AM FM
Alternative / Alternative
At 26, Brian Sokel has played in numerous bands throughout the years, but has stuck most notably with the band Franklin. Their brand of rhythm-centric, post punk developed over the course of eight years and branded them genre bending, albeit confusing and elusive. After the recording of what was to be Franklin's final release, Sokel found himself working on four-track recordings of songs that didn't fit the mold of what was, by then, Franklin's sound. Finding himself with several cassette tapes of these four-track demos, Sokel brought on Michael Parsell (a long time friend who has spent time in such bands as Frail, Goodbye, Blue Monday and most recently The Science Of) to add dimension to the then, acoustic only, songs. Sokel's large inventory of music piled up over the next few months, and once encouraged by others who had heard the circulated AM/FM demo tape, Sokel and Parsell pursued the project more intently. Shortly after, AM/FM released their debut, the "Audiot" CDep, on the Skylab record label.
Trying to break free from a more traditional idea of music that is written, arranged and then recorded, Sokel chooses to enter the studio with frames of songs rather than complete visions. This allows for songs to determine their own direction as they are recorded to tape, with Sokel the orchestrator. AM/FM, enlisting help from other members of several local bands including Franklin, Aspera Ad Astra and Ink & Dagger, created a project where interaction and collaboration was the real focus.
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