Schande 'Once Around' LP

On September 27, UK-based noise rock outfit Schande will share their debut LP Once Around, via The Daydream Library Series, the house record label of Ecstatic Peace Library operated by Thurston & Eva Moore. 

Throughout the past several months, the band, fronted by Thurston Moore Guitar Ensemble member Jen Chochinov, has shared a trio of singles showcasing the band’s melodically angular approach to songwriting — searing and calm in equal measures, reminiscent yet distinctive. The most recent outing was the hard-charging “We’re Not Twins,” which acts as a bridge between the poignant and restrained guitar ambience of “Relevant Campaigns,” and its cascading, fuzzed out foil “52 hz.” Inspired by the works of writers such as Hannah Arendt and Adriana Cavarero, Once Around focuses on notions of personal existence and subjectivity. As Chochinov puts it, the record consists of “contemplations on the ways in which we do and do not disclose ourselves to each other, our responsibilities towards ourselves and others, and the ways we do or do not acknowledge the experiences of others.” Mirrored by the band’s collaborative musical process (Chochinov writes the lyrics to instrumentals formed out of jams and group revision), the album aims to explore the ways in which even the most personal journeys depend on others, something the band of expats — Chochinov is from the US, drummer Ryan Grieve hails from Canada, and bassist Gio Villaraut is from Italy — navigate daily as they establish and reinvent themselves in their adoptive home of the UK. Schande’s current sound was shaped by Chochinov’s stint playing in the Thurston Moore Guitar Ensemble. On the heels of playing with the group, Chochinov started experimenting with alternative tunings, including those she learned from Thurston himself. The freedom offered by new tunings gave the band a chance to approach songs and song writing in a new way. “It was like being given free reign in a science lab where nothing was off limits. At worst you create an awful sound and at best you get the chance to surprise yourself and land on something exciting.” 

The California-born Chochinov has been crafting catchy, propulsive rock in DIY circles since the early 1990s. Solo and full band adventures throughout the years have included a split 7” with The Cribs and James Murphy’s pre-LCD Soundsystem group Speedking, playing the legendary Indie Tracks festival (UK), and playing Happy Happy Birthday to Me's Athens Pop Festival (US). Since relocating to London in 2013, she has continued playing shows throughout the UK and US both solo and with her full band. In 2018 and 2019, she was a touring member of Thurston Moore’s Guitar Ensemble and played shows throughout the UK and Europe alongside James Sedwards (Nøught, Thurston Moore Group), Deb Googe (My Bloody Valentine, Thurston Moore Group), Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), Jem Doulton (Thurston Moore Group, The Oscillation), and Jonathan Leideker (Wobbly). 

The Daydream Library Series independent record label just celebrated five years in operation. Thurston & Eva founded the label in 2018 to release the debut album Sistahs by London’s black, feminist, punk band Big Joanie and have since released recordings by Xopher Davidson, Seafoam Walls, Devon Ross, Katherina Bornefeld, Las Nubes and others. 

Condition: New

Label: Daydream Library Series