In 1992, on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley, PhD student Takeshi Kurt Eto and pre-law undergraduate Abid Hussain had a vision of combining diverse musical backgrounds and formed the band Nebulae in order to make music that defied genre classification. Over the next 10 years, Nebulae wrote, recorded and produced seven albums, and remixed several tracks for artists from around the globe. The band’s mantra was simply “to create music that was completely nebulous”. This philosophy empowered their creativity enabling Nebulae to meld diverse musical styles into genre-bending albums. Initially their studio setup up was minimal, with just a four-track recorder, one Roland Juno synthesizer, an Alesis drum machine, an Ibanez guitar, and a saxophone. Capitalizing on the Internet, which was at its infancy, the band created a cult following by marketing over the web. In 1995, Hussain went to law school at the University of Oregon, while Eto moved to Los Angeles to develop his web hosting business. From that point, Nebulae became a long-distance project, and they continued to produce albums such as Nebulae : World Wide Eclecticae (1997). However, the reality of a long distance partnership eventually took its toll on the band, and in 2002, the duo produced its last album, entitled Nebulae : Formulae (2002). The partnership between Eto and Hussain split amicably in 2003. The duo mutually agreed that Hussain would take ownership of and continue to promote Nebulae’s past and future music via the band’s website at www.nebulae.com. The two remain friends. Hussain was committed to keeping the Nebulae name alive, and thus decided to take on the persona of Nebulae as a solo artist. As he grew artistically, Nebulae began to use Ableton Live as his main software to produce and perform live shows, and he became heavily immersed in the Ableton community. As Live evolved, so did his work flow. This tool provided a new degree of creativity and a more sophisticated level of detail in the music. The Nebulae “sound” started to become more influenced by all forms of electronica, specifically, progressive house, trance, and breakbeat. Nebulae kept his roots in melodic composition, which he married with the percussive sounds of beat-driven dance floor music. From 2003 to 2008, Nebulae continued to produce remixes and perform live shows, including getting involved with Laptop Deathmatch in Dallas, Texas. Laptop battles began to stretch Hussain out of his comfort zone, allowing him to avoid the common pitfall of becoming entrenched in one particular musical sound or genre. This resulted in three additional side projects (Chlorophyll, Kundalini Shock Attack, and Hot Bitch Arsenal) and a new concept album called Nebulae : Wallpaper (2008). Wallpaper contained elements of melodic progression, minimal house beats and electro noises. The goal of this record was to allow listeners to tune in and pay attention to the subtle details and textures if they want, or leave it in the background to enhance moods or fill space. Wallpaper, is available as streaming audio at http://nebulae.bandcamp.com/album/wallpaper. In 2009, Nebulae began experimenting with new directions, including an upcoming alternative rock record that revisits his alternative rock influences, such as New Order and The Smiths. Updates and discussion are available at nebulae.com. Currently Nebulae lives in Dallas, Texas, where he is an attorney with a real estate and business law practice. He has been married since 1998 and has a young son. He was also a passionate supporter of the Barack Obama campaign, volunteering for voter protection in Ohio during the 2008 presidential election. |
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