Cypher Cell
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Cypher Cell

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"Music Midtown 2004 -- Creative Loafing and Atlanta Journal-Constitution Picks"

CREATIVE LOAFING:

JIMMY CYPHER -- A mind-melding warp of electronica and classic rock in one trippy carpet ride, dude. Guitar-whiz Cypher manages to blend world, rave and rock in a nutty prog-head salad that should delight and enlighten. Cypher amazingly unleashes a laid-back take on full-power groove. 6-6:45 p.m. (Smith)

-- Lee Valentine Smith
4-30-04

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ATLANTA JOURNAL AND CONSTITUTION:

Beat Crazy guitarist bridges the gap between guitar rock and electronic dance.

4/29/04 page P23

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"Critical Eye for Fest-Going Guy and Gal"

Need a little expert help deciding where to spend your time tonight? let our music critics walk you through their perfect night.

Nick Marino says:

6:00pm: ... hit beat crazy guitarist Jimmy Cypher early."

4/30/04 page B6 - Creative Loafing/Atlanta Journal and Constitution


"Featured Artist (Electronica Home Page)"

"Love And Darkness"
by Jimmy Cypher
Reviewed by: The Ruiner

Review:
All right, we've been slipping around here a little on the electronica scene. But we are going to start making it up. It's just that we don't want to put up any generic techno/trance stuff. It's got to be something that sounds new and fresh. Something to get the old ears perked up. And so we've got just thing thing to fit that bill for you. It's 'Love/Darkness' from Jimmy Cypher.
Start with the beat. It's definitely banging. Hard hitting bass and groove for days. It's got great synth melody lines and it's got little guitar lick with tons o' reverb for a great otherworldly sound. If this doesn't get the party going, then nothing will.

Jimmy Cypher is from Atlanta, GA. and their sound is akin to Crystal Method. That sort of 'Rocktronica' sound where it's obviously electronica, but it's definitely rock too.

So take a listen to 'Love/Darkness' and we promise that there will be more electronica of this caliber coming soon. And of course, if you've got any suggestions, we'd love to here 'em. Check out our contact page for info on how to reach us.

Link:
http://gigatracks.com/detail.php?type=review&id=49

5-5-04
- www.gigatracks.com


"Atlanta's Jimmy Cypher returns to SoHo Bar/Guitarist bag of Mix"

06|11|2004

Atlanta's Jimmy Cypher Band returns to the SoHo Bar and Grill for an interesting show Saturday 10:00pm. Half cyber-punk and half metal axeman, Cypher lays down a pulsating electronic rhythm and then spreads melodic guitar riffs on top. It's music where you can equally hear the influences of Joe Satriani and Orbital . Cover's $5. Call 568-3316. --Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

_______________________________

Best Bets – Guitarist’s Bag of Mix

What with all the blending of music styles that's been going on of late, we're kind of surprised this hasn't happened before. Or maybe it has, and we're just not hip enough to have heard it. Jimmy Cypher, who performs Saturday at the SoHo Bar & Grille, melds electronic dance music with Steve Vai-esque guitar rock. He brings with him a band that includes a bassist, two percussionists and a turntable artist, in addition to his own guitar.”

--Brad Barnes
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/
- Columbus Ledger-Enquirer


"Feature Article and Interview: Cypher puts Electric Guitar in the House"

(9-24-04 Entertaiment "To Do"Section)

"Cypher puts electric guitar in the house"

by Brad Barnes

Pulse-pounding electronic beats and scorching electric guitar fretwork meld when the Jimmy Cypher Band takes the stage.

"When you come to a Jimmy Cypher show, you're definitely going to hear things you're not used to hearing, put together in ways you're not going to expect," says Cypher, whose band performs Saturday night at the SoHo Bar & Grill.

"I didn't want to do your typical guitar-bass-drums, 'watch how fast I can play,' " says Cypher, the alter-ego of Atlanta's James Blackstock . "Everyone's heard that to death, and most of it was done very bad.

"You had the Van Halens , the Steve Vais and the Eric Johnsons , and it's not far after that that it got really bad," he says.

The sound that's produced -- by a combination of guitar, synthesizer, acoustic drums and samples -- is less trancy than dance music and more foot-moving than hard rock. His influences are as widespread as axeman extraordinaire Joe Satriana and house music pioneer B.T.

Cypher prefers a crowd that will dance to one that holds a beer and watches from the sidelines.

"I would love to have one of those dance/rave type parties, or something along the lines of Carlos Santana's crowd, where everyone's having a good time and moving," he says.

But it's been a hard sell to many clubs.

"If you started putting guitars on the regular dance floor set, the dance floor would clear. Guitars scare off the dance scene," he says. "Old school rock fans hate electronic drums. Electronic fans hate guitars. We're trying to make them one big, happy family, and I got news for you: They don't want to go."

Some consolation for the rock 'n' rollers is the addition of live drummer Ron Vycital and a flesh-and-blood singer behind the mike in Sean Kennedy . Those two new members join the rest of the band that's performed here before: Cypher on guitar, Billy Bones on bass and multi-instrumentalist Keith Gilbertson manning everything from turntables to keyboards to guitars.

The band performs Saturday. Doors open at 9:30 p.m., and admission is $5. In Silence is also on the bill. The show is open to ages 21 and up only.

SoHo is at 5751 Milgen Road. Details: 568-3316 or http://sohobarandgrill.com.

Contact Brad Barnes -- who writes things you're not used to reading, put together in ways you're not going to expect -- at (706) 571-8524 or bbarnes@ledger-enquirer.com
- Columbus Ledger-Enquirer


"Feature Article: Interview with Vicki Carson"

This is an in-depth interview for the September, 2004 issue of Playgrounds magazine. It is available as a .pdf file in it's entirety at www.jimmycypher.com on the homepage. - Playgrounds Magazine


"Most Downloaded Audio: Sol de Maya"

Most Downloaded Audio pick (April 2005) - www.atlantalocalmusic.com


"Emergenza Review: North American Finals (Atlanta)"

CYPHER CELL had the most unique sound of the night, mixing electronic drum tracks, with live beats that drove the energy level in their music to another place the other bands didn't reach. With morphing guitars sounds and great licks, Jimmy walked away with the Axis guitar from Ernie Ball for The 2nd Best Guitarist of the night. Great songs and a good singer, added to the already mentioned attributes, made them a blast to see.

http://www.emergenza.net/document/news/eng.asp?id=1565 - www.emergenza.net


"Review of 12-2-2005 show @ The Loft (Atlanta)"

CREATIVE LOAFING
RedEye
Sound Ideas and Unsound Thoughts
By Tony Ware
Published December 7, 2005

In a recent study by the Schadenfreude Foundation of Swaziland it was found there are exactly two-and-a-half things funnier and yet sadder than watching a white male act out his "DJ" set from behind his laptop: monkeys riding tricycles and using the phrase "mad sauce" to convince Buppies to buy Taco Bell and midget porn. Not to toot my own horn, but I've sat through all two-and-a-half scenarios plus a Tijuana donkey show with nary a shiver. But as I watched producer Purefunk gesticulate at the Loft Fri., Dec. 2, as he pumped progressive breaks from his digital apparatus, I realized this must be the uncomfortable feeling one gets staring into Bea Arthur's vagina and realizing the abyss stares back.
Leaning against a column, I'm beaded with confusion like a Boy Scout with that deep woods beaver fever. Mostly because as much as I want to lambaste the scene like a schoolgirl's game of MASH (remember paper prism-flicking Mansion-Apartment-Shack-House?), I find it so genuine that it's immobilizing. As perhaps you've gleaned from how perpetually I harangue hipsters and the unfathomably chintzy Family Force 5, I have been under the impression there is a dearth of earnest behavior in Atlanta's music scene. Well, that impression got a crosscheck from a crackerjack conduit at this show, and I'm standing transfixed like a medieval relief of Knight Templar Sir Real as Cypher Cell joins Purefunk (who provides the technologically enhanced band with breakbeats) on the stage.

Cypher Cell is the latest project of Jimmy Cypher, a guitarist whose embrace of the infinite reverb marks him as a first-class architect of smudged funhouse mirrors. This is rock 'n' roll as a reflection in Tom Cruise's Ray-Ban sunglasses: It's meant to be personal yet bombastic. And as the rest of the band conducts the "full-power groove" of a hornet-powered locomotive, Cypher Cell puts the crowd on lockdown. - Creative Loafing


"Summary Quotes from Press, Artists and Industry"

Summary Quotes from Press, Artists and Industry

".., amazingly unleashes a laid-back take on full-power groove." -- Lee Smith, Creative Loafing (Atlanta)

"conjures the infinite, wailing arena-ready reverb passed from David Gilmour to the Edge. This is an exercise on transcendence caught somewhere between Goa and the Mississippi Delta. " -- Tony Ware, Creative Loafing (Atlanta)

"Pulse-pounding electronic beats and scorching electric guitar fretwork" -- Brad Barnes (Columbus Ledger-Enquirer)

"Hard hitting bass and groove for days." -- www.gigatracks.com

"... bridges the gap between guitar rock and electronic dance." -- Atlanta Journal and Constitution

"Cool mix of styles goin' on here!" -- Joy Basu (GIT instructor; touring guitarist: Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson, Tamyra Gray.)

"[Cypher Cell's] music cant be explained in a simple paragraph, check out the website, then see the show. You'll be blown away."
www.atlantashows.com

“Cypher’s playing virtually overwhelms the listener with his incredible display of control, phrasing and precision.”

-- Jimmy Northup (Gurufish); featured artist – MTV’s “Real World” and “Road Rules”
www.gurufish.com

“Great Guitar Tones! If you are looking for a pulsating, relentless groove, ...Jimmy Cypher is the ticket you have been waiting for!”

--Doug Doppler, guitarist/recording artist
Steve Vai’s Favored Nations Records; www.favorednations.com
www.dougdoppler.com

"Jimmy Cypher is a very versatile guitarist. His overall sound is a mixture of the contemporary dance club circuit and today's rock, bass, and hip hop. Great work.”

Khia, Gold recording artist
www.artemisrecords.com

“Jimmy Cypher was easily one of the best acts we have ever invited to perform on the Music Midtown cultural stage . . . Highly recommended.”

-- Suzanne Shaw Cashin
Artist Market Director, Music Midtown (Atlanta)
http://www.pennhouseproductions.com/

"We remain impressed with the originality of [Zero Gravity] as well as your inspired style and sound.”

--M. Ebert
Founder, Kid Antrim Music
www.kidantrimmusic.com

“Completely different from other music today -- strange and wonderful!”

--Alice Barkwell, Playgrounds Magazine
abarkwell@aol.com
www.playgroundsmag.com

"Like a breath of fresh air on an often stagnant music scene, Jimmy Cypher creates exciting, new sonic soundscapes, blending elements of melodic rock guitar, fusion and electronica.”

--Eric Sands
Man on Fire, (ProgRockRecords.com recording Artist)
Official Ibanez and Morley Endorsing Artist
www.manonfireband.com

“An insanely talented band fronted by an insanely talented guitar virtuoso. Not to be missed!"

-- Garret Friereich
Singer/ Songwriter, Guitarist, Eden
www.edenatlanta.com

"Jimmy Cypher's CD is an extraordinary blend of different music idioms such as Rock, Techno, Pop and World Music among others, appealing to a very diverse audience.”

--Miguel Castro
Multi-percussionist, Drummer (Peter Gabriel, Marvin Santiago, Swiss Philharmonic Orchestra)
www.miguelsworldofpercussion.com


“One of the best, unsigned rock guitarists I have heard in 20 years in the music business. “

--Mark Certo,
President, Soundwizard Productions
Soundwizard4@aol.com

"A smashing new sound with an edge! Nice beats along with some awesome
guitars, not to mention great mixes!”

-- Suwat Griffeth/President
www.yourmusiconcd.com


“Jimmy Cypher’s compositional virtuosity cannot be denied. In fusing the worlds of dance with guitar, he has accomplished a remarkable feat. Though the guitar work is astounding, his greatest talent may lie in his ability to eschew rock guitar’s cliches while also embracing its legacy, weaving it into a more angular and unconventional style that is contemporary and musically compelling yet also grounded in pop sensibility. “

--Corwyn Bellavich
President, Kaine Management & Consulting
Lead Guitarist for Overnight Low
Solo Instrumentalist
- Various


"De-Cypher This"

De-Cypher this ...: If the Rapture (ye olde religious fervor) was to clot into a globular funnel, sweeping zealots heavenward from only one fortuitous place, nutters wouldn't be ill-advised to picket for the parking lot of a Pink Floyd concert. Once there, if time permits before some kind of Highlander-like "Quickening" rouses the crowd to pick up the red phone to St. Peter and shed their fragile mortal forms, a toke and a stroll across the steaming tarmac could reveal a lot about the cultural hybrid we have wrought. Or, they could jack into that conduit of cultural crossed wires by seeing ensemble Jimmy Cypher, as I did at the 10 High Sat., March 27.

Above a guitarist/efx tweaker/DJ's tribal triggers and a percussionist's tablas, and alongside a bassist's bulbous wobble, guitarist Jimmy conjures the infinite, wailing arena-ready reverb passed from David Gilmour to the Edge. This is an exercise on transcendence caught somewhere between Goa and the Mississippi Delta. Stylistically, logistically, Jimmy Cypher is like wandering a tailgate party -- navigating coolers and grills between the VW vans and SUVs -- because from every open window a different sound is injected into the smoky intoxicated air of coordinated abandonment. While many may not know exactly what to make of this heady melange, Cypher's certainly found something almost overwhelmingly indulgent by disregarding music's more common delineations: a bizarre bliss between the brown acid and hits of sunshine.

Creative Loafing (Atlanta, GA)
4-1-04, p79.

- Tony Ware -- Creative Loafing (Atlanta)


Discography

Cypher Cell -- "Cypher Cell" (2005)

"Love and Darkness" (2004)
Alternative Worldz Soundtrack

"Love and Darkness" Single (2004)
Jimmy Cypher (featuring Purefunk)

"Zero Gravity"
Kid Antrim Music Dance Compilation (2004)

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

CYPHER CELL

***North American Finalist -- Columbia Records' Emergenza Music Festival -- EARTHLINK LIVE Sat June 25th 9:00pm)

***Airplay (Atlanta): WNNX (99x); WBZY (105.3 The Buzz), WRAS (88.5), WREK (91.1)

***Citywide Finalist -- 99X/Miller Lite Taste the Rock Friday May 20th 2005

*** most downloaded audio -- www.atlantalocalmusic.com (April 2005)

***"[Cypher Cell's] music can't be explained in a simple paragraph, check out the website, then see the show. You'll be blown away." --www.atlantashows.com

Cypher Cell's music is exactly as the name implies: a genre-bending riddle wrapped in an enigma. The electronica programming wizardry of PUREFUNK features industrial, breakbeat, progressive house and hard house grooves that weave an incendiary and defiant flame around live instruments. The influences of Prodigy, BT and the Chemical Brothers can clearly be heard along with PUREFUNK's memorable melodic synth lines and signature mixing of house and breakbeat -- in the same song.

Guitarists KEITH GILBERTSON and JIMMY CYPHER bring a depth of guitarwork to the electronic music scene that has rarely if ever been heard before. Modern rock riffs are in abundance and the melodic and ambient influences span a wide vocabulary of guitar styles. The influences of Tom Morello (Audioslave), David Gilmour (Pink Floyd), The Edge (U2), Eddie Van Halen, Carlos Santana and even Paco de Lucia are in abundance. Bassist JONATHAN PEPPERS and acoustic/electronic drummer RON VYC round out the powerful and organic rhythm section that -- when taken as a whole -- drives the musical energy to a completely different level.

The result is a groove-oriented sound like no other that achieves what many strive for but few achieve: a style that defies virtually all attempts at categorization and compels those willing to listen carefully to redefine notions of harmonic and melodic complexity and acceptable song length. The highly anticipated debut album from CYPHER CELL features stellar guest vocal talent of local, national and international calibre. Live shows feature continuous remixes in club settings and venues normally reserved for DJs and are known for "putting the crowds on lockdown" [Creative Loafing]. Club kids, rockers and fans of numerous other genres should not leave disappointed.