DIY can be many things, and none of them are certain – maybe it’s more control, maybe it’s better money, maybe it’s higher risk, higher reward, etc. In a word, DIY is treacherous. But despite the what-ifs, DIY often defines the border between amateur and professional, and one of the absolute most professional DIY assassins we know is Patrick Shiroishi.
Even as a math rock blog, we hesitate to even count the projects that the saxophonist has been associated with – it’s a huge amount, and much of it released within a window of a few short years. He’s like the new Adrián Terrazas-Gonzalez. Man, maybe we should do an article on that soon. Of course by the time we put it out, Shiroishi will have released another dozen records, but we’d be stoked on the homework.
Speaking of, Fuubutsushi, the musical hive mind featuring Shiroishi, Matthew Sage, Chaz Prymek, and Chris Jusell, have finally put out Meridians, a blissful odyssey through what might best be described as ambient post-rock meets meditative jazz. Shiki, the group’s expansive debut made a pretty big splash in various communities, and we imagine this one will do the same. It’s massive in scope, rarely repeats itself, and envelops listeners in its diverse set of themes.
The record is also intensely DIY, to the point that the band is skipping Bandcamp for this release in favor of hosting it directly through Sage’s Cached.Media website.
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Check out the rest of it here.
The album’s timeless feel is partway inspired by time itself, actually – much like the group’s debut tetralogy of albums Shiki, there’s a heavy theme running throughout. For Shiki it was the course of the four seasons, and for Meridians, it’s a mantra on the separate yet simultaneous experience of time. Check out this blurb from the press release:
“… The quartet maintains their usual roles, with their usual flexibilities too; Jusell on violin, Prymek on guitars, Sage on keys and percussion, Shiroishi on saxophones. It’s not unusual for members to veer far from their allotted lanes though; Jusell may suddenly erupt on vibraphone, or Sage may curl through a song on warbling clarinet, Shiroishi’s serene voice is more angelic and more prominently featured than ever, and Prymek’s ambient Americana touches lend the album a shimmering and pastoral delicacy. Across the four sides, or time zones, of the album – Pacific, Mountain, Central, Eastern – the group continues their liquid explorations of melody and timbre…”
Being that each member of the band occupied a different timezone in the US, which is surprising when you consider how much it feels like they’re exploring new spaces as a solid unit. Whether or not you’re even aware of the album’s temporal themes, you can tell each member of the is extremely dedicated to bring the idea to life in tandem with the others, which is a different kind of gamble all together when you’re separated physically, but it’s certainly paid off.
DIY might stand for do it yourself, but one of the best parts of doing it yourself is the risk and reward of building a team you can trust and rely on. It gives your collective vision grow into its best, most fully realized form, maybe even into something you couldn’t have predicted. Expansive, patient records like Meridians are a comforting reminder of this, not to mention the connection that we all share through the simple act of experiencing time.
They should call it DIYWYF… do it yourself with your friends.