SHAPE OF THE MOON

when the land is laid bare

Shape of the Moon is a cinematic poem band that performs twice a year under the night sky in the open desert outside Joshua Tree. Our cast of musicians waxes and wanes with each performance, hence the name. They improvise, play out for a bit, and I jump in when it feels right. This continues for 1-2 hours straight until we feel we’re done. Each track is a raw excerpt from one of these sessions, all of which are performed surrounded by an audience which is surrounded by a quadraphonic sound system which is monitored and controlled by someone in the cast, each input individually panned around the space on its own channel and manipulated via various synthesizers. We also tend to play somewhere around 4 in the morning. I’d really rather we didn’t. But we do.

Sound system by Mobius Acoustics

It’s best to listen to this album in the dark or with headphones. Special performance at Bombay Beach Biennale March 23, 2024.

Papa Bear - bass, synthesizer and Bukola; Yoon Lee - guitar, cahon and saxophone; Matt Yerge - singing bowls, gong and bells; Benjamin Burke - words

Anthony Bisset and Brian Hildebrand - synthesizers; Yoon Lee - guitar and saxophone; Benjamin Burke - words