The Rock Tribune

Electric Flower had a most unlikely of beginnings. The first time they met, Josh Garza and Imaad Wasif were strangers in an elevator in London. Garza was carrying his kick drum and Wasif had his guitar in hand. They were at the BBC Studios to film performances on “Top of the Pops,” Garza with his band Secret Machines and Wasif appearing as a guest musician with Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Eyeing one another suspiciously, the two maintained a curious silence, until the elevator came to a screeching halt, between floors. Wasif began frantically hitting all the buttons to get the metal box moving, but the lights just flickered and the elevator remained eerily still and suspended. While waiting for the emergency operator to dispatch a technician, the two eventually set about jamming, Wasif, to ease his claustrophobia and Garza, ever-cool and stoic, to deal with the boredom, and, in his own words, to “just get this little freak to calm down.”

Another three years passed before the two men randomly collided again, this time on a street corner in Los Angeles. After picking up the spilled tacos and samosas, they decided to head to Wasif’s rehearsal space. In a blast of inspiration from the cosmic weirdness of it all, they wrote “Circles,” the epic track off of their debut EP. With the pounding of blood, the rumbling of thunder, and the indelicate sensations delicately rendered; its finesse lies in the grafting on such libidinous roots of the more visceral stems of Electric Flower.

“Four16”, the lead track off the EP, is a roaring tower of power inspired by Kurt Cobain’s iconic performance of Leadbelly song “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” during 1993’s MTV Unplugged In New York concert. A song about reincarnation, “Four16” refers to the minute mark (4:16) during Cobain’s performance of the Leadbelly song where you can see him become possessed in a flash and his soul leave his body. “He was gone a long time before he was really gone,” asserts Wasif. With Nevermind‘s 20th anniversary approaching next week, the sentiment behind the song resonates even more powerfully.

Imaad Wasif has released three solo albums, including 2010’s highly acclaimed The Voidist, and has established himself as one of the L.A. underground’s most electrifying guitar players. Josh Garza, a Texas native and the drummer of Secret Machines, is widely recognized for his fearless sound, channeling the spirit of Bonham and the space between the beats. Together, their sound is part Motorik, part psychedelic, with strains of post-punk, Japanese Group Sounds and East Indian drone. It’s raw, yet richly detailed and atmospheric, with booming beats and often obscure lyrical themes.

Electric Flower’s live presence is already sending shockwaves of excitement through Los Angeles and other exotic locales, gaining a reputation for being “louder than My Bloody Valentine.” Expect live dates to be announced shortly.