Los Angeles’ own cosmic voyagers, Jeremiah Chiu and violist Marta Sofia Honer, have offered another tantalizing glimpse into their forthcoming album, Different Rooms. Their latest dispatch, Side by Side, finds the duo in esteemed company, joined by the ever-exploratory guitarist Jeff Parker. The track is a potent teaser for the full-length, which is slated to arrive on June 20 via the reliably forward-thinking International Anthem.
“Side by Side” unfurls with Parker’s signature touch—a mesmerizing sprawl of deconstructed and looped guitar lines that coalesce into a stirring, almost cinematic, melodic soundscape. Honer’s lush string arrangements elevate the track’s atmospheric pull while Chiu’s modular synthesizer builds from a subtle hum in the background, slowly asserting its presence. Subtly complex and deeply rewarding, we’re looking forward to hearing more.
Talking about the collaboration, Chiu and Honer say: “This record marks an evolution in our approach to studio production. Our studios are side-by-side. When we were writing this album, you might have found us tracking viola stacks in one studio while, in the other, we were writing through-composed themes and rearranging the material. Granular synthesis and tape manipulation are key tools we use to create variation and movement in a composition. This process often yields surprising results, capturing the emotion but expressing it in unexpected ways. It feels essential that we embrace a bit of chance.”
Different Rooms is out June 20, preorder it here.
