Artist description Jarrod Kaplan, percussionist, has an atypical drum setup -- djembe, dumbek, anklets (also known as "leg bells") and others. He's also been known to use a Bic pen as a drumstick. Enion Pelta, violinist, has played the instrument since she was three years old. James Whiton plays an acoustic/stand up/slap bass and David Tiller plays the mandolin and mandola (also known as an octave mandolin). The Oregon Daily Emerald

Music Style Seismic, Gypsy, Hypno-Jazz, During their last show in Eugene -- Sept. 14 at Sam Bond's Garage -- one listener was heard describing it as

Artist History TAARKA was officially born on April 20th, 2002 - an auspicious date for more than the obvious reasons according to their band astrologer, Mark McNutt - when they played a short set at the Seattle Rhythm Festival. That set was all it took for them to know they wanted to build a beautiful galleon and sail to the farthest corners of music together. The seeds of Taarka were planted as early as fall of 2001, however. David Tiller and Enion Pelta were both playing in a bluegrass group in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. The group, Brooklyn Browngrass, was doing well, but not satisfying either of their creative desires to the fullest. So they began taking vacations together in a large pumpkin, to a distant shore where the very air breathed and the lights flitted about like small moths. When they returned, they found they had quite a lot of music together and hatched a plot to move to the Northwest. In late 2001, David called up his old friend Jarrod Kaplan. They spoke of many worldly things before coming to the crux of the matter - Dave and his fiddlin' friend Enion were planning to move to the Northwest, had some material together, and wanted to play when they arrived. Jarrod, being his adventurous self, asked the two to send him a recording of their music. He did not receive anything until they had arrived in Portland and gone up to visit him in Seattle, where they burned him a disc of their latest creations while sitting on his living room floor. http://www.taarka.com/bios.html

Group Members Enion Pelta: Violin (TL) David Tiller (ThaMuseMeant): Mandolin (TR) Jarrod Kaplan (Hanuman): Percussion (BL) James Whiton (Apricot Jam): Acoustic Bass

Instruments Violin, Mandolin, Percussion, Acoustic Bass

Albums Live in the Studio

Press Reviews Taarka's songs are composed, and they avoid Western tendencies of using standardized rhythm structures. Pelta explained that the band's music was mostly written using meters, rather than the predominant "4/4" that American listeners are accustomed to hearing. "For those not versed in music theory, this translates to a sound that should strike listeners as immediately and distinctly different -- but one that remains imminently danceable." The Oregon Daily Emerald

Location Seattle, WA - USA

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