| Smoke Season | |
| https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Smoke_Season_01_28_2018_-7_%2839889375284%29.jpg/290px-Smoke_Season_01_28_2018_-7_%2839889375284%29.jpg | |
| Background information | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Indie, Electro-soul |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Associated acts | TEMP3ST Honor Society Geographer KITTEN Caught A Ghost The Peach Kings Armors vōx |
| Members | Gabrielle Wortman Jason Rosen |
Smoke Season is an American musical duo from Los Angeles. The group consists of Gabrielle Wortman and Jason Rosen and was formed in 2013. They have released three EPs and numerous singles, cover songs and videos. Smoke Season is considered to be a multi-genre fusion of electronic, Americana, indie rock, and soul.
History
Gabrielle Wortman and Jason Rosen met in the spring of 2012. Both originally from the New York area, they bonded quickly over their mutual appreciation of similar musical tastes and a no-nonsense east coast disposition.
The two were both involved in other musical projects at the time. Wortman was in an electro-pop project called Temp3st. Yielding a Keytar most shows, she was making a name for herself in the east side Los Angeles scene, playing shows at venues like the Bootleg Theater.
Meanwhile, Rosen was playing with a pop project, Honor Society. This band was frequently a supporting act for The Jonas Brothers. After transplanting to LA, as well as many years of touring the US, Canada and beyond with Honor Society, Rosen felt ready for a musical change of scene.
Early in 2013, Rosen parted ways with his band. During that period of time, Wortman was finishing up a rehearsal with her band at their shared rehearsal space and they had a chance spontaneous writing session. From this session, they ended up writing their first officially released single, 'Soleil.'
What followed was a series of writing sessions and new songs. They agreed that forming a musical group made sense to release this blossoming material. The band’s name is based in part on the now cliche Los Angeles disposition to show you smoke and mirrors instead of reality.
Discography
Signals (EP)
Recorded and released in 2013, this project was composed of four songs and featured the singles “Soleil” and “Bianco.” Smoke Season felt this project was their first foray into defining their sound. The duo decided to write, produce and play every instrument on the album.
Hot Coals Cold Souls (EP)
Released in 2014, Hot Coals Cold Souls featured three songs, including their previously released single, “Badlands”. The EP was produced by David Burris and Kyle Draper and recorded at Manifest Music. The songs on Hot Coals Cold Souls were intended to flow from one another and showcase the band’s unique sound of what they were calling, ‘dustbowl soul.’ Gabrielle Wortman served the role of lead vocalist and added keyboards, and Jason Rosen provided guitar and co-lead and background vocals. The duo also recruited Christopher Roberts for percussion and Gabe Davis for bass.
Ouroboros (EP)
This 6-song project, released in 2016, was said to highlight the layered, ethereal Americana flavor that is considered synonymous with Smoke Season. Production collaborators Kyle Draper and Dave Burris of Mateo Sound produced this EP, with additional programming and mixing by Chris Mullings.
As an accompaniment to the EP, Smoke Season teamed up with Scott Fleishman of APLUSFILMZ to write and develop a short film and story seeking to demonstrate the interconnectedness of the human experience. The duo also put out a series of music videos for the EP which was also released as a short film and appeared at Cannes Film Festival and HollyShorts Film Fest.
- The video for the first single, “Loose”, features actresses Lexi Ainsworth and Nicole Fox, and focuses on the lives of two LGBT teens and deals with issues of teen suicide.
- The second single, "When The Smoke Clears", follows the characters of Seth (played by actor Julian De La Celle from the television series "How to Get Away with Murder") and his relative Chase (Nicholas Gonzalez of "Jane The Virgin," "Sleepy Hollow" and "The Good Doctor"), a military veteran suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
- The third video in the series, “Emilia”, depicts one family’s struggle with immigration issues and follows a US-born teenage girl (played by Melody Parra) whose mother (played by Alma Martinez) undocumented and is deported.