Calling all fans of indie rock, indie pop and jazz – there”s a new band in town and it”s determined to find its place on the musical map.
The trio, named @tlas, is composed of bassist Ben Swanson, guitarist Ben Walden and drummer Machado Mijiga.
Mijiga said prior to @tlas, the members of the band, which was formed around the end of July of this year, played together in a larger and more casual band managed mainly by Simba Tirima. Mijiga said it was through this experience they developed a musical connection that prompted the three of them to start their own band together.
“We had a jam session at Simba”s ranch “¦ just kind of to feel it out,” said Mijiga.
Following the informal jam session, Swanson said the band”s first rehearsal together was a definite success.
“It was honestly like one of the best musical experiences I”ve ever had,” Swanson said.
Nina Rydalch | Rawr
While the group has played a number of gigs at local restaurants and cafés around Moscow, Mijiga said they hope that through recording they will be able to expand their horizons and eventually build up to doing small tours around the Seattle area.
When it comes to the music-making process, Mijiga said much of their music is created by ear, which the band only realized when they tried to teach others their music.
“We were all on the same page,” Mijiga said about their music styles.
Swanson and Mijiga said although all three band members were on the same page, the music they create contains so many different influences that it is difficult to classify their work into a single genre.
Swanson said he and Mijiga have broad musical backgrounds that strongly influence @tlas” work.
“We like jazzy chords, that sort of thing, like mixed meter, different time signatures,” Swanson said, “Yeah, so I think our influence is definitely coming through.”
Mijiga said that while he and Swanson are accostumed to mostly playing jazz, one of the reasons they formed the band was to have an outlet for playing other types of music.
“We had this initial idea to be kind of a rock-ish or indie-ish band, but we didn”t really know what that was,” Mijiga said. “We all had different influences musically and different training.”
Swanson and Mijiga said because the band is made up of individuals with such diverse tastes, they try to write music that stays true to who they are. Still, they aim to be family-friendly and to also appeal to a larger audience.
“We do have a signature sound for the band, but it”s not a style, you know, it”s just a sound that we have,” Mijiga said.
Mijiga said the name of the band, like the band itself, is versatile and doesn”t really subscribe to any one meaning.
After going through many candidates, Mijiga said the band finally settled on the name @tlas because the word “atlas” can allude to water, earth or any other meaning the audience chooses to attach to it.
Swanson said that it has been difficult since both he and Mijiga are still in school and have other obligations, but he is excited to see how their sound will develop.
Despite their busy schedules, Swanson said the band is already thinking of ways to evolve their sound with electronic music, looping and possibly some saxophone.
Mijiga and Swanson said now, a few months into the formation of the group, they are preparing to record their songs for the first time.
“Our goal is to “¦ have people enjoy our music for what it is,” Mijiga said. “That”s what I want to get out of recording.”
Mijiga said that although they will have reached this milestone after recording with the studio at Washington State University by the end of September, the band does not plan to stop there.
While the group has played a number of gigs at local restaurants and cafés around Moscow, Mijiga said they hope that through recording they will be able to expand their horizons and eventually build up to doing small tours around the Seattle area.
“We”ll probably do more variety of gigs, not just playing in restaurants,” Mijiga said. “We”re hoping we can kind of do some festival gigs.”
Mijiga and Swanson said that the band plans to get their music onto the Internet via Bandcamp and SoundCloud. Until then, Mijiga said that those interested in the band”s music can stay updated by following @tlas”s Facebook page.
Nina Rydalch can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NinaRobin7