Music
Estradasphere were influenced by many different artists from many different subgenres, such as jazz, funk, techno, classical music, pop, heavy metal, New Age, Latin, Balkan, klezmer, Greek and Romani. [5] They were influenced by artists such as The Beach Boys and Secret Chiefs 3, and have been compared to Mr. Bungle, [6] Frank Zappa and John Zorn. [7] Similarly to Mr. Bungle and Secret Chiefs 3, the band mixes several genres in its songs. [8] The band was a self-proclaimed inventor of bizarre genres such as "Bulgarian Surf", "Romanian Gypsy-Metal", and "Spaghetti Eastern" [5] and sounded like "Psychedelic-Sci-fi", "Gypsy-Metal-Jazz" and "Epic-Cinema-Thon", according to its MySpace. [9]
In 1997, members of the group released an avant-garde metal album called Koolaide Moustache in Jonestown under the name Don Salsa. [10]
Accordions are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type. The essential characteristic of the accordion is to combine in one instrument a melody section, also called the diskant, usually on the right-hand keyboard, with an accompaniment or Basso continuo functionality on the left-hand. The musician normally plays the melody on buttons or keys on the right-hand side, and the accompaniment on bass or pre-set chord buttons on the left-hand side. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist.
Jazz fusion is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and keyboards that were popular in rock began to be used by jazz musicians, particularly those who had grown up listening to rock and roll.
The shamisen, also known as sangen or samisen (all meaning "three strings"), is a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument sanxian. It is played with a plectrum called a bachi.
Mr. Bungle is an American experimental rock band formed in Eureka, California, in 1985. Having gone through many incarnations throughout its career, the band is best known for its experimental rock period. During this time, it developed a highly eclectic style, cycling through several musical genres, often within the course of a single song, including heavy metal, avant-garde jazz, ska, disco, and funk, further enhanced by frontman Mike Patton's versatile singing style. This period also saw the band utilizing unconventional song structures and samples; playing a wide array of instruments; dressing up in masks, jumpsuits, and other costumes; and performing a diverse selection of cover songs during live performances.
Disco Volante is the second studio album by American experimental rock band Mr. Bungle. It was released on October 10, 1995, through Warner Bros., and is often considered their most experimental album, mixing elements from such varied styles as death metal, jazz, Arabic music, musique concrète, easy listening, klezmer, and tango.
Mr. Bungle is the debut studio album by American experimental rock band Mr. Bungle. It was released on August 13, 1991, through Warner Bros. Records. The album contains many genre shifts which are typical of the band, and helped increase the band's popularity, gaining them a cult following.
It's Understood is the first studio album by the experimental rock band Estradasphere. It was released on Mimicry Records on June 26, 2000.
Buck Fever was the second full-length album released by Estradasphere. Notable assistance on the album comes from Trey Spruance, of Mr. Bungle and Secret Chiefs 3 fame.
'Quadropus' is the third full-length album by Estradasphere. It was released on October 28, 2003.
Passion For Life is a combination DVD / live album by Estradasphere. It was released on March 9, 2004.
Clinton "Bär" McKinnon is an American musician, perhaps best known for being a saxophonist in the San Francisco-based band Mr. Bungle.
Jason Schimmel is an American composer, guitarist, musician, recording engineer and producer from Los Angeles, California. He is a founding member of the bands Estradasphere, Red Fiction, and Orange Tulip Conspiracy. He is an active member in Trey Spruance's Secret Chiefs 3. He has also performed with John Zorn's Masada, J.G. Thirlwell, Neil Hamburger, Amanda Palmer, Michael White, Eyvind Kang, Wayne Horvitz and Jason Webley.
Fishtank Ensemble was a world music group from Los Angeles, California, known for their unique, high-energy and virtuosic stage show that blends a wide range of styles including Balkan, Romanian, gypsy, French hot jazz, flamenco, Turkish, Greek, and a little rock 'n' roll.
Super Raoul is the debut LP from Fishtank Ensemble. The album was recorded live at Fishtank in Oakland, California in early 2004 and completed over the course of two weekends. At this time, the band had only been playing together for three weeks.
Book of Horizons is the fourth studio album by Secret Chiefs 3, released May 25, 2004. Book of Horizons was the first Secret Chiefs 3 album to reveal the satellite bands that form the actual band under their own names. Out of the seven bands only one, NT Fan, was not heard on the album at all. The other six are The Electromagnetic Azoth, UR, Ishraqiyun, Traditionalists, Holy Vehm and FORMS. Since the release of Book of Horizons the satellite bands have seen several releases of their own.
The Big Gundown is the third studio album by American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist John Zorn. It comprises radically reworked covers of tracks by the Italian film composer Ennio Morricone.
Samurai Over Serbia is the second full-length album by Fishtank Ensemble. It was independently released by the band in 2007. Traditional eastern European, gypsy jazz, klezmer and original tunes are arranged to fit the ensemble's unconventional, but imaginative sound. The groups sound is "consistently captivating, as if Gypsy swing continued to swirl around the world, picking up new inflections at every turn."
Aaron Seeman is an American composer, pianist, and accordion player, who has distinguished himself by adapting punk rock, popular music, show tunes, and cartoon theme songs for the accordion, as Duckmandu.
Kołysanki is the fifth studio album by Polish band Lux Occulta. The album was released on March 13, 2014. It is the first album released by the band in 13 years, as well as the first since the ending of the band's hiatus, making it the longest gap between the band's albums.
Timba Harris is a violinist, violist, trumpet player, and composer. He is an active touring and recording member of Trey Spruance's Secret Chiefs 3, a founding member of the band Estradasphere, and one half of the electroacoustic chamber duo Probosci. His large ensemble works have been recorded for John Zorn's Tzadik Records, and his playing and orchestral arrangements can be found on recordings throughout the experimental rock world and on video games and film. Harris has performed in theaters, halls, clubs, and festivals in over 45 countries throughout North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. He has been based in several locations during his career, including Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, Seattle, New York, England, and France.
