San Diego-based rocker Keyboardist, skate-boarder punk Sax, virtuoso Violin & wild S W A R M I U S "What Kind Of Music Would Mozart Make If He Were Alive Today?" Genre: Nü Classical/ Avant-Pop — catchy hooks to soaring melodies that draw from rock, jazz, the Yoruba music of Nigeria, Eastern European Klezmer, Indonesian gamelan, electronica, hip-hop, vaudeville, European classical and more. Classical Cross-over with an edge. Sounds like: SWARMIUS embraces the free-wheeling, multi-cultural aesthetic that characterizes The Kronos Quartet, Osvaldo Golijov, John Adams, Bjork, Radio Head, Bela Fleck & George Gershwin. Since their 2006 debut at Kosovel Hall in Ljubljana, Slovenia, SWARMIUS has thrilled audiences in venues ranging from concert halls to raves, pushing musical boundaries with original compositions that merge African, Latin, & Middle Eastern “grooves” with rock & hip-hop, inside the harmonic and melodic depths of classical music. SWARMIUS has an international following that includes Ireland, Germany, Slovenia, Poland, Sweden, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Canada, and the United States. The Band: Jozefius Vaatierz Rattus (aka Joseph Waters, Laptop/Composer), Fiddlus El Gato (aka Felix Olschofka, violin), SAXIMUS (aka Todd Rewoldt, saxophones) and Crotalius Redfoot (aka Joel Bluestone, percussion). SWARMIUS has an international following that includes Ireland, Germany, Slovenia, Poland, Sweden, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Reviews: "....marvelous, orchestrally conceived music [with] driving pulses, exotic timbres, violin concerto pyrotechnics and on from there. Combines industrial, modern classical, world influenced music and a bunch of other things for a mix that has its own trajectory. Swarmius Defies Categorization." "Dizzying, multi-genre-leaping work — [a] shape-shifting synthesis — simultaneously exotic and familiar, intricate and inviting — One of the most appealing qualities is how well it mixes acoustic instruments with laptop computers ...." "ravishingly beautiful..." "It is Moby gone over to a dark side, where Yoko Ono is the Dungeon Master and Brian Eno keeps score." " ...The music is intense, crammed with dramatic crescendos followed by abrupt pauses. ... gorgeous, but undefinable." Bio: SWARMIUS’ fusion is the result of each musician’s unique backgrounds and influences. saxophone (Todd Rewoldt) — As teenager SAXIMUS was a sposored skateboard champ & punk bassist, who, after blowing out his knees on the half-pipe, dedicated his daring and fury to music, and claimed his doctorate in saxophone from the Eastman School of Music at age 26. His experiences as competitive skateboarder shaped his attitude toward music: "You have to have balls, you have to go for it. If you’re speeding across a parking lot, about to 360 flip down a set of 15 stairs, you have a choice to make. Either pull the trick or end up bloody as hell." This is the mindset of SWARMIUS. violin (Felix Olschofka) — Fiddlus El Gato began playing the violin at the age of five, winning numerous competitions, recording at the age of fourteen and playing for the president of Germany before he was twenty. A quintessential violinist for the 21st century, he tours internationally as classical soloist and featured chamber musician, and plays everything between classical and funk with SWARMIUS. percussion (Joel Bluestone) — Crotalius Redfoot was tapping things before he could walk, & maintains a vast collection of unusual drums, rattles, shakers and unnameable percussion oddities collected on his world-ranging music-making journeys. Says Crotalius, who also holds a doctorate in classical percussion, "At heart I'm just a kid with two sticks who likes to rock and extract sound from anything that does not protest too loudly." His unique flair provides SWARMIUS with a blast of rhythmic color. laptop/composer (Joseph Martin Waters) — Jozefius Vaatierz Rattus grew up playing in rock bands, honed his composition chops at Yale and conjures a musical brew that juxtaposes hip-hop and Beethoven. "We live in a time where the entire globe is listening to each other — all cultures, all of our accumulated history — our myths, hopes, fears & dreams are all online — we face each other every minute — How do you speak to that, as an artist? “It’s about connecting with people of all ages and tastes. But is that possible — or even desirable? We believe it is possible and even critical — to build bridges, forge connections, find common ground — i.e. to make music truly a universal language. You've got to listen, allow yourself to be vulnerable, and take risks, on stage and in the studio....or you're not saying anything worthwhile...” says Jozefius (aka Joseph Waters) the band’s composer and laptopist. “SWARMIUS is the result.”
Booking Agent: Dr. Marian Liebowitz
Click link to visit SWARMIUS in myspace: http://www.myspace.com/swarmius One Sheet in PDF Form: click here Stage Plot and Technical Rider: click here |
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