Nowhere Now, the revelatory debut album by Waterstrider, is the sound of Bay Area musician Nate Salman coming into his own as a singular artistic voice.
Date/Time: Nov 18 2016, 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm
Vancouver, The Biltmore Cabaret | Event calendarAge: 19+
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Self-produced in Santa Barbara and Oakland, the 2015 release finds Salman creating an aesthetic world akin to Thom Yorke and James Blake fronting one of Fela Kuti’s powerhouse afrobeat ensembles. Available through Danger Mouse’s 30th Century Records, Nowhere Now is an album born of private evolution which also reaches outward, a nod toward a future where genre is replaced by honest emotion.
“When I wrote Nowhere Now, I was working really hard on being true to myself,” says the Santa Barbara, CA-born Salman, who previously self-released an EP entitled Constellation in 2011. “I wrote songs about the trouble I was having writing songs ("Calliope") and the doubt and confusion regarding who I was and who I wanted to be ("Nowhere Now,” "White Light"). I basically questioned every aspect of life that I could think of ("Soundless Sea," "Passing Ships," "Redwood"), and now I feel a much stronger sense of who I am as an artist and human.”
The music of Nowhere Now, a pastiche of highlife guitar, galloping rhythms, and lush electronics, shows an innovative musician adept at creating immersive sonic worlds, but it’s Salman’s distinctively soulful falsetto which provides Waterstrider with its emotional wallop. His voice, a constant tug-of-war between sultry and sorrow, is such a powerful instrument that fellow Bay Area auteurs like Chaz Bundick of Toro y Moi have turned from fans into collaborators.
“I believe it comes from an embrace of androgyny,” Salman says. “At it's core it's probably just me trying to emulate all the singers I admire. I take lots of inspiration from artists like Jónsi, Nina Simone, and Jeff Buckley. I love the idea of something being created from a source that doesn't fit into convention.”
Nowhere Now is out now on iTunes, Spotify, and all other streaming services.
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