Buke & Gase’s “Scholars”
When I asked on social media what album I should feature on the next Jaw Dropper episode, I didn’t expect such a tight race between the top voted albums: Tales from Topographic Oceans by Yes, and A Passion Play by Jethro Tull. There were some passionate comments for and against each album. Both albums got the same number of votes and I knew what I had to do: make a video about the album that slipped under the radar. And that album is called “Scholars” by a band called Buke & Gase.
I first heard about Buke & Gase from my friend Ron who basically had a religious experience when he saw them play live. For months he kept telling me to listen to them. He has excellent taste in music and I take his recommendations seriously, but I honestly don’t get to listen to a lot of music, despite what people might think since I run a music website. He bought me their 2013 album “General Dome,” which has some excellent songs that I quickly latched onto, particularly the opening tracks “Houdini Crush” and “Hiccup.”
The sound of General Dome is gigantic and most of the songs are enjoyable. There’s a lot going on at all times. After a few listens, I found myself intrigued and wanted to know more. When I looked them up on YouTube, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I totally did not expect that the huge sound of Buke & Gase came from just two people who sang while playing stringed instruments, percussion, and electronics using all their hands and feet at the same time. Everything you hear on the recording is performed live with no additional tracking. It’s unbelievable.
They released Scholars in early 2019. I bought it on Bandcamp and it just blew me away. It was a very, very fast 37 minutes and I knew I needed to make a video about it. The album flows organically and takes the listener on a multidimensional journey through fresh, new-sounding music.
Buke & Gase is a musical duo based in New York featuring two people named “Aaron.” The band’s name comes from the custom instruments they’ve built: a baritone ukelele or “buke,” and a guitar-bass hybrid, or “gase.” Arone Dyer sings, plays the buke, and wears a “toe-bourine.” That’s a tambourine on her foot. Aron Sanchez plays the gase, kick drum, and provides background vocals. He also designs custom instruments for the band.
“Scholars” is a bit more electronic sounding than their previous releases. When I first heard it, I thought, “There’s no way they can perform this entire record live. There’s too much going on.” But their technology and instrument arsenal has expanded over the past few years. Arone’s vocals are harmonized with several effects and she’s also playing keyboards. Meanwhile, Aron has added several electronic instruments, including software he’s written to augment their live performances in real time.
This is the kind of album you put on at high volume. You sit back, and immerse yourself in the sound. I honestly can’t listen to it loud enough. But be careful: the bass on this album is pretty rippin’ and may cause your Sonos speaker to vibrate itself right off the shelf, like this one did.
Nearly every song on this record is a winner. Highly melodic, great grooves and textures, and so enjoyable. Arone’s voice is really so beautifully angelic at times. It’s a real pleasure to listen to her sing. Some of the vocal melodies and harmonies are very, very strange, but absolutely right for the compositions.
Even the weirdest moments on this record are memorable and become earworms, like the out-there track titled “Temporary.”
While the lyrics are printed on the record sleeve, it’s one of those records that makes you want to listen closer and try to decipher what they’re singing about without reading the lyric sheet.
It reminds me of an interview with the artist Seal where he said he didn’t want people to definitively know the lyrics so listeners could filter and interpret on their own. You’ll want to sing along with every song on this record whether you have a clue what they’re singing about or not.
There’s an excellent recent video featuring them performing some of “Scholars” live in a recording studio and doing an interview. The channel is called New Sounds and the interviewer asks some really good questions. So, if you’re looking to learn more about them and how they work, check out that video. I’d recommend doing that after you listen to the record, though, because I think it’s better to experience their art first.
Scholars is available via Brassland or on Buke and Gase’s Bandcamp. They also have an annual membership option called the Scholars Alliance, which intends to “put us on the path to making & releasing new music in a more sustainable way.” I encourage you to check that out, too. It’s good to keep artists like Buke & Gase making music and staying alive. Arone recently posted a short video of the streaming royalty checks the band has received.
“A shout out to the people who have listened to us on Amazon Cloud Player. We got a check. We got a check for you guys. Thank you. That’s so awesome. For two cents. From Amazon Cloud Player. That’s really great. Oh and also want to give a shout out to Pandora. Thank you, Pandora. This is amazing. I don’t know what we’re going to do with all this money. We got an amazing check for 93 cents. That’s great. I’m so excited about that. That’s huge. And then by far, and we’re really excited about this one. It’s a big pleasure for us to be on this. It’s Amazon Music Unlimited. Thank you. We made two dollars and three cents for the year. Thank you!”
So you can get a taste of why musicians today need direct funding from fans.
If you’re lucky enough to have seen them perform live, let me know in the comments. Check out their tour dates on BukeAndGase.com. They opened several shows for Animals as Leaders in 2019, which hopefully broadened their reach. And let me know what you think, especially if this album is a jaw-dropper for you just as it was for me!
