by Brittney Corridean
photo by Sesse Lind
Brooklyn based indie band 79.5 has been making music since 2012. In the past five years, the small project founded by Kate Mattison has grown into a six member band that invites the harmonies of soul and groove of R&B in one stellar, mellow sound.
“The story of how everyone met is a pretty crazy one,” Mattison says. Saxophonist Izaak Mills was actually a street musician and made his way performing his art with the streets as his audience. Some of the members were friends, but really they all met by chance and a little bit of Craigslist magic. They all culminated together one night and “it was a wrap and something that happened organically.”
Mattison is always writing when on the road, always working, and thinking of her music. Maybe that’s why things are falling into place for her and the band. It’s not always easy to get a group this large on the road touring when everyone has their own life maintenance to tend to, but they’re all passionate about the music and love what they’re doing.
“Our biggest accomplishment so far is signing with the label,” Mattison states about Big Crown Records, also managed by Leon Michaels (Chicano Batman), but once they finally got their music on an LP, it was smooth sailing.
“We recorded the album in three days,” she says. “Almost everything was a straight take and we’re super proud right now.” One of her favorite songs is “Fantasy” because it’s “super dope, sexy, cool and romantic. You can really feel the saxophone.”
Right now, they’re just pumped about it all. There isn’t too much thought going on collectively for the direction of the band, but fate takes the wheel and hard work involved. They work hard promoting and getting word out there, but it’s an exciting endeavor for all to see how things pan out.
The band will be performing alongside Chicano Batman at The Foundry @ The Fillmore April 1st. 79.5’s three female vocalists will also be performing as Chicano Batman’s back-up singers for their set. The two bands met during a show and both had a mutual admiration for their work and just turned out to be a good fit. Gotta love band love!
