Melissa Kaplan: vocalist/piano
Adam Buhler: guitars/bass
Kasson Crooker: programming/keyboards

It's 1999 and rock & roll has shattered into 1,001 shards, each fragment representing a new direction, a possible new beginning. Boston-based trio Splashdown celebrate the unlikely connections between mythology and technology, thought and emotion, melody and beat, human and machine, the ancient and the modern. Splashdown's debut Java/Capitol Records album, Blueshift, is a kind of psychic odyssey. From a Middle Eastern mosque to a smoke-filled neon jazz lounge to a 21st-century Star Wars cantina, Splashdown's songs touch on the innocence and naivete of the '50s as well as the chill of a high-tech future. Their music collides and connects to form new patterns and unique combinations of new sounds just within reach.

"We were empowered to do all the things we had only dreamed about before," enthuses Fort Lauderdale, FL-raised bassist/guitarist Adam Buhler, who counts "raw funk, classical guitar and old-school glam" among his musical touchstones. "We like to think there's a lot going on in our music, that this is an information-rich album..."

Dense and atmospheric it is, from the industrial beats, whooshing synths and circular fragments which characterize "A Charming Spell," a song which perfectly conveys the band's fascination with the links between religion, ritual and magic (and is featured in an episode of the Shannon Doherty/Alyssa Milano TV series, "Charmed"), to the lilting, seductive electronic pop of "Sugar High." The band's eclectic approach is a veritable pop smorgasbord, feasting on Brazilian bossa novas ("Mayan Pilot"), Indian ragas ("The Archer"), torch songs ("Dig"), '80s electrofunk ("Procreation Chick") and full-throttle aggro-rock ("Ironspy"), with Melissa Kaplan's sensuous, multi-octave vocals providing the soul in the mix.

The songs' themes are as varied as the music, both of which take the listener on a spiritual odyssey through various alternative realities. "Presumed Lost," which quotes Maya Angelou ("I know why the caged bird sings"), is about trying to find one's way home from a most uncomfortable place. "All Things" is a plea to search for what's real in life, while "Waterbead" is a sexual, surreal vision of relationships. "Games You Play," included on the Java/Capitol Clubland soundtrack, attempts to break down those barriers that separate us. And while there's plenty to think about in Splashdown's songs, the exact interpretations remain completely up to the listener.

"I don't like just handing the literal meaning of these songs over on a platter," says Melissa, whose eight years in an Orthodox Jewish school left her with a healthy distrust of the dogma associated with organized religion and an appreciation for the purely spiritual. "I want people to think about the lyrics."

"I like the idea of hearing elements that wouldn't ordinarily go together," explains Cleveland native and programmer Kasson Crooker who, like Melissa, attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. Crooker's influences include '80s synth bands from Depeche Mode to Abba, darker, noisier bands such as Nine Inch Nails and atmospheric, noirish ones like Portishead. Adds Crooker, "One of the things we do well is making that work without it sounding forced." Still, despite all the intricacies of the arrangements, Splashdown is still all about the song at the center. "No matter how crazy we get in the studio, we won't do something unless we can play it on an acoustic guitar and piano," says Adam.

The band formed in Boston in 1997, when Buhler and Crooker - who played together in an "ethereal goth band" - hooked up with Rhode Island native Kaplan, who was cutting her musical teeth in an exotic performance-art collective. Artist Cynthia von Buhler initially brought the three players together and now manages the group. The trio released their debut album, Stars & Garters, in '97 and began performing in Boston-area clubs. In 1998, they followed the recording of songs for a pair of local AIDS compilations with the EP, Halfworld. Both were released on the indie Castle Von Buhler label, co-owned by Adam and Cynthia. The record received airplay on major Boston-area radio stations like WBCN and WFNX. Rave reviews appeared in several magazines including CMJ, Option and Magnet, leading Capitol Records A&R staff to request an album, which found its way to producer/songwriter/Java Records head, Glen Ballard. Before they knew it, Splashdown was signed and on their way to California to record their major label debut, with Ballard as executive producer (he also co-wrote two songs with the band). His longtime engineer Bryan Carrigan was installed behind the boards, and co-produced the album with the band.

"We've heard all the horror stories about the music industry, but that wasn't our experience," adds Adam. "They put us in a room and didn't come back until six months later to see what we'd done."

With the recording of Blueshift completed, Splashdown is ready to move from the studio to the road. A 5-track preview EP, Redshift, will be released in September. The band is already booked for several east coast dates on this summer's Lilith Fair tour and welcomes the chance to expose so many new people to their musical vision. "A lot of it comes down to someone believing in you and taking a chance," says Kasson. "And we're a band you have to take a chance on."