We met Matt Verta-Ray for the first time at the Art & Music Festival in Pola (Croatia), sometime at the end of the 90s. He was touring with his bluespunk/pychobilly outfit Speedball Baby: obviously, they played a blinder and we fell in love. However, we spoke to the gentleman only in December 2006, when CUT supported Heavy Trash in our hometown of Bologna. Being huge admirers of his work both as a musician (Speedball Baby, Madder Rose, Now Time Delegation, and of course Heavy Trash) and as a sound engineer/producer (Subsonics, Andre Williams, Moony Suzuki and many others) it was only natural to us to ask him for a collaboration. To cut a long story short, it all resulted in our picaresque New York adventure of 2009, which resulted in the Annihilation Road album (2010). To record at NY HED under Matt's guidance was a fantastic rock and roll adventure. To spend some time in New York's lower east side with him as unique guide was pure gold: incredible memories. From the Annihiliation Road sessions comes this mash up between two tracks that represent two of our greatest obsessions: the deranged noise/punk/rock and roll/proto electronica of NY's very own Suicide and the soulful, almost minimal disco funk of Hot Chocolate. The outcome of this musical incest is a free form wandering between Suicides Dreeam Baby Dream and Hot Chocolate's Emmaline. Matt's swooning organ and spooky George 'Shadow' Morton style mixing work reign supreme all over the track. Eventually, this tune did not end up on AR. In fact, it was originally released only in 2013, on the long-out of print split 7" between us and our sisters/brothers Julie's Haircut. The release was called 'Dowtown Love Tragedies' and it came out for the glorious Gamma Pop label. Finally, we are making our side of that split single available again through CUT Must Die. This is the chronicle of our musical encounters...and in almost thirty years of rock and rolll militancy no encounter was more magical, interesting, and full of inspiration than the one we had with Mr. Matt Verta-Ray.
PS: just like the entire Annihilation Road album, this track has been mastered by Ivan Julian former member of bands such as Richard Hell and The Voidoids, The Lovelies and Shriekback.
credits
from CUT Must Die,
track released July 21, 2022
CUT
“Emma (Dream Baby Dream)”
Ferruccio Quercetti - Guitar, Lead Vocals
Carlo Masu - Guitar, Backing Vocals
Francesco Bolognini - Drums, Percussion
Matt Verta-Ray - Organ
Recorded November 2009 at NY Hed Recording Studios (New York) by Matt Verta-Ray.
Mixed and “treated” by Matt Verta-Ray at NY Hed
Mastered by Ivan Julian at NY Hed
Originally released: 2013 - Gamma Pop Records – GPOP 022
CUT/JULIE'S HAIRCUT "Downtown Love Tragedies" split 7"
CUT are a rock band from Bologna, Italy. Together since 1996, CUT have released seven full-lenght studio albums, one live LP
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