Federale

Federale is a seven-piece ensemble based in Portland, OR. Spearheaded by longtime Brian Jonestown Massacre bassist Collin Hegna, the band was conceived as an outlet to channel inspiration from ‘60s & ‘70s European soundtracks, particularly those from Italy made famous by the Spaghetti Western & Giallo genres.

Federale has always operated under the guidance of a larger story arc. 2007’s La Rayar is a classic tale of betrayal and vengeance. 2009’s Devil In A Boot centers on a small town terrorized by a railroad company baron’s expansion and destruction. 2012’s The Blood Flowed Like Wine tells the supernatural tale of an evil so powerful that not even hell can hold back its wrath.

2016’s All The Colours Of The Dark continued this tradition while breaking new musical terrain. Though the record includes the cinematic instrumentals that the band is known for, it also saw Federale expanding their vision to narrative songs in the baritone-driven style of heroes Lee Hazlewood, Scott Walker and Nick Cave. Murder, revenge, regret, power and corruption are the lyrical themes of this collection.

Their forthcoming album is titled No Justice. As a mournful whistle carves through fevered melancholia, the first stirrings of No Justice‘s title track evoke the mean streets and rusted prairies of a blighted small folk roiling with palpable desperation. Embracing the enormous scope of orchestral cinematic production while subduing the bombast of electrified riffage, Hegna has honed a taut, gleaming precision from his passion project’s signature sound. When his honeyed baritone waltzes with the operatic wizardry of bandmate Maria Karlin, the finely-etched lyrical depths fortify Federale’s cinematic sway. Spare yet sumptuous, distilling the lean, gritty essence of grindhouse anomie and wielding orchestral flourishes of widescreen delicacy, No Justice feels like the defining statement of a band fully-realized – a sultry, restless stormcloud arising from the darkness at the edge of town to draw forth the fated reckoning.

Afterparties are free to pass holders and festival members. $10.00 general admission.