The music of Skyjelly would be great for an art museum.
And that’s what you’ll get this Friday, March 3rd, when this Fall River-based quartet brings its unique blend of sounds to the New Bedford Art Museum/Art Works! for a free 5 p.m. show.
Fitting a vast panoply of descriptions, this group creates a soundscape that includes ambient, avant-garde, psychedelic, electronic, guitar rock and touches of Middle Eastern influences to arrive at a obscure package of noises that invites personal interpretation.
The Skyjelly show will be the second installment of the First FriYAYs concert series to be held at the Art Museum. Last month the series debuted with a performance by Molly O’Leary and John Fernandes. Located at 608 Pleasant St. in downtown New Bedford, the event offers a cash bar. Visitors can peruse the gallery while listening to the music, a distinct melding of original sounds and visual art.
“We’re an Indie rock, Middle Eastern, desert blues band,” says Skyjelly Jones, who plays guitar for the band. “I’d like to think we’re unique.”
Many would agree. The music of Skyjelly can be experienced online, including Bandcamp.com. The group will be playing new songs from the album, “Spirit Guide,” to be released later this March. The evening is likely to include spontaneous, one-of-a-kind improvisations.
“We’re malleable within our own weird parameters,” Skyjelly Jones says. “We play a lot of recognizable songs from our catalog but we may go off on a particular song, depending on how we feel. We have enough material so that we can play to the feel of a room.”
“I love Skyjelly because they’re sonic adventurers. They create really immersive soundscapes,” says New Bedford’s Scott Bishop, who curates the concerts. “Skyjelly knows how to create really entrancing vibes. I’m always drawn to people creating new sounds, and they do exactly that — with spacey effects, middle east-tinged riffs, and vocal percussion loops. If it’s hard to imagine what that sounds like, trust me, it will make complete sense when you hear them live.”
Skyjelly Jones says that the band enjoys pushing their creative envelopes.
“We try to make interesting, cool sounds, and we get bored easily,” he says. “I believe in the adage, ‘If you end up with what you’ve expected, you’ve made a mistake somewhere.’”
This won’t be the band’s first performance at an art gallery. They’ve brought their music to a variety of galleries and untraditional spaces throughout the northeast.
The Middle Eastern influences in the band’s sound come from Skyjelly Jones. Part Egyptian and part Lebanese, he includes the 11-string instrument, the oud, to contribute to the band’s amalgamation of instruments.
The band also includes bassist Scott Levesque who was formerly with the indie rock band Wheat, while Skyjelly Jones was a contributing touring member for Wheat, and produced the band’s fourth album, “Every Day I Said A Prayer for Kathy.”Skyjelly’s drummer is Dave Melanson and their percussionist is Andy.
“NBAM”S first FriYAY event was absolutely electric!” says the museum’s Executive Director, Suzanne de Vegh. “Despite the frigid temperatures (it was 7 below) we had a surprising number of happy, hearty souls turnout for Molly andJohn’s performance. I was so moved to see folks strolling through the galleries hand-in-hand, it reminded me of when I was in college.”
Sonic SouthCoast 