Bill Graham

These gritty, raunchy styles could only have been formed from years pounding away in dank warehouses with leaky pipes and cramped studios with no ventilation. Bill Graham's off-kilter, down-tempo grooves alternately evoke Herbie Hancock's Headhunters on Novocaine and messy early '80s art school punks with a Meters obsession. The occasional use of keyboard sounds from the '70s gives the music a Lo-Fi edge. In some pieces, Graham manipulates nervous, angry vocal samples over boiling funky Post-Punk grooves. His bass playing is rough, fierce, and splendidly twisted; the strings pop just a little too much for comfort, giving out angry plucking sounds, and keep the groove furiously moving forward. His use of harmonics is unique among bassists, recalling the abstract, atonal meanderings of guitarist Derek Bailey. And his silken duets with fellow bassist Eliot Wadopian recall the solo bass explorations of Jaco Pastorius. Overall, Graham's music is the perfect soundtrack to a hangover in a squat house with the roaches invading your mattress.