About this artist
Caspian are an atmospheric, primarily instrumental post-rock band based on the East Coast of the United States. Their sound is cinematic in scope, alternating lush, melodic, and powerful guitars atop mellotrons and keyboards propelled by a forceful, imaginative rhythm section. They also employ noisy electronics and textured ambience. Early recordings such as 2007′s The Four Trees and 2009′s Tertia walked the line between the blissed-out lyricism of early Explosions in the Sky and the jarring Wall of Sound rock of Mogwai. Caspian are relentless travelers, touring for months and years at a time. As such, their intricate sound has evolved and transformed on-stage as much as in the studio. 2012′s Waking Season showcased a more mature sound that added tenets from classical minimalism, avant improv, drone, and Eastern modalism. After the death of bassist Chris Friedrich, the group spent a year grieving before returning to the road and then the studio to write and record the elegiac breakthrough Dust and Disquiet, their first offering to feature vocals. Garnering universally positive reviews, the set charted and made them touring partners for Japan’s Mono. They toured for two solid years, and became headliners on the festival circuit across the U.S. and Europe.
Formed in 2004 in Beverley, Massachusetts, post-rockers Caspian soon made a big enough name for themselves that by the onset of 2005, they were opening for scene legends Mono. Made up of members Philip Jamieson (guitars, keyboards, samples), Calvin Joss (guitar, glockenspiel), Chris Friedrich (bass), Joe Vickers (drums) and — since 2007 — Erin Burke-Moran, Caspian released their first EP, You Are the Conductor, in late 2005. That was followed by a handful of regional and national tours, culminating in a deal with Dopamine Records, which would then release the group’s first full-length endeavor, The Four Trees, in 2007. Their second LP, the critically acclaimed Tertia, saw the light of day in the latter half of 2009, and was followed by a pair of European tours, a North American tour, and even a pair of shows in China. In 2011, the band headed back into the studio to begin work on their third long-player. The resulting Waking Season was produced by Matt Bayles and received glowing praise from both the fans and the press, with Spin magazine going so far as to call it “the Best Post-Rock Album of the Year.” The following three years proved to be tumultuous for the group, with the 2013 death of founding bassist Chris Friedrich casting a shadow over their recent success, but Caspian’s tenacity ultimately won out, and in 2015 they released their long-awaited fourth studio outing Dust & Disquiet. Reviews for the date were almost unanimous in their acclaim.
Caspian took to the road with Mono and stayed out two years, playing the U.S., Mexico, and Europe. They also played a 28-city tour with Swedish post-metal-cum-prog rock act Katatonia. The album reached the charts and their attendance figures grew exponentially. In March of 2018, the band posted a shot of themselves in the studio to their social media accounts. They toured Europe and the U.S. that summer. Drummer Joe Vickers left the band amicably at the end of the year. He was replaced by longtime friend and collaborator Justin Forrest in the early spring of 2019. In May, Caspian announced they were recording an album with producer Will Yip. In November they issued the video/streaming single “Flowers of Light” followed by “Circles on Circles” in early 2020. The album On Circles was issued at the end of January. ~ Chris True