| Magnetoception | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2015 | |||
| Recorded | February 2013 | |||
| Studio | Attica Studios, Chicago | |||
| Genre | Free jazz, minimalism | |||
| Label | Eremite MTE-63/64 | |||
| Producer | Joshua Abrams, Michael Ehlers | |||
| Natural Information Society chronology | ||||
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Magnetoception is a 2015 album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joshua Abrams, on which he is joined by members of the Natural Information Society.
The album was recorded during February 2013 at Attica Studios in Chicago, and was released in 2015 on vinyl as a double LP set by Eremite Records. Led by Joshua Abrams on guimbri and double bass, the group features electric guitarists Emmett Kelly and Jeff Parker, autoharpist Ben Boye, harmonium player Lisa Alvarado, and drummer Hamid Drake. [1] [2] [3]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| The Free Jazz Collective |   [4] |
| Tom Hull – on the Web | B+ [5] |
In an article for The New York Times , Ben Ratliff described the music as "mov[ing] in regular rhythmic paces and according to compositional direction, but slowly, with lots of contemplative space, and with modern and ancient instruments," and wrote: "it's patient, layered music that's always heading somewhere, sometimes spare and sometimes complex and shimmering." [6]
Marc Masters of Pitchfork stated: "The members of Natural Information Society craft Abrams' songs like painters composing a landscape, or bricklayers constructing a building, with patience and devotion that values long goals over immediate gratification... There are hints of jazz, rock, raga, and many cultural musics, but it all feels singular." [7]
The Big Takeover's Randy Reynolds commented: "Magnetoception is Earth music. It doesn't have a specific locale or grab from easily accessed niche genres. It is music that is living, persisting and actively developing: it's also one of the best albums of 2015." [8]
Writing for Exclaim! , Bryon Hayes remarked: "It's easy to get lost in this music; the endless repetitive rhythms slowly burn their way through one's consciousness, binding with the listener at a deep level of existence... This music is spiritual, a set of vibrations meant to interlock with humanity's electrical thought impulses, designed to guide listeners to other worlds." [9]
In a review for the Detroit Metro Times , Mike McGonigal noted: "the ensemble has locked into deep grooves and layered sounds that are nothing short of hypnotic. This music is uncategorizable in the very best sense, and seriously approaches visionary realms." [10]
Dusted Magazine's Bill Meyer wrote: "Although the music is hypnotic, trance doesn't lead to easy bliss. The guitars add grit as well as languor, commanding sharpened attention rather than drift... It's not just a great set of grooves, but an antidote to the splintered attention of 21st century living." [11] Meyer also included the album in his list of 2015's "best jazz/improv releases of the year" for Magnet Magazine. [12]
Composed by Joshua Abrams.
Hamid Drake is an American jazz drummer and percussionist.
Strange Liberation is the 21st album by jazz trumpeter Dave Douglas. It was released on the Bluebird imprint of RCA Records in 2004. The album features the Dave Douglas Quintet plus guest guitarist Bill Frisell. The album received widespread critical acclaim and did well on the jazz album charts, reaching number three on Billboard's and number one on CMJ's.
Jeff Parker is an American guitarist and composer based in Los Angeles. Born in Connecticut and raised in Hampton, Virginia, Parker is best known as an experimental musician, working with jazz, electronic, rock, and improvisational groups. Parker studied at Berklee College of Music and then moved to Chicago in 1991.
Emmett Kelly is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is the primary songwriter and recording artist of The Cairo Gang, one half of The Double alongside drummer Jim White, one third of The CIA and a founding member of Clinamen. He has contributed vocal and instrumental work to a variety of international musical projects, appearing on recordings by the likes of Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Ty Segall, Angel Olsen, Azita, Joan of Arc, Edith Frost, Women and Children, John Webster Johns, Jeff Harms, Chicago poet/singer Marvin Tate, Matteah Baim, Japanese musician Takuma Watanabe, Earth Girl Helen Brown, Joshua Abrams and Rob Mazurek. Kelly has toured in several of the aforementioned acts in addition to with Baby Dee, CFM, Mikal Cronin, Sonny Smith, Beth Orton, and Terry Reid; and in other instances, performed live with Chan Marshall, Scott Tuma, Joan of Arc, and Pillars and Tongues. He is also one half of the band The Surf, The Sundried, and a founding member of Chicago's Psychojail.
Eremite Records is an independent American jazz record label founded in 1995 by Michael Ehlers, with early involvement from music writer Byron Coley. Ehlers was a student of Archie Shepp's at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. After college, he began producing concerts in the Amherst area, and Eremite evolved from those events. The label name came from an alternate title to the Thelonious Monk tune "Reflections": "Portrait of an Eremite". The label's logo, designed by Savage Pencil, is an image of a robed Joe McPhee playing soprano saxophone. Eremite organized a concert series in Western Massachusetts that ran through 2008 and produced roughly 100 concerts, including five Fire in the Valley festivals. From 1998–2018, Eremite managed a touring organization that arranged hundreds of concerts across North America for its artists.
Joshua Abrams is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist who plays the double bass and guimbri.
Lisa Alvarado is an American visual artist and harmonium player.
Natural Information Society is a music ensemble described as “ecstatic minimalism”. The group formed in 2010 and is led by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joshua Abrams. NPR called the group a "staple" of the underground music scene in Chicago. Their performances often include the paintings of Lisa Alvarado.
Descension (Out of Our Constrictions) is a live album by Natural Information Society, featuring guimbri player Joshua Abrams, bass clarinetist Jason Stein, harmonium player Lisa Alvarado, drummer Mikel Patrick Avery, and special guest soprano saxophonist Evan Parker. It was recorded on July 9, 2019, at Cafe Oto in London, and was released in 2021 by both Eremite Records, based in the United States, and Aguirre Records, a Belgian label.
Since Time Is Gravity is an album by the Natural Information Society Community Ensemble, led by double bassist and guimbri player Joshua Abrams. It was recorded on May 18, 2021, at the Graham Foundation in Chicago, Illinois, and on August 24, 2021, at Electrical Audio in Chicago, and was released in 2023 as a double-LP set by both Eremite Records, based in the United States, and Aguirre Records, a Belgian label. On the album, Abrams is joined by alto saxophonists Nick Mazzarella and Mai Sugimoto, bass clarinetist Jason Stein, cornetists Josh Berman and Ben Lamar Gay, harmonium player Lisa Alvarado, harpist Kara Bershad, percussionists Mikel Patrick Avery and Hamid Drake, and a guest artist, tenor saxophonist Ari Brown.
Father of Origin is a box set album by multi-instrumentalist Juma Sultan and his open-ended ensemble the Aboriginal Music Society. Drawn from Sultan's archive of recorded material, and released by Eremite Records in 2011, it consists of two vinyl LPs, a CD, and a book containing photos and an extensive essay by jazz scholar Michael Heller, all of which help to document aspects of the loft jazz era of the early 1970s.
Mandatory Reality is a 2019 album by guimbri player Joshua Abrams and the Natural Information Society.
Simultonality is a 2017 album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joshua Abrams and the Natural Information Society.
Mind Maintenance is an album by the duo of the same name, featuring Joshua Abrams on guimbri and Chad Taylor on mbira. It was released on vinyl in 2021 by the Drag City label.
Cipher is an album by double bassist and composer Joshua Abrams. It was recorded at two Chicago locations, Riverside Studios and the Empty Bottle, and was released in 2003 by Delmark Records. On the album, Abrams is joined by saxophonist and clarinetist Guillermo Gregorio, trumpeter Axel Dörner, and guitarist Jeff Parker.
Automaginary is a 2015 collaborative album by the Natural Information Society and Bitchin Bajas.
Ithra is an album by saxophonist Dave Rempis, cellist Tomeka Reid, and double bassist Joshua Abrams. Consisting of eight improvised tracks, it was recorded on December 18th, 2017, at Elastic Arts in Chicago, and was released in 2018 by Aerophonic Records.
Represencing is a 2012 album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joshua Abrams, on which he is joined by members of the Natural Information Society.
Blissful is the second album by drummer Hamid Drake and his group Bindu. It was recorded on July 12 and 13, 2007, at Soma Electronic Music Studios in Chicago, Illinois, and was issued on CD in 2008 by Rogueart. On the album, Drake is joined by vocalist Dee Alexander, guitarists Joe Morris and Jeff Parker, and double bassists Josh Abrams and William Parker. Lyrics were written by the 18th-century poet Ramprasad Sen, and were excerpted from Mother of the Universe: Visions of the Goddess and Tantric Hymns of Enlightenment by Lex Hixon.
Reggaeology is the third album by American drummer Hamid Drake and his group Bindu. Tracks 1 through 6 were recorded during May 6–8, 2009, at Soma Electronic Music Studios in Chicago, Illinois, while the remaining track was recorded on July 28, 2009, at Sape Shoppe Studio in Chicago. The recording, which blends jazz and reggae, was released on CD in 2010 by Rogueart. On the album, Drake is joined by vocalist Napoléon Maddox, who also provided most of the lyrics, trombonists Jeff Albert and Jeb Bishop, guitarist Jeff Parker, and double bassist Josh Abrams.