There’s plenty of context behind the experimental group NOUS, the project recently founded by composer Christopher Bono, and whose current iteration features present and former members of groups as diverse as Liturgy (Greg Fox), Laurie Anderson (Shahzad Ismaily), Swans (Thor Harris), Shearwater (Harris), and itsnotyouitsme (Greg McMurray).
However, context kinda ruins the appeal of NOUS, who’ve excelled at creating spontaneous-sounding, heavily percussive recordings since their self-titled debut back in 2018. Rarely has this improvisational appeal been so strong as it is on the collective’s second single from their forthcoming NOUS III, “Never Can It Be,” which they’re sharing today with a complementary video of their jam sesh.
“‘Never Can It Be’ manifested during one of the devoted periods of open, unguided jams interspersed between the rigorous six-day schedule of specific improvisational ideas and conceptual cues,” shares Bono. “It was one of the magical moments of pure no-thought that yielded some of the best material from the sessions.”
Watch the clip below, and expect NOUS III on May 29 via Our Silent Canvas. You can pre-order the record here.
