Doors at 7:30pm, show at 8:00pm
Cathartic, invigorating, tight, open, assiduous, unpretentious: these are emblematic of Mute Duo’s music, which features Sam Wagster on pedal steel and Skyler Rowe on percussion. Migrant Flocks, their second LP with American Dreams, synthesizes their wide-ranging influences and techniques into a striking document of singular music. It’s sharp, dynamic, understated, inventive, and their first album to bring the power of their concerts onto record.
At its core, Mute Duo’s music is fundamentally expansive, blowing past preconceived notions of “genre” while staying rooted in the qualities that bring it to bear. “In terms of human movement,” Wagster says, “the different motives for migration came to mind: people fleeing an increasingly hostile climate or hostile political circumstances; people leaving home for a chance at a better economic situation; or—as is the case for both of us—a cultural migration, where one is drawn away from where they grew up by creative sounds, ideas and the opportunity to participate in a progressive artistic community.” Dualities like these underpin Migrant Flocks, which both revels in the focused experimentation characteristic of Chicago musicians and looks outward. Listen as a unique band soars to new heights.
KVL, is the improvising trio of Quin Kirchner (drums, sampler, electronics), Daniel Van Duerm (keyboards, electronics) & Matthew Lux (bass, electronics). Their brand of call-it-whatever-you-want jazz has many of the same meditative and ambient qualities. You'll find Van Duerm's repetitive and winding organ lines against Kirchner's steady & insistent beats with Lux's steady & subtle bass lines throughout.
They'll span the "free jazz" genre expertly, their most recent album Volume 2 really gets into the expanse of their expertise with the tune "Interconnectivity Suite," a stunning 10 minute journey through fields of experimental electronics, dub groove rhythm section interludes that are so tight you could wind your clock to them, ruminative electric piano and eventually ending back into a world of lush tranquility.