Brooklyn, NY garage/psych seven-piece Evolfo recently released sophomore full-length, ‘Site Out Of Mind’, out via Royal Potato Records.

Recorded in a single take in the tiny, sweltering attic-turned-recording studio of band leader Matt Gibbs’ Brooklyn apartment, the driving rhythm and fuzz drenched guitar of ‘Strange Lights’ converge in hypnotic chaos to tell a non-linear story of frustration, helplessness, and multiphrenia in the face of rabid authoritarianism. “This song was never meant to be specifically about me and the time I was wrongfully arrested, we are loath to define the subject matter in such literal terms,” says member Gibbs. “However, it would be fair to say that this experience influenced my view of police and the judicial system, and that this particular set of lyrics would not have come to be without it.”

If the Brooklyn-based psych rockers felt pressured to repeat the successes of their 2017 album ‘Last of the Acid Cowboys’ they certainly didn’t show it. On their brand new album ‘Site Out of Mind’, Evolfo reaches far beyond the confines of genre to create a colorful echo drenched psych rock dream all their own. Adorned with a mind bending cover by visual artist Robert Beatty, the result is a collection of songs that are unexpected, absorbing, and blissfully tripped out.

Partially inspired by concepts pulled from sci-fiction and one group psychedelic drug trip, ‘Site Out of Mind’ is a thrilling spiral into the depths of the spiritual mind and the afterlife. Lyrically, Gibbs says, it could be interpreted as a continuation of the loose concept that Evolfo’s previous album hinted at. “If the protagonist of that album died at the end of ‘Last of the Acid Cowboys’,” says Gibbs, “then this was the protagonist’s internal journey, flipping the landscape, and going through the mountain of their mind in that moment of mortality; perhaps a blurring of brain activity between dying and death, between life and the afterlife.”

“Evolfo has become more and more improvisational in nature”

Evolfo is one big family. How did you come together?

Rafferty Swink: We all met in a very short span of time towards the end of 2010 through a series of events so intertwined and seemingly random I can only call it fate. Some might call it coincidence. Either way, we’ve been together ever since and have grown together as musicians and more importantly as humans.

You’re based in Brooklyn? What’s the scene there lately?

Matt Gibbs: Yes we are currently based in Brooklyn. Shows have just exploded out of the gate in Brooklyn as pandemic restrictions are easing. As things bounce back, it seems to me like bands/venues/promoters are making an effort to book really thoughtful bills that defy expectations. For example, one of my favorite NY bands The Muckers, a super fun glam/psych/disco rock band, is playing their record release party with Super Yamba Band, a NY based band more in the afro beat tradition. I would never have thought of it but this bill totally works in so many ways, they both have psychedelic elements and you can dance to it. I love to see people thinking in this way and I’m really hoping people will stay dedicated to blurring the lines of scenes and genres.

Your latest album, ‘Site Out Of Mind’ was released via Royal Potato Family on June 18, 2021. Are you excited about it?

Rafferty Swink: I couldn’t be more excited. It feels like the timing is right to let this record out into the world. Then I will truly be able to clear that shelf in my mind and look towards future sounds.

I hope you’ll be able to have some gigs in the near future…

Rafferty Swink: It might sound wild, but we actually DO have some gigs in the near future! Come celebrate the album release with us July 24th at TV Eye in Ridgewood, NY. It’s going to be the party of the summer. Also we will be on the west coast in November. We’re still booking shows to expect more announcements for the fall in the coming weeks!

“This attic was haunted by a seemingly benevolent spirit”

Tell us about ‘Site Out Of Mind’, what’s the story behind it? Where did you record it?

Matt Gibbs: It all began in my tiny little attic in the Ditmas Park neighborhood of Brooklyn. I was using the space as a home studio for personal projects. Things started sounding pretty good in there so I said why not try and embark on the next Evolfo album in that space? With Rafferty and I at the helm, we did absolutely everything ourselves. 7 of us crammed in this tiny little space: writing, arranging, engineering, mixing.

<a href="https://evolfo.bandcamp.com/album/site-out-of-mind-2">Site Out Of Mind by Evolfo</a>

We went in with several song fragments, a couple cool ideas we’d been jamming on, and a few unreleased tunes we had been playing with on the road. To be honest I didn’t expect to walk out of that session with an album, but lo and behold, about a week later we were staring at a boat load of songs and feeling really excited about the unique sounds we’d achieved. I think the energy of that attic played a big role. I might add that this attic was haunted by a seemingly benevolent spirit. The previous occupants had told me as much. I think there was a special energy in there for sure.

How would you compare it to your previous 2017 release, ‘Last Of The Acid Cowboys’?

Rafferty Swink: This album is an expansion and deepening of our sound. It’s lusher and more cinematic in scope.

How do you usually approach music making?

Rafferty Swink: Lately our approach in Evolfo has become more and more improvisational in nature. We spend most of our time playing freely together and not worrying about running/writing forms or songs. Perhaps this will develop into something more focused, only time will tell.

The band has been active for quite a few years now. Is ‘FHF / Let’s Carry On’ 7″ your first release?

Rafferty Swink: I consider ‘Last Of The Acid Cowboys” our first release. That 7” was made before we were able to record ourselves the way we wanted to be recorded. We paid a lot of money to go into a “professional” space where the engineer didn’t take any of our ideas to heart. He was on autopilot at best during the sessions. Although you can hear the very beginnings of what Evolfo has become it was generally a very negative experience that served as a lesson in what not to do. It took us several more years to find a trustworthy collaborator, who arrived in the form of the saintly Joe Harrison. Since then, a main focus for us as band has been to develop our own abilities to record/produce ourselves in order to maintain independence and represent our sound the way we know it can be heard.

If you could work with any other artist from the past (dead or alive) who would it be?

Rafferty Swink: There are so many that I could say it’s hard to choose just one. Probably John Coltrane for the sake of this hypothetical situation. He is musically transcendent. It would also be amazing to time travel to Big Pink, the Black Ark Studios, and Cosimo Studios to see how some of the best bands ever worked in their recording environments.

Let’s end this interview with some of your favourite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?

Rafferty Swink: All my friends are releasing amazing music right now which is wonderful and inspiring. Check out NAIMA, Canteen Killa, Babyfang, Matthew Jamal, Ochre, J-Zone/The Durites, June Bloom, Holy Hand Grenade, Sessa, Azekel, and Elliott Skinner. They’re all amazing and span a vast spectrum of fantastic sounds.

Klemen Breznikar

Evolfo Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp / YouTube / Spotify / Apple Music
Royal Potato Records Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp / YouTube / Spotify / SoundCloud