Oakland native Luis Vasquez, aka The Soft Moon, released his excellent album Deeper last year. That effort saw Vasquez explore a darker, more industrial sound, channeling bands like early Nine Inch Nails and Skinny Puppy, with Vasquez already firmly established bedroom gothic aesthetic. “Deeper is a thing of beauty,” wrote T Cole Rachel in his review of the album for Pitchfork. “Few contemporary artists have managed such a clever reimagining of post-punk and spooky new wave in a way that sounds both familiar and somehow fresh,” he said.
As a victory lap, he enlisted the help of dance music’s answer to NATO, bringing in producers from all over Europe to remix the albums tracks—including Copenhagen’s Trentemøller, Berlin’s Ancient Methods, London’s Dave Clarke, and Milan’s Fango. The result is Deeper Remixed, an album that engenders Vasquez already gritty, gothic music with dance club catharsis fit for a early morning Berghain bender. This is also a clever next step for Vasquez’s sound, a way into the dance world that his music often seems to flirt with. By bringing on producers to make a dance album for him, Vasquez becomes part of their circle, and if this is the first Soft Moon album with club potential, it hopefully won’t be Vasquez’s last.
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Deeper Remixed is out with Captured Tracks on February 19. Listen to a stream of it below.
Vasquez is currently on a North American tour. Early on the tour struck a tragic note when Vasquez tour van was robbed and several pieces of equipment and personal items were taken. Despite the setback, Vasquez has trudged ahead and will be touring through December. Vasquez is raising funds to get back some of this stolen equipment
Soft Moon tour:
February 12 – Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rosa
February 13 – Brooklyn, NY @ Market Hotel (SOLD OUT)
February 14 – Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus (SOLD OUT)
February 15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle
February 17 – New Haven, CT @ Bar
February 18 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right *JUST ADDED*
February 20 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
February 21 – Norfolk, VA @ Work Release
March 09 – Barcelona, Spain @ Apolo
March 10 – Madrid, Spain @ Sala Caracol
March 12 – Lisbon, Portugal @ Music Box
March 24 – Gdansk, Poland @ Teatr Szekspirowski
March 25 – Leipzig, Germany @ U Connewitz
March 26 – Frankfurt, Germany @ Das Bett
March 27 – Oberhausen, Germany @ Zentrum Altenberg
March 28 – Bremen, Germany @ Tivoli
