For 10 years Chicago-based Airiel has preserved the tradition of building walls of jangly square wave fuzz, like bands that helped define shoegazing, namely, Jesus and Mary Chain, Moose, Ride, Chapterhouse, Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins and Pale Saints. The band's latest full-album The Battle of Sealand revives the early 90s—accounting for a genre that glorified droning melodic phrases.
HM Fort Roughs appears as an elevated rectangular platform atop two oversized concrete pillars; located in the North Sea, some 10km off the coast of Suffolk, England. Originally a World War II installation, later ennobled by the title Principality of Sealand—a micronation represented by flag, coat of arms, and self-proclaimed royal family, among other things. As the smallest country in the world, the tower's historical account includes an eviction attempt by the Royal Navy, a pirate radio broadcasting court case, a takeover by squatters and a firearms case. Currently, the owners of Sealand are making arrangements for a transferral of custodianship, since a principality can not be sold. Prince Michael of Sealand was quoted by the The Times:
We have owned the island for 40 years now and my father is 85.
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