Consider The Source

Consider The Source is an American, instrumental trio from New York, New York. Formed in 2004, the group has released three albums and toured extensively in America, as well as parts of the Middle East and Europe.

History
Consider The Source formed in 2004 after Justin Ahiyon and Gabriel Marin played together in a jam session and discovered their musical compatibility. Ahiyon and John Ferrara had been playing together since childhood. The three musicians met and their collaboration eventually turned into Consider The Source. The group started out almost exclusively improvisational. They released a demo EP in 2005 and their debut album, Esperanto, was included on jazz critic Howard Mandel's list of his favorite albums from 2007. In the next two years, the trio toured the United States seven times and began to play festivals such as the 2008 NYC Fretless Guitar Festival. In 2009 they released "Are You Watching Closely" and quickly followed with "That's What's up" in 2010. In 2012, Ahiyon left the group, and was briefly replaced by Louis Miller, before Jeff Mann took over as the new drummer.

Musical style and influences
The group gets its unique sounds from guitarist Gabriel Marin, who plays a double-neck guitar customized with MIDI pickups and a fretless neck, and bassist John Ferrara, who plays a Fodera. The drums are played based on Indian tala rhythms, while Ferrara utilizes slap bass, and Marin employs sweep-picking and various synthesized instruments on his guitar.

The band members went to India to study tala and microtonality. Indian influence is evident in the alap sections that begin many of Consider The Source's compositions. Marin has stated "Our music combines influences from Turkish, Bulgarian, North and South Indian styles with jazz and fusion, and then we filter it through our own heavy, rock and psychedelic sounds and approaches." The group's major musical influences are The Bad Plus, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, King Crimson, and Tool. In 2010, they opened for another major influence, Victor Wooten. The group also mentions they draw inspiration from reading.

Discography
"We'll Do it Live" (2012)
 * Studio albums
 * Esperanto (2007)
 * Are You Watching Closely (2009)
 * That's What's Up (2010)
 * Live Albums

Band members

 * Current members
 * Jeff Mann – drums, percussion (2012–present)
 * John Ferrara – bass (2004–present)
 * Gabriel Marin – double-neck guitar, fretless chaturangui (2004–present)


 * Former members
 * Louis Miller – drums (2012)
 * Justin Ahiyon – drums (2004-2012)