I honestly have trouble placing the album into a specific genre bin, and I think that fact alone is refreshing. The EP starts off sounding like an instrumental indie band with a post-rock influence, but soon the beat breaks and vocals come in. Readers of my reviews may be familiar with my habit of too quickly dismissing any vocal pop sounding track [the radio is saturated with formulas for the masses]. So just when I'm ready to brush the Aftermath aside, the beat picks up again, this time distinctly cut with micro beat programming, and my ears instantly prick up. By the time the EP is over, I've taken a trip through all of my favorite genres, from shoegaze to breaks to illbient and back to soothing electronica, and I press play again. When the chords and percussion explode into almost nu-metal chorus followed by a snare roll, I realize that Woven has covered all of their bases, and done masterfully with a high end production and precision. Based out of Los Angeles, Woven is a five-piece band that describes its sound as "travel[ing] a path from guitar-driven drum and bass to syncopated, sparse IDM, ending in a dark and brooding dreamstate." In 2003, the band managed to land a maxi-single, EPrime, with Interscope Records. Tracks appearing on Aftermath EP are just a sample of what's to come from the group's full length release, Designer Codes. Perhaps because I've never heard anything like it, I am a bit at loss for my typical cloud of RIYL artists, but see the question posed to Woven below. Favorite track: Machine Room (I played this track alone a dozen times!)
Here are your two and a half questions with Woven:
How would you classify the genre of your music?
I think the most appropriate way to describe us, is through a lunchtime barbecue. At the table you have Massive Attack sitting next to The Cure. The Cure wants some ketchup for their tofu burgers. They holler over to Aphex Twin. Aphex Twin only has mayonnaise, so he hollers over to Radiohead. Radiohead ignores Aphex, so Aphex gets up and grabs the ketchup from Elliot Smith. Elliot Smith being a tad temperamental gets up and grabs the tabasco sauce from Pink Floyd and throws it into Portisheads eyes for no apparent reason. Dredg and Telescreen seeing a golden opportunity, throw their food at everyone and low and behold a raging food fight starts happening.
Tell us about your eco-friendly tour...
We bought our RV with the intent to modify it to run used vegetable oil. 2 industries we hate are the meat industry and the oil industry. I’m not saying that we as a band are all vegitarian or dont support the corporations. We are a captured market, but we try our best to break out.. Ford is directly responsible for shutting down out transportation systems so we would have to buy his cars. Any way that we can avoid these huge corporations strong arming us is productive. Otherwise, we will be living in a monocolture being sucked for our money and subservience. That being said Running on used vegetable oil is a good way to stop the subservience. If America wanted we could keep all our production of oil within the state or at least a lot more than we have been doing. Who has to gain if it not kept in the state? Hummm. I wonder... We also wanted to support local farmers in the area. When you support local farmers you hold farming practices accountable for their practices and you also cast a vote to have non genetically modified vegetables. Small normally equals passion and love for the product. Large equals non accountability and an eye for only profits. Big companies manufacture seedless vegetables so that farmers are dependent on them to buy more the next year. I don’t want to support anything of that nature, but unfortunately its all you can buy or afford.
Which is better: nu-, post-, or future?
In music and life you are either a category, or an honest representation of a side of the human condition. All the bands I love are still pertinent today. Even the kids now are into them, and they always will be. One thing these bands have all had in common, was that they were not future, nu, post, emo, punk etc.... In the end genres and styles faded into kitch, these bands were the moment and still are. We just have the moments in life. At best when writing music, if you capture the essence of a moment, then that translates to eternity and makes its way into the hearts of a generation and the next generation for eternity. You automatically become nu,post,future and more.
Don't forget to check out Woven's 2008 release - Designer Codes.
