Photo by Erin Shea Devany, April 2019
Biography
ManifestiV founded as an experimental industrial duo in Vallejo, California early 2014 by two morticians that met years prior in Dallas, Texas. Paragraph Taylor, guitarist & programmer, joined forces with EvE, vibraphonist & visual artist. They used their instruments in new ways, scoring the imminent end of human civilization with his downtuned guitars & her electronic vibraphone she built herself, aiming to guide humanity off Earth to explore & build other worlds while possible.
After a live debut at SXSW that same year, Einer Sie Gern, ManifestiV's self-made debut LP recorded in their Vallejo home, spurred extensive DIY touring after its San Francisco release at the tail end of 2014. For years to follow, the duo only stopped US tours for Burning Man & travels to Southeast Asia, Central America & Europe before recording God is a Martian with Nate Nauseda at Prairie Sun in Cotati, California. The EP was mixed after OctouR (spanning 7 months / 45 shows) by CJ Bills near Austin & released late 2018 back in Dallas at Curtain Club, months before it closed.
ManifestiV based in Dallas for 2019, back full circle where they had met on the same decade's other side. After releasing the GiaM counterpart 3vE in the Spring, the band spent summer expanding live personnel with a stellar rhythm section, dear friends borrowed from fellow Dallas band Secret Of Boris, ¶'s other industrial & more hard rock act: bassist & longtime fellow axe-man Kevin Porter, and drummer & longtime producer Ryan A. The newly modular quad format of ManifestiV makes each performance even more of a wild card than the last. The band experimented with modular personnel configurations & testing new material performing throughout Texas in the 2020s, writing for new releases in Dallas until touring gates reopen.
Photo by Andrew Sherman, June 2019
Press
"There’s... a darker side to Dallas’ performance scene, one that post-industrial band ManifestiV has grabbed by the horns."
Erin Shea Devany - Dallas Observer (Dallas TX)
"This experimental industrial couple trades vocal duties while making music that sounds synth-backed and filled with crushed beats and fuzzy guitars."
David Fletcher - Dallas Observer (Dallas TX)
"Vocals and guitar crunch from Paragraph contrast with the ring of EvE's vibraphone [& voice] in a relaxing way."
Juan Cornejo - Project Zer0 (Ft Worth TX)
"God is a Martian perfectly balances heavy grooves, guitar riffs and [vibes]/synth with smooth warm vocals... you would swear this was a 5-piece band at times. The title track closes out the EP with all the boxes checked as ManifestiV brings you home from their journey far, far away."
Bradley Amos - Deep Dallas Radio (Dallas TX)
"Heavy distorted guitars chugging under the unique sound of a vibraphone with the electric undercurrent works so well, and every sound is crisp & focused, that it’s easy to get pulled into their mysterious world."
Rob Bozzoli - Halfway Serious (Santa Cruz CA)
"¶ Taylor let loose... darting about the stage, thrashing around to the heavier parts of the tracks and even taking a mighty leap into the air at one point, all while shredding on his guitar.[ManifestiV] have a strong industrial quality about their music, which often leaned towards more rock tendencies; though there were some nice slower, even melodic jams mixed in. The more experimental side of things came from EvE, who played the vibraphone, which added a great touch to the songs; her luminous eyes visible from even far away, as they looked as if they were piercing through everyone watching."
Jordan Buford - The Music Enthusiast (Dallas TX)
"...the pair have made an album which is both hard-hitting and addictive... powerful and anarchic but also blends in enough pop sensibility to make them appealing... wanders effortlessly over an industrial ambient soundscape which lends itself as much to originality as it does to bravado."
Paul Scott-Bates - Louder Than War (Manchester UK)
"ManifestiV undoubtedly feeds off each other’s artistic talents. What caught my attention were the subtle movements EvE does in between and during her harmonies, using her instrument as a canvas for so much more than a soundscape. To her left in sync, Taylor magnetizes the set with his body, vocals, and piercing guitar."
Jessica Navarro - Rooftop Playlist (Austin TX)
"This is what music is gonna be in a post-apocalyptic world... I would call it experimental, but I would say these guys don't act like they're experimenting with anything. They've got it down to a science."
Matthew Blake - Whiskey Boy Radio (Dallas TX)
"If a heart can be naked and survive, this is the sound it would make."
TJ Walkup - Omnific Pictures (Vallejo CA)