Not long ago, I was killing time downtown before an appointment. I know a place that serves decent coffee, but more than that, the place gives me something that never fails to raise my spirit and set my chi to chill. I was watching someone making bagels, of all things — but it was ART in a pure form.
I get the same easy feeling from listening to Joshua Abrams’ guimbri-guided Natural Information Society play. In mid/late-April (release date TBC), everyone will be able to experience the same wonderful brain bliss when Eremite Records releases the new Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society album entitled Mandatory Reality.
NIS’s circuitous tone builders lend themselves to nothing less than a double album and Mandatory Reality will indeed be a 2xCD/2xLP package. With cover art by Natural Information Society mainstay Lisa Alvarado and liner notes by Alan Licht, Mandatory Reality features JA&NIS players Abrams (guimbri), Alvarado (gongs and harmonium), Mikel Avery (gongs and tam tam), Ben Boye (piano), Hamid Drake (table), Ben Lamar Gay (cornet), Nick Mazzarella (alto saxophone), and Jason Stein (bass clarinet).
A video excerpt of “Finite” can be seen and heard below. Check back with Eremite soon for pre-sales and remember kids: you don’t kill time, time kills you.
Mandatory Reality tracklisting:
01. In Memory’s Prism
02. Finite
03. Shadow Conductor
04. Agree
Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society live:
03.07.19 - Chicago, IL - Art Institute of Chicago #
03.09.19 - Budapest, Hungary - Trafó
03.12.19 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Cankarjev Dom
03.13.19 - Dudingen, Switzerland - Bad Bonn Kilbi Festival
03.14.19 - Zurich, Switzerland - Taklos
03.15.19 - Lausanne, Switzerland - Le Bourg
03.18.19 - Milan, Italy - Santeria Social Club
03.19.19 - Staranzano, Italy - DobiaLab
03.20.19 - Bratislava, Slovakia - A4
# Body/Head