A Grey Medium
Rock / Trip-hop / Progressive
Vancouver, Canada
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About
In 2005, three Vancouver musicians, Eric D'Alfonso, Patrick Harper, and Damon Steele formed 'a grey medium' with the intent of composing and engineering a project that would blend their varying musical influences.
"The objective was to join the alluring female vocal tonality of acts like Zero 7, Portishead, & Morcheeba with diverse soundscapes ranging in comparisons to Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, & Nine Inch Nails."
The band began developing their own sound, which consists of a solid groove foundation mixed with minimalist, and often almost etherial guitars and expressive vocals.
"We love exploring 'brighter' vocal melodies layered over what could be considered 'darker' than usual arrangements. The tonal properties of the female voice tends to add sweetness which can work to counterbalance darker instrumentation that we are typically drawn to. Still, there was some hesitation in choosing a female singer. We felt that the project could lose some credibility, especially given the current state of the music industry where attractive women are used as convenient marketing tools. But, as the songs began to take a more finished form, it became clear that selecting a female singer seemed like the best, and only fit."
Once the lyrics and arrangements were complete, the group held auditions and happily named Kelli Stewart as vocalist. Soon after, Kelli relocated from Toronto to Vancouver, contributing her warm, expressive voice to the group.
The band then began recording and arranging what would become their debut EP entirely on their own. They sought help from the talented mixing engineer Greg Reely (Cold Play & Sarah Mclachlan) in finalizing the mixes and Jamie Sitar in completing the mastering. The band released their debut EP in March of 2008.
Since then, the band played live to a sold out crowd at the Red Room in Vancouver B.C in celebration of the release of their EP in March 2008. The show was an enormous success, especially considering they'd had only played a handful of shows leading up to it. Since the Red Room show, the band has performed live at numerous events including British Columbia Fashion Week and New Music West.
"We don't like to play too often. We don't want it to seem like the shows are repetitive and watered-down. Bouncing around from bar to bar isn't what we are about. We take our live experience very seriously."
The band has since decided to take a hiatus and begin working on what will be their first full-length studio effort. The band have tentatively been consulting with engineers Mike Fraser (Metallica, AC/DC & The Cult ) and Jeff Dawson (State of Shock & Kelly Rowland) who have shown interest in working with a grey medium. The group does not yet have an expected timeline for the next release.
Click here to download their debut E.P. on iTunes!
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