KIRK SALOPEK- Guitar, Loops, Gadgets, Percussives
DAVID CHAPMAN- 10-String Chapman Stick, Drums, Percussives, Moog
RYAN SCIENCE- Guitars, Saxophone
ANTHONY PECORA- Bass, Drums, Percussives
BEN ZERBE- Drums, Mallet Percussion
RICK NELSON- Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass
DENNY KARL- Keyboards
And our current satellite guests
TROY CRAMER-Drums, Percussion, Flute
JOHN SCHISLER- Vocals
RICK MATT- Saxophone, Flute, Bass Clarinet
JOSEPH BISHKOFF- Cello
Influences
This list is long, ever-changing & in no particular order...
Therefore it would very cumbersome and misrepresentative to attempt such a listing.
All things heard, good and bad, can be an influence.
Sounds Like
"Imagine Jimmy Page & Robert Fripp discussing concepts at Steve Reich's Bar-B-Que."
The Mandrake sound is characterized by unpredictable and eccentric investigations into jazz, classical, world-beat, psychedelic and ambient rock. The music is entirely self-reliant with vocal absence, but smears heavy layers of sound and rhythm into complex and sometimes repetitive soundscapes.
MANDRAKE PROJECT can be very confusing. What is it exactly? Who’s really in this musicians’ collective? What do they sound like? These questions are most frequently asked and least frequently answered.
The body of music created by Mandrake Project concocts an unusual mixture of jazz, classical, world-beat, psychedelic and ambient rock that has best been described as "cinematic rock". Its thick layers of delay drenched guitars and strings smear complex rhythms and hypnotic soundscapes into an ebb and flow of intense crescendos and sleepy interludes. How does this all work? Let us clarify using this time tested recipe:
Since 2002, Mandrake origin resides primarily in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but shares its muse dually in the steep culture of New Orleans, Louisiana. The sound of the band is not easy to put a finger on because of its uncanny ability to wear many faces. It can utilize little or no vocals, operates without dead-ringer influences and often functions with a rotating cast of satellite musicians adding transient savvy to the core of the band. The members of Mandrake Project all come from vastly different musical backgrounds, which creates a situation of constant ego and intention adjustment within their writing. It's this detail coupled with the band's knack for melding unusual genres into massive, orchestrated compositions that ultimately leads to their unique sound. In addition, most members of Mandrake Project are associated with other significant musical endeavors outside of the project stretching as far as the jubilant Polyphonic Spree to the soulful downbeat of The Boogie Hustlers.
INGREDIENTS: (and their many uses)
KIRK SALOPEK Guitarist, Gadgeteer. Initiator of the Mandrake Project. Nervous. Wreck. Insane. Perfectionist.
DAVID CHAPMAN JAMISON Drums, Chapman Stick, Percussion, Moog Multi instrumentalist. Technologically Turned-On.
BENJAMIN ZERBE Drums, Percussion. Original skin-beater of many guises. Typically aloof drummist.
ANTHONY PECORA Bass Guitarist, Percussion. Will find the LOWER side of the end. Too intense for everyone’s own good.
RYAN MEALS Guitarist, Saxophone.
The other half of Mandrake guitardom. The scientific one.
RICK NELSON Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass. The hardest "working" MAN in DRAKE. Official Mandrake Representative for the city of New Orleans.
DENNY KARL
Keyboards
Mandrake’s seafaring adventurer.
EXTRA INGREDIENTS: (Optional. Apply liberally for added potency.)
JOHN SCHISLER- Vocals TROY CRAMER Drums
JOSEPH BISHKOFF Cello
RICK MATT Saxophone
PREPARATION:
In late September of 2006 after nearly a year of recording, the Mandrake Project independently released “A FAVOR TO THE MUSE”, a sprawling debut that combined 16 guest musicians and 40-piece female choir. The album garnered excellent critical response from both the press and independent radio throughout the US and Europe. The highest praise came from orchestral gems like “An Ode to the Spaceman” and technical space rockers like “Walking Music” and “The Economy of Motion”. A few tracks from the album, including the hallucinogenic “Tteraj” managed to find their way onto the soundtrack for the independent film release of “Listerine on Sundays” by Brian Paul Higgins.
A collection of new material written after the “Favor” sessions invaded the console of Pittsburgh’s Mr. Smalls recording facility in late November of 2007. The second full-length Mandrake album, and first label release, “A Miraculous Container” was completed in October of 2008 and was officially released worldwide under the confusing (Due to the label's normal association with metal acts) moniker of Blistering Records on March 24, 2009. Unlike the first album, vocals have been introduced into the Mandrake repertoire with three songs being beautifully augmented by the angelic vocals of John Schisler from the band New Invisible Joy. Sticking with tradition, an invited cast of guest musicians brought horns, strings and other various cacophonies to the already heaping table that Mandrake Project prepares. The result is a larger than life exposition in sonic exploration…one that will uncover varying nuance and experience with each listen.
Within a month of the release of "A Miraculous Container", the album was noticed by John Diliberto from the nationally syndicated NPR radio program "ECHOES". The album went into regular rotation on the show, spent four months on the show's Top 25 list (at best reaching 2 in August of 2009), and ultimately earned the band an invitation to perform live on the "Echoes Livingroom Concert Series". One of the live tracks recorded during the concert, "Beauxsong" was included on the 15th Anniversary Echoes Livingroom Concert Series CD. This great honor will put Mandrake into a slot that has hosted many prolific past artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Pat Methany, Air, and Brian Eno. The album has also garnered excellent press and AAA radio coverage across North America and Europe since its release.
After only four months into the release of "A Miraculous Container", the Mandrake members assembled again in a number of remote studio locations to begin work on their third album tentatively titled, "Wanting To and Having To"(...a line from Hunter S. Thompson's "Kingdom of Fear"). This next album is intended to offer yet another new direction to the Mandrake scheme. Its songs are each individual member compositions, all being written entirely in the studio, spontaneously. Vocals will be accompanying most pieces and for the first time, a producer will be assisting the band on final mixes.
USES:
Mandrake Project has shared the stage with other fine acts such as WEST INDIAN GIRL, LAKE TROUT, BENZOS, THE OUTSIDE ROYALTY, CELLOFOURTE, THE CALIFORNIA GUITAR TRIO, CONSIDER THE SOURCE, SPOCK’S BEARD, THE FLOWER KINGS, & GONGZILLA, among others.
The band has also teamed up with filmmaker David Hall to create a number of short films and mixed media presentations. Current works to be viewed can be seen at the following web addresses:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3ZOFm7tQg4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eGQHEowL3Y
The Mandrake Project can be directly reached via email using the directives below. The interests of the project lie in participating in purposeful events, concerts, festivals, film scores and other multimedia presentations that preserve quality and integrity in artistic intention. It is our hope that positive change, dynamism, and spontaneous creation will continue to lead the music into farther reaches. Thank You.
Brazilian rhythms and the Portuguese language added to the songs makes £leTriKa style unique, giving birth to a new kind of Metal. If you are really looking for something new about Metal, you should check £leTriKa out!
Hugs from Brazil, Claudio David
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Valeu demais a força! Quando rolaumtempinho, me fala o que achou da £leTriKa. Agente junta Metal com umasparada Brasileira. Tamutendumbom feed nas rádios gringas nos quatrocontos. Mantenha contato, blz?
To celebrate the New Year, Seti Alpha 5 is going to give away the first 50 copies of their yet to be released Army Unicorns CD, signed and numbered by the artist! 25 lucky winners will be randomly selected from the first 2010 fans to "Become a Fan" of Seti Alpha 5 on Facebook, and 25 will be randomly selected from the first 2010 fans to "follow" Seti Alpha 5 on Twitter. The winners will be announced as soon as we have reached 2010 "Fans" and "Followers" in 2010!
We wish you a happy, healthy, and safe New Year, and hope that 2010 holds nothing but the best for you and yours.
It was such a culture shock to have my daughter start school and for us stand in one place all year but it's been a massive healing time for everyone and just as well we did stand still considering what has been manifesting!! It may seem so very hard at times but the difficulties are the mirror for the beautiful possibiliies inside of us and between us! I appreciate it when you send me warm fuzzies and updates about your own experiences and ways of being. Please don't stop letting me know how you are and what you are finding out. You are often my teacher and an inspiration. x x x
We hope we see you at Howler's Coyote Cafe on Liberty Ave. this Wednesday, July 8th, at 8pm when we open for the upcoming touring band from New York, Against The Wall!
Please come out and show your support for local original music! 21+ so bring your ID!
Online Now!
