Imaad Wasif
file under: Rock/ Psychedelic/ Folk / Songwriter
In another life, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Imaad Wasif might have been a poet or a priest. He draws inspiration from beyond the veil, seeking connections and cosmic patters in the hopes of expressing the simplest but most profound message to his listeners:
We are not alone.
The urgency of that communication, and his need to convey it, give both his delicate guitar
ballads and his fervent rock songs a ferocity and focus that resonates with every note.
Wasif goes far beyond the here and now in his music, but he is very much of this time.
He is a rock musician who came of age in the Coachella Valley of the 1990s.
Early on he played live and in the studio with Lou Barlow’s Folk Implosion. In 2006, Kill Rock Stars released Wasif’s self-titled solo debut, an acoustic psych gem. Around the same time, he was enlisted as a touring guitarist and opening act for Yeah YeahYeahs.
Sophomore album Strange Hexes revealed Wasif’s varied influences. The album was recorded with his band Two Part Beast (Bobb Bruno and Adam
Garcia) and self-released in March 2008.
That album was the first to hint at the distinctive sound Wasif has ultimately crafted for himself; a blast of postmodern psychedelic rock that is at once potent and
refined. The album will be re-released by Viva Hate Records in 2010.
Having gained a reputation for his intense live shows while opening for RTX, The Raconteurs, Neko Case, Arthur Lee’s Love and Sebadoh, Wasif has
plans for an extensive tour in the fall of 2010. He can also be found playing guitar on “Little Shadow” from the YYY’s latest album, It’s Blitz! and Lou Barlow’s forthcoming solo album, Goodnight Unknown.
His collaboration with Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bradford Cox of Deerhunter, and “Little” Jack Lawrence of The Raconteurs and Dead Weather on the score for the Spike Jonze-directed film adaptation of Where The Wild Things Are hits theaters in October.
The theme of love in its many guises, both as redemption and call to arms, is one that Wasif returns to again and again in his songs.
Its mythical quality becomes a springboard from which he explores the mysteries of life and the universe on his third album, The Voidist. Recorded with Two Part Beast, plus guests Dale Crover (Melvins) and Greg Burns (Red Sparowes), by Chad
Bamford (Weezer) with additional recordings by Mathias Schneeberger (The Obsessed, Gutter Twins), the release is due from Viva Hate Records in October 2010.
Tour
18-09-2010 Leffingeleuren Leffinge Belgium
19-09-2010 Incubate Festival Tilburg Netherlands
21-09-2010 Jagerklause Berlin Germany
22-09-2010 Klub 007 Prague Czech Republic
23-09-2010 Brut Vienna Austria
24-09-2010 Reeperbahn Festival Hamburg Germany
25-09-2010 Zikametz Festival Metz France
27-09-2010 Steinbruch Duisburg Germany
28-09-2010 Das Bett Frankfurt Germany
29-09-2010 Le Kab Geneva Switzerland
30-09-2010 Dynamo Toulouse France
01-10-2010 Glazart Paris France
02-10-2010 Ekko Utrecht Netherlands
03-10-2010 Corsica Studios London United Kingdom
05-10-2010 Captain’s Rest Glasgow Scotland
06-10-2010 The Corner Manchester United Kingdom
07-10-2010 The Hope Brighton United Kingdom
08-10-2010 Patronaat Haarlem Netherlands
09-10-2010 Trix Antwerp Belgium
Videos
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