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Cetacea
hails from Brooklyn, NY, having been conceived late one night in March of
2003 out of a collective need to create music both uncompromisingly
bold in vision and articulately passionate in execution. This
collaboration was born of a mutual love for music, the potency of which
lends an organic, cerebral, and visceral quality to their unique alchemy
of sound. Cetacea is characterized by an urban, tribal rhythm, tender,
sweeping chord progressions, cascading, melodic bass lines, and a
soaring, ethereal vocal presence that when combined swell with glacial
symmetry and blistering energy. Their songs, which speak to issues
concerning the dynamic climate of human and mother nature, do not
extend themselves as mere conclusions, but rather develop as
soundscapes that encourage the listener to explore the nuances and
textures of our own emotive landscapes.
Todd Michaelsen, Cetacea’s 23 year old singer/songwriter/guitarist, has
been writing original music for the last five years. In that time he
has developed and refined a distinct voice both in his ability to
compose rich guitar lines and deliver genuinely impassioned vocals. His
words reflect a sense of self-reflection and devotion to nature with
which he creates a message that aims to inspire passion and hope in
others. In Cetacea, Todd has found a tribe of musicians that share a
common artistic vision and diverse array of musical influence.
Lenaé Harris, Cetacea’s keyboardist/cellist, began her long and prestigious musical career at the age of six studying piano with Ryna Krysiak. Additionally at age 11, she went on to study cello with Elizabeth Anderson at the Merit School of Music in Chicago and had the rare opportunity to perform in a master class with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. She is an alumni of the Chicago Teen Ensemble, City Youth Strings Orchestra, Protégé Philharmonic, Classical Symphony Orchestra, and the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. Lenaé went on to receive a B.M. in Music Composition at DePaul University of Chicago and her M.A. in Music Performance & Composition at NYU with a concentration in scoring for film and multimedia. Lenaé’s contribution to Cetacea is distinct and invaluable; she has an innate gift for channeling the natural ambience of a song’s musical space and elevating the music to unforeseen heights of beauty. Her musical versatility seems limitless. In addition to performing with Cetacea, Lenaé has worked with such diverse musical personalities as: Jeremy James, Maya Azucena, Stori James, Abby Dobson, Mike Viola and the Candy Butchers and many more.
Chris Vidiksis, Cetacea’s bassist, began his love affair with the world of music
after being
introduced to his great-grandmother’s piano at the age of five. He
continued to take piano lessons until he was 13, when his interests
began to extend themselves to other instruments. He became proficient
at playing the trombone and baritone, and soon translated his knowledge
of music into teaching himself to play bass. Chris has played in
several gigging bands throughout his career on his custom Spector
5-string. He also served as first chair Double Bass player in both the
Binghamton and Drew University Orchestras. His natural ability to adapt
to any musical environment with immediacy and thoughtfulness is
realized in Cetacea’s fascination with a wide spectrum of musical
interests ranging from dance, rock, electronic, classical, and
experimental. Filling out the low end of this ambient, experimental
project and in linking the driving rhythms and swirling melodies they
produce, Chris keeps things grounded without sacrificing his unique
style.
Rajeev Maddela, Cetacea’s drummer, has played drums all his life and
continues to explore the breadth of his exceptional abilities. As well
as producing his own IDM music, Rajeev delivers a challenging, yet
thoroughly engaging rhythmical force to Cetacea. His love of drum and
bass, broken beat, and rudimental drumming provides a tight and
fiercely creative drive to their sound, locking the band into a state
of movement and direction that never betrays the ambient space so
central to their sound. In one word, his style is epic. Rajeev serves
as a catalyst for seismic dynamic change/development within the context
of each song, patiently approaching the music as something that is
breathing and without boundaries. He was a member of drum corps for two
years and currently teaches marching band percussion to high school
students. Rajeev is a true scholar of music, which carries over into
Cetacea in that he is able to infuse the band’s vision with a spirit of
experimentalism and craftsmanship.
Having combined their diverse music interests and backgrounds into a
fresh, new sound, Cetacea looks forward to moving in new directions and
embarking on fresh musical explorations. This restless spirit coupled
with an open-mindedness towards music and its capacity to speak to the
core of the human experience empowers them with that one quality of all
trailblazing music: soul.
Written by Luis Betancourt
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