Cougar - August 19, 2007
Cougar was formed in 2003 in a cold Madison, Wisconsin basement, and has been secretly crafting beautiful music ever since. The secret’s out. Members have been involved in the progressive music community for years, including ensembles like the internationally renowned YoungBlood Brass Band.

Cougar is the culmination of what began as informal compositional/rhetorical gatherings. These sessions brought together a core group of musicians committed to careful meditation and refinement. This ethos pushed the group to constantly examine and breakdown their approach. The group began exploring the idea of the “hook” as an institution that occurs within all beautiful music; be that hip-hop, punk, electronic, classical, improvised, all- or none-of-the-above.

Cougar describes its music as “Emergency Rock”. Emergency Rock is not wordplay; it is a literal description. It captures the model of neutrality/purpose/efficiency that defines emergency procedure and extends it to music. Each song is a collage of voices constantly interacting and evolving one another. Shape shifting melodies, vast sonic canvases, dense, raw, electronic, organic, found-percussion and driven sounds resonate throughout. Cougar is passionate, powerful, unabashedly epic instrumental music. The band’s sound has become anthemic to rescue-culture aficionados everywhere.

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Band Information
Cougar
Trent Johnson - guitar
Dan Venne - guitar
D.H. Skogen - percussion
Aaron Sleator - electronics
Todd Hill - bass