TheBlack&TheWhite began when Julio Tavarez started creating music with long time friend and producer Justin Kaupp. "My vision has always been clear to me. It was just time to record the music I was always meant to. Justin helped bring those ideas to life." said Tavarez. He goes on, saying "I love music that physically moves me, music that makes me want to get out of my chair." TheBlack&TheWhite represents a new chapter in Tavarez's music, featuring lush sonic landscapes and chaotic, bombastic exploratory electro-production, mixed with the uniquely passionate vocals that only Tavarez can deliver.

"People really like to talk negatively about the current state of music. Especially the electronic element. The truth is, I'm inspired by the old and the new all at the same time. Artists like Fela Kuti, CAN, Pink Floyd, Black Flag and D'Angelo have affected my life just as much as the work of Little Dragon, Kanye West, Daft Punk or even someone like Katy Perry. It's all there." said Tavarez.

Longtime drummer Cliff Sarcona and Julio Tavarez have always shared what moves them as musicians. While they love writing music, both Sarcona and Tavarez are at their best when performing. "Performing live is where we thrive in the moment. This project is going to elevate our live show in ways Cliff and I have always wanted." said Tavarez. "Come to our live show, expect to have a good time and leave feeling inspired." adds Sarcona.

TheBlack&TheWhite have plenty of music already recorded, and continue to write almost daily. "This journey will include lots of music along the way" Julio said, "and we couldn't be happier."

In support of their new project, TheBlackandTheWhite will be touring and plan on releasing more music in Spring of 2013.

Chris Senseney and Stefanie Drootin-Senseney (The Good Life, Bright Eyes, She & Him) formed Big Harp in December 2010, after a three-year whirlwind that saw the two meet, have a baby, move halfway across the country, get married, move halfway across the country again, and have another baby. When the dust settled, they holed up in Stefanie's parents' spare bedroom, practiced for a week, and recorded their debut album White Hat, a collection of dusty, low-key folk-rock laced with subtle irony and dark humor.

Understandably for a band that had only existed for a week before recording their first album, and had never played a show, their sound began to change almost immediately. They packed up the kids and hit the road, earning high praise for their surprisingly energetic live shows, where the intimate acoustic-based arrangements they'd recorded gave way to something increasingly complex, ragged and dirty.

In March, 2012, only six months after the release of their debut, Big Harp began working on their follow-up, Chain Letters, bringing in old friend John Voris to play drums. The album finds them moving away from the rustic, pastoral sound of their first album and towards a truer union of their L.A.-meets-isolated-cow-town backgrounds. Built on a foundation of crackling fuzz bass and angular electric guitars and keyboards, the songs on Chain Letters play like a series of character sketches with characters caught between escape and surrender, or poised at that edge where the two become indistinguishable.