Electric Flower Group

Electric Flower Group had a most unlikely of beginnings. The first time they met, Josh Garza and Imaad Wasif were strangers in an elevator in London. Garza was carrying his kick drum and Wasif had his guitar in hand. They were at the BBC Studios to film performances on “Top of the Pops,” Garza with his band Secret Machines and Wasif appearing as a guest musician with Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Eyeing one another suspiciously, the two maintained a curious silence, unLl the elevator came to a screeching halt, between floors. Wasif began frantically hitting all the buttons to get the metal box moving, but the lights just flickered and the elevator remained eerily sLll and suspended. While wailing for the emergency operator to dispatch a technician, the two eventually set about jamming, Wasif, to ease his claustrophobia and Garza, ever-­‐cool and stoic, to deal with the boredom, and, in his own words, to “just get this little freak to calm down.”

Another three years passed before the two men randomly collided again, this time on a street corner in Los Angeles. A_er picking up the spilled tacos and samosas, they decided to head to Wasif’s rehearsal space. In a blast of inspiraLon from the cosmic weirdness of it all, they wrote “Circles,” the epic track off of their debut EP. With the pounding of blood, the rumbling of thunder, and the indelicate sensations delicately rendered; its finesse lies in the grafting on such libidinous roots of the more visceral stems of Electric Flower.

“Four16″, the lead track off the EP, is a roaring tower of power inspired by Kurt Cobain’s iconic performance of Leadbelly song “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” during 1993′s MTV Unplugged In New York concert. A song about reincarnation, “Four16″ refers to the minute mark (4:16) during Cobain’s performance of the Leadbelly song where you can see him become possessed in a flash and his soul leave his body. “He was gone a long time before he was really gone,” asserts Wasif. With Nevermind‘s 20th anniversary approaching next week, the sentiment behind the song resonates even more powerfully.

Imaad Wasif has released three solo albums, including 2010′s highly acclaimed The Voidist, and has established himself as one of the L.A. underground’s most electrifying guitar players. Josh Garza, a Texas native and the drummer of Secret Machines, is widely recognized for his fearless sound, channeling the spirit of Bonham and the space between the beats. Together, their sound is part Motorik, part psychedelic, with strains of post-­‐punk, Japanese Group Sounds and East Indian drone. It’s raw, yet richly detailed and atmospheric, with booming beats and often obscure lyrical themes.

Recent News:

  • Preorder Electric Flower EP II (4/11/2012) - Electric Flower Group, the visceral realist duo consisting of guitarist/singer Imaad Wasif and drummer Josh Garza, with their sophomore EP, entitled EP II, showcases the band expanding their sound beyond the rawness of their first EP to explore the dimensions of depth and width. In Electric Flower rock is not dead but realized.
  • Electric Flower: Rolling Stone SXSW 2012 – 25 Can’t-Miss Acts (3/8/2012) - Rolling Stones magazine recently published a list of 25 can’t-miss acts at SXSW2012 and gave Electric Flower some love. Benjy Eisen of Rolling Stones writes… “In London, circa 2006, guitarist Imaad Wasif, on tour with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, got into an elevator with drummer Josh Garza from the Secret Machines.
  • Electric Flower SPIRITXSW (SXSW) show RSVP and info (3/1/2012) - ELECTRIC FLOWER – SPIRITXSW! Spirit Music Group Invades Austin! Date: FRIDAY MARCH 16th Venue: THE JACKED STAGE Address: 5th & RED RIVER, AUSTIN, TX 78701 RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/354650884574663/ DOORS: 11AM SHOW: 11:15AM – 5PM SETS: 11:15am NO 12pm SOFT SWELLS 1pm GEMMA RAY 2pm HOORAY FOR EARTH 3pm ELECTRIC FLOWER GROUP
  • Electric Flower Psych Fest (SXSW) show RSVP and info (3/1/2012) - AUSTIN PSYCH FEST and SAILOR JERRY present LEVITATION
  • Electric Flower’s Imaad Wasif performing “Out in The Black” at Noise Pop 2012 with Atlas Sound (3/1/2012) - Thanks to everyone who came out and supported the show at Bimbos in San Francisco last weekend, it was a blast!

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