Auld Spells makes psychotropic sounds laced with dreampop undertones. The Edinburgh-based five piece is made up of Thomas Danbury vox/guitar, Rob Spellsman keyboard/vox, Jamie Hunter guitar, Peter Wilson Drums and Nicoletta Louca on bass. The band’s reverb-drenched melodies – in the vein of Beach House, Neil Young, The Velvet Underground, My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive – brew a sonic tonic for these strange modern times.
Thomas, the band’s principle songwriter, started in Washington DC’s 90’s hardcore punk scene before venturing into the indie and psych scenes of Virginia. After relocating to Los Angeles in 2005, he helped found the shoegaze band Lower Heaven as lead guitarist then joined the psych band Magic Mirror as their bass player. He’s shared the stage with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Black Angels, Dead Meadow, The Warlocks, Spindrift, The Lilys, Wooden Shjips, Sky Saxon of The Seeds, and others on legendary stages such as the Wiltern Theatre and the Troubadour.
Auld Spells formed in 2019 when Thomas moved to Edinburgh and met Rob Spellsman another American but from New York City, and the two started playing live shows as a two piece together. They recruited Edinburgh natives Peter Wilson and Jamie Hunter on drums and guitar respectively and rounded out the rhythm section with Nicoletta Louca on bass. The band has headlined shows at local Edinburgh venues Leith Depot, Wee Red Bar, Henry’s Cellar Bar, and Sneaky Petes and were been busy in the studio during lockdown regularly releasing new music while waiting for venues to reopen. Since August 2020 they’ve released 12 original songs with a video accompanying most of them. You can find the band’s songs on their Bandcamp page and subscribe to Auld Spells Spotify here
Watch all of the videos on the Auld Spells YouTube channel.
