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ATMA - Seattle, WA
By Patrick Ferris
Taking music for granted in Seattle is a rut that one can easily fall into. A thriving live music scene, live music 7 nights a week in dozens of clubs and hundreds if not thousands of bands working to build a following or just having fun playing for an appreciative audience, can make the music selection process seem somewhat overwhelming.
It always makes me a little nervous to put my name out there for a band I have never seen live, but recommendations from several people, talk around the musicians circles and hearing their MP3 downloads convinced me to arrange a performance with Seattle Peace Concerts, sight unseen. ATMA (pronounced aht-mah) is the Hindi word for 'soul and togetherness', which is what this Seattle based band delivered to a healthy audience at Seattle's Volunteer Park amphitheater.
Going beyond space jams, ATMA incorporates elements of funk, jazz, hip-hop and rock to create multi-dimensional soundscapes. ATMAs instrumentation use of Hammond B3 and duel flute/sax solos over a solid, grooving and often funky rhythm section, creates a texture that is unique and progressive. The music is definitely 'heady', but not out of reach for everybody to enjoy. Their arrangements are hook-laden and while solos can often be lengthy, they are always interesting with a crispness and innovation that pushes the boundaries of modern day fusion.
ATMA has released only live compilations since their first incarnation in 2000, each release it's own unique chapter in the ATMA story. Although all of the band members in ATMA are veterans of other recording projects, they are settling into their current sound and are working on their first studio release.
Bassist and ATMA co-founder; Carlos Tulloss was able to hook up with me for a brief online interview, talking about the direction ATMA will be taking in the immediate future:
HotBands - Hi Carlos. That
was a fantastic performance yesterday (Seattle Peace Concert) and my first live
introduction to your band.
ATMA - We were just talking about it. It's funny how everyone has their own perspective about how it went or sounded.
HotBands - You guys didn't like your show?
ATMA - I think that as a group we are all very critical so we tend to pick things apart. All in all it went ok... no train wrecks!
HotBands - Your band setup forces sound from the flanks rather than the center. Is that how you traditionally set up and why?
ATMA - I think that yesterday was unique because of the stage dimensions and because we had guests with us. Generally Brett and Allison are right up front next to each other, but usually we are playing on much smaller stages.
HotBands - Your music was very fusion-jazz oriented with elements of rap/hip-hop as well. Talk about how ATMA came into being and what direction you all wanted to pursue in general. How would you describe your music?
ATMA - It started as a completely different band in 2000. We had a singer/guitarist as well as someone doing spoken word and samples. The music crossed over from bossa-fusion to really "out" atmospheric soundscape stuff.
HotBands - Yeah, it's out, but it's not totally jam. Your music is quite complex and it's obvious why parts for flute and sax have to be written out. Who were your guests yesterday?
ATMA - Our guests were the 2 MCs, Dufon (who goes by "orb") and Latiff ...I play hip-hop with them in another project and they are both really really sick break dancers from a crew called Circle of fire
HotBands - Your normal lineup is: bass, drum, keys, sax and flute, right?
ATMA - Right. The music changed a lot from our first incarnation. We decided to go the strictly instrumental route, adding organ and sax, and losing the vocal and guitar elements.
HotBands - How did you get the lineup to where you want it, or is it ever evolving to achieve new musical dimensions?
ATMA - The band has been
morphing and evolving so much in the past couple years (different guests and phases of
music) that we consider all the people we've worked with to be part of the 'collective'.
HotBands - How and why did the ATMA core come together?
ATMA - The first line up was Me (Carlos)(bass), Allison (flute), Mike(drums), Adam Hunter (guitar/vocals), David Delmar (samples/spoken word) then the band became a Trio going under the name 3B3 Mike, Joe Doria (on organ), and myself. Allison started playing with us again, and Ari Zucker came in on guitar and eventually it ended up as the current line up of Brett (sax) and Leif (keys/B3), Mike, Allison and myself...mostly because we were all on the same page and with similar tastes.
HotBands - So the only one that has seen the evolution in its entirety is you?
ATMA - And Mike...we are still in a very developmental stage, but I like the direction we've been heading of late.
HotBands - Since all the other
musicians pretty much know the parts do they become a part of ATMA depending on the
circumstances...i.e., gig, money, exposure, availability? Who writes the arrangements?
ATMA - That can be a factor, although most of the music gets written in phases that have everything to do with what the current instrumentation is. The set we played yesterday was all music written with the current 5 piece in mind, so it's not like anyone can just jump in.
HotBands - Who writes the majority of the music?
ATMA - I'd say that over the course of the past few years I've written a lot of the music but really everyone develops his or her own parts. A lot of the harmony lines get worked out between Brett and Allison, and Mike writes a lot of grooves and rhythmic ideas.
HotBands - Do you adjust your set list to suit the band line up for the day? Do you still play tunes from former band members, or do you just use songs for the current lineup?
ATMA - We play a tune called Fry His Ass, which Joe Doria wrote, and we'll do covers from time to time but the most of our material is original music.
HotBands - C-turtle...very very cool horn duets! When is your next CD out?
ATMA - Well, "officially" we haven't finished our first CD!! The CD you are listening to is kind of a compilation of good live/studio stuff from 2003. We have a lot of compilation CDs, but we are working on our studio project now.
HotBands - Do you write out the charts and then Brett and Allison expand on the idea? If you could give some sort of summary of your song creation process, that would help the readers (and me) get an idea of how your songs are written.
ATMA - A lot of times I come up with
a melody or a groove and a melody, which I write out for the band to check out and then
everyone tries to adapt and interpret the song to their own instrument and style. Other
times Mike will come up with a groove and I try to find a bass line. Then we'll record it
and melodies kind of float out on top of them eventually. Brett, Allison and Leif are very
skilled at coming up with harmonies and melodies for everything, as well as writing their
own tunes for the band.
HotBands - Who are your influences and whom do you emulate?
ATMA - I grew up listening to a lot of rock and funk. Then, I got into The Dead and jazz, eventually hip-hop. As a bass player, I mean there's so many great bass players, I'd say I like groove players; Bootsy, Chris Wood, Charlie Hunter, etc. but I'd say I'm mostly influenced these days by hip hop producers and band leaders. I'm a huge fan of Zappa, Mos Def, Tim Young, The Roots, Enio Morricone...people with distinct visions who find ways to organize and manifest their sound...I'm really into horror sound tracks.
HotBands - You're all obviously schooled in music (right??). Are you all from the Seattle area, or did you migrate here? What kind of brief background can you give on the band members and how you came to meet and eventually play together?
ATMA - I'm not as schooled as I should be in music although I'm studying privately as much as I can right now. I'm originally from Chicago and I've lived up and down the West Coast for the past 10 years ((OR,WA and CA) We've (ATMA) all played in a lot of bands collectively. Allison is a Southern CA transplant. She studied music at WWU (Western Washington University) and abroad. Mike is from San Jose and played in a bunch of bands in Santa Cruz and the Bay Area before relocating to Seattle, Leif is a Seattle native who plays all over town (he probably plays in the most projects of any of us) and he studied music at UW (University of Washington), Brett is also from CA and he played in a band called Fat Mama which had a lot of success touring the jam circuit a few years back before he got into engineering school at UW.
HotBands - It's great that this area (Seattle) brought so many talented musicians together! I wonder what it is about Seattle that makes it so music friendly. Seriously, I've lived in other parts of the USA and haven't seen as large a percentage of the population being musicians as in the Pacific Northwest. Any ideas?
ATMA - Well what I've come to understand, and a lot of musicians would probably agree with me, is that Seattle is a great laboratory or sort of an incubator for really creative, thoughtful and inspiring music. I think the pace, the cost of living and the surroundings are all very conducive for writing and making great music so it draws a lot of critical/musical minds to live here. However, I don't think Seattle is really a launching point...a lot of people come here to find their music and then go to like LA or NY or Chicago to try and make a career out of it.
HotBands - Your music
isn't really mainstream yet you're building a substantial following by constantly putting
out good music that is innovative. Some of it reminds me of Weather Report in their
heyday. How focused are you on cranking out CDs, or are you letting ATMA evolve at
whatever pace feels good?
ATMA - The band can be a little streaky. Right now we've been writing a lot and preparing to go in the studio so we've got some momentum and we're booking lots of shows. I think everyone in the band really wants our first official release to be quality. We've all done so much recording in the past that has just been for the sake of getting our a CD, so we want this one to have some time to evolve on its own. I know everyone wants to be writing, recording and performing as much as possible, but you kind of have to ride the wave of creativeness as it comes and goes.
HotBands - How many of you are full time musicians?
ATMA - Well if by full time you mean no day jobs, that would be zero, but if you mean playing gigs, recording or rehearsing five or six nights a week, I'd say all of us. We all play in multiple projects.
HotBands - I would think since you have been going thru an evolutionary stage that a recorded history would be very cool. How do you feel about people recording your live shows and trading your songs online?
ATMA - I Love it! I'm all for it! For me, it's the only way I get to hear what it all sounds like from an objective point of view, and I am a HUGE believer in online trading of all music! Music is meant to be listened to and that is the ultimate point of any artist...to be heard.
HotBands - How do you feel about the
crackdown on file trading thru the RIAA?
I've always wondered how an American company can enforce the ethics of people in other
parts of the world.
ATMA - I think it's Bull Shit! Not just from a legal perspective but really in principle! I know people would disagree with me, but if thousands of people are downloading your music for free, it's because they like your music. This can really only help your cause! The only people it hurts financially are people that are already making significant amounts of money.
HotBands - Yeah... yay Metallica. Assholes!
ATMA - Exactly!
HotBands - Do you have long-term plans for ATMA? Where from here and on what kind of schedule can people expect tours or more music?
ATMA - We like to take things one step at a time (and sometimes like 3 steps back at a time...) but the current focus is recording this studio project and tightening up the sound over the course of the next few shows. We'll probably do a release and a lot of promotion when it's done and then see where the winds take us. We've had a lot of good fortune as a group; more and more people come back and catch on to what we're doing and that propels us forward. Eventually we'd like to own a tropical island.
HotBands - Ha! I'll keep that in mind for a vacation spot once your first album goes triple platinum! Thanks for taking the time for this interview Carlos! You guys have a fantastic band and are a real contribution to the world of music!
For more information on ATMA, CLICK HERE
