sparse lo-fi sounds of greatness

Every once in a while, a musical artist comes along who turns a deaf ear to trends and follows the beat of their own heart.    

Every so often, some “suit” residing deep within the jaded corporate world that rock ‘n’ roll has become, still manages to recognize such an artist.  Something they hear reminds them that once upon a time, before all the hype and image and visual accompaniment, the record business used to be about the music.   

     Jonathan Bates (aka mellowdrone) is such an artist and A&R rep Tony Berg of ARTISTdirect Records is such a “suit.”      

    Bates has a penchant for using lower-case lettering in regards to his work as mellowdrone -- which is a name that he feels best describes his sound -- mellow and very droning.    Berg’s resume boasts of his having discovered both Beck and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. 

      Working together –– Bates under the apt moniker of mellowdrone and Berg as his studio engineer –– the duo are expected to create what many record biz folks feel will be one of the more memorable albums of the year. 

     “We just got done laying down some piano tracks and weird guitar noises,” he said in a phone call from the tiny home studio, where he and Berg are wrapping up work on the full length CD that is expected to ship in early summer.   

    “It’s been a laborious task, having to work o the songs around the live dates,” he continued, “but being out on the road and opening for Johnny Marr (& The Healers) has been a really great experience.”  

    Being that the six songs on their commercial EP released this past January –– “a demonstration of intellectual property” –– have been making industry tongues wag wildly, the full-length mellowdrone CD is highly anticipated.     

    Only two cuts from the EP –– “and repeat” and “fashionably uninvited” –– will carry over to the full-length release coming this summer.   Bates would like to do “all new tracks” but the label has gotten strong response to those cuts and want them included, feeling they will help escalate mellowdrone from its current underground status, to a broader marketplace.    

    “Those (EP) songs are about a year old, and I feel I’ve gotten much better as a writer and that my songs are coming for much more confident places now,” he said.  “I’ve since cut the fat off and gotten right to the point with the newer songs.   The ambience is there, but the melodies and lyrics and structure and leaner I think.” 

    Originally recorded in his box-sized bedroom, the EP was released as an introduction to this Venezuelan-born/Berklee-educated Floridian native.  Musically –– a demonstration of intellectual property –– is an oddly pleasing balance of lo-fi songs. Wherein half are rife with goth-like cynicism and bleakness, the remainder are flush with romanticism and bright hopes of true love.  

     “It makes sense to me,” he mused of the wide breadth covered on the EP.  “I’m both a cynic and a romantic.  We all have light and dark sides to us don’t we?   We all have two sides...”   

     As mellowdrone, Bates has two other homespun independent EPs under his belt -- 1999’s “...boredom never sounded so sweet” and 2001’s “glassblower.”

     The synth-driven rhythms and sonic sparseness of his music reminds this writer a bit of Brian Eno’s more eclectic work, while Bates declares that such avant-garde artists as film composer, Danny Elfman, and experimental French artist, Erik Satie, are largely responsible for his turning away from his previous guitar rock path and experimenting with electronic music thusly.   

      It was his guitar prowess that afforded Bates a free three year ride at Boston’s prestigious Berklee School Of Music, a time that he now reflects back on as “a waste of time.”    

    “All it ever did in Boston was snow,” laughed Bates of his scholarship years, “so I used to just sit in my room and write music.”   It was while woodshedding in Boston during those long cold days, that his first EP was written and recorded.    

      “Doing that EP was really satisfying for me,” he remembered. “Berklee wasn’t doing a thing for me.  It sucked.”   After getting some positive feedback from tapes he had sent to L.A., Bates packed his bags, took one last look at the snow covered landscape and moved to the sun-soaked West Coast.   

     Living hand-to-mouth, he recorded his second EP using a crappy computer and a Radio Shack keyboard.  It was completed New Year’s Day 2001 and Bates quickly set up a web site –– www.mellowdrone.com –– to hawk his musical wares.   

      A buzz began about the quirky but resoundingly talented artist.  Live “open mic” gigs in clubs followed as he focused attention on making his experimental sound work in a concert situation.   The live gigs coupled with the attention he had been getting on the internet is what prompted Berg -- along with Bates’ current manager, Ryan Ayanian -- to seek out the creative force behind the mellowdrone project. 

       Despite having a real label and a real budget, Bates continues to record his songs in his bedroom studio, self-producing and playing all of the instruments (save the drums) himself.   

     “It’s just how I work,” he concluded.  “I don’t know what people will think, but the label is real optimistic and excited.  All I know, is that I am very happy with the way the new songs are coming along and I can’t wait to get this CD done.”

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