Sea At Last

Sea At Last is Cohen and Tory Elena, a dynamic duo that explores sound like Gypsies on a caravan to Neptune.

On March 11, 2011, Cohen, an eccentric, relentless guitarist and composer, was meeting a drummer for a mythologic sea musical he wrote with plans for a Japanese premiere. When drummer Tory Elena arrived, she claimed the drum throne like a queen, carrying an identical ukulele crafted from flame marble maple. Halfway around the world, the seas exploded and struck Japan with a tsunami. She sang, and Cohen knew he had met his artner, a perfect match for his voice, and an absurdly prolific songwriter to balance his vision with her own. Plans for the musical had been swept away by the changing tides. In the wake, Sea At Last was born.

Converting Tory’s attic into a studio, the band recorded The Wade EP, which toured festivals along the West Coast. The music then brought Tory and Cohen across the Pacific to tour the Hawaiian Islands, where they entered the deep jungle to shoot a film, feeding their passion for cinematic score. Their Herzog-ian perseverance saved the film and inspired its producers, who began to plot an elaborate trap.

By way of chocolates and sleep deprivation, Tory and Cohen were then kidnapped by a militant faction of anarchic filmmakers to Hollywood, where their live performances sparked fanatic hunger for Sea At Last recordings.

Their debut album Atlas was recorded with zebras for neighbors at Red Horse Ranch, a studio on the outskirts of Austin, TX, next door to an exotic African game reserve. Utterly uncompromising, the record is true rock ‘n’ roll. Featured on the album are a number of guest musicians, including a violinist, cellist, bassist, and harmonica player, who embrace Gypsy music with radiant vengeance. With analogue plate reverb and feedback crying like gulls, the album is an audiophile’s wet dream. Tory even plays a junk kit she built out of bike parts and Texas license plates. Their sound transcends categorization. Their live shows are full sensorial immersions. Sea At Last is music you feel; it is an honest explosion of two bold artists, unafraid to love, and unafraid to lose. An hour with the sea, at last, achieves timelessness.

Written by Kate Jurkiewicz