aalacho

aalacho (pronounced "ah-lah-koh") is the electro-rock creation of Nathan Scott, a songwriter/producer working out of Seattle, Washington. Originally hailing from a rural farming community a few hours outside of Detroit, Nathan grew up on a steady diet of Motown and Detroit Rock City metal. "For the longest time, I'd always just assumed that mainstream radio meant seventies R&B and Thin Lizzy," says Scott, "until I moved away and learned otherwise."

Living his own bohemian dream of city hopping, low-paying jobs and writing experimental novels and stream-of-consciousness poetry ("I was going to be the next big literary find of the century" he explains, "so of course I was making a career out of blending smoothies!"), he decided to celebrate the nineties by packing his bags and heading to Seattle, the Emerald City of Rock.

"Everyone is in love with guitars in Seattle - the emo girls in their black hats sipping triple lattes in the endless rain, the bed-head dudes smoking too many cigarettes, ordering up shots of Jack Daniels and shooting pool at the corner dive . . . they have that one central, almost religious belief that someone with a Fender strapped to his back is going to save them all. It's completely infectious."

So, armed with a Korg, a Mac, a second hand Les Paul and a notebook's worth of arguably clever lyrics (while keeping his day-job at the espresso-shop), Nathan formed aalacho, emerging from Seattle's post-grunge movement in the year 2000 with a lo-fi aesthetic and a decidedly American twist on European dance pop. aalacho's debut CD, 'sugar', was released in November of 2002, and its affectionate blend of ambient-house, retro-techno and indie-rock guitars landed it a 9 week stint on CMJ's RPM Top 20, attracting enthusiastic notice from a number of independent media outlets such as Cosmik, Groovystylie, MusicDish and Outburn, as well as garnering airplay on over 190 college and independent radio stations across the U.S. and into Canada.

With its new release, 'electro', aalacho takes its cue from the crop of new-wave/post-punk revivalists currently energizing the electronica landscape. Respectfully cribbing from the likes of Kraftwerk, OMD and The Replacements to create its own audio niche, aalacho wears its DIY heart on its sleeve and invites the listener into an engaging world of haunting melodies, unpredictable arrangements and a surfeit of shimmering, buzzing guitars. Working a second time with New York City guitarist Sam McIlvain (Tryst, The Davenports), 'electro' also incorporates a number of Seattle musicians into the mix - Chris "Reemus" Brown of Jasper the Cat, Derek Armstrong of the lamentably defunct The Vacants, and independent vocalists Joe Randazzo, Trevor Hesse and Sarah Severson.

Already hailed as "a crisp and refreshing ride on the second-wave," aalacho's 'electro' upends traditional pop structures, building efficiently upon its more eclectic influences. Look for the remix CD in the latter part of 2004.

Genre - Electronica. Style - Rock/Dance.

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Albums
* Aalacho (self-released) March 2002.
* Sugar (self-released) 2002.
* Electro (released by Orchard) June 2004.