NOUS
Ensemble
Post-category improvisation as devotional practice.
About
NOUS is an experimental ensemble created and curated by Christopher Bono. The A Musical Rite sessions took place over seven days at Dreamland Recording Studio in upstate New York. Artists used yoga, sound meditation, mantras, and body percussion before moving to instruments.
The core musicians included Christopher Bono, Caleb Burhans, Greg Fox, Thor Harris, Shahzad Ismaily, and Grey Mcmurray. Participants included Cecilie Hafstad, Clarice Jensen, and Alex Sopp.
The New York Times described NOUS as "a wise, post-category, electric and acoustic 12-person crew."
Featured
Releases
Artists
Press
“often sounds like contemporary classical viewed through an extreme metal lens, and the result is pretty exciting stuff.”
Brooklyn Veganon NOUS III
“spontaneous-sounding, heavily percussive recordings”
Flood Magazineon NOUS III
“a hypnotic piece of moody post rock, balancing vibraphone pulses with urgent drumming and some dusty strands of noir guitar and strings. It's stunning.”
Trebleon NOUS III
“The collective conjures a transfixing instrumental display that keeps with the band's 'Godspeed You! Black Emperor playing krautrock' ethos… my most anticipated album dropping this month”
Heavy Blog is Heavyon NOUS III
“shows collaborators deep in the flow with layered percussion, an undertow of groove, wordless vocals and multiple peaks and valleys as the 4 minutes stretch into an infinite ocean of sound. Incredible work.”
Tome To The Weather Machineon NOUS III
“Circle of Celebration is a stirring ode to the power of collaboration, but also, in simpler terms, to music's role as a vehicle for sheer joy.”
Loud and Quieton Circle of Celebration
“Hearing his (Laraaji) baritone soar over this endlessly groovy, locked in composition from Christopher Bono's NOUS project is a joyous flash of life.”
Tome to the Weather Machineon Circle of Celebration
“Textured and bucolic, its 10 pieces are gently rhythmic tapestries of new age melody, wordless vocals, dubwise undulation and, pleasingly, cascades of actual laughter”
Mojoon Circle of Celebration
“It is hard to express exactly how uplifting this music is, how it creates a bright, lucid, dreamlike space and maintains excitement and calm somehow simultaneously”
Dustedon Circle of Celebration