Rasp is an independent electronic music project from Seattle, WA, which began in early 2000 by Jasyn Byrum, while living in Muncie, Indiana and attending college. It’s genesis as an audio collage experiment developed using found sounds that were processed and performed on various hardware samplers and effects units. Though initially influenced by the cut-up theory ov Brion Gysin, as found in the writing’s ov William Burroughs and later in the early audio experiments ov Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle, the music would later evolve to rely more on analog synthesizers than processed audio samples.
The influence ov D.I.Y. or “do it yourself” culture, which emphasized real-time performance over completely sequenced music, was a primary factor in his approach as a legitimate synthesist and would later be put to use while playing for local synth-punk band, “Days and Nights in The Skeleton Crew” in 2004.
Rasp would go on to write music that borrowed from genres such as dark electro, drum & bass, and even hardcore techno. Despite the stylistic variance, Rasp has always exhibited an element ov darkness in the music, allowing it to evolve yet retain an overall sense ov cohesiveness. This darkness would later find itself a new home after moving to Seattle, Washington in late 2005, playing synth for local dark wave group, “Legion Within.”
Recently, an impromptu performance at Seattle’s Mix Gallery was given under the name “Rasp vs. Splatterbaby.” This performance, which showcased the blood-soaked performance art ov wife Jackie, signaled a return to the earlier, noise-oriented sound in conjunction with spastic synth-driven chaos and real-time sample manipulation.
At present, despite being busy finishing the new “Legion Within” record, Rasp is looking to recruit members for live performance ov new material and is looking to put out an album by the end ov 2009.
