The Surfacing
The Surfacing is:
Ryan R. Miller - guitars, bass, vocals, programming, arrangements, samples, glitch & cuts, solos
Marco Sanchez - guitars, bass, vocals, programming, arrangements, samples, keys, glitch & cuts
Josh Mortensen - vocals
The Surfacing is a futurist musical project that stylistically builds its 'future school' sound off progressive rock, extreme metal, intelligent electronica, cyber/industrial, post rock/metal, symphonic, experimental, fusion, and ambient underpinnings. We hail from the Portland-Vancouver metro area in Oregon/Washington. We're here to do conceptual/heavy/epic music in drastically different ways. I can only describe our approach as a Venn diagram overlapping of several genres, the overlap being a place were we re-invent each genre's respective approach in ways that said genre's traditionalists would probably not like.
Tell me about your history? How did you get where you are now?
Myself, Ryan R. Miller, met Marco Sanchez in early 2008 through a common online forum for musicians, and we agreed to meet when he was relocated down here to the Portland area. We found very quickly that we shared an appreciation for conceptual and intense music and started jamming to see what would come up. A lot of intellectual and philosophical discussion, taken between counterpoint guitar jam sessions blossomed the idea behind the band rather quickly. The technological angle happened later as we both explored the ever-growing potential of software and hardware and what might be done with it all. That grew into a monster and really shaped The Surfacing into what it is today. We have other, more conventional, projects, but this is where we want to push the envelope, do the unorthodox, and lay a new foundation for the sounds and songwriting process of it all.
Have you performed live in front of an audience? Any special memories?
We have not played live yet. We are still working on or first EP ('Prototypes') which should be done in mid 2011, and we have the full album ('Event'), which is also under construction, that is slated to bow in late 2012.
We are, in the meantime as this project unfolds, interested in parties to contribute bass (must will willing to play MIDI-equipped fretless subcontra six string), electronic/acoustic drums & percussion, and keyboards, electronics, & turntables... as well as guest contributions. Contact me if you're interested!
Your musical influences
Devin Townsend / Strapping Young Lad, OSI, Fates Warning, Chroma Key, Porcupine Tree, Dark Tranquillity, Meshuggah, M.A.N, Gojira, Hypocrisy / Pain, Anacrusis, Opeth, Nahemah, Katatonia, Cynic, Faith No More, Course Of Empire, Dog Fashion Disco, The Tea Party, Tribe After Tribe, Ulver, dälek, EL-P, Pink Floyd, Rush, Yes, Fear Factory, Sybreed, Dagoba, Mnemic, In Flames, Soilwork, Scar Symmetry, Ayreon, Dream Theater, Nevermore, Savatage, Evergrey, Bruce Dickenson, Two, Saigon Kick, Ministry, Killing Joke, Celldweller / Circle Of Dust, Vast, Switchblade Symphony, strangeletter, Nine Inch Nails, Warrior Soul, The Prodigy, Venetian Snares, Squarepusher, Tool / A Perfect Circle / Puscifer, John Carpenter, Jan Hammer, Trevor Rabin, Origin, Obscura, At The Gates, Carcass, Nile, Morbid Angel, and many more...
What equipment do you use?
Steinberger Guitars, .strandbergGuitarworks*, Graph Tech, Seymour Duncan, EMG, Axon Technologies, Open Chord, Pure Data, Radial Engineering, RME Audio, Advanced Micro Devices, Steinberg, Image Line, Native Instruments, Spectrasonics, Vir2, Prominy, LePou Plugins, Nick Crow Labs, Catharsis Studios, Tomato Farm Studios, Audiobro, East West Samples, Waves Audio, Source Audio, Roger Linn Design, Korg, Boss, Eventide, Line 6, Shure, AKG, Sony, Planet Waves, D'Addario, Octave4Plus, Rancilio, Cafe D'Arte espresso, Aviation gin, and Ardbeg scotch.
