Red Fiction
Led by Los Angeles-based guitarist/composer Jason Schimmel, RED FICTION is a band whose ferocity is matched only by its dizzying eclecticism. A longtime member of Mr. Bungle co- founder Trey Spruance’s audacious ensemble Secret Chiefs 3, Schimmel daringly juggles styles and traditions from avant-jazz to punk, Balkan folk to extreme metal, cinematic soundscapes to surf rock and prog.
The band released its debut album, Visions of the Void, in 2020 on legendary iconoclast John Zorn’s Tzadik label, earning raves for its “top-notch avant-experimental Baltic influenced fusion with a jagged jazz flow” (Metal Injection), as it “touches on so many genres that it is easy to get lost among them” (Avant Music News).
Born from the ashes of Atomic Ape, RED FICTION further hones its predecessor’s adventurous sound into something equally unpredictable and dauntless, yet cohesive in its relentless sense of exploration. Schimmel is joined by saxophonist Ryan Parrish and bassist Rusty Kennedy, both veterans of Atomic Ape; along with drummer Shawn Baltazor and violinist Lauren Elizabeth Baba, new additions to the fold. The band is stunningly adept at switching gears and styles with whiplash-inducing precision while maintaining its vital, cohesive identity.
The same head-scratching praise could apply to RED FICTION, a further evolution of Schimmel’s wide-ranging and venturesome sonic imagination. “Everyone needs to experience this level of brilliant insanity at least once,” is how Metal Injection greeted the release of Visions of the Void in 2020. Enlisting the band for his impeccably curated label, Zorn called RED FICTION, “Powerfully imaginative instrumental music by an all-star ensemble of masters at the top of their game.”
“Musically, I like to go to different universes,” is how Jason Schimmel describes his source of inspiration. Joining him is a white-knuckle experience well worth the wild ride. As he has throughout his career, Schimmel melts together genres, traditions and inspirations with the precision blast of an industrial blowtorch. The latest and most savagely streamlined result is RED FICTION, a warped and twisted vehicle for his fiercest explorations to date.
On The Web:
Red Fiction Official Website
Red Fiction on Facebook
Red Fiction on Instagram
Red Fiction on Bandcamp
Red Fiction on YouTube
Music To Check Out:
• "Kerberos" from Visions of the Void
• "Clone 13" from Visions of the Void
• "Narrows" from Visions of the Void
To hear music from all of this year's bands,
please visit the MUSIC page.
Videos To Check Out:
• "Clone 13" from Visions of the Void
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JASON SCHIMMEL
(Electric Guitar, Bouzouki, Keyboard, Sampler)
SHAWN BALTZOR
(Drums)
RYAN PARRISH
(Tenor Saxophone)
RUSTY KENNEDY
(Bass)
"A slamming slate of metalized surf rock, avant jazz, odd-metered prog angularities and an exceptionally cold-ass spy noir badness."
- L.A. Times
"The eleven tracks are exercises in crazy genre-jumping that can start on one side of the world and end up on the other, what’s rooted in the past one minute might be launced into the future the next — all within the same track!... Elements of East European folk music, heavy metal, jazz, fusion, klezmer, surf-rock, avant-garde, and experimental sounds all blend seamlessly into a potent stew of styles that pack a surprise in almost every measure... a missing beat or two, a twisted melody getting turned back on its head. This music is like a downhill train going so fast it’s about to jump the tracks, you’re hanging on like that will happen but somehow you survive it, and go back again and again like a crazy kid at a carnival ride. Eventually, after a dozen or more spins, one starts to get used to this level of excitement, but there’s always something new that you didn’t catch the last time through. For those who like ubridled musical excitement, Visions of the Void is the prescription."
- Peter Thelen, Expose Online