With a moniker that screams “enigma,” Asheville, North Carolina instrumental rock duo Ahleuchatistas belong to the beyond-category sector of such iconic, genre-flouting combos as John Zorn’s Naked City, Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band, Swans, Tortoise, and Sun City Girls. The duo of Shane Perlowin (guitar and bass) and Ryan Oslance (drums) combine wicked precision with intense abandon, droll humor with analytical construction, and a sly gregariousness with uncompromising vision. This pair interweaves elements of punk rock, jazz, classical music, speed metal, grindcore, progressive rock, noise, folk musics from Asia and North Africa, electronic music, and ambient aesthetics, along with volatile, unpredictable improvisation, flowing organically in a virtual world of their own. Cerebral but never ponderous, Ahleuchatistas make immediate music that reaches for the mind, heart, and gut.
Ahleuchatistas kick off a tour of North America supporting Buke & Gase in support of their seventh album, Heads Full of Poison, out now on CD/digital via Cuneiform Records and as a double LP on Harvest Records. On stage and throughout the album, Perlowin and Oslance perform with a rare unity of purpose, without any self-indulgence or water-treading, displaying a virtually orchestral palette.
AHLEUCHATISTAS TOUR DATES:
(all shows with Buke & Gase)
Wed. Jan. 30 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Thu. Jan. 31 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
Fri. Feb. 1 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
Sat. Feb. 2 – Washington, DC @ DC 9
Mon. Feb. 4 – Montreal, QC @ Il Motore
Tue. Feb. 5 – Toronto, ON @ The Drake
Wed. Feb. 6 – Detroit, MI @ Pike Room
Thu. Feb. 7 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern
Fri. Feb. 8 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
Sat. Feb. 9 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
Mon. Feb. 11 – Denver, CO @ Walnut Room
Tue. Feb. 12 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
Thu. Feb. 14 – Vancouver, BC @ Media Club
Fri. Feb. 15 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza
Sat. Feb. 16 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
Mon. Feb. 18 – San Francisco, CA @ Café Du Nord
Tue. Feb. 19 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
Wed. Feb. 20 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
Pittsburgh Music Magazine 