Evolfo: The Acid Cowboys Ride Again (Part 1 of 3)

An edited version of this interview first appeared in The Tonearm.

It’s a rare artist who can make music that defies categorization. Rarer still is the artist who feels comfortable having their music labeled as one style or another. When Evolfo debuted on record with 2017’s Last of the Acid Cowboys, critics pinned the group with a garage-soul tag. The music certainly displayed some of the hallmarks of both soul and garage rock, but the label didn’t quite seem to describe what the Brooklyn-based, seven-man band was really about. As keyboard player Rafferty Swink told me around the time of their debut album’s release, “Because there are so many people [in the band] and we all love so many different kinds of music, it’s sometimes hard to narrow it down.”

Two more albums and nearly a decade later, that conundrum has yet to resolve itself fully. And that’s fine with Swink and fellow Evolfo songwriter Matt Gibbs. These days the band has settled into a degree of comfort being known as a psychedelic group, but even that label doesn’t fully capture the essence of Evolfo. For that, one should listen to the music. Of Love – the group’s third album – was released in April. The band has just announced a July-August overseas tour with dates in the UK, Germany and elsewhere on the Continent, including high-profile festival appearances in France and Spain.

Leaving behind their label deal in favor of self-releasing their music, Evolvo is focused on honesty, authenticity and ethical decisions. In practice, that means that listeners won’t find Of Love on one of the most popular streaming services. The band’s principled decision to boycott Spotify is in line with the musical collective’s larger worldview. In our recent conversation, Swink and Gibbs explained the band’s mindset that led them to follow a truly independent path, discussed their all-hands-on-deck creative process and shared some important lessons they’ve learned along the way.

The press materials for Of Love manage to name-check a long, long list of styles. In fact, in a single sentence the band’s sound is characterized as having elements of psych, groove, roller rink disco, soulful prog, drone rock and even chillwave. I know the band doesn’t write its own press kits, but where do you see Evolfo fitting on the musical landscape?

Matt Gibbs: Yeah, genre-wise, it’s always hard to nail down. But I think that the definition that suits us a lot of the time is “psychedelic.” Because psychedelic can describe a way of experimenting with the music in a more expansive sense than a single genre. Yes, psychedelic music does bring to mind specific sounds, but I think for us, psychedelic is an opportunity to experiment, try different things and be fast and loose with our influences… and not get stuck.

Speaking of influences, would you name any other artists – either current or from the past – that you think of as kindred spirits?

Rafferty Swink: I feel kindred with Kikagaku Moyo. And their label [Guruguru Brain], because they’re trying to push the boundaries too. They’re trying to do something different and creative, and it really feels like they really believe in the music that they’re putting out; they’re not even trying to cater to audiences that liked Kikagaku Moyo’s records. They’re trying to be honest, and I respect that a lot. So as far as contemporary people go, they’re kind of a north star as far as how to do it.

But for people in the past, Teo Macero and Miles Davis during [Miles’] electric period are a huge influence on me. They approached the studio as a tool, and kind of as part of the band. I don’t know if it really comes across directly in the sound of our music, but [perhaps] in the ethos.

It’s interesting that you say that. Listening to the new album, a couple of times I found myself thinking, “This might not sound like Miles’ 1971 LP Jack Johnson, but it somehow reminds me of parts of it.”

Rafferty: Awesome! That’s one of my all-time favorites.

How has the band’s musical vision changed since 2017’s Last of the Acid Cowboys?

Matt: It’s changed a lot; the whole process is very different. It used to be more what you picture with bands: a couple of us – mainly me and Rafferty – bringing songs to the group for them to learn and record. And then through [2021’s] Site Out of Mind into Of Love, more and more we adopted a work ethic of improvisation in the studio as a group. I think we’ve become much more [focused on] the idea that one of the more interesting things we have to offer is our long history as a band, our connection as a group. Going into the studio can be about putting that foot forward and writing together.

We really embraced that on Of Love, because [all of the songs] started as group improvisations; every song on the album is cut from improv or jamming. Sometimes they were refined, but it always started with the group. Late-stage capitalism in the 21st century doesn’t want that from [artists], but it’s time to do something different. And group writing focuses on who we are as a group.

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