TOKAMAK :: INFLUENCES  

ToKaMaK's set has been strongly influenced by many great musicians and composers. Here are some random thoughts, links and trivia contributed by the band on musical influences....

MARTIN ::

I suppose 20th century classical music and progressive rock bands of the seventies are the strongest influences on my musical taste. There is a very special place in my affections for Gentle Giant, the greatest band nobody has ever heard of, who remain, for me, as fresh and original today as they were 30 years ago. Their eclectic mix of Rock, Jazz & Elizabethan musical styles is addictive, as is their sense of humour - viz. a huge flashing neon sign at their gigs which they would power up during solos, etc. - which read PRETENTIOUS. Cool. Like Peter, Yes were seminal for me (except I heard 'Yours Is No Disgrace' in the year of release!) In fact Chris Squire is the reason I switched from 'cello to bass guitar! I read somewhere that Chris actually spent an 8 hour session tuning his bass - errr....that's it! Happy days, the seventies. And of course - Genesis, especially the Peter Gabriel era albums.

It was Larry Carlton who introduced me to Jazz Fusion music. I remember being entranced by his playing sitting in the passenger seat of a MkII Cortina with my mate, Warren. It must have been a John Peel show and we sat there (having arrived wherever the hell we were going) listening to every note. Unbelievable technique - the track was 'Point It Up' - 1978. No Amazon. No internet - who was this guy? Just finding out who he was led me into the whole jazz fusion scene. So while the punk revolution destroyed progressive rock, I was elsewhere. Not my fault. I never looked back - David Sanborn, Chick Corea, Steely Dan - just following the artists who played on the albums led me into buying a pretty extensive collection of records. Unfortunately, so many artists in this genre have been seduced by 'the dark side' of the force - smooth jazz - which has denatured the music in a dramatic fashion. Not so Dave Weckl. No compromises. No prisoners. Fantastic, inspirational musician of the highest calibre. And the GRP record label - sometimes patchy ouput, but the artistic freedom the Dave Grusin offered attracted everybody. I especially loved the music of Nelson Rangell (sadly now broken by the dark side - as is GRP)

And classical music? Prokofiev and Stravinsky. They influenced everybody, even if everybody doesn't know it!

I know it's not very highbrow, but there has been some really superior pop music which has, one way or another, had a big influence on me. Level 42 and the astonishing Mark King; Nik Kershaw, whose last two albums are absolute gems (and sold maybe 10 copies each....sad); Kate Bush (a new album in the works....) and the marvellous 10CC (you try finding a decent website).