Out of the Rain, the Thunder, and the Lightning

The Faraway Places is both a space-rock band with 5-14 people, and a modal energy music ensemble that performs omniphonic compositions at art-spaces. Both formations of the group paint in broad strokes of volume and free-form repetition, combining tuneful California pop slackness with a driving 60s experimentalism. Within the sheets of sound produced by the ensemble you can find the pulsing mechanical rhythms of Can, harmonies reminiscent of the Mamas and Papas, the angular guitars of the Byrds and Royal Trux, the cosmic sprawl of Sun Ra's Arkestra, and the rock and roll kick of T.Rex. The song-structures are finely-crafted but minimalist, allowing various instruments to weave in and out until they combine to form breaking waves of transcendental noise.