Artist description one of Gear Magazine's 100 Most Exciting People, Places and Things on the Planet: Blending the pillowy noise of My Bloody Valentine with the guttural digressions of Nick Cave, Calla is leading the race for the title of the American Radiohead…

Music Style low-end industrial blues

Musical Influences a sound highway rising out of John Cage's Williams Mix and running deep into the dense woods of ambient, electronic textures. Along the way, Calla hits Ennio Morricone's cinematic tapestries, Godspeed You Black Emperor!'s urban decay dirges, and illbient's bent beats

Similar Artists radiohead, labradford, tom waits, bowery electric, swans, windsor for the derby, godspeed you black emperor, scanner, john cage, o-town

Artist History Calla is a three-piece band with Aurelio Valle (guitar/vocals), Wayne b. Magruder (drums/ programming/ percussion), and Sean Donovan (keyboard/bass/programming). They formed Calla at the end of 1997 and recorded their debut LP throughout 1998 at their home in Brooklyn. Calla's self-titled debut was released in mid 1999 on Sub Rosa. Their second album, Scavengers (co-produced by Michael Gira), was released in 2001 on Young God Records in the USA, Quatermass in the rest of the world. A remix record, Custom (featuring contributions by Couch, Pan American, Datach’i, I-Sound, Tarwater among others), was released on Quatermass in mid 2002. In July, a limited edition EP (1000 copies, available only on-line and at live shows) will be released on Insound as part of the Tour Support Series. A split EP with The Walkmen will be released in August on Troubleman Unlimited (includes a cover of Can’s Mother Sky). The band has recently signed with Arena Rock Recordings and has just completed recording of their next full length. The album was recorded with Chris Zane at Gigantic Studio’s in New York’s Chinatown. The record will be released on September 23, 2002 (to be distributed internationally by Rhino and Quatermass). Recent live highlights include: supporting Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds for the final two shows of their recent tour, a benefit concert for the New York Underground Film Festival (along with Blonde Redhead), and the Metropolis Festival (w/ The Moldy Peaches, The Walkmen, and The Mink Lungs). The band has also played with Sigur Ros, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Angels of Light, Bowery Electric, and Mojave 3, among others.

Group Members aurelio valle - vocals, guitar wayne b. magruder - drums, programming, percussionsean donovan - bass, keyboards, programming

Albums s/t on sub rosa, scavengers on young god (usa)/quatermass (rest of the world), custom (remix cd) on quatermass, insound tour support series no 22, on insound, split ep w/ the walmen on troubleman unlimited (release 8.02), televise on arena rock recordings (release 9.24.02)

Press Reviews Blending the pillowy noise of My Bloody Valentine with the guttural digressions of Nick Cave, Calla is leading the race for the title of the American Radiohead… - From The Gear 100 Most Exciting People, Places and Things on the Planet:Gear Magazine (Jan/Feb 02) …transcendent - Mike Wolf (Time Out New York, pick of the week May 18, 2001) …Calla kept its songs tightly contained…Calla was no less depressive, but it tiptoed through most of its set… its musical homes are late-1970's England, when bands like Joy Division were devising haggard mope-rock; the California retreats of Neil Young; and the after- hours New York of the Velvet Underground… he songs accepted despair without surprise or expectations. – Jon Pareles (New York Times, “The Sound of Old Wounds That Can Never Quite Heal, Dec 26, 2001) So what makes these ridiculously depressive U2-covering no-engergy Texas-born Brooklyn art-geeks and Michael Gira associates, who look and sound like they’re falling asleep to the stupid Nick Cave records they were raised on, tolerable? No dude, it’s not that they’re “rilly intense”. More likely it’s that they’ve got melodies. Plus the singing and Kraut-spaghetti effects suggest a VW repairman left to die alone at high noon in the Mexican desert, perhaps? - Eddy, (Village Voice, June 19, 2001) …Beneath its faint ghost melodies and woozily chugging rhythms lies a kind of soft heartache that alternates between states of grace and desperation. Minimalist yearning never sounded so good. - Colin Helms (CMJ New Music Report, Issue: 703, Feb 26, 2001) …Doesn’t it feel like ages since a band quietly blew you away in a wash of their own richly defined (and thankfully unhyped) mood? Ominously deeee-lish. – Lorrie (Vice, April 2001)

Location Brooklyn, New York - USA

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