Thor Harris - With Anni Rossi (2020)

Shahzad and I met playing with Ben Frost. We played together on a few records for other people and decided we should make this record. We worked the late-night shift 8pm to 1am. Each night we put together a different ensemble. Luckily Anni Rossi was there for almost all the sessions. We played very quietly into room mics set up by Shahzad. Sxip brought in a bizarre assortment of gadgets. Mathew Binky Robinson was brilliant as ever. He played cello and other things that just happened to be hanging around the studio.

Shahzad's mom is a magical enchanted shaman. She was around during these sessions. What a blessing. She is a pshrynk and spent her working life caring for very insane people for the state of Pennsylvania. She talks with her hands and has long animated fingers. She is the spirit of this music. This music was made as a spiritual practice as opposed to entertainment. Think of it as a guided meditation or an acid trip in Prospect Park with a gentle tribe of weirdos, and it had just rained so everything is glistening. As we thru greed and mistrust of our fellow humans speed toward the abyss of extinction, it is important to remember the goodness and kindness that we are all capable of. Make connections. It matters. Music can often be a humbling and humiliating job. It is also about the highest calling there is. It is important to make music for the joy of doing it with a generosity of spirit.

If someone came to the studio and seemed to be open or sad or happy, I invited them to join the night's session. If they were some kind of virtuoso, they were generally encouraged to not play their main instrument. Because the personnel changed every night, each night had a specific character. They were all magic in different ways.

The 10 hours of music were then edited and mixed by Craig Ross back in Austin. Craig and I have worked on music together since 1984. His genius cannot be overstated. The recording studio is his natural environment.

Practitioners: Shahzad Ismaily, Thor Harris, Anni Rossi, Mathew "Binky" Robinson, Nate Mendelsohn, Sxip Shirey, Angelica Bess, Sarah k Pedinotti, Anna Kalmia Traver, Jeremy Gustin, Joey Viglietti, Katie Jacobson, and Dana Schechter.

- your humble servant, Thor Harris