A departure from previous ensemble, et al. albums, this collection of music was committed to tape without any premeditated forethought, rehearsals or collaborative writing sessions among the members of the group.  These loops, patterns and improvisations were captured in the moment at Minbal Studios in Chicago, IL on April 18, 2016. Tracking for ensemble, et al.’s ‘The Slow Reveal’ was scheduled to begin on this day, however, engineer and producer John McEntire was stuck in Japan due to a canceled flight.

Determined not to waste any time and to begin recording music immediately after driving half way across the country from New York to Chicago, ensemble, et al. hired local engineer, Andy Spillman to man the controls at Minbal to record ideas that sprang to mind on the spot for the group.The compositions are raw and unpolished with a certain sense of stasis. The recording session captured the group collaborating in real time and making decisions on the fly with more attention to ambiance than to narrative – in contrast to the compositions on ‘The Slow Reveal’, which were recorded in parallel. A certain narrative motion, if not proper narrative form, began to emerge during the mixing process, which was helmed by ensemble, et al. member Charlie Kessenich.

The tunes share a sense of uplifting melancholy and represent a specific moment in time for the creators. The tunes are presented here in chronological order in which they came to life.

This is ensemble, et al.’s travelogue.