Tosin Abasi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tosin Abasi
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Tosin Abasi performing at the Euroblast Festival in Cologne, 2016
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Oluwatosin Ayoyinka Olumide Abasi |
| Born | January 7, 1983 Washington, D.C. |
| Genres |
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| Occupations | Guitarist |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | Prosthetic, Sumerian |
Oluwatosin Ayoyinka Olumide Abasi (born January 7, 1983) is an American musician. He is famous for being the founder and lead guitarist of the band Animals as Leaders. This band plays a type of music called instrumental progressive metal. "Instrumental" means they play music without singing.
Tosin Abasi has released five albums with Animals as Leaders. These albums are Animals as Leaders, Weightless, The Joy of Motion, The Madness of Many, and Parrhesia.
Contents
Tosin Abasi: His Life and Music Journey
Early Life and Learning Guitar
Tosin Abasi was born in Washington D.C., USA. His parents had moved there from Nigeria. Tosin's brother, Abdul Abasi, is now a fashion designer.
Tosin mostly taught himself how to play the guitar. He first tried playing a guitar at a friend's house. He just strummed it and made up simple tunes right away. He also learned to play the clarinet in elementary school. Later, he rented guitar lesson videos from a music store. He said some of these videos had funny or "racy" parts.
Tosin's father was very supportive when he decided to learn guitar. He even bought Tosin his first guitar. His mother, however, first thought that school and traditional jobs were more important than music.
Starting His Music Career
Before Animals as Leaders, Tosin played guitar for a metal band called PSI. Then, in the early 2000s, he joined a band called Reflux. This band played a style known as technical metalcore.
A record company called Prosthetic Records saw Tosin play with Reflux. They were so impressed that they offered him a deal to make his own music as a solo artist. At first, Tosin said no. He felt he wasn't skilled enough yet to create a whole album by himself.
So, Tosin went to the Atlanta Institute of Music and Media to improve his skills. After he finished his studies, he asked Prosthetic Records if their offer was still open. It was! Then, he started his "solo" music project, which he named Animals as Leaders. The name was inspired by a book called Ishmael.
Success with Animals as Leaders
In 2009, Tosin recorded the first Animals as Leaders album. Misha Mansoor from the band Periphery helped produce and record the album. Misha also created the drum parts for the album.
After the album was finished, Javier Reyes joined on guitar and Navene Koperweis joined on drums. This turned Animals as Leaders into a full band that could go on tour. Tosin also played guitar for the band Born of Osiris for a short time.
Tosin also formed another band called T.R.A.M. The name T.R.A.M. comes from the first letters of the band members' last names: Terrazas, Reyes, Abasi, and Moore. In 2011, T.R.A.M. played their first show at a music festival called South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. Tosin said he formed T.R.A.M. to play some musical ideas that didn't quite fit with Animals as Leaders.
Animals as Leaders released their second album, Weightless, on November 8, 2011. Tosin worked with Misha Mansoor again in late 2012. They started working on a new Animals as Leaders album, which was planned for 2013.
Signature Guitars and New Albums
At a big music event called NAMM in 2013, Tosin Abasi's own signature guitar was shown. It was called the Ibanez TAM 100. This guitar was based on a model he had used for many years. It also had his special DiMarzio Ionizer pickups.
On March 19, 2014, the Animals as Leaders album The Joy of Motion was available to listen to online. It was officially released later that month. Many people gave the album great reviews. In July 2014, Tosin was featured in a web series about guitar playing called Guitar Power.
Tosin went on tour with Animals as Leaders in 2014. In October 2014, it was announced that Tosin would join famous guitarists Joe Satriani, Guthrie Govan, and Mike Keneally on the G4 tour in 2015.
In 2016, Tosin joined other amazing guitarists like Nuno Bettencourt, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, and Zakk Wylde. They formed a supergroup called Generation Axe and went on tour. They toured again in 2017 and 2018.
In August 2020, it was revealed that Tosin Abasi was the musician who played the "air guitar" parts in the movie Bill & Ted Face the Music.
In March 2022, Animals as Leaders released their album Parrhesia. Critics generally liked the album. Some noted that it showed Tosin's more minimalist style, with more calm parts but fewer "wow" moments.
Abasi Concepts: Tosin's Guitar Company
In 2017, Tosin Abasi started his own guitar company called Abasi Concepts (originally Abasi Guitars). He wanted to create guitars with his own unique designs. These guitars have special features like locking tuners and ergonomic designs. They also use his signature Fishman pickups and unique wood types.
Abasi Concepts offers guitars with 6, 7, and 8 strings. In 2022, they also introduced a new guitar model called the Emi.
Tosin Abasi's Guitar Gear
Tosin Abasi has used many different guitars throughout his career. Many of them were custom-made just for him. He has owned hundreds of guitars, but he sold many of them in 2020. This section focuses on the guitars he used most often or for recordings.
Main Electric Guitars
- Strandberg Made to Measure #17
- Ibanez RG series guitars
- The Ibanez TAM10 and TAM100, his first signature guitars with Ibanez
- Ibanez Signature Prototype (which looked like his Larada design)
- Abasi Guitars Prototypes and Production instruments
- Rick Toone's Sketch 7-string
- Ernie Ball Kaizen
- Abasi Guitars Emi
Tosin Abasi designed the Larada guitar shape himself. He focused on making the guitar comfortable to play. This design includes a special neck shape, fanned frets (where frets are at different angles), and strings that are closer together. These features help guitarists play complex music more easily.
Nylon Acoustic-Electric Guitars
- Godin Multiac Nylon SA 6- and Encore 7-string models
- Kiesel NS1
- Abasi Guitars Prototype Nylon Acoustic-Electric
Nylon acoustic-electric guitars mix old and new technology. They sound like traditional classical guitars but can also be plugged into amplifiers. They are designed to be comfortable like electric guitars.
Special Guitars
Some of Tosin's guitars are very unique. For example, he used two 8-string guitars that had "negative frets" on the lowest strings. This means the lowest strings had more frets than the other strings.
- Rick Toone's Blur
- Strandberg Made to Measure #8
- Ibanez RG9 9-string guitar
Guitar Pickups
Tosin Abasi has created two sets of signature pickups. Pickups are the parts of the guitar that turn string vibrations into electrical signals. He worked with DiMarzio and later with Fishman. All Abasi Guitars now use the Tosin Abasi Fishman Fluence model.
Amplifiers and Effects
Tosin uses both digital and analog equipment for his sound. For much of the 2010s, he used a digital system called Fractal Audio's AXE-FX II. Later, he started using more traditional analog effects and amplifiers.
- Port City Amps
- Fractal Audio AXE-FX II, III
- Morgan Amplifiers
Tosin Abasi's Musical Inspirations
Tosin Abasi has many favorite guitarists, musicians, and bands. Some of them include Steve Vai, Allan Holdsworth, Fredrik Thordendal from Meshuggah, Thom Yorke from Radiohead, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Mike Einziger from Incubus, and Dream Theater.
Tosin also practices Transcendental Meditation.
Tosin Abasi's Music Albums
PSI (Pounds Per Square Inch)
- Virus (2001)
Reflux
- The Illusion of Democracy (2004)
Animals as Leaders
- Animals as Leaders (2009)
- "Wave of Babies (Digital Single)" (2010)
- Weightless (2011)
- The Joy of Motion (2014)
- Animals as Leaders Encore Edition (2015)
- The Madness of Many (2016)
- Parrhesia (2022)
T.R.A.M.
- Lingua Franca (Sumerian, 2012)
Tigran Hamasyan
- The Call Within (Guitars in "Vortex") (Nonesuch Records, 2020)
Images for kids
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Tosin Abasi performing at the Euroblast Festival in Cologne, 2016
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Dante Frisiello with an Abasi guitar (2023)
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Abasi playing a Strandberg* Headless 8-string
See also
In Spanish: Tosin Abasi para niños
