The last time Buke & Gase were in Philthy, they were playing for a sold out crowd at Johnny Brenda’s, supporting tUnE-yArDs… At the time they were called Buke & Gass. Buke & Gase are Brookyln-based duo Arone Dyer and Aron Sanchez, who not only play all of their instruments live (both in the studio and during live performances), but they’ve actually created the majority of their instruments. Arone Dyer plays the “buke,” a self-modified baritone ukulele and Aron Sanchez plays the “gase,” a guitar-bass hybrid. So no percussion? No, they have percussion… It’s generally hands-free, attached to their legs and feet. In 2010 they release their first LP, Risposte, which, surprisingly, resembled relatively accessible 1990’s indie pop and alt. rock (They would’ve been a big hit on Lollapalooza.)
It’s been about a year and a half since Philadelphia has heard from Buke & Gase. However, they will be returning to Kung Fu Necktie this Thursday, October 11th, to share what they’ve been up to since then. Earlier this year they released “Hiccup,” which Pitchfork was all about, assessing that it’s the perfect track for the postmodernly pessimistic marching band… but I’m paraphrasing. A little later this year the band covered “Blue Monday” for an episode of Radiolab. This experience led the band to their “Function Fails” EP. After covering the New Order classic, Buke & Gase challenged themselves to write one song per day for a single week. They didn’t quite get there, but they did come up with three new songs that they were satisfied with, in addition to the cover, which would come to be the four songs that comprise the digital-only “Function Falls” EP. The sound the band achieved on the EP, including its vocals, was largely improvised and, despite its live musicianship, sounds a bit space age. However, the band have a new full-length, General Dome, which is set to be released January 29th on Brassland. I recently had a very brief chat with Arone Dyer and Aron Sanchez and got a chance to ask them what fans can expect of their latest. “Darker,” Dyer tells me. “The songwriting is more concise and focused,” adds Sanchez.
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