Alphino - Band Profile
Alphino’s humble beginnings as an acoustic rock duo are still evident in their style, performing powerful yet harmonious music. They comprise of Ian Crabb (Vocals / Rhythm Guitar), James Brown (Lead Guitar), Gustav Patrick (Bass / Extra Instrumentation) and Paul Davies (Drums). Evolving from the Acoustic outfit 'Loki' (Crabb and Brown), Alphino’s influences are remarkably more diverse than your average four-piece rock band, with each member bringing elements of various styles to the mix. When you consider the massive list of influences, including Pearl Jam; Radiohead; Jewel; Joni Mitchell; Jeff Buckley; Ryan Adams; Metallica; Tool; Coldplay; Jimmy Cliff and Avenged Sevenfold, to name but a few, it’s no surprise that the sound emerging from this group might just be as original as it’s possible to get. 
Alphino are from the Hampshire/Dorset border and met each other through work and various bar excursions. Evolving as they did from the afore mentioned ‘Loki’, they experimented with their songwriting to achieve “a depth of lyrical intensity coupled with melodic strength that started to get noticed.” It wasn’t long before they realised they needed a beefier sound and went off in search of a bass player, found in Gustav Patrick. Patrick had never played bass before but decided to give it a go. And he's still there. Gluing as a trio, the band finally decided to develop a fuller line-up and drummer Paul Davies was recruited after a drunken encounter with Gus. Their music is very hard to describe, especially in terms of “Alphino sound like this band or that artist…” but the closest you’ll get is probably Head Automatica with a bit more funk. They have, in their own words, a “combination of lyrical intelligence, melodic mastery, bass heavy power and the just about controlled mayhem of the drums.” Their songs combine their influences beautifully into a fresh sound, sure to get them to higher places. Pulled together by a love of music and a hatred of ‘Busted’ the band play and perform as a strong unit. Their live show looks like something you wouldn’t want to miss.
