Now

Now are an east London based ensemble, who fuse elements of krautrock, free jazz, lo-fi, synth pop and music from various ethnic sources, to create their own unique, highly inventive sound.

In Scar studios London, in 1999, songwriter Justin Paton met drummer Giles Narang during weekly jam sessions, and asked him if he'd be interested in playing some of his songs in a new band. Justin’s incorporation of home made lo-fi with intricately crafted songs, combined with Giles' understated relentlessness and intense attention to detail would create the basis for the Now-sound. The pair arranged regular rehearsals in Giles' basement, and with various friends helping out on other instruments, Now was born.

Along the way, a line-up solidified: in summer 2000, Justin bumped into Craig Tamlin; they recognised each other from parties and gigs, and soon discovered their shared interest in free jazz, African music and repetitive grooves. Originally a drummer, Craig switched to hand percussion and began to teach himself the trumpet. By joining Now, Craig gave the music a looser feel and encouraged improvisation. Yuhi Nakano was already performing solo gigs, using classical Spanish guitar and electronics, when he heard a Now CD in 2003 and became curious about playing with the group, which he did soon after being introduced to Justin by a mutual friend. Lee Mackinnon already knew Giles and Justin through friends, so when she heard that Now was looking for an extra singer and percussionist, she offered herself after seeing an instrumental, electronic performance in January 2004 at London’s Klinker club.

In March 2004, Angela Last came to a collaborative concert Now performed with ex-Can singer Damo Suzuki, and was impressed enough to introduce herself to Justin. A few jams later and Angela was playing synthesizer with Now, and soon enough spread her special touch to many different instruments, including guitar, bass, violin and voice. Craig, Giles and Justin already knew Chris Irish from his time with the group Limn, the Utrophia collective and his experimental remix project, Albino Radio (in which Now participate). By mid-2004, Chris was jamming and recording with Now, neatly slotting his trumpet playing alongside Craig’s. He also brought additional electronic devices into the Now sound, along with an extra singing voice. Depending on the audience and venue, Now play a range of styles from experimental improvised sounds to rhythmic, dance-y, driving pop music that often transforms into extended percussive jams in which the audience sometimes participates. Now could be described as catchy, contemporary, inventive, exotic, melodious and harmonious 21st century pop music.

Forthcoming Gigs

Tues 1 April - Vibe Bar, The Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL. Free entry.
Thurs 10 April - Shunt, 20 Stainer Street, London, SE1 9RL. Now play live plus performance artists, installations, films & an audio film by John Zorn ------------- near london bridge station, actually i’ve heard the entrance to this crazy place is inside London Bridge station ---------- www.shunt.co.uk
Sat 19 April - The Servant Jazz Quarters, 10 Bradbury Street, Dalston, London N16. Cost £5. Now play live, plus 3 other acts & 2 DJs...Doors 9pm until 3am.
Fri 25 April - The Others, 6-8 Manor Road, Stoke Newington, London
Tues 20 May - The Comedy, London
Thurs 19 June - Oslo, Sound of Mu.

Discography

Frisbee Hot Pot CD (Pickled Egg Records, Egg 62CD) Now have released numerous home-made CDR recordings, and have contributed tracks to several compilation albums, including Pickled Egg's 2005 sampler, 'Jar'. 'Frisbee Hot Pot' is their debut "proper" album. "My soul, my ears and my dancing shoes thank Now, who haven’t so much as made an album as created an antidote for musical apathy. This is a band that have played with Damo Suzuki and pulled it off. Yep, that good. And Frisbee Hot Pot is one of those albums that, if art-pop is a term coming back into fashion, would be somewhere between Pollock and Kandinsky – free-flowing yet structured, vivid yet soothing, bold yet with numerous untold hidden depths. Musically it’s all over the shop, of course, yet manages to steer clear of sounding like a mere mesh of disparate influences badly thrust together – seemingly because they not only have a great understanding of the rhythmical heart in everything (all music is dance music, etc), but can apply it to their own restless, driving sound. And as the whole album winds itself slowly to a halt, you know it is a journey colourful, perplexing and astounding enough to warrant many return trips. Inspired and inspiring" [Drowned in Sound] "Did you ever wish Stereolab would just stop with the wussy leopard-skin lounge exotica and get thoroughly stuck into the krauty riffage? If so, you probably have to hear Frisbee Hot Pot. There are grooves on here so deep that bathospheres have been lost exploring them, so repetitive that they're being considered as a cure for autism. This is no macho endurance test though: just listen to 'Little Bits Inside of You' and its cheeky Human League synth-funk and snooty girl-sneer. Opening track, 'Abominatrx,' is an eleven-minute journey from inept jerk-pop through a squelchy Brazilian robo-party, ending up in some kind of trombone comedy march. Elsewhere there are withered trumpets, fey breathings and heavy, heavy drum breaks. Ritalin pop, perhaps?" [Plan B] "On their latest album, the seven-piece band Now are joined by a whole army of percussionist whose combined skills fill out the sound of the songs completely, no more so than on the opening track "Abominatrix" which build from pop song to street carnival in a delicious manner and will definitely get you feet moving. Elsewhere there is a Talking Heads/Eno groove to the songs with the bass-lines becoming central to the song, with the musicians playing tightly together, creating tension, whilst retaining a loose feel, (a good trick if you can do it). Throughout the band are not afraid to experiment with different rhthyms, the vocals telling stories, and the well-rehearsed grooves allowing the other instruments plenty of room to improvise, bringing to mind bands such as Rollerball, Caravan, and The Comsat Angels, although these are mere echoes to be found in a collection of original and high quality songs" [Ptolemaic Terrascope] "Sleigh bells shickle like Mr T. in full tilt, and from there, through recorders, cyclical harmonies and synth hum, a locked-in, sweet and tender little groove develops, growing like ivy, capturing all sorts of other instruments and patterns as it spreads in all directions. Not a bad opener, then, and it is one of two 10 minute tracks that fully showcase their artistry and spin. All the other tracks are snippets by comparison, but equally visionary, e.g. ‘Excited Lobo Crown’ has a desert funk twinkle; ‘The In-Case’ clatters like a chainsaw through a back-alley bin; ‘Calanized’ clings onto a spy-drama wubble’; and ‘Pachinko’ is a juddery slink firing off an Atari electro-trickle. This record has free-jazz spirit, elements of twee, a post-rock stubbornness while it often swims with African guitars. A floating, gliding LP that is, nonetheless, perverse in outlook; soaring, dipping and jolting regularly" [The Vanity Project] 'The In-Case' (MP3) 'Ra' (MP3) Download Frisbee Hot Pot from eMusic Listen to Frisbee Hot Pot on Last.fm

UK: £10.00 EU: €15.00 US: $18.00

Reviews

Drowned in Sound
Ptolemaic Terrascope
The Vanity Project

Links

Now Home Page
Now Myspace

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