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Ambient rockers’ Sangsara to host C. D. release party
A.J. Szozda
Press Staff Writer
Sangsara will celebrate the release of its C.D. “I Still Can Feel This” Friday at Mickey Finn’s. The show starts at 10:00 with Macaroni and Chaz. Sangsara plays at 11:00. The band Infinite Number of Sounds follows.
Since the band’s inception three and a half years ago, Sangsara has been in a constant state of evolution. Changing members, expanding their sound, Sangsara has matured into a band on the verge.
“The songs are more us. We’re taking the time to learn the song, clean up parts, and listen to each other…. Dissect it. We make sure it’s something we want to play,” says founder and lead singer Lyndsay Stiles.
The CD features all original tunes and took the band six months to record. The sound can be described as a mixed soup of Portishead, Mazzy Starr, U2, Pink Floyd and Slow Dive. The band has always had a spacey ambient feel, but the new album shows the band’s growth.
“We’ve been exploring more avenues combining the rock n roll with the mellow. We didn’t go for perfection, we went for feel,” says Ryan Grames, drummer, who also did all of the recording.
Most of the songs were recorded live with a few overdubs. The Sangsara sound translates very well to stage, often drawing large crowds to local venues.
“A live show for me is like a party…. Where the album is more like a romantic kind of thing,” says Dan Greunke.
Sangsara travels throughout the region including Chicago, Detroit, Columbus and Cleveland. Locally, the band plays in Toledo at Mickey Finn’s and The Underground and says it would like to play more on the east side but since Frankies and The Main Event have closed there is a lack of venues for their genre of music.
The band is comprised of Lindsay Stiles on vocals/Guitar/Keyboard, Matt Ruch on guitar, Ryan Grames on drums and Dan Greunke on bass/vocals. Both Ruch and Grames attended Northwood High School and several years ago were members of the local East Side band Overman. The band is an interesting group of personalities, which adds to the uniqueness of their sound. Stiles has been around the local music scene for years. She has a love for art and death and provides the haunting ambient mood while laying her angelic voice overtop. Ruch is the very eccentric fun loving guitarist while Grames is the strong silent type. Greunke, the band’s newest member, is a songwriter with a quirky personality and rock’n’roll in his gut.
“That’s the most important thing about this band. We really listen to each other. We’re all adults now. That’s something I wish younger bands would learn,” says Ruch.
If you can’t make the C.D. release party, Sangsara will be in Bowling Green to play a free show at the Black Swamp Pub on campus at 8:00 on February 3 rd.
“I Still Can Feel This” will be on sale at Free on Beats, Ramalama Records, Culture Clash and Madhatter. To check them out on the internet, go to purevolume.com, My Space.com/Sangsara, or Sangsara.com.
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