Setting Shone A Rainbow Light On

Setting, befitting its name_which can be read as noun or verb, and simultaneously suggests the sun, orany star in the firmament from our earthbound perspective; a story and its surroundings, its scenic contextor mise en scène; or a psychedelic experience, as in the prescription to mind one's "set and setting"_aroseoutdoors, uncontained and unconstrained by architecture. The group's debut recordingShone a RainbowLight Ontraverses textural, phosphorescent topography with a certified organic folk-engine. Kosmischecorrespondences are inevitable and valid, but also somewhat deceptive, given this meditative music'sterrestrial rootedness in the familiar natural world, more in native humus and humidity than in outer space.Fueled by a vibratory hybrid of acoustic and electronic instrumentation, these four stately longform piecessound like a UFO slowly sinking into a peat bog (or, as we call it in North Carolina, a pocosin).An instrumental trio comprisingNathan Bowles(solo/trio,Pelt,Black Twig Pickers) on strings, keys,and percussion;Jaime Fennelly(Mind Over Mirrors,Peeesseye) on harmoniums, synthesizers, and pianozither; andJoe Westerlund(solo,Califone,Sylvan Esso,Jake Xerxes Fussell) on drums, percussion, andmetallophones, Setting established its own setting and found its footing in regularly scheduled improvisa-tional sessions outside Westerlund's home inDurham,North Carolina, beginning in 2021. The three playersbegan as two, in the context of occasional Bowles and Westerlund percussion duo performances dating backto 2018. Fennelly provided the initial impetus to gather and play together with intentionality and discipline,as well as an harmonic adhesive and thickening agent in the grain and gravity of his harmonium andsynthesizer. As always, Bowles's background as a pianist and drummer informs his approach to banjo,imparting a woodiness, a piney verticality and resinous tang. Westerlund's training withMilford Gravesisapp...