About this item

Chord is Trevor de Brauw (of Chicago instrumentalists Pelican), Kyle Benjamin (guitarist for Chicago's Unfortunaut), Jason Hoffman (a.k.a. darkwave composer Anatole), and Phil Dole (of uber-dronists X-Bax). Chord devised an outline that lived for many months in the realm of conversation. With a shared appreciation for the works of Tony Conrad and Glenn Branca the group formulated a collective vision: exploit and explore the sonic depth of a single chord. Chord performances consist of each player being assigned one note from a pre-selected chord. They are then expected to consider all ranges of flexibility concerning octave, rhythm, playing style and effect treatments. The overall effect Chord generates is that of a single note being rendered into an unsolvable riddle - a harmonic Gordian knot that creates an almost pastoral feel of being blinded by the sun. The rejection of melody and structure in favour of sweeping and epic tones inspires a sense of rousing apprehension.