Purple Sun

Band Logo/ Taken from the
Purple Sun Facebook Page

In the past few years, alternative rock has had a rise in popularity. It is evident in award shows; most now have a “Rock” category. Purple Sun is a new addition to this ever growing rock scene. The band is comprised of five members: AJ Ruiz (vocals), Jake Lara (lead guitar), Matias Sanes (rhythm guitar), Xadrian Gonzalez (bass), and Nick Garcia (drums). They were formed in 2012 in Miami, FL. They have just recorded their first self-titled EP thanks to their sound engineer Sebastian Hidalgo.

The album consists of five songs. The one that really stood out to me the first time I heard it was the song “Descension.” The song starts out with a guitar repeating a muted melody. There is a slight high hat cymbal from the guitar before AJ’s voice enters the song. Another guitar strings a few chords together underneath his voice during the verse. The song livens up during the chorus with the band picking up the tempo and AJ’s voice nearing a shout. The verse appears again, and the song is stripped away of the added tempo, reverting back to the way it opened. It repeats, picking up again at the entrance of the second chorus, however, after this second chorus, the song keeps its tempo up. Near the middle Jake Lara shows off his skills during a long guitar solo accompanied by drums and bass. The guitar solo ends and we’re left in silence. If you think the song’s over, you’re wrong. Keep waiting until you hear the third part of this song. The kick drum and guitar accompany AJ’s voice as he sings the final lines of the songs. His voice fades into drums and guitar before it’s just the guitar–the way we were introduced into the song.

Photo of Purple Sun during a performance
Taken from the Purple Sun Facebook page

“Trapped” is another great song on the album, which highlights the band’s diversity. The song starts off with a guitar and drums. The bass is slightly heard underneath it all. “Hey there” rings as the first words AJ sings. There is along instrumental with guitars, drum, and bass before AJ’s voice appears again with the words “Hey there” ringing through. The second part of the song ends to a nice and mellow instrumental. The song style changes by the end of that instrumental; it stays slow, but it shifts into minor chords. It continues the instrumental until AJ’s voice fades in. He shows off his own skills holding notes and carrying the song with his voice. It’s simply a beautiful song. Uncomplicated, clean and beautiful.

There are more hidden gems on Purple Sun, but those are for you to discover on your own. The band is currently streaming their music on SoundCloud (and if you click that link it will take you directly to it). They have other social networking websites that allow them to keep in touch with fans: Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
If you live in Miami, Florida then you’re in luck. The band has a few dates where they’ll be performing their music live for everyone to hear:

• Saturday March 22nd at Sunset Place
• Sunday March 30th at The Stage
• Saturday April 12th at Talent Farm

If you would like anymore information about any of these dates, contact them through their social media sites. Purple Sun is also selling hard copies of their CDs for five dollars. If you’d like to support the band, please contact them.