Category: Blog

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“Rebar Redux” is the first single from the new album A Career in Architecture by my group Gift Horse (with Matthew Hord & Ryley Walker). The song premiered on Flood (“the duo of Jonathan Schenke and Matthew Hord have since expanded into a trio, enlisting songwriter Ryley Walker to accent their sound with guitar shredding that adds a whole new dimension to the 11 songs on their newly announced second LP, A Career in Architecture“), and was featured in both Raven Sings the Blues (“the band turns the pressure cooker atmosphere into a sound that pits industrial and post-punk textures against Walker’s glowing desert blues leads”) and Stereogum as well. Here’s what I wrote for Flood:

“Rebar Redux” is the song we’ve always used to close our live sets, and has been a longtime fan favorite. Every performance is unique, from the earlier iterations around the first cassette, into more expansive versions with Ryley, often stretching beyond the 10 minute mark. For this recording, we tracked the song live in the studio to capture that unrestrained dynamic. We decided to take a similar approach with the video: director Rebecca Shenfeld filmed a live take with a 360 camera, editing and effecting the footage to match the intensity of the song.

A Career in Architecture is out November 6 on Husky Pants.

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“Child” is the first single & first song from Doomed, the new album by Andy Boay (1/2 of Tonstartssbandht). The song was shared on Stereogum (“a little bit Panda Bear, a little bit Westerman, with falsetto flying all over the place over percolating lysergic guitar that feels melodic and deeply percussive all at once”), Raven Sings the Blues (“embraces the vocal gymnastics of his past releases, tumbling through his saturated wonderland with thrumming bass, percolating keys, and sunshine harmonies”), New Commute (“weaving electric sitar and floating keyboard vocal pads into an expansive web of sound”) and others. I’ve been a fan of Andy’s work for many years and a friend of his over the last couple, so it was a delight to mix & master this album with him at Studio Windows. Make sure to check out the video for the song by Rebecca Shenfeld (who made the video for my song “The Parallel”) below. Doomed is out October 2 via Does Are.

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Silk Fence is Arian Shafiee (Guerilla Toss), Booker Stardrum (SML), and Justin Frye (PC Worship) – three of the most talented musicians I’ve worked with over the years – and they’ve announced their self-titled album with the song “(A)RT”. New Commute calls it “a paranoid, half-human blob of sound waves stretching its own skin to capacity, leaving you unsure whether this growing entity is leaning toward good or evil”. Recorded live in Bethel, NY, the group brought the tracks to me to mix, layering tape loops and other sounds in the process. I mastered it at Studio Windows as well. These songs are hypnotic and groovy, and I’m excited to be able to finally share some of it! Silk Fence (the record) is out October 9 via Sophomore Lounge (Ryan Davis).

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“Manifest” is the newest single from NYC’s dream-pop artist Frankie Rose, from her upcoming album HILA. Northern Transmissions premiered the song, which I cowrote with Frankie and Matthew Hord (my bandmate in Gift Horse), and played additional synths on it as well. Frankie produced & recorded the album herself, Trey Frye (Korine) mixed it, and Josh Bonati did another stellar master. If you liked Frankie’s last record Love as Projection or her & Matthew’s album as Fine Place (a personal fave), you’ll love this new album too. Check out the video below, and head over to Bandcamp to pre-order… HILA is out September 18 on Born Losers (US) and Night School (EU).

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NYC egg-punks CS Cleaners have released their debut full-length What’s This? on Wharf Cat Records. Treble calls it “a little no wave, a little dancepunk, and a lot of agitated fun.” That’s a very apt description – the band nails a sweet spot for sure – and I had a lot of fun mixing it too! The album was recorded at Thump by Mark Bennett, I mixed it at Studio Windows, and Carl Saff did the masters. You gotta love the artwork too!! What’s This? is out now on Wharf Cat Records.

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Future Present Past – the new album by Irreversible Entanglements is out now. I’ve seen a handful of glowing reviews, including in The Quietus (“an album that offers hope and joy in the process of resistance”), Jazz Times (“a collective practice that treats improvisation not as exploration but as necessity”), Big Takeover (“not only a great album, but an important one”), and others.

The album is based on hours of improvisational recording at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio and Pioneer Works by group – Camae Ayewa (aka Moor Mother), Luke Stewart, Aquiles Navarro, Keir Neuringer, and Tcheser Holmes. I worked with them at Studio Windows to edit & shape the arrangements, providing additional production and recording as well; Andrew Lappin mixed the album in LA, and Heba Kadry mastered it. The songs range from percussion based jams (featuring vocals from Helado Negro), to wild exploratory free-jazz workouts, to more pop-song shaped groovers, many of which feature additional vocals by Motherboard (Kyle Kidd). Working with the group on this record was truly inspiring and a lot of fun, and I feel like that comes across on the album…. I love the way it came together. Future Present Past is out now on Impulse Records – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

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Free-jazz explorers Irreversible Entanglements return with two new singles: “Don’t Lose Your Head” and “Vibrate Higher”. The singles are from their forthcoming album Future Present Past, and were featured on Pitchfork, Stereogum, Northern Transmissions, and many other outlets. The group – comprising Camae Ayewa (aka Moor Mother), Luke Stewart, Aquiles Navarro, Keir Neuringer, and Tcheser Holmes – recorded hours of improvisations at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio and Pioneer Works, and I worked with them at Studio Windows across last summer/fall to edit & shape the arrangements, providing additional production and recording as well. Andrew Lappin mixed the album in LA, and Heba Kadry mastered it. Motherboard (aka Kyle Kidd) and Helado Negro (aka Roberto Lange) guest on multiple tracks. Working with the group on this album was a wonderful experience, and the resulting album is extremely exciting! Check out the two singles below – Future Present Past is out March 27 via Impulse Records.

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Chicago art-rock trio Facing have released their debut album Temporary Bodies. Described as “sultry, atmospheric alt-pop” by The Chicago Reader, these songs combine the best parts of post-punk, trip hop, and electronic manipulations into a singular whole. The album was recorded by the group, was mixed by Kirk Rawlings and Doug Malone at Jamdek in Chicago, and mastered by yours truly at Studio Windows. I’m a big fan – definitely worth checking this one out!! Temporary Bodies is out now (on limited edition vinyl and digital) via No Gold.

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Constant Smiles – the ever-shifting collective led by Ben Jones – has released their newest album Moonflowers. The album has received great press- 4.5 stars on Allmusic (“An album that feels like a secret worth sharing, Moonflowers is an elegant, empathetic balm for this time, and for all time”), a writeup on Brooklyn Vegan (thanks for the shoutout Bill!), and a feature on Line Of Best Fit. The group recorded the album with Philip Weinrobe, who also did preliminary mixing; Katie Von Scheicher mixed the song “Everything is Personal”; and I worked with Ben to see the album through to completion: contributing additional recording, resampling for interludes, mixing two songs (“Introduction” and “Allowed to Be”), additional mixing on the rest, and mastering the whole set at Studio Windows. It’s a beautiful record based around hushed acoustic guitar & vocals and tasteful bass & drums, with a lush backdrop of collaborators including Cassandra Jenkins, Shazad Ismaly, Fred Thomas, and many more. Moonflowers is out now (on LP + Digital, with an limited edition zine) via Felte.

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Oh! by my group P.E. is out now. This is the last one, written and recorded 2021-2023, and mixed & mastered earlier this year at Studio Windows. It has some of my favorite songs we ever did, riding the wave from The Leather Lemon, through the rotating case of the NOPE era, and cresting into the time when “the boys” took the mic. Bill Pearis at Brooklyn Vegan penned a lovely review, writing “the group have decided to call it quits, but not before throwing one hell of a farewell party on their third and final album. It’s sad to see them go, but Oh! is a terrific way to bow out.”

We made a ton of music together since 2018 – three albums, four mixtapes, an EP, some covers and remixes, along with a bunch of stuff no one ever needs to hear… and we played a lot of fun shows too. Endless thanks to Trip & Doug at Wharf Cat Records for being such massive supporters from the very beginning. Oh! is out now (deluxe, limited, and standard edition vinyl + digital) via Wharf Cat Records.