Buke and Gase Rebuild Music from the Instrument Up
This article was originally accepted for publication in the Philly Daily News. Due to a non-exclusivity clause, after 10 days, I am able to share it here.
B+G: Being tricky
Arone Dyer and Aron Sanchez have long favored a
do-it-yourself approach to art. As Buke and Gase, they’re taking the idea one
step further, and creating their own instruments.
The name Buke and Gase describes their concoctions: Dyer
(she) plays the buke, a custom-built, six string, baritone ukulele, and Sanchez
(he) plays the gase, a self-fashioned guitar-bass hybrid. The instruments were invented
partially out of necessity—Dyer to combat carpal tunnel syndrome, and Sanchez
to achieve greater range in a group where he was the only string player—but
since have become integral to their sound.
“The buke
gives me a range—lower than a guitar and higher than a guitar,” explains Dyer,
who’s also modified her instrument with effects pedals, typically found on an
electric guitar or bass. Sanchez adds that the gase allows him to “play bass
parts or guitar parts, or play them both at the same time. We’re trying to be
like a little orchestra,” he quips.
Buke and Gase
offer a much fuller sound than is typical of a duo. Since forming in 2008, the Brooklyn
pair has turned heads with complex, visceral brews, which incorporate elements
of rock, folk, metal, and punk, and which have generally been deemed
unclassifiable by critics. (The band themselves prefer the term “chamber punk.”)
On their second and newest LP, General
Dome, they marry dark, percussive instrumentation with Dyer’s lilting,
jazzy vocals, for a result that feels both ominous and invigorating.
Not surprisingly,
the pair boasts a long history of experimentation. Prior to forming Buke and
Gase, Dyer worked as a bicycle mechanic, where her love of craftsmanship led to
several custom-built bikes. Sanchez
performed with and designed instruments for The Blue Man Group, including the
Aronophonic, or custom-built cymbal made from multiple metal pieces.
Still, that
doesn’t mean perfecting the buke and gase was easy. “I probably built 11 to 12
versions of the gase,” says Sanchez with a laugh, noting that his design is
constantly evolving. Dyer’s buke, on the other hand, has seen “just three” iterations.
(“The neck snapped on the other two,” she explains).
Presently, the
band is touring behind General Dome, and
will make a stop at Johnny Brenda’s on Friday, February 1. Adapting their songs
for live performance presents its own challenges, the most prodigious being
determining how to recreate parts that were recorded separately in the studio
at the same time live.
For this purpose,
the band has invented more custom
apparatuses: the toe-bourine, or a custom-built tambourine that Dyer affixes to
her shoe, and a modified kick-drum that Sanchez pounds. Still, they admit that
finding the perfect live balance is tough.
“What we’re doing
is a very particular sound,” says Sanchez. “Getting that across in a live room sonically
is difficult. Performing this material takes a lot of endurance, and attention
to detail. It takes a lot of practice.”
Dyer agrees. “I
think people who come to see our shows definitely come because they’re curious
about what they’re going to see,” she says.
For now, the band
is happy touring, but admits they’re eager to get back to the studio and
record. And while there are no specific
plans to invent more instruments, they say to never discount the possibility.
“I have no doubt
that something’s gonna happen,” grins Sanchez. “We’ll have to wait and see
what.”
.
