Masterwork Class at The Far Forest: TWYN & Katara
The Far Forest, a north Tampa vintage shop (clothing, decor, books) held a masterwork painting class Thursday, October 3. Two groups created stunning soundscape murals in the latest edition of Forest Sounds, beautiful live music in a very intimate setting.
The offering for Thursday paired TWYN, an outstanding duo from Miami, with Katara, an ethereal collective from Tampa. The rapt audience remained spellbound for two spectacular hours of truly wonderful music. Are their setlists for each band? Yes, but they are irrelevant; the sonic masterpieces each band painted were the story of the evening.
Katara is the brainchild of Natalie Depergola, drums; and Seth Adam Lynn, keyboards, synths, and harp. They were joined for this performance by Sebastian Siaca, bass; Anthony Santaniello, guitar; Nick Bredal, tenor saxophone; and Evan Hoffman, percussion.
Katara opened with an ethereal tune wrapped around Lynn’s keyboards and harp. Depergola and Siaca laid the foundation for the groove, with Hoffman’s percussion instruments adding just the right accents. Specially impressive was Santaniello, who played some gorgeous, very quiet guitar underneath the harp.
At times, Lynn’s synths were effectively wobbly, and he used his left hand for guitar-like pedals for the harp, playing it with his right. Everyone in the audience was fully engaged in the beautiful tapestry of sound. Bredal joined in on the fourth song and made his presence felt immediately.
Siaca had a fine bass intro on the next tune, which evolved into a bouncy Latin groove. The group also offered an older tune titled, appropriately, “Far Forest.” Lynn then invited Bredal back for a duet on a tune not yet fleshed out for full band, really powerful.
To close their set, Katara launched into a funky piece with a great guitar solo before propelling into prog (blame Depergola and Siaca) before great avant-jazz filled the room. Their 55-minute set could have lasted for hours!
[Ed. note: we anticipate getting photos of TWYN soon. In the meantime, here is a shot of them from December.]
After a very quick changeover, TWYN took the stage. The duo features Jason Matthews (Electric Kif) on keyboards and synths and Aaron Glueckauf (Lemon City Trio) on drums. Their central focus is jazztronica, but we got plenty more than that. The audience remained completely attentive and encouraging as they created their own soundscape.
Matthews’ keyboard wizardry swirled around the room, matched by Glueckauf’s inventive drumming. They are both products of a powerful jazz fusion and prog rock environment in Miami, and this may have been their best show to date. Glueckauf unveiled more when he offered hip hop lyrics with his lovely soft voice.
We were all knocked out when Glueckauf began the next song playing his drum pad by hand, later switching to drumstick on the pad while playing a shaker in his right hand. Matthews matched that with very Eastern-sounding synth vibes. They played a Miles Davis tune before inviting Lynn to improvise with them. Glueckauf added vocals and Matthews flute-sounding synths to great effect.
The duo played one more song, then invited all of Katara up for what became a stunning jam. Depergola took the drum kit, with Glueckauf on drum pad. Everyone had an opportunity to shine, but it was the collective sound that was most impressive.
The musicians have vowed that will collaborate again in the future, and Matthews wants to get Katara down to Miami for greater exposure. That’s what we call a win-win.
Many thanks to TWYN, Katara, and the hosts from The Far Forest for making this another magical night in the Forest Sounds experience.
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