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Provoker
at Sleeping Village
at Sleeping Village
Sat, Feb 24
Doors 7:30PM | Show 8:30PM | 21+
$18 ADV | $22 DOS
Doors 7:30PM | Show 8:30PM | 21+
$18 ADV | $22 DOS
Beneath the smoke and mirrors of Provoker’s aching melodies is a spirit seeking clarity. On their forthcoming record Demon Compass, due October 13 this year via Swedish label YEAR0001, the California post-punk outfit turns inward for answers. Written while waiting for the release of the band’s esoteric yet pop-oriented debut Body Jumper, Provoker found themselves shifting their focus from projecting familiar, shadowy figures to embodying them — if only as a means of accessing the dregs of their internal world and confronting the demons that lurk even deeper.
When they first emerged, Provoker’s narrative was parallel to their infernal, no wave sound. The band’s core songwriters, lyricist Christian Crow Petty and instrumentalist Jonathon Lopez, met at a screening of the 2016 black comedy film The Greasy Strangler. However, it was far from coincidence; while living in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, between tattoo scenes and friend groups, Petty’s older brother, Alex, matched the two after hearing that Lopez was looking for a skilled vocalist. Fittingly, the older Petty designed the Demon Compass album artwork: a hand that presents the titular compass, encrusted with winged figures who join together at its northern point. Much like the record’s sound, the image juxtaposes luminosity against overwhelming gloom. What’s visible is churning with unease.
Riki is the Los Angeles based dark synth-pop outfit commandeered by the mysterious Niff Nawor, a visual artist and musician active in the deathrock / anarcho-punk scenes of the California bay area (formerly a member of Crimson Scarlet), before founding her solo endeavor as Riki in 2017.