Biography
A versatile art-rock ensemble headquartered in New York City, Changing Modes surfaced during the opening years of the 2000s by weaving punk, new wave, pop, and classical strands into an unmistakably singular blend. The project first took shape in the mid-1990s as a home-recording endeavor led by Wendy Griffiths and multi-instrumentalist Yuzuru Sadashige; it assumed a performing identity only in 2000, when the musicians issued an eponymous EP. A follow-up EP appeared in 2001, and the full-length debut A Perfect Day arrived two years afterward. Drummer Jon Mele’s return to Ireland in 2004 created an opening that was promptly filled by David Oromaner, a musician whose résumé included collaborations with several notable figures, among them Marianne Pillsbury. Oromaner’s first appearance on record came with the 2005 album Aeroplane. The following year the group added cabaret, stage, and LBGT and fetish club performer Camille Atkinson as lead vocalist. Their third studio album, Down and Out in Shangri-La, was released in 2008. Subsequent recordings—Here (2010), In Flight (2012), The Paradox of Traveling Light (2014), and Goodbye Theodora (2017)—further refined the band’s singular approach, the last of these featuring Griffiths, Sadashige, Grace Pulliam on vocals, keyboards, and percussion, Timur Yusef on drums and percussion, and Sawa Tamezane on baritone saxophone.
Albums
