If you could see only one band at SXSW, Yonatan Gat should be a strong candidate. You don’t have to take our word for it; the New York Times, Vice, and many others agree, even if we were saying so several months ago. The point is that a consensus exists in the music loving world: Yonatan Gat is the real thing. The trio, consisting of two members from Israel (Yonatan Gat and Gal Lazer) and one from Brazil (Sergio Sayeg), foregoes venue stages and performs wild, improvisational sets on the floor, just a few a few inches from audience members–sometimes closer.
The day before the band released their new album, Director, they hosted an open studio event at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood. The space houses an art gallery and artists studios, and more recently added a small recording studio behind the main building. I arrived in the mid-afternoon and a docent pointed me toward a back door with a warning to watch my step on the ice. I made my way through the gallery and into a courtyard to discover an entirely frozen terrain. Slick ice dusted with snow layered the entire area. Above it stretched a huge red brick wall, vibrant and rich. Yonatan headed toward me from across the ice on his way to the restroom. He told me I’d caught the band on a break and directed me on toward the studio.
I slid across the ice carefully and made my way up a spiral staircase and found Sergio and Gal hanging around the practice room. In the corner, one of Sergio’s friends sat reading a book. I caught up with the guys for a few minutes before Yonatan returned, passed around a few beers and the trio set to work recording again. They began with a disjointed, staggering groove. It built in volume and cohesion as the band moved around the room, changing positions; furniture was moved, and instruments were set down and picked up again. The other observer left the room at one point, and I realized that all these various noises become part of the mix. With Yonatan Gat, everything is just part of the fabric that will constitute the aural experience of a song. Improvisation isn’t a style of music, it’s a way of living.
A long narrow window ran the length of the room above the mixing board and tape machine. Through it I watched the last light of the last day in February faded from cool and sharp to warm, soft, and glowing before almost disappearing completely–all set to a soundtrack supplied by Yonatan Gat. Like watching an experimental film with a live score.
Yonatan Gat will play eight shows at SXSW this week. Be at one of of them. We recommend “You’re Here!” taking place at the Ground Floor Theater at 979 Springdale in East Austin. We’re sponsoring the event, which gives festival goers an opportunity to enjoy great bands without some of the SXSW chaos (don’t worry, there’s still free beer). The band’s full listing of shows is below.
-
March 19th – Street Legal Guitars
-
March 19th – You’re Here! at Ground Control Theater – 979 Springdale
-
March 19th – 405 Club
-
March 20th – Hotel Vegas
-
March 20th – The Pizza Loft
-
March 20th – Cheer’s Shot Bar
-
March 21st – The Grackle
-
March 21st – Wonderland
