Kirby Griffin - Featuring Thenewno2 "Wide Awake"

The tallest building in Henley-on-Thames, England is the
Church of St. Mary, a four-pointed stone tower erected in the 16th century. A riverside blip stuck between Reading and London, Henley is a quintessential quaint English village, best known for its rowing regattas. “The police in this country town had a vendetta against kids having fun,” says Henley native Dhani Harrison. “There was a lot of imperial entanglement.” No wonder the guitarist and songwriter was first lured into the world of speed. After graduating from Brown University, Harrison worked as a product designer under Formula One icon Gordon Murray, the man who turned a pencil sketch into the fastest car in the world, the McLaren F1. Harrison calls him “my hero.”

Surprisingly, the music Harrison crafts with thenewno2 is not breakneck thrash. However, the 33-year-old’s roots in aerodynamics do show up in the band’s precision engineering, shimmering curves and chrome gloss. The sleek pop vehicles on the six-piece’s EP002 and upcoming album thefearofmissingout can comfortably seat guests as varied as the RZA and Regina Spektor.

When I ask Harrison about the earliest records he remembers owning, he first mentions classic vinyl platters like Disraeli Gears and Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde, records given to him by his dad, George Harrison. “I remember watching Clapton in awe as a kid,” Harrison recalls. “Everything about his guitar playing blows me away.” Yet when it came time for the youngster to strike out on his own and purchase music, he bought Hey You, a fluffy 1983 hip-hop joint by the break dancing Rock Steady Crew. You hear this all in thenewno2’s languid melodicism and looping rhythms, which owe as much to trip-hop as they do to Cream. When the guitars heat up there’s a trace of an racing engine’s roar. “I grew up on Piquet, Prost, Senna and Mansell,” he says, ripping off a list of his treasured Formula 1 drivers. “Those are my favorite years.”

Q & A with Thenewno2

What inspires you?

Ayrton Senna has always been a huge source of inspiration for me. Just the way he approached life and carried himself. He always did his own thing. I was always impressed and in awe of Ravi Shankar. To grow up with a person like him and to musically know him from an early age and see him play so many times is one of the biggest gifts I have ever had.

Favorite Record?

I have many. Electric Ladyland by Jimi Hendrix. Blue Lines by Massive Attack, Music for the Music Jilted Generation by The Prodigy, Rage Against Machine by Rage Against Machine.

Your favorite beach?

I don’t want to tell people, then there will be more people there. Sorry.

Something from the past you wish you could bring back.

A new Bones Brigade skate video every year.