Joshua Abrams

Joshua Abrams is one of Chicago’s most thoughtful and well-regarded musicians. Over the past two decades he has worked with a diverse range of forward-thinking artists including The Roots, Matana Roberts, Rhys Chatham, Loren Connors and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. At present, Abrams is focused on his own project, The Natural Information Society, whose 2015 album Magnetoception received major accolades across the globe for its intrepid, spiritual tone.

Centred around the guimbri, a Moroccan stringed instrument akin to a bass-banjo, Abrams’ music is meditative and subtle. Long-form, groove-based and repetitive, the compositions hold a rich, spatial quality. From these structural roots, the music expands slowly, filling itself in. Abrams & Co. develop mood-rooms and layer them with swathes of harmonium, celeste, clarinet, autoharp and other ornamentation. The rhythmic changes are as slight as sunlight passing through a hidden space. The expansive quality of the music recalls forerunners such as Don Cherry and the AACM, and hearkens further still, back to the trance-like healing music of the Gnawa from North Africa. Abrams music is an intricate reminder of how sounding and hearing are foundational modes of human feeling.

Eremite Records

Press
Pitchfork Best of 2015
Magnet Best of 2015
The Wire Best of 2015
Musicworks

Performing at Deep Water May 28th
Tickets | RSVP