garden of the weaver

In the early 90s, Wayne Magruder studied design at the University of North Texas, where he met Aurelio Valle and Peter Gannon and joined The Factory Press (ND Records) as drummer. When the band relocated to NYC in 1995, The Factory Press recorded and released their final LP "The Smoky Ends of a Burnt Out Day" with Kid Congo Powers producing. In the meantime Magruder joined Bowery Electric as a live drummer. Subsequent Bowery touring with E.A.R. and Main followed, as well as drums with Windsor for the Derby. In 1997, desiring to integrate electronics, triggers, and samples in a rock format, Magruder formed Calla with Sean Donovan and Aurelio Valle. Since, Calla have released a grip of LPs and have a new one coming out this autumn. But as an addendum to all of this, Wayne has decided to take on a new project. "Night of the Hunter" is Magruder's solo full length debut under his own name and coming out on Quatermass soon.

Part hi-fi electronics, part lo-fi acoustic pickin', Wayne's new album has hints to all sorts of influences. With vocalists Jana Plewa and Daphne Gannon, the songs lay somewhere amongst the wreckage of Four Tet, Dntel, Telefon Tel Aviv and the rest of the lap-pop generation of experimentalists. Souvenir, the obvious single, positively booms out of the speakers but still remains gentle. It could very well mix into the late 90s triphop of a Hooverphonic ilk, too. Garden of the Weaver takes what could be a psych folk number and rearranges it into something nearly hip-hop in nature. Elsewhere, Langor Train recalls the ghosts of outerspace drone demigods Labradford with giant slow-moving bass glaciers echoing into the cosmos over a simple acoustic guitar pattern.

Wayne B - Souvenir
Wayne B - Langor Train