Tag Archives: experimental

Chicago experimental jazz creatives Jason Stein & Adam Shead join forces on challenging but rewarding new album, Synaptic Atlas

Courtesy of Ears & Eyes Records

Envelope-pushing bass clarinetist Jason Stein is no stranger in contributing to spellbinding jazz albums. His impactful playing on Chicago trio Threadbare’s debut earlier this year propelled the record to the cutting edge of contemporary jazz.

And now, unfinished with releasing music in 2020, Stein partners with Chicago journeyman drummer, Adam Shead, to create a new harmonious and chaotic collaboration titled Synaptic Atlas. The eight-track, 43-minute experimental romp is full of background chatter, exclamations and sounds of objects crashing to the ground, giving the impression that the playing of the duo is so powerful that it knocks over everything in its radius. Continue reading Chicago experimental jazz creatives Jason Stein & Adam Shead join forces on challenging but rewarding new album, Synaptic Atlas

ONO surveys America’s history of racial injustices on biting new album, Red Summer

Photo Courtesy of American Dreams Records

Red Summer, the sixth and latest album by avant gospel innovators ONO, marks the Chicago group’s 40 anniversary with a record that surveys the many racial injustices of American history and indicts the authorities that permitted it. Continue reading ONO surveys America’s history of racial injustices on biting new album, Red Summer

The Necks ponders its identity and legacy on Three, a personal album that’s as accessible as it is challenging

Photo Courtesy of Northern Spy Records

The bustling, unrestrained soundscapes created by The Necks are unmistakable. Since the late 80s, the Australian trio has blended jazz, ambient and experimental music to form lengthy, hypnotic pieces. And by developing an instrumental formula of piano, drums and bass — with the occasional organ and guitar — the band has won a dedicated following that seems to grow with every new album. Continue reading The Necks ponders its identity and legacy on Three, a personal album that’s as accessible as it is challenging

In light of a cancelled tour, Uniform & The Body release collaborative album, Live at the End of the World

This spring, Brooklyn noise rock duo Uniform and Rhode Island experimental metal band The Body planned to bring their latest collaboration, Everything That Dies Someday Comes Back, to life with a string of North American tour dates. But, after only a handful of shows, the supergroup was forced to cancel the remainder of their tour given the nationwide outbreak of COVID-19. Continue reading In light of a cancelled tour, Uniform & The Body release collaborative album, Live at the End of the World