by Gregory McIntosh
Formed in San Francisco in 2002, the Drift initially started out as a side project of Tarentel guitarist/keyboardist Danny Grody and Lazarus bassist Trevor Montgomery, and became more of a full-time affair after Montgomery's departure. Grody found a replacement in upright bassist Safa Shokrai, and with Rich Douthit (drums) and Jeff Jacobs (trumpet, flügelhorn, electronics), released a debut 12" EP, Streets/Nozomi, in the summer of 2005. Later that year a limited-edition CD titled Travels in Constants, Vol. 19, comprised of the band's early recordings with Montgomery on bass, was released as a teaser for the band's first full-length, Noumena, which came out October of 2005. The Drift remained relatively quiet until 2007 when another 12" EP of remixes, titled (RMXS), and a CD collection of previously vinyl-only tracks, titled Ceiling Sky, were released.