DIRTWIRE play Teragram Ballroom Nov. 30; press photo
Dirtwire, a band that has garnered both praise and fans for its uniquely surreal and experimental music with heavy psychedelic overtones, is coming to the Teragram Ballroom Nov. 30.
David Satori and Mark Reveley, two of the group’s members, look forward to seeing fans at the show.
“Concertgoers can expect a show of unexpected curiosity and musical exploration from trans-global influences and west coast underground based music mash-ups,” says Santori.
Dirtwire began to be musically active in 2012. However, the group truly began years earlier.
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“We originally met at Cal Arts,” Reveley recalls. “We all studied music there. Composition, world music and we took a number of trips around the world on musical walkabouts and journeys and collected a lot of really rare instruments that we’ve incorporated into our set, into our music.”
Reveley says that the desire wasn’t until the trio spent time at the famous Burning Man music festival that they were inspired to embark on a career in music.
“We spent a lot of time at Burning Man in some of the early years out in the playa and we fell in love with electronic music out there. So, this group is kind of like a fusion of our love for performing world music instruments with electronic music.”
The music that Dirtwire produces is quite the concoction to be sure blending not only instruments from around the world but a very unorthodox approach that’s quite the task to classify genre-wise.
“We call it swamptronica and we try to exist outside of genre but we’re definitely within the bass music scene, but we try to extend beyond that,” says Reveley. “Electro-blues is another one that’s like easy for people to get their heads around.”
But while the band is hesitant to define its music genre-wise, it is not as afraid to admit to one key ingredient that has helped make music that’s not only been played at a variety of live venues but has appeared on a total of six albums: psychedelic drugs.
It’s an ingredient, Santori says, that was used in the band’s latest album, Electric River, which was released just last month.
Dirtwire; press photo
“A lot of the time we take psilocybin mushrooms and do more of a ceremonial recording session and then improvise and then take those improvisations on the magic mushrooms and then cut those into songs.”
This is a practice that has been in effect since the beginning of the band’s formation. It’s one that Reveley says has not only benefitted him personally but has been instrumental to making Dirtwire’s music.
“We’re just partaking in our experiment of that experience and seeing what happens. It has been a very powerful tool for me personally, and I know the other guys in the band as well, to open our minds and explore different melodies, you know, different sounds.”
But while this approach may work well in a studio, Santori adds that playing their creations live requires quite a significant amount of adaptation in order for it to work in that kind of setting.
“A lot of music is very heavily produced and a lot of it created in the studio. So, when we go to a live setting, we have to relearn our parts and relearn what we wrote sometimes on different instruments when we play it live.”
Reveley explains that the use of different instruments is another problem but one that makes for a unique experience at each of their shows
“Some of our instruments don’t travel well. They might be too large or too delicate. So, we’ll have to sort of re-orchestrate and rearrange the tracks and that makes for a cool take on things. They exist uniquely in the live domain. It’s not a one to one. It almost ends up like being an interpretation.”
Despite challenges like these, finally being able to play their music in a live setting is something all members of Dirtwire always enjoy.
“It’s really, really exciting,” remarks Reveley. “That’s when we feel like we really bring it to life and give a new take on what existed in a more private, isolated space and it becomes communal. The audience becomes a part of it.”
Beyond the group’s upcoming appearances at the Teragram Ballroom and beyond, Santori says that he and his fellow bandmates are looking to still play but take time to make even more music.
“We’re just looking to making new music. We’re excited about releasing new music in a different way than we normally have. Basically, that’s it: making music and shows. That’s sort of our life and now we have a little break so it’s going to be more on the music creation side for a little bit.”