Biography

Formed in Seattle in 1996 to write and record film soundtracks, Tuatara quickly emerged on the international music scene and has remained one of the most innovative and original music groups of the alternative music explosion. Composed of founding members Barrett Martin, drummer of the Screaming Trees, Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey, guitarists of REM, percussionist Elizabeth Pupo-Walker, and horn players Skerik, Craig Flory, and Dave Carter, Tuatara was on the fast track to making not only film soundtracks, but several studio albums as well. Seven albums later, the band is in high gear again in 2008-2009 with a new album out November 18th, a collaboration with legendary Sufi poet Coleman Barks titled "The Here And The Gone." This album is just the most recent in a long line of collaborations with singers and instrumentalists and here are some highlights of their previous albums.

2008 saw the double release of two separate albums, "East Of The Sun" and "West Of The Moon." Both albums featured guest vocalists for the first time in Tuatara history, all of them old friends from the band's long history as side-men. The various singers wrote their own lyrics to Tuatara's music, and these included Mark Olson and Gary Louris of the Jayhawks, Luna's Dean Wareham, Mark Eitzel of American Music Club, author and solo gunslinger John Wesley Harding, Sufi Poet Coleman Barks, femme fatal Jessy Greene, Eastern mystic Gina Sala, and folk songstress Victoria Williams. As producer Barrett Martin described both albums "Musically, the Sun songs are more masculine, with a kind of High Plains Drifter/Border Town quality. The Moon songs are more groovy and feminine, more R&B actually, and definitely just as powerful as the Sun songs, but in a very different way."

2004 saw the release of "The Loading Program", a new electronic twist in the experimentation of Tuatara's unique sound. Taking the basic tracks from previous songs, as well as brand new ones, Tuatara collaborated with some of the world's top DJs who remixed classic Tuatara songs. "The Loading Program" takes the listener on an entirely new audio adventure, featuring remixes by DJ Spooky, DJ Logic, DJ Wally, Spearhead's Michael Franti, and New Zealand's Mr. Reliable. The album plays as perfect blend between the organic, live instrumentation of Tuatara, and the electronic wizardry of these top producer/DJs.

2002 saw the release of "Cinemathique", which was also the flagship release for Barrett Martin's new imprint label, Fast Horse Recordings. "Cinemathique" has a more ambient, textural quality, using the electrified sounds of vintage keyboards, shimmering vibraphone, and rich horn arrangements to create a listening experience of truly cinematic dimensions. Many critics have named this as Tuatara's best instrumental album to date.

1998 saw the release of Tuatara's second album, "Trading With The Enemy." Released on Epic/Sony, this was the band's sophomore effort, which sported a richer, more arranged production and an expanded horn section, reminiscent of the Big Band recordings of yesteryear.

1997 saw the worldwide introduction of Tuatara, with the album "Breaking The Ethers", released on Epic/Sony. This was the critically acclaimed debut album, and featured a hypnotic blend of Barrett Martin's exotic percussion collection, Peter Buck's worldly stringed instrument collection, all swirling underneath the wailing, mad-dervish horn arrangements of saxophonist Skerik. This stunning instrumental debut was warmly received around the world for its originality and pure musical expression. It also made its way on to several "best of 1997" lists at the end of that year.