FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 29, 2013
BARDOT TO RELEASE DEBUT EP IN OCTOBER
New York City-based indie rock band BARDOT (featuring Ariel Aparicio) is set to release its debut, seven-song EP, BARDOT, on October 1, 2013. The EP will be available for free download on the band’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/BARDOTtheband). Says band leader Aparicio of the release plans: “I decided to put this record out for free for a few reasons. First, just as a thank you to all the people who have followed and supported my projects over the years. Second, to reach as many new indie rock fans as possible. And thirdly, with all of the file sharing going on these days, I figured it was the way to go. Just might be the wave of the future.”
From the moody atmospherics of “Satellite,” to the feel-good garage pop of “Still The Rains,” to the sexy funk of “Sylvia, My Love,” BARDOT wears many faces, all of them part of a faceted, beautiful whole. BARDOT came about in 2011 when Aparicio (guitar and vocals) realized that the creative process surrounding new music he was working on with his longtime backing band had shifted. “I’d been playing with these guys for a while now, some of the best musicians in NYC,” says Aparicio. “We were rehearsing some new songs, but this time it felt different. Everyone was actively contributing parts and ideas and arrangements. It was very organic. It felt like a band. So I made it one.”
Joining Aparicio in the BARDOT line-up are Steve Dawson (guitar, has played with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Jesse Malin, CJ Ramone), Dave Berger (drums and keyboards, has played with Justin Bond, Lou Reed, Erin McKeown, Joey Arias), and Pemberton Roach (bass, has played with Moby and Fountains of Wayne). All of the members provide backing vocals. Says Aparicio: “We all really dig those early Kinks record and especially the backup vocals. Trying to work in a little of that into BARDOT.” The band made its live debut in December 2011 in New York City.
BARDOT’s name came about after Aparicio attended an art show featuring photos of Brigitte Bardot in Chicago. Struck by the images, he imagined the EP cover art before he even chose the name. “Two of my biggest idols – Chrissie Hynde and David Bowie – have name-checked Bardot in their songs, so I had to use the name,” Aparicio says.
Born in Cuba and raised in Miami, Aparicio was surrounded by the rhythms of salsa, funk, and disco. The discovery of Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin in adolescence prompted him to grow out his hair and pick up the guitar, but Aparicio never segregated genres from one another. Aparicio’s musical endeavors prior to BARDOT were all under his own name. In 2011, he released “Aerials” (produced by Tom Gilroy), and the video for one of the tracks from the album, “She Can Show Us” debuted exclusively on MSN.com and garnered 20,000 views upon its release. The video was also ranked in Logo’s NewNowNext Music airplay charts top 10 within first week of release. Response to a free download of the song “Sorry” on SongShooter.com was so strong that the site crashed and additional servers had to be utilized to accommodate demand.
NPR Alt.Latino said of Aparicio: “In an era of ironic coolness, his music is shamelessly honest and poignantly sentimental. He doesn’t mock his musical deities; rather, he truly lets them possess him, fight for their turf within his music and whatever happens, happens. And the result is quite beautiful.” MTV Iggy proclaimed: “If cowpunkers The Cramps, UK’s Body Rockers, Cuban son king Arsenio Rodriguez, and Prince threw down on an album, you’d get the totally nuts Cuban/American electro-guitarist Ariel Aparicio.” And the Houston Chronicle wrote: “The Miami-bred, Brooklyn-based rocker makes jangly, joyful rock.”
In 2011, Aparicio was honored at the 7th Annual OutMusic Awards in New York City, receiving top honors for his recording of “People Who Died” when he was awarded Outstanding Rock Song of the Year. “People Who Died” was released in 2010 on Aparicio’s “The Bedroom Tapes” EP and is a re-imagining of the Jim Carroll Band classic originally released on his 1980 “Catholic Boy” debut.
Songs and videos from his previous releases, including “the bEdRoom tapeS,” “All These Brilliant Things,” “Frolic & F***,” and “All I Wanted” have made him a popular fixture on Logo’s NewNowNext and the Click List. Aparicio’s video for “People Who Died” from “the bEdRoom tapeS” popped back up on the Click List again in 2011 after it spent many weeks on the countdown in 2010. His video for the track “Lucille” was ranked #7 on Logo’s Best of 2010, while his cover of “Pretty In Pink” topped out at #3 on the same chart at Logo in 2009.