Dual-bass prog trio The Omnific recruit Polyphia's Clay Gober for epic new single, Antecedent
Three basses are better than two in this four-minute masterclass, which offers up a dizzying array of picking-slap-hybrid exchanges and melodic percussive passages
What’s better than a track with two bass guitars? A track with three bass guitars, of course, and that’s just what prog trio The Omnific have served up with their latest single Antecedent, which features Polyphia member Clay Gober.
The Australian three-piece – composed of bassists Matthew Fackrell and Toby Peterson-Stewart, and drummer Jerome Lematua – recruited Gober for the recent lockdown-based collaboration, which offers up four-minutes of five-string bliss.
Watch the video below and be blown away by what these three can do with their basses. Fackrell and Peterson-Stewart’s musical chemistry truly is a force to be reckoned with, offering up a sinister fade-in opening exchange that precedes some huge single-note stabs, harmonic melodies and counterpoint five-string riffage.
At the two-and-a-half minute mark, Gober is called into action and effortlessly slots into the mix, with his instantly recognizable clean-but-bite-y tone playing host to his mind-boggling fretboard explorations, complete with a series of trademark picking-slap-hybrid constructions.
Kudos also to Lematua, who is on hand to punctuate all the right notes in all the right places with a catalog of lightning-fast tom rolls and precisely executed cymbal thrashes.
Of his latest collaboration, Gober said, “I had such a wicked good time working on this. It’s the first guest part I’ve ever done so I had to run it through about 100 refinement steps, just to make it kick as much ass as possible.
“But on the other hand, some of the more key parts of it came quickly, which to me is the mark of a good song,” he continued. “Grateful to have been given such a fun project during quarantine, and by such a talented group of guys.”
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Added Fackrell, “True to the definition of Antecedent, we looked to create a vintage style of music video, taking inspiration from the story of Sherlock Holmes.
"With the addition of paintings and artist utensils, coupled with the easel used, it allows for Clay to be featured in a unique and appropriate manner."
The Omnific's Antecedent is available now to stream on all digital platforms.
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Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.