The nucleus of 2% Majesty is Kyla Cech and Ryan Sullivan. Kyla plays violin and Ryan plays guitar. They both sing. The duo formed in Portland, OR in 2004, they now live in Chicago. Since October they have been joined by Gary James (Lacona, Shelley Short, Sharks and Seals) on bass, and Jamie Carter (Shelley Short) on percussion/drums.

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PRESS

"Forlorn and frantic, 2% Majesty's acoustic guitar, violin, and boy/girl vocals is somehow still fun, gentle, and occasionally silly enough to be children's music. There is something simultaneously timeless and immediate about 2% Majesty. A sweet couple from North Portland, Ryan plays acoustic guitar and Kyla plays violin. 2 Percent uses these traditional instruments to create a folk band with a classical twist. Ryan's haunting powerfully masculine voice has a strong texture and huge levels of personality without over-compensating emotively. Throaty and deep, he is still able to range quite high when pushed, quite reminiscent of a less flamboyant Cat Stevens. His voice is a nice companion to the sweet feminine soft spoken and understated vocals of Kyla. Beneath the playful and obvious lyric imagery (animals, nature), I detect secret lust like sexy beat-era love poems.

Whether intentional or not, the quilt on the cover of this cd is a great metaphor for the songs. A folk song is a minimal pop song and a blanket covers you while you sleep. The song's folky texture could tempt one to immediately identify and dismiss the layers. With a critical paring knife, I find myself slicing layers of skin away from the songs only to have to carve another beneath. There isn't a wasted note, chord, or verse on this album, giving it more of a jazz quality than pop."
(08/12/05 - JAMES SQUEAKY), Sincere Brutality
www.sincerebrutality.com

"Both 2% Majesty and LA's Foot Foot could be unfairly lumped in with this horrifically flooded and largely snoozy "new/outsider/freak folk" vibe, but both bands are self-realized and creatively expansive enough to refute any pigeonholing. 2% Majesty runs a swath of Bowie-ish grandeur through their extremely sparse guitar, violin and dual-voice-based songs. Though sonically stark, their songs radiate an epic air and laser-pointed empathy."
-SAM MICKENS, The Portland Mercury

"...While watching Cech scratch at her violin like a freak-out kitten with too much energy, staring out above the audience of 12 like they weren’t even there, I realized something: it was like they weren’t even there. These dudes were playing for the love of the art form, and it was genuinely impressive. You could sense that if no one had showed up, they would have put in the same intense effort for just Jim and the sound-girl. Music as an art, not a career. Even without a single rocking lick or Fuzz Box, 2% Majesty embodied the soul of rock and roll: you do it because you love it."
-GLENN DUGAN, Los Angeles Alternative

"Portland duo 2% Majesty, or Kyla Cech and Ryan One, seem like they're 2 percent sane. Between a guitar and a violin, they sing lyrics you might expect from the mouth of a schizophrenic child. And despite reality, the North Portland couple makes spacebirds and powerboats seem wonderfully relevant. It's all very Portland and very fun."
(12/5/05- JOSHUA HEINEMAN), Willamette Week

"Playing off one another, and with one another, the band 2% Majesty—an acoustic duo from Portland, Ore.—creates one sweet yet indescribable sound. Violinist/vocalist Klyla Cech and guitarist/vocalist Ryan One weave together melodies that could be labeled folk if it weren’t for the psych-like harmonies cutting in and out. Their lyrics are about powerboats, spacebirds and electrocution, which makes the band even harder to pigeonhole."
-San Diego City Beat

"2% Majesty have been performing its increasingly impressive songs with the dynamism of a wild beast. Guitar player Ryan One stomps his feet on the floor for the drums, and the beautiful Kyla Cech works the strings of the violin with verve and precision. Both engage in comp-licated yet simple-sounding melodies that grab the audience. Sea Mummy, the group's newest album, is an exquisite collection of rock songs that also draw influence from jazz, folk and improvisation."
(10/14/05- AMY VECHIONE), Portland Tribune

"This striking, subdued violin/guitar duo makes astonishing, subdued music. Recalling the sore-throated earnestness of Smog, the unrelenting force of Xiu Xiu and the it's-all-I-have-but-you're-welcome-to-it honesty of the Raincoats, 2% Majesty are one of Portland's most consistantly creative, challenging, and exciting bands today."
-Jackpot Records

"So why is it that, with all this talk of the new traditionalist acoustic revival going on, most of these revered artists seem to be popping up out of metropolises like New York and L.A.? We live in Oregon for Chrissakes, home of pine trees, hot springs, the Country Fair and the birthplace of Ken Kesey. So shouldn't we have a legion of these coming out of the woodwork by default? Thankfully we do have a group like guitar and violin duo Two Percent Majesty (or 2PM for short). Closet hippies, Kyla Cech and Ryan One serve up songs about sharks and spacebirds on their new record Sea Mummy. The album is a pleasant collection of sparse, sing-songy numbers that invoke strumming indie bands like the Vaselines as well as more melancholic folk influences."
-JOSH BLANCHARD, The Portland Mercury