Trial of the Bow

Formed in late 1993 by Renato Gallina (percussion/vocals) and Matthew Skarajew (stringed instruments), TRIAL OF THE BOW emerged from the city of Melbourne, Australia's heart and melting pot of all musical forms. While both members live and work in a metropolis, they strive to remove themselves and their listeners from this and transport them all to places exotic with their bared-down Eastern inspired music. Says Renato : "The human element is one of the most important factors to our sound. Things being strung, plucked and bowed." This is evident immediately in the band's music. Songs such as From The Mountains Of Tangier on TRIAL OF THE BOW's debut Ep Ornamentation reinforce this very primal notion. Renato and Matthew's music ranges from "violent sounds to the movements of solitude". These sound/landscapes are transversed in the duo's first full-length album Rite Of Passage (Released March 1997). Rite Of Passage not only incorporates the mystical sounds which graced their critically acclaimed Ornamentation Ep but also offers further variety of vast musical styles. Thirteenth century medieval music is the prime influence on the tracks The Court Of The Servant and the chant filled Alizee. The bansuri flute adds layers of texture to the songs Serpent (indeed giving it that reptilian feel) and the dreamy Meuzzin. For TRIAL OF THE BOW, music is on the same plane as life itself. Their aim in direction is to exist, explore and expand through almost hypnotic, droning passages. The instrumentation moves from the standard (guitar, bass) to the obscure (e-bow, tamboura, manjira), all used to create songs tainted with an "earthen hue". More of these exotic instruments are incorporated in Rite Of Passage. The Oud, Ghaita, Tibetan Singing Bowl, Tabla, Saz, Hammer Dulcimer and the aforementioned Bansuri flute gives TRIAL OF THE BOW's first full lengther more variety and musical depth than their first release. Though the hypnotic tones of Ornamentation are present, Rite Of Passage paints a myriad of sound pictures from haunting darkness to the more prevalent layers of uplifting, celestial realization. Ubar is almost like riding a camel through the windswept dunes; a joyfully laid back journey that may surprise some listeners. Tracks such as The Promise are fine examples of growth and the maturity which has come with patience, persistence and time. TRIAL OF THE BOW's members assert that they are not another Dean Can Dance, not in their sound nor in their choice of visual imagery (the cover of Rite Of Passage features the use of clay sculptures to further enhance and symbolize the human element in TRIAL OF THE BOW's work). Says Renato: "We're basically creating our own soundtrack, and the listener creates their own imagery in their environment. We find it easy to communicate out emotions through sound." The maturity hinted on Ornamentation has now been fully realized by these two young musicians within the spellbinding weave of Rite Of Passage. The music of TRIAL OF THE BOW provides listeners with an aural adventure and a chance to divulge one's self into unknown territories. Renato and Matthew strive to embrace the past and awaken listeners to their exotic swashes of musical lore in which they recount, even reinvent, images of far off lands and little cultures: "Listen to our music with an open mind and let your imagination run wild." Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.