NOUS
NOUS I: A Musical Rite
Ya Ma Toh
Kabay
This Winter Can Not Last
Dancing Marvels
Not All Seeds Fail
Shumisah
Original Energy
The Un-Led
Beneath
Transitory Reality
While in the calm, wintry, forest solitude of Dreamland Recording Studio and in line with the definition of Nous, each day the artists will apply meditative techniques taking them further away from everyday, habitual mind states in order to provide an opportunity for a higher intuition to expand. During the three or four studio sessions per day, the approach will cycle between indeterminate and free improvisation, guided conceptual visualizations/esoteric graphics, meditations from different philosophical or esoteric traditions, mantric, chant, poetry and language experiments, and concepts derived solely from general musical or movement related guidelines. Many of the specifically musical ideas may be guided by certain tonal areas, interval restrictions, and modular rhythmic or melodic fragments.
Though most of the artists know each other, they have never played together as a group and so the style of music that will result is difficult to predict. However, the influences for the project are drawn from elements of Post-Rock, Minimalism, Indeterminacy, World, Kraut-Rock, Psychedelic/Experimental Rock, Neo-Shamanism, Noise, Ambient, Drone, Folk Chant, and Free Jazz. (Within the widely varied careers of the various musicians, there is at least one connection to each of these genres.)
NOUS I BAND MEMBERS
• Christopher Bono: keyboards, electronics, percussion, vocals
• Caleb Burhans: violin, viola
• Greg Fox: drums, percussion, electronics
• Thor Harris: drums, percussion, custom built instruments
• Shahzad Ismaily: electronics, guitar, bass
• Grey Mcmurray: guitar, percussion
SPECIAL GUESTS:
• Clarice Jensen: cello
• Cecilie Hafstad: vocals, percussion
• Jen Kutler: assistant engineer, percussion, vocals
• Laura Lutzke: violin
• Kevin McMahon: producer, engineering, mixing
• HariPrakaash: gong
• Anthony Molina: synths, percussion
• Alex Sopp: flute
• Imago: cello
• Laraaji & Arji (Zither, Ambient Sounds)
• Akil Davis and Loud Sol Productions
PRESS
New York Times “Organized by the young and enterprising composer Christopher Bono, who brought together a wise, post-category, electric and acoustic 12-person crew”
Brooklyn Vegan “You couldn't pigeonhole it into one genre if you tried -- it goes from eerie David Lynchian soundscapes to Eastern melodies to avant-garde jazz drum freakouts to a million other places, all while remaining strangely accessible.”
TimeOut “That promising cabal has surrounded itself with an all-star band... basically guaranteeing that whatever bubbles up tonight, it's going to be worth hearing.”
WATCH VIDEO OF THE STUDIO SESSIONS
