Musicians draw on a number of influences when creating their original sound, sometimes even stretching outside of their genre for inspiration.
Cue folk-indie pop band Bombadil, natives of Durham, N.C. The group draws inspiration from a myriad of musical genres — the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Kings and a healthy dose of Jay-Z, as drummer James Phillips put it.
“We all like hip-hop a lot,” Phillips said. “I grew up in Baltimore and I grew up hearing hip-hop. We’re all about to turn 30 and we grew up in an era when it was building.”
The group, comprised of Phillips, Stuart Robinson (piano and ukulele), Bryan Rahija (guitar) and Daniel Michalak (bass guitar) will play in Knoxville in the “Rhythm N’ Blooms Festival” on Friday, April 6 as a part of their tour to support the band’s new album, “Metrics of Affection.”
It is the first time the group has toured since Michalak suffered a debilitating hand injury that left him temporarily unable to play. He said he found refuge in music, especially hip-hop, after a hand injury prevented him from playing the bass for a while. He made music by creating beats on GarageBand, the computer software for composing music, which gave him the ability to make original sounds and sing over them.
“I was mad and depressed, and I felt hip-hop was an angry genre,” Michalak said. “I found solace in the music.”
The album features a dose of hip-hop, with one particular song, “Isn’t It Funny,” a melodic, piano ballad with Michalak rapping some lyrics, about his friend’s struggle with an illness and his own hardship with his hand injury.
Both Phillips and Michalak agreed on the advent of computerized music becoming the new forefront for young musicians. Phillips explained that what was once acoustic guitar for folk music has now transformed into electronica for the 21st century.
“Folk music was for the everyday person,” Phillips said. “Now any kid who has a laptop can get GarageBand or another source.”
Such is how they have crafted the album currently in production that is set to be released July 23. The band recorded in a small house in Durham and used GarageBand as the main platform for the creation. Phillips said the sound has grown from the acoustic musical influences that was once the sound when they were recording in their dorm rooms at Duke University.
Michalak said the tight quarters of the house made for some difficulties.
“It had been the first time when we tried to balance moving back in and living with each other. Living in the same space can be difficult,” Michalak said.
As for the music, Phillips and Michalak said the most enjoyable part of performing is the interaction.
“(It’s) finding meaning in the music and connecting with people, whether it’s other people in my band or people we don’t know,” Michalak said.
Phillips said the dynamic feeling of performing in front of an audience is hard to match and equated it only to playing a classical piece of music.
“It’s great to have the audience interaction and see how the audience perceives your song,” Phillips said. “It’s just a great feeling — it’s hard to match. It’s pretty magical, I think.”
Bombadil will play at Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria at 200 E. Jackson Ave. on Friday at 10:15 p.m. To purchase tickets for their show and for other bands performing during the festival, visit rhythmnbloomsfest.com.
