PRESS KIT

A stark, starlit night.
Evergreen boughs paint the sky.
Sound of raven wings.

In the windswept reaches, that is where you will find Ariana Saraha & Fernando Medina, aka FLIGHT BEHAVIOR.

Ariana Saraha (vocals, percussion) and Fernando Medina (drums, percussion) met in the wind-torn and rain-soaked rainforests of the Pacific Northwest. After sharing the darkest winter of their lives, they narrowly escaped to keep wandering... They've since found themselves lost on snow-crested peaks, serenaded by cacophonies of birdsong, and resting deep in the quiet desert heat...

Destined, it seems, for the difficult but beautiful, all along the muse whispers, "Here, in these reaching leaves. Here, in these sun-bleached bones. Here, in the flutter of this wing. Here, in the sound of water over stones..."

Musically, these two follow in the footsteps of bands such as The Creatures and Dead Can Dance in their capacity to create whole sonic worlds with primarily the voice and rhythm.

They have released two albums as Flight Behavior: Songs of Christmas (2020), and now From the Wild (2022), an homage to the untamed earth that flows even in our veins...

Weaving spells from the very fibers of life—starlight, storm and stone—Flight Behavior incants the songs and paints the rhythms of the unheard earth and the forgotten ancients.

FOR FANS OF

Dead Can Dance / Lisa Gerrard, Heilung, Myrkur, Wardruna, Anilah, Azam Ali, Eivor, Loreena McKennitt, Tori Amos, Ofra Haza

GENRES

Dark Folk / World / Alternative / Pagan / Ethereal / Ambient / Middle Eastern / Celtic

ARIANA SARAHA

Ariana Saraha is a vocalist, songwriter, and producer from the wilds of the West with an Old World soul. Most often compared to Celtic singer Loreena McKennitt and alt-world artists Dead Can Dance, her song casts an otherworldly spell even as it was forged of earth.

Saraha's primary inspiration comes from the torrential, ephemeral, tempestuous, and enchanting qualities of the wild world, which she supports musically by her experience in traditions as varied as Turkish art rock, Persian & Armenian laments, Lebanese pop, Egyptian classical music, Bulgarian folk harmonies, Indian ragas, Greek & Sephardic love songs, and Peruvian icaros.

But what draws the listener in, beyond her exotic influences, is Saraha’s rare mixture of raw wildness and heartfelt intimacy. Teetering between the primordial and celestial, her song evokes cinematic visions and ancient longing.

"I am utterly unprepared for her wild, mystical soul and music that transports me to faraway realms and ages. I feel as if I have stumbled unknowingly upon a gypsy caravan and stepped into the circle of dancing firelight and music." — L.R. Heartsong, Author

FERNANDO MEDINA

More than just a drummer, Fernando Medina is a composer and arranger with orchestral and cinematic sensibilities on top of his rock background (everything from prog to pop to metal), jazz sensibilities, and Panamanian Latin roots. As a drummer, Medina is a “rhythm painter” who weaves lyricism and landscapes out of percussion.

Medina has toured with bands with such warm, fuzzy names as Christian Death and After The Crash, shared the stage with immensely contrasting acts such as Jah Wobble and Eddie Money, and played the SXSW Festival, Panama Jazz Fest, and others between and beyond.  www.fernandodrums.com

"...the drums take a central stance...expressively textured, also charismatic and jaunty...he [Fernando Medina] weaves spells."
— Claudia Black, (CD review: From The Wild by Flight Behavior), Reflections of Darkness, London (Apr 27, 2022)

"Fernando has the technical skills of a professional classical musician, the creativity of a free jazz player, and the emotional capacity of a singer-songwriter. It's a powerful combination." — Robert Filippo, Strezo, Atlanta, GA