"A shimmering prog-rock opus" - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
NYC - Much to the anticipation of Prog fans worldwide, NYC trio Consider the Source are releasing their first studio material in four years; A 3-disc collection titled World War Trio which has launched with the debut of a 23-minute opus "World War Trio EP (Part 1)". Consider The Source defies easy description. If intergalactic beings of pure energy, after initiation into an order of whirling dervishes, built some kind of pan-dimensional booty-shaking engine, powered by psychedelics and abstract math, it'd probably just sound like a CTS tribute band. Drawing from progressive rock, fusion and jazz, with alien sounds soaked in Indian and Middle Eastern styles, CTS blends disparate parts into a striking, utterly original whole. Dubbed "Sci-Fi Middle Eastern Fusion", the band's music strikes a rare balance between cerebral and emotional, intellectual and primal. A relentless touring schedule has won the band a fervent following from California to Israel, with fans ranging from jam-band hippies and jazz cats to metal headbangers and prog aficionados.
Recorded at Bunker Studio in Brooklyn, funded by a successful Indiegogo campaign, "World War Trio" is Consider The Source's first recording with drummer/percussionist Jeff Mann, whose recent addition has supercharged the band's chemistry. "World War Trio" spans three discs and a universe of sonic territory. Their masterful improvisation, frantic energy, and unique blend of progressive rock and Middle Eastern music have brought them worldwide acclaim, and a rigorous global tour schedule has forged them into a fearsome live band.
"When we decided to go back into the studio, we made a pact to go all in emotionally, physically, temporally and mentally. This piece was a rite of passage for us and we are beyond excited to share it with you, our fans. We ask that when you listen to this album, please do so in an undistracted environment, preferably in headphones or high quality speakers. We have tried to capture unique emotions that cannot fully come across while listening on laptop speakers. Thank you so much. We hope you enjoy." - CTS
"World War Trio EP (part 1)", the epic 23-minute work, is divided into 6 parts and focuses on the band's compositional skills, keeping their usual middle eastern and improvisational work aside. The piece features one section written by Jan Zerfeldt, mastermind of prog deities Panzerballet, with whom Consider the Source has toured throughout Germany and the US. CTS premiered the work on Halloween in Albany, NY in October 2014 with a full performance of the EP, launching a tour that will lead to the release of discs two and three as a double album in Fall of 2015. This double album will showcase the other sides of Consider the Source: authentic instruments from around the world, acoustic songs, ballads, and improvised pieces.
Formed in 2004, Consider the Source features Gabriel Marin on fretless double-neck guitar, bassist John Ferrara, and drummer/percussionist Jeff Mann. Called "the guiding light for his generation of six-stringers", Marin channels the mystical fury of McLaughlin and Coltrane into wailing melodies, kaleidoscopic soundscapes and boneshaking riffs. With a background in classical musics both European and Indian, and an instinct for avant-jazz and destructive metal, Marin's hypnotic fusion of styles is ever unpredictable. Ferrara's propulsive, percussive attack, equally suited to simple grooves and impossible chords, can ground the music or launch it into space. His madcap gumbo of slap bass, Indian rhythms, earthy minimalism and complex tapping constantly pushes into strange new worlds, whilst still dropping thick booty-clap beats. Underneath them lies Mann's rolling thunder; dense rhythmic architecture built from pure swagger and bounce. Half double-bass prog-metal, half crackle-pop Buddy Rich swing, with African and Balkan swirls, Mann's muscular, freewheeling polyrhythms are the engine fuel for CTS's multiversal mischief. Even when not improvising, The trio's music is always a conversation, a roiling stew of dynamic interplay. Each member of Consider the Source
alternately leads and follows, spars and assists; in any single song, alliances are made and broken, bargains struck and divorces finalized.
Touring from coast to coast, as well as Europe and the Middle East, has not only earned the band thousands of fans, but has allowed them to perform with wide variety of well-known artists, including Victor Wooten, Wayne Krantz, King Crimson Projekt, Kris Myers (Umphrey's McGee), Wyclef Jean, Andy Statman, The Disco Biscuits, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, Dumpstaphunk, Keller Williams, George Porter, Jr., Jeff Sipe, Panzerballet (Germany), Eatliz (Israel), Freak Kitchen (Sweden), Morglbl (France), and many others. They have performed at numerous festivals and events, including Gathering of the Vibes, Catskill Chill, The Big Up, Burning Man, Sun Seekers Ball (Canada), Mad-Summer Meltdown, Rootwire, the NYC Fretless Guitar Festival, and the NYC Gypsy Festival.
Here's what the press have been raving about Consider The Source!
"Mesmerizing World Metal…" - Melissa Giannini – Village Voice
"Intense jams, showcasing their diversity and pushing their instruments to the proverbial limit" - Relix Magazine
"Impressive improvisational skills and signature Middle Eastern motifs." - Jambase
"If you're curious as to what the kids are listening to in the Big Apple, Consider The Source may provide the answers." - Earvolution
"Pulling off music that is this complex is akin to walking a tightrope in high winds. Making all of it groove, move and breathe organically is an even more-daunting challenge, but all through Friday's show, CTS did just that. Rarely is music this progressive so . . . well, sexy and exotic are the words that come to mind. Music for the brain and the body, then." - Buffalo News
"Welcome to a new age in music. If you want a truly unbelievable, face-melting, head-banging musical experience, Consider the Source is for you.. jaw-dropping live performance that no other band can touch. " - Headspace Magazine
"They created monstrous sounds that they themselves could barely control and ate the crowd alive." - Upstate Live
"A shimmering prog-rock opus" - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Having seen them live, I completely understand why people are so fanatical about them. They were amazing." - Guilt Free Pleasures
CTS WINTER/SPRING 2015 TOUR DATES
2.26 New Haven, CT - Pacific Standard Tavern
2.27 Albany, NY - The Hollow
2.28 Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
3.04 Raleigh, NC - The Pour House
3.05 Athens, GA - Georgia Theater
3.06 Savannah, GA - The Wormhole
3.07 Live Oak, FL - Aura Music Festival
3.11 New Orleans, LA - Public House
3.12 Denton, TX - Hailey's
3.13 TBA
3.14 Amarillo, TX - Leftwoods
3.15 Albuquerque, NM - Low Spirits
3.17 Durango, CO - The Balcony Backstage
3.19 Steamboat Springs, CO - Old Town Pub
3.20 Boulder, CO - Lazy Dog
3.21 Denver, CO - The 1Up
3.23 Lawrence, KS - The Bottleneck
3.26 Rochester, NY - Flour City
3.27 Ithaca, NY - The Dock
3.28 TBA
4.02 Providence, RI - The Spot Underground
4.03 Northampton, MA - Pearl Street
4.04 Sommerville, MA - Thunder Road
To purchase Consider The Source - "World War Trio EP (Part 1)":
http://considerthesourcemusic.bandcamp.com
