Artist description Seattle band Epigene make modern melodic pop/rock that incorporates the elements of 70's R&B & Soul, the kinetic energy of New Wave and the guitar dynamics of Brit Pop. Epigene songwriter Sean Bigler's compositions remain accessible on the surface but contain a lyrical & musical depth that is revealed after repeated listens.

Music Style Brit-Pop/Rock/New Wave/Indie/Soul/Adult Alternative

Musical Influences Jamiroquai, XTC, Police, Supergrass, Steely Dan, Blur, Ben Folds

Similar Artists Manic Street Preachers, The Police/Sting, Supergrass, Ben Folds Five, Blur, Guided by Voices, Fountains of Wayne, XTC, Owsley, Radiohead

Artist History The word Epigene is an adjective used to describe something occurring on the surface or just under the surface of the earth. It is foreign to the material in which it is found; like a crystal seam in bedrock. Epigene is also a word that describes the music and lyrics of Seattle based songwriter Sean Bigler. His songs contain a lyrical depth and melodic sophistication rarely found among today's modern rock/pop contemporaries. His remarkably elastic tenor recalls a young Sting or even Stevie Wonder and can swing from soft to overdrive from song to song. Seattle's Rocket magazine reviewed Epigene's debut EP in 1999 and wrote: "Not every band can make '70s AM pop/rock work in a modern context…many of their songs are quite compelling and worthy of a wink from Bacharach." Listen.com wrote that Epigene "Blends the chord changes of 1970s Progressive Rock with the kinetic energy of New Wave." In the spring of 1999, Sean met Edgar Allan (bass) and Darrell Grey (drums) who had responded to his ad at Cornish College of the Arts. Both had recently moved to Seattle and were former musicians of the Oakland scene, founding the dangerous and highly influential "Klezmer"/funk/fusion group Salamander in the mid nineties. After finishing their debut CD in July of 1999, Epigene added Bonnie Lykes (keyboards, harmony vocals). Bonnie was originally the lead singer in the SF punk band The Proper Shoes before moving to Seattle to study jazz. The band gigged locally for about a year before playing an MP3.com/Angelcity showcase in LA along with 180 other unsuspecting bands. Following this experience, Epigene called it quits for a while but not before laying down drum & bass tracks for the new album. Several months of painstaking home recordings followed. Finally, after mixing and mastering the songs at Rainstorm studios, "One Bright Sign" was completed. The music is best described as modern melodic pop/rock that incorporates the elements of 70's R&B, the kinetic energy of New Wave and the guitar dynamics of Brit Pop. "Lonely Together Forever", the album's opener, is funkified driving rock about a miserable couple too afraid to break up. In contrast, "You bring out the Best in Me" is a piece of Stevie Wonder-inspired R&B positivity about true love with a Rhodes, sequencers and swirling backwards pianos over a layered dance groove. "Troubled Man" is dark, brooding hip-hop jazz reminiscent of Steely Dan. The troubled man in the narrative was inspired by Jack Nicolson's lonely, shut-down character in the movie Five Easy Pieces and the ending melancholy trumpet perfectly captures the despair of a man cut off from others and his own feelings. The album's 14 immaculately arranged songs cover a lot of ground both musically and emotionally, from the frantic melodic punk of "Night Rally" (think pre-orchestral XTC) to the languid, trance-like "Sleeptime." But the album seems tied together by an underlying theme of hope over despair, seen though various character sketches and emotional conflicts. One constant attribute of One Bright Sign is a highly developed and creative sense of melody; the kind aspired to but rarely heard these days. The result is a near-perfect synthesis of past musical styles into a modern, compelling sound with a vulnerability that won't leave you cold.

Group Members Sean Bigler-Vocals,Guitar,& Keyboards, Darrell Grey- Drums, percussion, Bonnie Lykes- Vocals, Keyboards

Instruments Vocals, guitars, mandolin, bass, drums, keyboards, horns

Albums Epigene (self-titled), 1999. One Bright Sign, 2001

Press Reviews AMG EXPERT REVIEW: Epigene is a solid, Brit-rock influenced pop band that owes a strong debt to the blue-eyed soul of Level 42, Paul Weller, and Paul McCartney. Guitarist/vocalist Sean Bigler has a crisp guitar attack not unlike a pre-13 Blur's Graham Coxon and delivers his vocals with an assured clarity the harkens back to the Fixx's Cy Curnin. Significantly, Bigler has a knack for writing story songs with a personal bent that nonetheless express universal truths. On "Lonely Together Forever," a witty portrait of convenient love, Bigler sings, "Bitter Rogers, Fred Despair afraid of dancing solo/At first a desperate affair no love from Cupid's arrow." This, combined with Epigene's ability to marry their more modern rock impulses with an uncanny sense of R&B makes for an invigorating listening. Case in point is the brilliant "You Bring Out the Best in Me," a reflective, keyboard-driven number that could work equally well on both a Jamiroquai album as a Gene release. One Bright Sign is a stellar, if somewhat derivative debut that showcases the band's '70s AOR mentality. — Matt Collar

Additional Info New full length album, One Bright Sign, will be out Oct 2001

Location Seattle, WA - USA

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