sounds together to make noise and pushing noise together to make sounds. Emphasising textures that evoke feelings and soundscapes rather than relying solely on textual narratives. The music breathes life into auditory canvases, painting sonic panoramas pushing into a world of tactile sensation and immersive experiences.”

MAQUINA. tour dates:
06/04 – Köln, DE @ Club Volta*
07/04 – Karlsruhe, DE @ P8*
09/04 – Milan, IT @ Arci Bellezza*
10/04 – Bologna, IT @ Covo Club*
11/04 – Rome, IT @ Monk*
15/04 – Zurich, CH @ Bogen F*
17/04 – Marseille, FR @ La Makeda*
18/04 – Toulouse, FR @ Le Rex*
20/04 – Madrid, ES @ El Sol*
21/04 – San Sebastián, ES @ Dabadaba*
04/05 – Eindhoven, NL @ Fuzz Club 2024
07/06 – Porto, PT @ Primavera Sound
8-10/08 – Âncora, PT @ Sonic Blast 24
* with A Place To Bury Strangers

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Kate at Stereo Sanctity.]