LOS ANGELES (Top40 Charts/ Into The Presence Official Website) - Into The Presence will be performing at SXSW this Friday and Saturday March 20th and 21st at the Belmont at 9pm and 5pm respectively.
Both shows are FREE non wrist band performances and are open to the general public.
Drummer Tim Alexander (Primus, A Perfect Circle) and guitar player/vocalist Luis Maldonado (Pat Monahan, Glenn Hughes, John Waite, UFO, Anna Nalick, Emma Burgess) wanted to make a recording that could be performed live without any compromises. They desired to capture the warmth and depth of a record that enters the books not for a song or two, but as a free-standing work of art that embraces the quickly dying idea of an 'album'.
Luis and Tim teamed up with recording bass player Paz Lenchantin (A Perfect Circle, Entrance), live bass player Nicki Tedesco (BT, Carol Kaye, Bomb), and cellist Ana Lenchantin (Trent Reznor, Papa M, The Eels, Brian Wilson, Sparkle Horse, Gnarls Barkley) to form Into the Presence.
They have just completed their self-produced, self-titled debut in true analog, relying on tape machines and vintage outboard gear instead of computers.
The performances embodied are full-take performances where the word 'comp' meant nothing more than chords being played. Anything digital was forbidden from entering the signal path - from tracking throughout mastering - a classic approach Tim and Luis took very seriously from the onset.
The albums they referenced while recording spell out a who's who in the pages of mega-rock history: Queen's A Night at the Opera, Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, AC/DC's For Those About to Rock, Jeff Buckley's Grace, Peter Gabriel's Security, and Black Sabbath's Masters of Reality to name a few. Live performances pay tribute to the musicianship of these artists in a fresh and engaging way. The songs are highly accessible, yet deceptively complex as the layers are peeled away. Always at the forefront are Luis' incredible vocals and haunting sense of melody.
Luis was accepted as a child prodigy at the age of twelve into the University of Arizona where he was constantly surrounded by adults in master classes, allowing him to master his instrument and develop his voice at a very early age.
Tim Alexander's own recorded legacy is highly revered, his rhythms being a regular topic of discussion amongst drum blogs and publications. Drum magazine flat out declared him one of 'the most influential drummers of all-time.' The group's individual histories encompass diverse experience in music performance, from classical competition to extensive rock touring, recording, and writing.
Their collective trials, loves, desires and influences have been united on Into the Presence in the sole spirit of making great rock music that will be sought after and explored with passion.
Ghosts of the past haunt any piece of art. With 'INTO THE PRESENCE', the hauntings are twofold. To wit: the band's debut album feels spiritually connected to the musically progressive era of the 70s (that's 'progressive' as in adventurous, not as in Emerson, Lake and Palmer). Then there's the ghostly vibes - literally - that sprung up during the album's recording.
'We experienced some stuff in the studio,' admits drummer Tim Alexander, who recorded the record in his home studio in Arizona. 'Some weird sightings, bottles of water freezing for no reason, whispers everywhere. Lots of interesting energy.'
'Into The Presence' is set for release early 2009.
