Mako Sica & Ben von Wildenhaus

Mako Sica is a trio featuring Przemyslaw Krys Drazek on guitar and trumpet, Michael J. Kendrick on drums and Brent Fuscaldo on vocals, guitar, and various percussion. The words Mako Sica come from a Sioux Lakota Native American term meaning “land bad.”

Their music grows out of a city from which artists (past and present) including Art Ensemble of Chicago and Sun Ra push their music to the outer limits of definition. Traces of Ennio Morricone and prog rockers Soft Machine can also be found in their music. What all three members have in common is an early discovery of punk. The ethos of American underground DIY labels such as Dischord and Constellation had a lasting impression on their approach to making music.

Both Drazek and Kendrick were in the Chicago-based band Rope, who released several records on the Family Vineyard imprint before disbanding in 2006. Drazek’s unmistakable, atmospheric guitar/trumpet sound and Kendrick’s found percussion had taken on a new direction the following year. The addition of Fuscaldo meant keeping the cinematic, lengthy compositions and incorporating groove, deeply rooted in American Blues.

The voice is used here as an operatic instrument, and often the language being sung is indecipherable. There are rarely, if any words, used as lyrics. While distant and echoed, his voice comes through with strong and hearkening Eastern intonations, as well as South American influence. For percussion, Kendrick brings in sheet metal, mixing bowls, wind chimes, bottle caps, among other found objects. Drazek toured in Europe with his Poland-based hardcore band Krzyc before moving to the US. Since then, he has developed a distinct guitar style. With a sound drenched in delay, his low bass rumbles beneath the surface and the piercing treble of his slide guitar evokes whale sounds. His African-style fretwork and flourishes are hidden at times beneath effects and in rare moments, reveal themselves.

Since the band’s inception in 2007, they’ve recorded for labels La Societe Expeditionnaire, Permanent Records, Plus Tapes, Chaos of the Stars and Slow Knife. In 2010, they performed on Radio M, a syndicated radio show produced in Chicago for National Public Radio. Todd Rittmann of US Maple recorded the band’s debut full-length in 2009 (released in 2010). Essence is the band’s second full-length slated for release on Oct 30, 2012, following a tour of the US West Coast which starts earlier that month. Check out our Shows page for a listing of dates and cities.

Ben von Wildenhaus (ex-Federation X) is a guitarist who’s split time between NYC and Washington State. His style has been compared to Marc Ribot and Jim Campiglongo. New York Music Daily calls it “deep noir.” Spin describes his music as “a tight confluence of meditative anti-shredding.” He has two albums, Great Melodies From Around (Riot Bear, 2011), and Ben von Wildenhaus II (GLOBOS, 2015).