Unison Universe

Unison is an American rock band formed in 2005. They combine diverse elements of rock, industrial, reggae, jazz, new wave, electro, rave and psychedelia, with ambient vocals. The group from Idaho consists of Branden Cate on Korg, keytar, keyboards, samples, and vocals. Tim Kyker plays drums, samples, and programming. Adam Johnson plays guitar and sings; while Luke Emerson plays bass guitar.

Biography

Formation

Unison started in 2005 as a youth group collaboration between Branden Cate in Hayden, Idaho and Adam Johnson. Early on BC heard recongnized the amazing talents of Adam Johnson. Fairly impressed with his efforts, BC contacted Adam and asked if he could experiment with the song a bit, adding some IDeaS of his own. Adam agreed and the two would set in motion a sort of songwriting ping-pong match that would carry on for several months. A few rounds of this led to talks of a possible project, which soon grew to become Unison.

With the recruiting of Drummer Tim Kyker and bass player Luke Emerson, Unison worked feverishly in their youth group studio to demo a new collection of songs. Creatively ambitious, they explored a new definition for themselves as to how their rock band should sound and perform. Finding inspiration in things often considered the antithesis of modern rock music they were determined to carve a unique niche in which to place their songs. The result was a captivating sound scape of experimental rock drenched in irresistible hooks. Branden immediately played the demo for longtime friend and producer Elijah Hawkins, who fell in love at first listen. They talked of creating a model Indie label where the group could freely operate and build a MusicAL momentum.

Unison EP

Unison released its debut Unison EP on the College Road Records label in May of 2006. The band began an internet blitz of music fan sites MySpace and PureVolume, video blogging their live performance of the single "Jezebel". Within months, Unison developed enough of a base to venture out and hit Northwest America. The word of mouth continued to spread and the band was soon seeing its shows sell out in Spokane, Hayden, Post Falls, and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. They chronicled their shows and updated their blogs on a regular basis. The band honed their chops with nightly improvisation and in turn gained many fans. The band now has over 1,000 MySpace friends and has sold 300 copies of Unison EP.

Welcome EP

In January 2007, the band set out on an exclusive headlining tour in support of their independently released self-titled debut album. The special EDition of the album was only available as a "tour only" release until it hit the Internet on Teleprompt's online store, selling scores of copies in the first month of release. Unison continued to rise in the music scene, landing on the covers of The Inlander and The Underground Lab

Current Status

Unison returns to the road in 2007 with a headlining date for BobFest 2007 and a brief to headlining tour in Washington through the end of Summer 2007. Unison - Where we are now, an exclusive live DVD was released on April 5th, 2007. Unison's first music video, "Frustrated", premiered on YouTube on March 21, 2007. The concept video features the band performing the live in front of a rocking audience. It was shot in one take with no edits.

Despite the band's increasing popularity in the US, College Road Records has not distributed a single to radio.

The quartet is currently touring and writing material for a 2007 full-length release.

Discography

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Tours

  • Summer 2005 - BobFest 2005
  • Winter 2005 - Christmas Tour
  • Summer 2006 - BobFest 2006 Grand Prize Winner
  • Summer 2007 - Summer Break Tour, BobFest Showcase Artist

Trivia

  • Unison uses a Keytar similar to MUTE Math in many of its songs
  • Tim Kyker is a former member of the now-dissolved band Paid in Full. Branden Cate is a member of the Whitworth College Choir.
  • During the early stages of the band, it was simply called "US". The name was changed because of conflicts with another group already using the "US" moniker.
  • At the end of most shows, singer Branden Cate performs a traditional ritual of jumping over his keyboard.