Often when presented with new music, you don’t really know how special what you’ve just received really is. But other times, it is clear from the get-go that you’re handling something potent, that the music you’re about to hear is going to leap out of the digital format and grab you by heart. That was the case from with Nous and their upcoming album, Nous II. Billed as a “an improvisational gathering of experimental and contemporary classical players”, Nous’s lineup should be enough to sell it to any fan of post-rock. It is made up of Christopher Bono (Ghost Against Ghost), Greg Fox (Guardian Alien, ex-Liturgy), Shahzad Ismaily (Yoko Ono), Thor Harris (Swans) and Grey Mcmurray (itsnotyouitsme, So Percussion).
But more than just their pedigree, the music of Nous speaks for itself. It is made up of this enchanting, heady, and entirely infections mix of classical music and post-rock. It was also recorded utilizing improvisational techniques which lend the album an unbridled energy that is hard to resist. Things frazzle at the edges, popping and crackling from the unkempt energies which motivated their recording. “Here In My Chest It Is What It Is”, which we are proud to premiere here today, is a fantastic example of these techniques and unique approaches. Says the project:
This piece was presented to the musicians as a series of short cellular musical ideas that they were suggested to play within a set amount of time, but then could move forward and backwards through the ideas based on the intuition of the player in the musical moment.
This kind of process is what gives the track both its agility and its joy de vivre, a kind of bouncing inflection that’s hard to resist. Instead of relying on post-rock’s build-up-and-release structure, the instruments weave in and out, the flutes clashing with the strings, the piano working as if by blind intuition with the drums. Everything melds into one complete song, dancing around common themes, but not by force of will but rather by grace of freedom, guided only lightly by the excellent composition.
The entire album benefits from this unique approach and sound, creating a captivating and moving piece of music. You can head on over to the Bandcamp link above to pre-order it or click through to the label’s store right here. There’s also a fantastic video of the recording of this track which you can see here.