“I would like to dedicate this to a dog we met yesterday, who was very gracious about letting us bother him,” said Henry ‘Hank’ Tremain as he introduced their closing song for the night.
It wasn’t the first dedication the TTNG bassist/vocalist had made, as every song the band played was peppered with a shout-out to someone they’ve encountered since landing with Mylets in Manila two days before their show.
In many ways, TTNG + Mylets Live was like a typical gig in Manila. Produced by A Spur of the Moment Project (ASOTMP), the concert was held at 19 East in Sucat on a post-holiday Tuesday night, and also featured ASOTMP’s very own Tom’s Story and tide/edit, themselves fairly known names in the local indie scene. The crowd was made up of fans of all four bands, or at least folks who were predisposed to be, which meant barely anyone set foot outside the venue once the show began. It was a practice in quality over quantity, both in terms of audience and lineup.
I will be joining TTNG for a tour of Asia in the spring.
Tickets available here.
4/25 Osaka, Japan @ Conpass
4/26 Nagoya, Japan @ Club Upset
4/27 Tokyo, Japan @ Fever
4/28 Tokyo, Japan @ Fever
5/02 Manila, Philippines @ 19 East
5/03 Taipei, Taiwan @ APA Mini
5/05 Singapore, Singapore @ Esplanade
5/06 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia @ The Bee Publika
5/07 Hong Kong, China @ Hidden Agenda
5/10 Guangzhou, China @ TBA
5/11 Shanghai, China @ TBA
5/12 Beijing, China @ TBA
Mylets joins Totorro, tortuganónima, and For Dummies for dates in Mexico starting February 15th, including a performance at Forever Alone Fest. Then he links up with El Ten Eleven for some US dates before setting off with Stolas and Icarus The Owl on a full US tour.
Mylets will be playing dates in Mexico with Totorro. Additional support will come from tortuganónima and For Dummies.
Full list of shows below - tickets available HERE, shows without ticket links will sell at the door.
15 Feb - Tampico, MX @ Casa Fernandez
16 Feb - Guadalajara, MX @ C3 Stage
17 Feb - Puebla, MX @ Casa 9
18 Feb - Mexico City, MX @ Forever Alone Fest
19 Feb - Xalapa, MX @ Salon Social del Agronomo
Mylets will be embarking on a tour of the US supporting Stolas beginning March 12th. Additional support to come from Icarus The Owl. A full list of dates can be found below.
Tickets and info HERE.
Mar 12 - Fresno, CA @ Strummer’s
Mar 13 - La Jolla, CA @ Che Café
Mar 14 - Scottsdale, AZ @ Pub Rock
Mar 17 - Helotes, TX @ Jack’s Patio Bar & Grill
Mar 18 - Houston, TX @ The Raven Tower
Mar 20 - Orlando, FL @ Backbooth
Mar 21 - Margate, FL @ O’Malley’s Sports Bar
Mar 23 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade - Purgatory
Mar 24 - Nashville, TN @ Rocketown
Mar 27 - Oklahoma City, OK @ 89th Street Collective
Mar 28 - St. Louis, MO @ Fubar
Mar 29 - Indianapolis, IN @ The Emerson Theater
Mar 30 - Pittsburg, PA @ The Smiling Moose
Mar 31 - Rochester, NY @ Montage Music Hall
Apr 01 - New York, NY @ The Studio at Webster Hall
Apr 02 - Cambridge, MA @ Middle East - Upstairs
Apr 04 - Philadelphia, PA @ Voltage Lounge
Apr 05 - Baltimore, MD @ The Ottobar
Apr 06 - Columbus, OH @ Woodlands Tavern
Apr 07 - Warren, MI @ The Ritz
Apr 08 - Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
Apr 10 - Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater
Apr 11 - Colorado Springs, CO @ Black Sheep
Apr 12 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The Loading Dock
Apr 14 - Seattle, WA @ The Funhouse
Apr 15 - Portland, OR @ Analog Café
Apr 17 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
Apr 18 - Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction
Mylets and TTNG Confirmed to Play Forever Alone Festival in Mexico City
TTNG and Mylets have just been confirmed to perform at next year’s Forever Alone Fest 2k17 and other great acts to be announced soon. This is the first time TTNG and Mylets will play Latin America!
Revista Picnic (Voo Doo) has written about the announcement and other acts, read the article (in Spanish) HERE.
Mylets on Tour w/ El Ten Eleven Starting Next Week
Mylets will be going on tour next week supporting El Ten Eleven starting on 9/14 as well as headlining some shows along the way. Click HERE for all show/ticket details, full list of tour dates below:
MYLETS w/ El Ten Eleven
EL TEN ELEVEN // MYLETS
Sep 14 - Phoenix, AZ @ Club Congress
Sep 15 - Flagstaff, AZ @ The Green Room
Sep 16 - Albuquerque, NM @ Historic El Rey
Sep 17 - Denver, CO @ Moon Room *
Sep 20 - Billings, MT @ Pub Station
Sep 22 - Boise, ID @ Neurolux
Sep 23 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
Sep 24 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos
Sep 25 - Bellingham, WA @ Wild Buffalo
Sep 27 - Redding, CA @ The Dip *
Sep 28 - Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s
Sep 29 - San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Sep 30 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
Oct 01 - San Diego, CA @ Music Box
* no El Ten Eleven, Mylets headlining
Our label Sargent House is having a holiday sale on all 2015 Album Artists. The sale lasts until midnight, December 25th and is valid at both the US $ store and the UK £ store.
Hello Merch - ships worldwide from US
Save 20% off all Bundles and CDs and 15% off all vinyl.
Awesome Distro - ships to EU from UK
Save 15% off all CDs, vinyl, and bundles by using the code DECEMBERSALE at checkout.
#5 in Total Guitar’s “8 Best New Guitarists Today”
“One of those annoyingly talented musicians who can seemingly play three instruments at the same time, Henry Kohen is the real deal: a looping, poly-rhythmical, pedal-loving wizard who's also pretty fly with the ol' fretboard.”
“Oh, and he’s ridiculously young to boot, so this is only the beginning for Mylets”
Go here to see the full article and the rest of the player who made the list. Thank you to all who voted!
Click here for the full interview: ARCTANGENT 2015 INTERVIEW: MYLETS
Henry Kohen, a.k.a one-man band and looping king Mylets, released his second album Arizona on Sargent House this year. I caught up with him after his ArcTanGent set to learn more about his musical history and writing process.
You had a great crowd for your set at ArcTanGent, how did you find the gig?
Yeah, such a wonderful group of people for the second year in a row. I managed to stumble my way through the set despite a lot of technical issues. It was very physically and mentally draining, but in the best way possible.
Who were your top 3 acts of the weekend (if you had to choose!) and did any band that was new to you make a big impression?
Helms Alee, Marriages, and Dillinger Escape Plan. They’re not new to me, but seeing Dillinger Escape Plan live for the first time and experiencing ‘43% Burnt’ live was pretty mind blowing.
What were you studying at college before signing to Sargent House, and was there ever a plan B to playing music? Do you feel that leaving your home town was a necessary step in your growth as a musician?
I was studying Audio Engineering type stuff over at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Playing music was actually the Plan B up until very recently. I’ve always approached things realistically, so I never dreamed such an opportunity would present itself. There still are Plan Bs, it’s a scary world and things can drop out from underneath you at any time. Leaving my home was definitely an important step and being around musicians I so highly respect has certainly helped me grow, but I feel anyone is capable of musical growth regardless of their location or situation.
Did you play in bands before Mylets, and what do you find the advantages or disadvantages of being a solo musician are?
My brother and I played music throughout our childhood(s) and eventually formed a band with a mutual friend. Writing and performing music as a solo musician is actually really dangerous because it creates the delusion that you, as the sole contributor, should rightfully have full creative control of any given project. For me, this can very unpleasantly leak out into real world situations (creative or not) where collaboration is key.
What is your current set up for gigs, and do you modify it a lot?
Two pedalboards: one large with all of the guitar signal chain and effects, the other is smaller and has two midi-synced loop pedals and drum effects. I’m using an Alesis SR-18 which has a built in bass synthesizer now. It sounds great. There’s not as much modifying as there is fine-tuning, trying to reach the pinnacle of one set up instead of trying out various ones.
Relying on so many pedals, it seems like there is a lot of opportunity for technology failing, and things going wrong – have you found ways to deal with that if it does happen, or does it make you nervous?
ArcTanGent was a perfect example of this. No amount of practicing or rehearsal can prepare you for an inopportune technical problem. It’s extremely stressful and never far from the front of my mind before and during any show.
I understand you live at The Farm – what’s it like out there, and is it a good environment for writing and practicing?
I actually have moved my operations mostly to Los Angeles now. I was out at the Farm by myself in complete isolation pretty much constantly last year and while it was a pretty productive time, I went just a bit too crazy out there. I think being in such an introverted project makes it important to stay healthy and engaged with others outside of composing. As I get closer to throwing the next album together, I’ll certainly find myself out there more and more often.
Arizona seems to be drawn from a wide range of influences – Nine Inch Nails comparisons have been made quite a lot, but it sounds like something completely new and fresh. Musically or otherwise, what inspired you during the writing of the album?
I found myself paying much more attention to producers rather than artists as the studio drew nearer and nearer. Pretty much anything where Daniel Lanois, Mark Ellis, Alan Moulder, Brian Eno, Trent Reznor, or Mark Linkous are involved would have been heavily important to me around the record. I also got a lot of inspiration from the cinematography of Jeff Cronenweth, I think the way he captures warm and organic subjects through an entirely cold and emotionless lens is really beautiful.
Do you find that touring provides inspiration for your music, and is touring heavily something you’d be happy to continue doing for a long time?
Yeah, I’ll generally come home from any given tour with five or six songs that I composed from the back of the van, a venue greenroom, or hotel bed. I’d like to tour more often for a lot more time. I think the live performance aspect of Mylets is the most pure form of what I do.
A few Sargent House bands shared the ATG line-up with you this year – there seems to be a real ‘family’ aspect to the label. Do you have close relationships with any other SH bands?
I think every band has met every other band on the label at least once, there are some very close relationships within bands and some people keep to themselves, but there’s definitely a massive amount of respect throughout the label. I can’t express how grateful I am to be a part of it, especially during these specific years.
Arizona is available now from Bandcamp/iTunes/Hello Merch. From September 28th, Mylets joins And So I Watch You From Afar and Blis. on a US tour – click here for all shows.
Extremely professional people doing great work, enjoy this “Arizona” session with Cut Loose filmed right before my Europe tour with And So I Watch You From Afar
See Mylets perform at ArcTangent this Thursday, August 20th and also back with And So I Watch You From Afar for the Sargent House American tour this Fall also with Blis. See all dates and details here.
Happy to announce I will be on the Sargent House 2015 Fall tour in support of my new album Arizona, as well as the newest addition to the Sargent House Roster, Blis. And So I Watch You From Afar will be headlining in support of their newest album, Heirs, adding to their list of dates in the US.
A full list of dates can be found below. Tickets are available HERE.
AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR / MYLETS / BLIS. TOUR 2015:
09/28 - Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
09/29 - Austin, TX @ Sidewinder
09/30 - El Paso, TX @ Bowie Feathers
10/01 - Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
10/02 - Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater
10/03 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
10/05 - Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
10/06 - Vancouver, BC (CA) @ The Cobalt
10/07 - Portland, OR @ Analog Café 10/08 - Redding, CA @ The Dip
10/09 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill
10/10 - San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
10/12 - Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
King of the pedals – Indiana native Mylets (Photo Credit: Nick Fancher)
I probably can’t tell you exactly what I was doing in my late teens (other than eating pizza for most meals at Uni and getting progressively heavier because of it), but it certainly was a different path to that of Henry Kohen. Dropping out of college at 17, Henry became the youngest artist to sign to mega label Sargent House under his monker Mylets, and he’s just this year released his official debut full length ‘Arizona’ to heaps of praise. This is how I first became aware of Mylets, the album having generated a real buzz on social media this past year, most of which came from his peers and contemporaries. The press weren’t far behind, with glowing reviews appearing everywhere you looked.
Making the move from Indiana, Henry now lives in Los Angeles at The Farm; a Sargent House operated studio and artist residence where he fine-tuned his latest release. As well as putting out Arizona, this year has also seen Mylets hitting the road across the UK and Europe with label mates And So I Watch You From Afar. It was the second night of this tour where I got the chance to see Mylets in the flesh, at Gorilla in Manchester. What he lacks in other people on stage, he makes up for in occupying as much stage space as possible with his vast array of pedals. A tremendous live show, his intricate guitar work and looping, as well as use of a drum machine and other effects, is a joy to watch and the crowd were enthusiastic with their praise. For a full review of that show, click the link here.
With a penchant for pedals, it should come as no surprise that Mylets will be playing this year’s ArcTanGent Festival. In what is becoming a bit of a yearly tradition for them, this year’s festival is boasting a seriously stacked line-up as it takes on its third year, with Mylets performing on Thursday night alongside the likes of Alpha Male Tea Party, Cleft, Mutiny On The Bounty and 65daysofstatic!
Mylets and family
Now a few months removed from that fantastic evening at Gorilla in Manchester, Henry was kind enough to speak with Birthday Cake For Breakfast about time on the road with the boys from And So I Watch You From Afar, his latest record and exactly why an album by U2 means so much to him.
BCFB: I’ve read that you dropped out of college and became part of the Sargent House ‘Farm Family’ pretty much straight away. Was there a lot of thinking behind it, or did you just pack up and go?
Mylets: For me there was no thinking involved. The second I got the offer I was out of there mentally and then the semester ended and I left as soon as my belongings were together.
How did you get involved with Sargent House in the first place?
I had been a fan of a few of the bands on the label after hearing them through my brother when I was probably 14. Over the next few years I just read all of these great things about Sargent House and their treatment of artists and human beings in general. When I got to college and became quickly disenchanted with it, I freaked out and was looking around for options. I emailed Cathy Pellow (who runs the label) just to ask advice on what a young person who dreams and daydreams of music can best do to become involved on a serious level.
What’s life like on The Farm? I’ve heard you’ve got quite the penchant for looking after the dogs on site?
It’s very secluded and full of options. I’ve spent a lot of time there rehearsing in a way that I don’t think any other environment could provide. There’s a definite mindset surrounding the Farm that, for me, really promotes productivity.
It’s there at The Farm that you wrote your latest album ‘Arizona’ – How was that whole process for you?
Arizona was actually mostly written back in Indiana, only two songs were fully composed out on the Farm, but I definitely refined the full album out there. I do think the isolation provides a comfortable place free of outside influence. I like to think that this record sounds like mine and only mine and that I could attribute that to being out at the Farm reworking all of these songs, free from intrusions whether they’re conscious or not.
I’ve read a few interviews in which the idea of solitude and being alone crops up quite a bit. Was it a conscious decision to work alone as Mylets? Do you bounce ideas off others or do you like to have control over the whole process?
It was a decision that I made years back, but partially made out of necessity. I’d be a moron to not bounce ideas off of my friends since all of my friends are musicians that I have the utmost respect for. I do love having control over all of the more intricate aspects of making a record, but I love showing friend’s new ideas and getting some level of input.
A lot of folk have been going pretty crazy for the new record – How have you been finding the response?
It’s a very nice feeling. This record is so far from what I put out 4 years ago (which got rereleased 2 years ago) and people seem very on board with the progression.
You’ve just finished up a tour around Europe and the UK with Sargent House label-mates ASIWYFA, who seem like the sweetest dudes. How has the tour been for you?
For a 34 day tour it went unbearably fast, I think we were all shocked and a little saddened by how quick it went. This is my second tour with ASIWYFA and I have so much love Rory, Chris, Johnny, and Niall. It was a wonderful experience.
What have been some of your highlights?
There was a day off in Verona, Italy where we rented a condo, went grocery shopping, and then some of the lads cooked a massive dinner which we ate out on the lawn of the condo. I also went on a walk and saw some old amphitheatres and medieval frescos.
I caught the Manchester leg of the UK tour and it only took a song or two for the crowd to be fully committed to you! How have people been taking to your stuff elsewhere?
It was a generally good response everywhere. I think there was an initial shock whether it was figuring out how I was doing what I was doing or maybe just why I was being so shouty on stage.
You seem to really be getting on with TTNG and ASIWYFA – yourself and Henry recently joining ASIWYFA on stage for a song. What’s it like touring with those dudes?
Everyone I’ve toured with and everyone who works at label all happen to be the most amicable people I know. It was very terrifying to move out here alone at 18 and start traveling, so I am extremely lucky to be surrounded by such supportive people.
Finally – you’ve cited ‘Achtung Baby’ as an album that’s incredibly important to you. Twenty years on, U2 are a bit of a sore subject these days, but their 80’s – 90’s output was the tits. What is it about that album in particular that means so much to you?
There’s the famous sound clip from the last show of the Rattle and Hum tour where Bono says something along the lines of “We have to go away and dream it all up again”. They were the biggest band in the world at that point and instead of riding it out and making Joshua Tree Part 2, they dropped everything. They threw away all of their influences, moved geographically, changed the technology they used, changed their image, changed their live show, etc. I don’t know a single other band that is brave enough to take such a risk. And it paid off so massively. Achtung Baby is incredibly important to me, but it’s also incredible important to art in general and I think so many people don’t acknowledge that because of how easy and ‘cool’ it is to hate U2.
Gig Review: And So I Watch You From Afar w/ Mylets - Islington Assembly Hall, London (01/05/2015)
Instrumental music proves to still be instrumental in producing an outstanding gig.
It’s surprising how much energy can be produced in a concert by two artists whose sound centre on pure musicianship. But that is what was on display when Islington Assembly Hall was left devastated after And So I Watch You From Afar and Mylets performed two impeccable sets.
Mylets, the alias of musical wonder Henry Kohen, is a one-man tour de force of math rock. With a distinctive sound that is incomparable to any other artist. Through the usage of only a drum machine, a guitar and a seemingly infinite amount of pedals, full tracks are produced which are both complex and monolithic in their sound. With each song building up eventually, with more and more layers looped and drum tracks developed upon, the songs start bare but end up as an elaborate display of musical prowess. This coupled with Kohen’s sparse, yet incredibly impassioned howling vocals, create an incredible wall of sound that bombards the audience. New tracks such as ‘Arizona’ and ‘Trembling Hands’ sounded beautiful live, with Kohen’s trancelike vocals complimenting the sheer depth of his sound mesmerizingly. At only 20, it is outstanding to know how successful Mylets will become if he continues his path to musical revolution.
Don’t And So I Watch You From Afar, Mylets and Blis. on the Sargent House Fall Tour.
The June 2015 issue of Music & Riots Magazine has a great write-up on the first show of And So I Watch You From Afar’s tour with Mylets. See a full-sized image HERE or check out the full issue in the embedded reader below..
