Biography
Alters are a band formed in 2006 in Warsaw. They blend in their music the sound of guitar psychedelic music from the 70s, synthesizer music from the 80s and electronic experiments
from recent two decades.
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Refined electronic, psychedelic seventies and gitars. Hipnotic spacious dynamics.
ALTERS music alternates freely between the opposites, one moment full of energy, rich with dissonances and polyrhytms, throbbing with drums and enjoying improvisation, the next it switches into frozen plateaux exploiting every single note with uncompromising precision. The band consists of two multi-instrumentalists renowned for their rendition of early music, former students of the Academy of Music in Cracow (Zalewski&Zalewski) and an academic teacher in Academy in Fine Arts (Pludra). The juxtaposition of their artistic ways of expression results in their concerts entering the realm of audio-visual spectacles. The influences of such bands as Floyd, King Crimson, The Doors, SBB, Flaming Lips can be found there but the musicians are also well acquainted with counterpoint techniques, Stockhausen's experiments and contemporary innovations introduced by such artists as Aphex Twin or Steve Reich. Conscious administering the doses of rhytm escalation and combining that with intricate subtle melodies places ALTERS in the musical avant-garde. This is progressive rock of the 21st century.
Band Members:
Paweł Zalewski - vocal, electric guitar, bass, keyboards
Piotr Zalewski - vocal, bass, synthesizers, sampler, effects
Robert Pludra - drums
reviews:
Expect the unexpected. It is impossible to predict which direction any of the compositions will take. Mśusic of Alters is an improvisation and avant-garde. I'd label it a modern genre of jazz rock. (...) And so: psychedelia, musical "ride" and mental "flight" into other, absolutely unearthly worlds. Those are the impressions that Alters' music elicits.
Artur Chachlowski Mały Leksykon Wielkich Zespołów
Despite the fact that the group's music is deeply rooted in the past there's no arguing about Alters not copying anyones' ideas. A bit old fashioned guitar sound (a nod towards SBB) and solutions deriving from what was played in the 70s (with Strange Services being the best example)
are in a way counterbalanced by search for modern sounds from the boarder of trance and free jazz and by interesting use of such untypical instruments as viola da gamba (impressive, intriguing solo in Nasty Languor).
Marek Świrkowicz Teraz Rock
Believing relentlessly and incessantly in their talent of creating modern music that's full
of diverse and improvised senses, plus being genuinely tempted by a never-ending fusion
of tastes and techniques, ALTERS can have an impressive edge in the spotlight of rock, jazz, indie art and avant-garde. They're prog rock, art rock, modern rock and beyond.
Victor "Philip" Părău Progarchives.com
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.