On The Verge -- Consider the Source

Consider the Source On The Verge N E W YO R K , N .Y. Trio of Influences 5 Artists You Self-described as “Sci-fi Middle Eastern funk that also rocks,” the New York City-based Should Know instrumental trio Consider the Source—Gabriel Marin (double-neck electric fretless guitar and chaturangui), John Ferrara (bass) and Justin Ahiyon (drums and percussion)—deliv- About ers effect-soaked riffing, spaced-out shredding and sitar-like twanging with funky bass and anchoring drums. From its beginnings as what Ahiyon calls “a totally improvising group,” the band has drawn upon influences from progressive rock and jazz fusion artists like The Mahavishnu Orchestra and The Bad Plus. Travel abroad has also impact- ed the group’s development as Marin explains that, “In a different culture, you can understand why music sounds a certain way or why cats play a certain way, so it gets more in your blood.” The threesome recorded its second full-length, Are You Watching Closely? earlier this year which, according to Ahiyon, moves in “a new direction incorpo- rating a lot more rhythmic stuff, a lot more melodic stuff. It’s a little bit more extreme.” www.considerthesourcemusic.com Matt Franciscovich Discovered at Norway’s by:Larm festival Tommy Tokyo & Starving for My Gravy O S L O, N O RWAY The Scandinavian Lou Reed “I was up in the mountains, just behind the place I grew up, picking mushrooms, when I heard a small airplane cutting through the clouds directly above me,” recalls Norwegian musician Tommy Tokyo of his nom de guerre. “Just behind the plane there was a long banner with the saying, ‘Tokyo is a lot closer than you think.’” Tokyo and his band, Starving for My Gravy, have a trail of influences ranging from PJ Harvey, Lou Reed and Antony Hegarty to Neutral Milk Hotel, The Cure and Beck. Tokyo, who quit working in a mill two years ago to pursue music fulltime while support- ing a family, has a vocal range that spans from pensive to bombarding. The songs—all sung in English—cartwheel around the open-ended psych folk sound—at times quiet and fragile, at other times vaudevillian and parading. “I feel that music should be a bit out of control—up, down and sideways,” says the big-bearded Tokyo. These ele- ments, combined with Toyko’s poet-like command of language, deliver music with depth and bracing earnestness. “I just do what the moment has to offer,” he says. “I never plan what I should do.” www.tommytokyo.com Josh Baron 36 RELIX | AUGUST_SEPTEMBER 2009

On The Verge -- Consider the Source

by MattFranj

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