Imaad Wasif

Imaad Wasif
Imaad Wasif, 2009
Background information
Born	October 27, 1975
Origin	India, Vancouver B.C.
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	Guitar, vocals
Associated acts	Imaad Wasif with Two Part Beast, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, lowercase, alaska!, The New Folk Implosion
Website	www.imaadwasif.com
Notable instruments
Guitar, Sitar

Imaad Wasif is a Canadian-born Indian singer-songwriter and guitar player whose music combines elements of both folk and rock music. Wasif’s music has been described as “unbelievably intense with sparkling, raga-influenced guitar and a mystic bent.”^[1]

Wasif was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and moved with his family to Palm Desert, California when he was 3 years old. He began playing music in high school and formed his first band lowercase in 1994; “a guitar-drums duo that played a weird hybrid of lo-fi pop, post-rock and slo-core.”^[2] In 2001, he moved to Los Angeles and formed alaska! in addition to joining Lou Barlow’s New Folk Implosion. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

From 2006–2007, Wasif played with Yeah Yeah Yeahs for the Show Your Bones world tour playing acoustic guitar, bass and Wurlitzer. He performed his solo work as the supporting act for most shows.

Albums

His first self-titled solo album was released in 2006 on Kill Rock Stars. The record featured minimal, acoustic songs with psychedelic influences, reminiscent of Skip Spence’s Oar and Syd Barrett’s Opel, and was recorded by Mark Nevers in Nashville, TN. This record introduced Wasif’s primary lyrical themes; love, madness, transformation, isolation, and spiritual influences, which continue through his subsequent albums.

Wasif’s second album, Strange Hexes, was self-released in 2008. Recorded in Los Angeles by Tom Biller with a new backing band, Two Part Beast, the record was a return to Wasif’s early rock driven compositions. Two Part Beast consists of Adam Garcia on drums and Bobb Bruno on bass. The album is a “tense, trippy collection of songs that become fiercely emotional explorations.”^[3] The songs incorporate Eastern modal tunings and drones, influences from the Indian classical music traditions passed on from his father who was a Ghazal singer and harmonium player. Strange Hexes will be re-released in 2010 on Tee Pee Records.

Wasif’s third album, The Voidist, was released in 2009 on Tee Pee Records. Recorded in Los Angeles by Chad Bamford, The Voidist is at once “regal and exuberant. Its unique sonic tapestry is sprinkled with ragas, blues rock, and something totally new that exists at the apex of these varied influences.”^[4] The album includes both solo acoustic and full band rock tracks recorded with Two Part Beast plus guests Dale Crover (Melvins) and Greg Burns (Red Sparowes). Wasif has stated in interviews that some of the songs for this album came to him from parallel astral planes and that his androgynous soul enables him to inhabit a range of perspectives. Other influences that Wasif has cited include William Blake, Robert Desnos, Gérard de Nerval, Patti Smith, John Fahey, Don Van Vliet, Vilayat Khan, Ali Akbar Khan, Bismillah Khan and 13th Floor Elevators.

Film Soundtracks

Wasif contributed to and co-wrote several songs for the soundtrack to Where the Wild Things Are (2009). He also appears on the soundtrack to Laurel Canyon (2002) and played the role of Dean in the film.

Discography

Solo albums

• Imaad Wasif (Kill Rock Stars, 2006)
• Strange Hexes (self-released, 2008)
• The Voidist (Tee Pee Records, 2009)

Solo contributions on compilations

• “Other Voices” on The Sound the Hare Heard (Kill Rock Stars, 2006)
• “The New Year” on Kill Rock Stars Winter Holiday Album (Kill Rock Stars, 2006)

Bands, Collaborations, and Guest Appearances

• lowercase – Your Wrists Can Wait, 4-song cassette (self-released, 1994)
• lowercase – Two Songs, 7″ (Punk in My Vitamins, 1995)
• lowercase – Brass Tacks, 7″ (Xmas Records, 1995)
• lowercase – Cadence, 7″ (Amphetamine Reptile, 1995)
• lowercase – “My Shame Your Shame” (compilation) (WIN Records, 1995)
• lowercase – All Destructive Urges…Seem So Perfect (Amphetamine Reptile, 1996)
• lowercase – Kill The Lights (Amphetamine Reptile, 1997)
• lowercase – “Ringbleeder” on AmRep Equipped (compilation) (Amphetamine Reptile, 1997)
• lowercase – Imbedded In Ice, 7″ (Punk in My Vitamins, 1998)
• lowercase – The Open Sea / Don’t Cry No Tears, Mail Order Freak Singles Club #1–4, 7” (Kill Rock Stars, 1998)
• lowercase – “Surefire Solvent” on Multi-Vitamin Compilation (Punk In My Vitamins, 1998)
• lowercase – The Going-Away Present (Punk in My Vitamins, 1999)
• alaska! – Four Songs (self-released, 2001)
• alaska! – Emotions (Flying Nun Records, 2003)
• alaska! – “Lost the Gold” on Speed of Sound (compilation) (Flying Nun Records, 2003)
• alaska! – “In My Time” on The Fold Comp (compilation) (Credit Records, 2003)
• The New Folk Implosion – Brand of Skin, 7” (Domino, 2003)
• The New Folk Implosion – Pearl, 7” (Domino, 2003)
• The New Folk Implosion – The New Folk Implosion (iMusic, 2003)
• alaska! – “r u listenin” on Tracks & Fields (compilation) (Kill Rock Stars, 2004)
• alaska! – Five Songs (self-released, 2004)
• alaska! – Rescue Through Tomahawk (Altitude Records, 2005)
• alaska! – Kiss You/Pink Frost, CD Single (Altitude Records, 2005)
• Lou Barlow – Emoh (Merge, 2005)
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Live Session EP (iTunes Exclusive, 2007)
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Mississippi Studios: Live, Vol. 3 (2007)
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs – "The Love I’m Searching For" (AOL Exclusive, 2007)
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Its Blitz! (Interscope, 2009)
• Lou Barlow – Goodnight Unknown (Merge, 2009)
• Where the Wild Things Are, Motion Picture Soundtrack (Interscope, 2009)

References

External links

• Official Site
• Imaad Wasif at MySpace
• 2006 article in No Depression
• 2008 article in LA Weekly
• 2008 interview in L.A. Record
• 2009 interview