Jeremiah Chiu, the synthesist at the heart of the Los Angeles improv quintet SML, is prepping a new album, Edge Conditions, out via International Anthem on October 9 on physical formats and digital download, with streaming following on October 27.
The lead single, "Plastic Mind / Elastic Machines," features field recordings from Takako Minekawa and a beat from Chiu's SML bandmate Booker Stardrum. Its video, drawn and animated by Korey Martin, who also illustrated the album cover, uses what Martin called "repetitive visual motifs" to "create a hypnotic quality that perfectly accompanies the song."
Chiu said the single ended up shaping the whole record. "It was truly the guiding beacon for the entire record," he said. "Prior to rediscovering this track, I imagined an album with a more defined ensemble that was less drum-centric. Once I heard this, I felt drawn to follow this direction."
Edge Conditions follows Chiu's 2023 solo album In Electric Time and the improvisational records he's made with violist Marta Sofia Honer, including last year's Different Rooms. The new album also features Honer, along with percussionist Ben Lumsdaine, trumpeter Marquis Hill, Resavoir's Will Miller and Patrick Shiroishi on saxophone and field recordings.
Chiu has teased a US tour behind the album, with dates already confirmed at Chicago's Plantasia, New York's Public Records and Los Angeles's Zebulon.
The facts
- New album Edge Conditions out Oct. 9 physically, Oct. 27 on streaming
- Lead single features field recordings from Takako Minekawa
- Follows Chiu's 2023 solo album In Electric Time
- Also features SML's Booker Stardrum and saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi
- US tour dates confirmed in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles
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