Finally got a CD I completely forgot buying on eBay, a one-off side-project by the guys behind my favorite band Collections of Colonies of Bees. A lot of recordings these guys have done have relied on the setting of their performance for a lot of mood, and I think this one really goes all out with that.



The Portable Quartet is Jon Mueller (percussion), Chris Rosenau (banjo), Jim Schoenecker (oscillator), and Thomas Wincek (melodica). In early June, 2005, a select group of people were mailed invitations with detailed instructions of the time, date, and which train to board at the Milwaukee Amtrak station. Then, on June 25, after a 30 minute train ride south, the attendees arrived in Sturtevant, WI. Upon their entry into the 100-year-old empty train station, this performance by The Portable Quartet began; the combined sounds of banjo strings, human breath blown through a tube, vibrating drum snares from gong recordings, and the whizzing tones of the oscillator, all while an unknown set of false teeth lay on the ground near the attendee’s feet.

In this grouping, the individual histories of the players mesh. Moments of fragile country silence, back porch finger picking, and strange machinery combine with bombastic squeals and rattling chugs. Recorded using both analog and digital equipment, the recorded mix allows both methods to be heard at various points; the dusty sound of old tape and the clarity of new technology, so as to listen in the ‘past’ and ‘present.’ This night was a celebration; of chance, adventure, history, present moments, and life one step ahead of the imminent future we all face. After approximately one hour, another train arrived to pick everyone up and take them home. A few months later, the station was demolished.

IT OWNS. It's out of print (limited run of 100) and the only search results I can find for it are their record labels own bio, so that's kind of criminal, because these guys are brilliant. And amazing. And I want them to be my girlfriend.