Exclusive Track Premiere: ‘Outlier,’ EFG

ABOVE: EFG. PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRIS GRISMER.

Premiering below is “Outlier,” one side of the latest single from Los Angeles-based trio EFG. “The concept of the outlier has always been akin to second skin to me, but the idea for the song came out of a brief obsession with [David] Bowie in Nicolas Roeg’s The Man Who Fell To Earth,” explains Imaad Wasif (lowercase, alaska!, The Folk Implosion, and ex-Yeah Yeah Yeahs). “I find a solace in knowing there will always be a world for those who take the path of resistance. We’re all outsiders in some way or another.”

The song, written equally between Wasif, Josh Garza (Secret Machines), and Tom Biller (producer for Liars, Warpaint, and Kate Nash), marks a turning point for the band, when they decided to leave behind all preconceived notions of what “their sound” would be and let the instruments take on lives of their own. “The DNA [for “Outlier”] came from an improvisation,” Biller says, “and then we recorded with mindful intent, paying mind to that first improv and trying not to over-complicate the music.” The final recording, much of which was tracked live with few overdubs, presents a definitively rock ‘n’ roll single with psychedelic undercurrents.

Opposing “Outlier” on EFG’s 7″ is the track “Suzanne,” both of which, according to Garza, resulted from the same rehearsal sessions. “Both influenced each other, but they also live in a world all to themselves,” Garza says, before Wasif continues, “They are mirror images, but one is the evil twin.”

EFG WILL BE PLAYING AT NON PLUS ULTRA IN LOS ANGELES ON APRIL 1, 2016. FOR MORE ON THE TRIO, VISIT THE BAND’S FACEBOOK.