IAN GOTHE
Ian Gothe's debut album, Memento (Blackbird Record Label, 2020) presented a collection of wistful original songs and covers, reflecting his travels around the world and eclectic taste in music. It also featured Gothe's stellar guitar playing. Robbie Krieger from The Doors praised his rendition of “Spanish Caravan” and Guitar Player Magazine premiered his music video for the song, calling it “a beautiful, deeply personal cover.”
Now Gothe is following up Memento with a new single, "Upside Down." This moody, guitar-driven rocker, produced by the artist and Fernando Perdomo, laments how technology has affected our quality of life.
“I co-wrote it with my friend Cody LePow,” Gothe says. “When he stopped by one evening, I said: ‘I'm sick and tired of corporations shaking me for information, always wanting to know our location... we should write a song about it.’ Cody replied ‘you just did.’ I grabbed a pen, and while I was writing, a fire engine siren got the dogs in the neighborhood to start howling. Cody commented: ‘the dogs are howling, cops on the chase, it seems like I'm in outer space.’”
Gothe wrote the guitar riff next, created a demo and sent it to Perdomo, a multi-instrumentalist and producer who's featured in the music documentary Echo in the Canyon, and who LA Weekly dubbed as “the millennial answer to Todd Rundgren.“ Working together in the recording studio turned out to be a nearly telepathic experience. “Fernando is highly gifted and the fastest and hardest working musician I know,” Gothe says, “but we also have similar tastes in music.” “If I describe a certain sound that I'm looking for, he knows what it is before I finish my sentence.”
"Upside Down" is accompanied by a music video that's directed and edited by Martin Yernazian, and this is the fourth video they've collaborated on. “Martin has what some would call an old-school approach to his directing work,” Gothe says. “I would describe it more like an eclipse, raw and present.” Making music videos is a creative outlet that Gothe has enjoyed very much lately: “My last two videos have been story-driven, and it's so much fun to see and be a part of the process of having my vision come to life,” he says. “Part of me has always wanted to be a cinematographer.”
Memento was Gothe's first full-length album, and now he has enough songs to record a follow-up album. But he has also started an additional project with Perdomo: a tribute album to the English progressive rock band Camel.
“They're one of my all-time favorite bands, and the soundtrack of my life,” he says. I'm co-producing this project with Fernando, since he also is a huge Camel fan. We just had Durga McBroom come in to record backing vocals for one of the tracks. Years ago I saw Durga perform with Pink Floyd, and I never would have guessed that years later she'd be singing in one of my projects.”
"Upside Down" releases 7/23/21on Blackbird Record Label. - Biography by Nikki O'Neill
CONTACT:
Publicity ~ SRO PR ~ Mitch Schneider: mschneider@sropr.com & Kelly Walsh: kwalsh@sropr.com
Label ~ Blackbird Record Label ~ Manda Mosher: manda@blackbirdrecordlabel.com
MEMENTO ~ RELEASED ON 2/7/20
Guitar Player Magazine premiered Ian's cover of Spanish Caravan "A beautiful. deeply personal cover." - Guitar Player Magazine
Ian Gothe’s debut album explores the boundaries of sadness and joy - cover piece by The Pasadena Weekly
"Blood On the Rooftops In Montrose" Premiere - Stereo Embers
"Take Me Home" Premiere - American Songwriter
Gothe’s debut full length album, Memento, is a thoughtful collection of wistful self-composed songs and brilliantly arranged covers that invite listeners to participate in his goodbyes, his yearning for home, and his reflections on the music that has defined and inspired his life. Gothe co-produced Memento with GRAMMY winning producer & engineer Jim Scott (Wilco, Tom Petty) at Jim’s Plyrz Studios in Valencia, CA featuring performances by all-star musicians: Derek Frank (Shania Twain, Gwen Stefani), Fernando Perdomo (Jakob Dylan, Fiona Apple), Tamir Barzilay (Macy Gray, Tal Wilkenfeld), and Sam Babayan (The Dirty Diamond.) Ian and Jim decided not to rehearse the band prior to going into the studio. “We wanted to let the magic happen and capture it in its first precious moments” says Gothe.
Born to an Armenian family in Iran, Gothe spent much of his adolescence traveling across continents in search of a home. A childhood filled with loss and loneliness provided the impetus for Gothe to continually turn to music as his friend and confidant. His initial inspiration came from a recording of the Doors “Spanish Caravan”, a song well known for its complex and compelling guitar rifts that still capture audience’s attention today. Gothe was not immune, and his petition for a guitar of his own was driven by his desire to play those well-worn, haunting lines with ease. After Gothe and his hard-won guitar left Iran before the revolution, the 14 year old lived with family in England and later made his way to the United States by way of a year in Baltimore before finally settling in Los Angeles, where he lives today.
Gothe’s musical career has been marked by false starts and missed opportunities, a reality not unexpected for a young man in the throes of wandering and learning about both music and life on his own. While in his early twenties, Gothe composed a high-energy dance song, “Cleopatra” produced by Christian De Walden, that became a number one hit in Italy, but years of career pursuits and family life ultimately relegated music to an occasional hobby. After the dissolution of his 20-year marriage, Gothe returned to his first love by way of an open mic night that led to the start of an artistic relationship with Manda Mosher that continues to this day. Citing the influences of British bands such as Camel and Genesis, and many less well-known musicians, Gothe’s style is an eclectic triumph that fuses not only musical genres but also crosses language barriers as well with songs that feature both English and his native Armenian.
Memento begins with a hauntingly melodic flute piece, “Andalusian Moondance”; a dreamy start to an album that unwinds with unrelenting musical prowess mixed with delicate beauty. Classics such as the Bee Gee’s “Holiday”, Camel’s “Airborne”, and The Doors’ “Spanish Caravan” each come to life with passionate arrangements and masterful instrumentation that reflect Gothe’s devotion to these pillars of his artistic musical history. Interspersed with these canonical songs are originals such as, “Take Me Home”; written in Armenian, the evocative melody is his lyrical tribute to the universal longing to return home. “Tired Little Eyes” which closes the album is also written and performed in Armenian. A delicate lullaby written as a tribute to Gothe’s late younger brother and a reminder that his brother will never be forgotten. In both “One Of These Days”, a mournful original ballad and “Final Hour”, a song by Katherine Pawlak, we hear Gothe pay tribute to both love and family as he seeks to let go. “Liezah”, a beautify cover of the jaunty British song by The Coral provides a cheery tribute to Gothe’s time in England. ”Blood On The Rooftops Of Montrose” rounds out the album with an instrumental thoughtful introspection.
Gothe brings to his compositions and arrangements a depth that can only be found in those who have dedicated themselves to their craft, and the artistic choices that Gothe makes are evidence of an artist who has emerged from a journey, confident and ready to create from a place of authentic introspection.
CONTACT:
Publicity ~ SRO PR ~ Mitch Schneider: mschneider@sropr.com & Kelly Walsh: kwalsh@sropr.com
Label ~ Blackbird Record Label ~ Manda Mosher: manda@blackbirdrecordlabel.com