Natural Information

VINYL FORMAT. Bassist and composer Joshua Abrams has been in the thick of Chicago's vibrant music scene for fifteen years, playing and recording as leader and sideman in projects across the genres. He co-founded the 'back porch minimalist' band Town & Country and with Matana Roberts and Chad Taylor, the trio Sticks & Stones. He has released four records under his own name as well as two under the moniker Reminder that navigate the realms of jazz and improvisation, electro-acoustic composition, beatmaking, minimalism and field recordings. Natural Information, Abrams' first record for Eremite, is another fascinating entry in a solo discography of recordings that gather aesthetic input from all over the map into vivid personal statements. At the heart of Natural Information is the guimbri, a three-stringed animal hide bass traditionally used by the Gnawa of North Africa in healing ceremonies. Combining solo, trio and quartet formats with adroit use of sampling techniques, Abrams creates intricate psychedelic environments that join the hypnotic, trance-like character of Gnawa guimbri music to more contemporary musics and methodologies. Brown Rice-era Don Cherry, Sandy Bull's "Blend" recordings & Can's "Magic" albums are super-heavy but in this case earned and appropriate points of historical reference. Mastered by Mike King of Reel Recordings, pressed on premium HQ-180 gram vinyl by RTI & presented in a heavyweight Stoughton "laserdisc" sleeve in an edition of 550 copies. Vinyl only!