To the uninitiated, math-rock can be a challenging prospect. This rhythmically complex, experimental genre of music emerged in the late ’90s when ambitious songwriters took the angular elements of progressive rock a step further, focusing on unusual time signatures and unpredictable melodies to create something new.
“Basically, if you’re rocking your head along to the beat but suddenly realise you’re out of time, then it’s math rock,” explains Chris Pethers, the Chinnor-based drummer from math band Masiro. “It’s purposefully inconsistent. The point of it is to progress from typical song structures and do something more interesting.
“For us as musicians, it’s all in the songwriting process. We can play rock music, we’ve been doing it for years, but we want to challenge ourselves and create music that’s satisfyingly unusual. So as well as melody and rhythm, complexity becomes a consideration during the writing process.”
Chris is something of an expert when it comes to complicated music; having previously played in the mind-bendingly technical metal band Dr Slaggleberry, he joined forces with Chris Hutchinson-Mogg of instrumental rockers 50-ft Panda and guitarist Mike Bannard to form Masiro, a band that originally set out to “awkwardly blend musical styles”.
It’s no wonder they’ve found a keen audience in Oxford, where many groups that play in this unusual style have found their spiritual home. “Oxford produces a high turnover of new bands, and the intelligent studious types of our two major universities are often drawn towards the atypical call of math-rock,” says Chris. “Youthmovies (local math-rock pioneers) helped popularise this style for a number of local bands to follow.”
Anyone interested in delving into Oxford’s multifaceted math-rock scene can begin by heading to The Wheatsheaf tomorrow evening, when Masiro will play a set alongside fellow experimenters Mayors of Miyazaki, Punching Swans and Jumpstart the Jungle.
“We’re really excited to be putting on a show for some bands we have huge respect for,” says Chris, who helped to organise the gig with his bandmates. “If you like seeing interesting, complex rock music, expect to have your mind blown.”
CHECK IT OUT
See Masiro at The Wheatsheaf tomorrow. Tickets cost £4 on the door.
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