Jimmy Cypher versus Purefunk

Press reports:
FUTURE MUSIC MAGAZINE


"PUREFUNK - Very strong tracks that incorporates quite a wide array of influences and genre styles.You have managed to layer the sounds out very effectively which has given the track a nice ambient feel.Some of the breaks and builds you have incorporated work really nicely as well and build a great sense... of tension which is always important to do.Overall,this is a very polished track that should go down a storm in the clubs."
- FM 148 May 2004
- Future Music magazine

"Purefunk has every element required to make a great producer, and with every song comes a fresh idea, a new approach and something new for listeners of all electronic music. Purefunk will still be listened to for many years to come with some truly classic songs."
- Petrol Music February 2004


"Purefunk will be on the decks in no time with his outstanding ability to produce some of the phattest beats around, look out for this guy because he'll be rockin' the dancefloor very soon."
- Petrol Music June 2003


http://www.petrolmusic.net - Petrol Music

Music Midtown 2004
Creative Loafing Picks
Lee Valentine Smith, Creative Loafing (Atlanta)

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 - Creative Loafing

Critical Eye for Fest-Going Guy and Gal -- Atlanta Journal Constitution

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)

-- Nick Marino

Music Midtown 2004
AJC recommended artists
Atlanta Journal Constitution

Beat Crazy guitarist bridges the gap between guitar rock and electronic dance. (4/29/04 page P23) - Atlanta Journal and Constitution

Electronica Homepage -- Featured Artist 5-5-04

Love And Darkness
by Jimmy Cypher
Reviewed by: The Ruiner

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 And Darkness' from Jimmy Cypher collaborating with an amazing programmer going by the name Purefunk. You can view Purefunk's home page by clicking here.

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 And 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.
- www.gigatracks.com

Feature Article: Interview with Vicki Carson


Playgrounds Magazine
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.

Check out Playground Magazine's Inteview with Jimmy. (pdf format)

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

- Playgrounds Magazine

De-Cypher This
Tony Ware, Creative Loafing (Atlanta)

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.

4-1-04, p79. - Creative loafing

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

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
(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

Atlanta's Jimmy Cypher returns to SoHo Bar
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
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

_____________________________

Guitarist's Bag of Mix
Brad Barnes, 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.”


- Columbus Ledger-Enquirer