Warm beats wrapped in sensuous melodies, draped with layers of textured samples and sultry guitar parts. Jute swirls with intensity and beauty. Members Julie Axis, Joe Axis, and Robb Shakespeare manage to weave an array of colors into a beautiful river of sound. With influences as varied as Massive Attack, Cocteau Twins, Sigur Ros, Pink Floyd, The Orb, Dead Can Dance, Miles Davis, Tool, Jane's Addiction, DJ Shadow, Bjork, Led Zeppelin, and Radiohead, it's hard to imagine the end result. You have to hear it to experience it. As Altar Magazine put it, "...Jute, not one of a million other bands."

Press Info

Jute’s music has been chosen for use as background music for the new series of MTV’s The Real World, Road Rules and Extreme Challenge. SkateMaps, has also chosen Jute's music for some scenes.
Jute is currently scoring a film for Mark Miremont in LA called Carnival of Desires.
............Reviews:
"Is it possible to find heaven within a flowing, resonating body of melancholic dream-inducing music? Æther ex cantus is perhaps the hidden modus operendi by which Chicago-based collective Jute create their music. Whether it was fate or alignment of the cosmos that brought this quartet of musical spirits together we may never know, but for certain there is a mystical synergy existing between Jute’s members, that enables the music to exhibit a heavenly organic quality, the likes of which most have never experienced......" BradAnderson
http://www.digitalartifact.org/247revs.htm
"The band creates seductive electronica that envelopes and challenges, teases and demands. "...Jennifer Layton

Similar Artists

They achieved their goal to bridge the gap between electronic/dj bands they loved, like Massive Attack and DJ Shadow, and rock bands they admired, including Jane’s Addiction and Tool. With the vocal style of a Curve or Cocteau Twins-type, the blend of sound is complete. The CD is filled with a lush quality. Sexy, passionate, angelic vocal lines float atop and weave among the darker brooding male energy. Like yin and yang, a perfect balance of dark and light.

Influences

Massive Attack, DJ Shadow, Tricky, Bjork, Tool, Miles Davis, Pink Floyd, Sigur Ros.

Bio

Much of what drives Jute and their music stems from the diverse origins of its members. Vocalist Julie Axis is a soft-spoken siren from Florida, whose dreams of travel and discovery drove her to move to Chicago to pursue her singing career in the early 90’s. Guitarist/vocalist Joe Axis, a native of the Chicago streets, began playing music at an early age to escape the hostile environment around him. In the summer of 1998 he met Julie and the two began to kick around ideas about music, and soon after, decided to form Jute. In the spring of 1999, at a My Scarlet Life show (Julie’s previous band) in Iowa, Joe was introduced to guitarist Robb Shakespeare. The two had an instant bond and within a matter of months, Robb moved to Chicago and the three members began to write and conspire. Unable to find the same connection with other musicians, the three decided to write and record the entire album themselves. After completing the CD, Jute moved to the next phase, translating this music they’d created across to a live audience. In early 2002, just as the songs were finished being written, they met bassist Michael Dobkowski. Originally from Portland, Maine, and seeking a larger market for his band Aleutian, Mike migrated to Chicago in the late 90’s. After Aleutian disbanded, Mike heard what Jute had been working on and immediately knew he wanted to be their bass player. With the addition of Dan Smith of Salvo Beta on drums, the line-up was complete.