AQUI is a new local band that does complicated art-metal with bits of psychedelia. See them now before the bandwagon comes along. And when it does come along, be sure to shout "Aqui? I've been into them for years." -NEW YORK PRESS 03.04.04

Aqui

Unbelievable but true, AQUI is transmitted from the future by four warriors who seek a new army. They soundtrack a violent romp through space and time. They have been asked to begin. Begin! For there is no other place other than here in which to start. It is from no other time than now from which you can revise. Their report of recent history, ooh far from now, reveals an epidemic of suppressed individuality, creative cowardice, and children of the PLOT! Invention and the mighty imagination is in danger! By intersecting the slimy pulse of mass communication (that fearful frequency), AQUI calls the lovers, the humanists, the creators and crusaders to "Destroy!" "Rebuild!" "Unite" "Begin!"

The AQUI live show is jaw dropping. Replete with a home-brewed light show, they invade lofts, basements, art spaces, parking lots and more traditional venues where they are now starting to headline. Stephonik whirls possessed through the crowd, as if in midst of exorcism, eyes rolling, her body at the mercy of freestyles and rock arias that channel the spirit of Whitman, Mephistopheles, and Iggy Pop. Dressed in her own designs, she is a cartoon character-disturbingly real-part boy, part woman, part siren, part lion. Master Bob Stein, a speed blast beat drummer from Jersey and Gbatokai Dakinah, a virtuoso bassist from Denmark are the rhythm section. Both anchor and propeller, they slam forward wildly towards shattering in a thousand different directions. Native New Yorker and guitarist Gustavo Andrade moves from hack and burn chain-saw riffs to complex soundscapes to melodic balladry, simultaneously rooting the band in metallic thunder while blasting off into the stratosphere.
Aqui Live
Aqui Live

There is something always a little uncomfortable about something completely new. There is something fantastically bittersweet about pure truth and the human spirit exposed-the core of AQUI. It is this child-like spirit that vibrates through the band. You will recognize the interruption with the onset of a far out trip through a rock hard tunnel. You do not have to be asked in, and you may never know if you have been released. Yes, Rock and Roll takes another turn towards the exciting and the unknown! Now dance!