Taking their cues from
Radiohead,
Brian Eno, and
Philip Glass,
Ciam are a London-based quintet that mixes indie rock, electronica, and sonic experimentation into an artsy hybrid. Vocalist/guitarist Jeff Shapiro and violinist Hadar Goldman launched the group in the mid-2000s, with drummer Chris Hall (Shapiro's former Astrohound bandmate), programmer/guitarist
Farrell Lennon, and bassist
Mark Ferguson rounding out the lineup. Modeling the group's name after the Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne -- a collective of European architects who sought to redesign modern Europe in the 1920s -- the bandmates adopted a similar artistic approach, integrating elements of animation and film into their musical performances.
Anonymous,
Ciam's multi-layered debut, arrived in 2007. ~ Andrew Leahey