Ahleuchatistas is guitarist Shane Perlowin and drummer Ryan Oslance on a musical odyssey of pure imagination, limitless in influences, combining tight-knit composition with improvisation, and delivering powerful live shows.
The project was founded in 2002 and has evolved organically in its near-decade long history as the muse leads through the creative sonic continuum...
About the name, two words were once married to give an identity and conceptual continuity to a musical enterprise without limits.
Ah-leu-cha & Zapatistas.
The first is the title of a Charlie Parker song, the second that of a revolutionary movement which began in Chiapas, Mexico in 1994.
Musical revolution and social revolution combined into a single coinage.
Movement and the constant outstripping of itself are what unifies all the sounds under this single name.

"Music doesn't get much closer to the edge than this." – Alternative Press

"…remarkably tight, with the ability to turn complicated and seemingly unrelated phrases on a dime." – NPR

"Formerly a trio, the band…has pared down to a duo….The new sound…has…a much greater emphasis on ragged, high-tempo garage prog brutality and spine-chilling soundscapes. 4stars[Location, Location]" –DownBeat

"…There's noise and fire in their playing, but most of these tunes are also studded with signposts, demanding close attention and clear execution. …" – NY Times

"Not superfluous or simply framed on a crash-and-burn musical ethic, Ahleuchatistas translates into a mindset that circumvents stereotypes or anything that links to a product-driven formula. Loud, rebellious, and riotously invigorating, the band tears down convention to impart a unique identity and sprawling musical plane, unbound by traditional applications or instilled with acquiescence." - All About Jazz

Past members: Sean Dail - drums. Derek Poteat - bass.

It all started with a Mandolin, a rubbermaid tub, and a batch of songs written while shuttered away during a year in a Siberia shared between two friends to birth what is now known as Norwegian Arms. With just these simple instruments, the group was able to give body and weight to their earnest, upbeat and thoughtful freak-folk. Things have changed since then, they've moved beyond the rubbermaid bin in favor of a floor tom (finding the latter more dynamic and less gimmicky) and added a wash of synthesizer, filling out their sound while maintaining their stripped down stage presence.

Although the two had been playing before mandolinist/vocalist Brendan Mulvihill was sent by the Fulbright program to Tomsk, Russia, it's easy to see that the defining moment in this young group's sound came after Mulvihill's return, when he, along with other member Eric Slick (of Dr. Dog) would rehearse in the windowless depths of the Ox, seeking to refine their minimalist sound.

People seem to find it difficult to classify the group, having said everything from 'freak folk' to 'mando punk'. But this isn't an attempt to make the music more digestible, for the group's songs are instantly memorable, well crafted, and melodically rich. These songs are deeply personal, and it shows. It's not hard to identify with the messages in their songs: a quest for self identity, adapting to new environments, questioning one's knowledge, and never being satisfied with what you know. It's Wanderlust and curiosity, distilled and neatly packaged into sonic bursts of intense energy. It's safe to say that Norwegian Arms suffers from a chronic case of the human condition.