Electropolis
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History
Electropolis [1] began in 2000, when drummer Steve Roehm wanted to see what would happen if he got 3 alpha males together to make music with no rules. That led to a series of sessions with Roehm (formerly with the Denton, TX funk rockers BILLY GOAT), trumpeter Kelly Rossum, and saxophonist Michael Ferrier. They played with a variety of bassists, eventually inviting longtime friend and bassist extraordinaire Michael O'Brien into the lion's den with them.
One of the main foundations of the group is the idea of experimentation, but with the particular perspective of the audience taken into consideration. So, copious electronic devices and free improvisation became the norm for their developing sound, but never at the expense of absolute fun. The pretension and navel-gazing of most music that is labelled "experimental" was out the window. That led to out-there sounds that you could still tap your toes to, and a decidedly pop sensibility permeates the otherwise free-form compositions.
In 2004 Electropolis began to explore multi-media presentation in earnest, most notably in their week-long Fringe Festival collaboration with VJ Neverwas improvising on video (aka Chris Cunningham of downtown NYC fame), and their live and in-person soundtrack to the silent masterpieces "METROPOLIS," and "THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI." The no-pretense-allowed approach to these works has served them well, and audiences have positively bubbled with glee at their interpretations and the sheer imagination they have brought to the performances.
In 2005 Electropolis decided to release a long-playing self-titled disc on Innova Recordings [2], to critical acclaim. 2005 also saw the departure of bassist Michael O'Brien to NYC (gigging with JAZZ MANDOLIN PROJECT, among others), and the arrival of bassist Brian Roessler (formerly of SPYMOB).
Personnel
Michael Ferrier: saxophone and electronics
Steve Roehm: drums and percussion
Brian Roessler: bass
KellyRossum: trumpet and electronics
Review
The PULSE writes: "Full marks for ambition, guys. In the spirit of Bill Frisell’s work with the films of Buster Keaton, saxophonist Michael Ferrier’s Electropolis (with Michael O’Brien on bass, Steve Roehm on percussion and Kelly Rossum on trumpet) has already created spontaneous soundtracks for Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” and “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,” and now they’ve released a slinky, spooky out-there disc so you can take their misshapen electronic/acoustic grooves home with you. A mix of improvised and pre-arranged compositions, Electroplis’ self-titled debut is in the vein of exploratory-yet-groovy fare like David Fiuczynski’s Screaming Headless Torsos, Medeski Martin and Wood’s classic Friday Afternoon in the Universe or the Twin Cities own Fantastic Merlins (featuring Ferrier’s wife, Jacqueline Ferrier-Ultan, on cello). Rather than relying on overdubs, Ferrier and Kelly Rossum simply plug in the normally acoustic saxophone and trumpet (respectively) to create the electrosax and electrumpet, and away they go into territory normally reserved for electric guitars and keyboards. “Dagobah” comes off like Yoda driving War’s low rider as a trumpet (I think) sweeps through a phase modulator and the sax bumps out spastic bursts through a digital delay. It’s moody, atmospheric stuff that knows when to strut and when to break ankles, the kind of thing that would be great as the soundtrack to … oh, I don’t know … a German expressionist silent movie. What? They already did that? Awesome." STEVE MCPHERSON
Discography
Music for Trips (2000)
Slow<-->Fast (2002)
Electropolis Plays More Music for Trips (2004)
ELECTROPOLIS: Electropolis (Innova Recordings 2005)
Related Web Sites
Electropolis official site [3]
Innova Recordings [4]
Kelly Rossum [5]
"For New Orleans" Sugarfoot Music Benefit CD [6]
