The Ebb and Flow

05/19/2007 Rockit Room/ MCMF Clement street, San Francisco, CA	06/23/2007 Hemlock Tavern San Francisco, CA
01/18/2008 2nd annual Echolocation Day Festival San Francisco, CA


Sam Tsitrin	Sara Cassetti	Roshy Kheshti

Discography


New Release COMING SOON!!!	Here Are Caught EP	Time To Echocolate

MurMurs EP	Demonstration	Sam's solo release Corridor And The Gallows

Though retrofit and stabilized on the surface, San Francisco churns and shifts on rivers of lava underneath. The Ebb & Flow bring the tense balance of these tectonic shifts to the surface through an aural montage that unites kraut-rock, 70's prog, soul, post-rock, jazz and synth-pop. They channel the sounds of the future through the organic, analog instruments of the past. If Sun Ra, Wendy Carlos, Neil Young, & Can had one musical offspring, it would be called The Ebb & Flow.

Sam Tsitrin (high school dropout, gourmet vegetarian line-cook, engineering student, absurdist poet, Russian- emigre), like many Soviet-reared children, learned at a young age that alienation from one's labor was the inevitable experience of the worker. When he heard that Sara Cassetti (catastrophe waitress, socio-linguist, musical encyclopedia, Kate Bush fanatic), the new server at the restaurant where he was pantry boy, was an accomplished drummer-without-a-band, he swooped down with his musical proposal. Together they would soon work to stave off alienation from their labor and devote themselves to a musical labor of love.

Sara explained that she and her longtime companion and keyboardist Roshy Kheshti (Ph. D. Berkely professor, Iranian-emigre, Rock-n-Roll Spelling Bee Champ) were in search of something fresh and new. After one rehearsal in January of 2001, the odd threesome fused immediately as their individual eccentricities merged into a bricolage of genres, genders and musical geometrics. Immediately, a sound was born and the three became the trio of The Ebb & Flow. Sara and Roshy had been playing together since college in the infamous Bloomington, Indiana scene, Sara in the influential DIY basement outfit Sway Kiss and later with Roshy in the break-beat-jazz-core band Au Naturalette. Sam had evolved into an aloof-but-tasteful guitarist performing in San Francisco bands Orpheus, Yell and Go Van Gough. But none had experienced the cathartic release that The Ebb & Flow would make possible for them.

The Sound: Roshy's arsenal of Moog synthesizers and Farfisa organ chirp and swell alongside Sam's cubist telecaster hooks and dissonant harmonies. Sara's '68 Slingerland jazz kit marches with the deep groove of the Farfisa pedals creating the solid foundation for the Ebb & Flow's songs. Lyricists Roshy and Sam take turns at the mic bringing a level of stylistic variation to the repertoire. The sound is like three records being played at once, perfectly in phase, in symbiotic meter and timbre, but each with their own logic and intent. The result is organic, dynamic, polyphonic bliss.

The band has earned a name for itself in San Francisco, playing with bands such as Devotchka, Electrelane, Gogol Bordello, Firewater, The Radar Brothers, Rogue Wave, Archer Prewitt, Viva Voce, Tussle, The M's, Crime in Choir, Citizens Here and Abroad, and at the Fillmore Lounge with Stereolab and Modest Mouse. Over the past few years, they have performed throughout the west coast, and at various festivals such as the 2003-2005 Mission Creek Festivals, the 2005 Noise Pop Festival, the 2005 Music NW Festival, and the 2005 CMJ Music Marathon, in addition to several national tours.

In July of 2005, Three Ring Records released The Ebb and Flow's first full-length album, Time To Echolocate, recorded with accomplished Bay Area engineer Aaron Prellwitz (Sun Kil Moon, Erase Errata, Caesura, Bratmobile, Time in Malta, Cex, Hella, On the Speakers). Highlights from the album include the epic, two-part, 10 minute opener "Sonorous" and a closing track with cameo appearances by the legendary Bob Moog speaking on analog sound.


	'Every so often, an album comes along that completely invades my psyche. It consumes my being, becomes the only CD I listen to—constantly. Then the fear sets in that I'm going to ruin it, burn myself out if I don't play something else. So I'll put on a different album, but the whole time I will be thinking about how much I'd rather be listening to the overplayed one. Last time this happened to me was with the Arcade Fire's Funeral. This time, its California group the Ebb & Flow's new album, Time to Echolocate. Like the Arcade Fire, the Ebb & Flow makes epic, experimental pop that builds up and up, then explodes like a confetti-filled balloon, bright bits of color showering down on your mind and soul.’ (Portland Willamette Week) ‘From the first notes of Time to Echolocate, you can tell there’s something special happening on this eight track album. The instrumentation is complex and eclectic, perfectly complementing the female vocals of Roshy Kheshti and male vocals of Sam Tsitrin. Sprawling tracks build, move, sustain, and dismantle in an extraordinary way. Not afraid to bust out a Moog synthesizer, horns, or even vibes, The Ebb and Flow have carved out their own niche in the modern music world….. this album is totally fresh and will challenge your conventions. Highly recommended. A+’ (Girlfriends Magazine) ‘Tickets to the Moog-synth symphony are now available. Pick them up at a bar near you. Be sure to mention the words Ebb & Flow. Let the doorman know these three musicians live in San Francisco, listen to Neil Young, Nico and most post-rock or jazz bands circa 1971. Try to approximate the lead siren's angelic voice (alternating with an unusual male call), but stop if it sounds anything less than disarming. Once seated, scrap hopes for woodwinds and flutes. Bring earplugs - sweet, lush sounds explode intermittently. Leave with a copy of Time to Echolocate. Listen and repeat.’ (Salt Lake City Weekly) 'Best of Bay Area 2005 ‘….#15 is The Ebb & Flow “Time to Echolocate” Made up of Iranian, Russian, and American players, this Bay Area indie rock collective’s music is as complex and captivating as the geographical points that spawned it.’ (SF Chronicle) 'Overlooked in '05 – ‘Ten great discs that were underserved by the media but are more than worthy……..#6 The Ebb and Flow, Time to Echolocate (Three Ring Records): At first I was tempted to compare this San Francisco-area band to Bongwater and Thinking Fellers Union, but it's a little more accessible than either of those antecedents. True story: When first listening to track one, I found myself surreptitiously visiting the band's Web site to see if the chick singer was cute (which is something in itself, coming from my jaded rock-crit ass). Then, when the second song proved to have male vocals, I liked it just as much…..’ (Houston Press) ‘The Ebb and Flow is a retro futuristic trio that glues together the geniuses of a Russian Jew, an Iranian native and a Midwestern girl. On this record they sound like a Siamese experiment that caught everyone in the lab off guard. Their aim consists in recycling good old synthesizers with upfront electronic twists and moves, delivering a sweet aroma that blinks an eye to the swell sound of the 80s while still harassing last week’s disco-goers.…….Just put on your Sunday shoes and dance to this cerebral, electronic ballet. It is definitely better than any synth-pop accelerated version of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, I can promise you that.’ (Lost at Sea.com) ‘Proggy, jammy relaxed rock is the name of the game here, as The Ebb and Flow combine intelligent pop with meandering instrumentation and a decent amount of experimentation……..I'm really enjoying this record - it's another addictive nugget from the increasingly impressive Three Ring label……..Overall, Time to Echolocate is seven songs of inventive, melodic proggish rock that is sure to find a welcoming home in any eclectic music lover's record collection. 85%’ (Opinion / Indieville.com) 'San Francisco trio The Ebb And Flow combine post-rock, Krautrock, and prog-pop elements in an interesting and engaging way on this debut album. The songs are built on an instrumental framework of drums, guitar or bass, and vintage keys like Farfisa and Moog……..Truly this band are disciples of a vintage sensibility.’ (Copacetic Zine) 'Bands are like bats. They make noise, let it bounce back at them, and then use these reverberations to form a picture of their environment and their own place in it. Take, for instance the Ebb and Flow -- drummer Sara Cassetti, guitarist Sam Tsitrin and keyboardist Roshy Kheshti -- who triangulate a space between them that teems with dim shapes and spectral silhouettes. The San Francisco trio's debut full-length, aptly dubbed Echolocation, is a cross-hatching of off-kilter pop, lambent jazz tones and rich strains of vintage synths and vibes, shaded by the vocals of Tsitrin and Kheshti, a Russian and an Iranian immigrant, respectively. Like Blonde Redhead, Stereolab and Steely Dan synchronized by sonar, the Ebb and Flow ties tinkering and instinct into a vision of indie rock that's both playful and mysterious -- and describes a sonic domain all its own.’ (Now Hear This)