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Well now, this one is a touch strange and a lot of fun and, shock, it’s come out of Chicago, which still seems to be top of the pile when it comes to kicking new experimental music. I first came across Caleb Willitz last summer, when he collaborated with Elijah McLaughlin on the excellent Morning Improvisations / Evening Abstractions LP. Since then, Rami Atassi has dropped his own heller inventive New & Ancient Christmas Music album, and now he and Caleb have decided to release this little gem to celebrate and kickstart their new Midnight Tea record label. Fits and Starts is an improvised four-song EP that germinated from three sessions recorded in 2021, exploring the ‘interweaving textures of guitar and piano.’
Reading a little closer, Caleb uses an acoustic piano for the record that he combines with a Eurorack synthesizer to give the piano sound added texture. Rami follows a similar train of thought, with a hollow body electric guitar that is fed through pedals and looped in places, a process that is blended with string noise and acoustic ambience to really get the most out of the two instruments. And it’s a set up that really allows these two maverick sonic sculptors to create some fascinating sounds and textures. Sometimes the effect is subtle, like on final track Rarely and Barely, a short piece that builds furtive guitar notes and sparse piano around a curious sonic effect akin to a rocket entering an atmosphere at a distance. It’s an odd and disarming little piece of music that is totally ace in its simplicity. I even heard a chair creak at one point…
Following the ghost in the machine intro to opening song For my Money, Rami plays some lovely disjointed flat guitar notes with some subtle bends over weird electronic noise and has a bit of fun in the mid-section with loops and refrains. After this, two long pieces make up the bulk of the album, the first being Reptillion. This one takes its time, with the guitar and piano tentatively sparring over an ominous fuzzy drone sound. I love the spacious, almost ramshackle playing here, sometimes with notes tumbling against each other and sometimes with the space barely filled.
The music on Restoration is gentler, with the piano chords and notes hit softly and the guitar part a touch more playful in nature. The background sound is far lighter too, giving the two main tracks here a neat contrast, with one having the light to the other’s shade. It’s a clever decision and one that maintains the album’s cohesion while providing moods and textures.
Fits and Starts is great; a wondrous little EP that packs a tonne of creativity and ace music into barely twenty minutes. What a splendid way to start a new record label.
Fits and Starts (14th March 2025) Midnight Tea
Order on Bandcamp: https://calebwillitz.bandcamp.com/album/fits-and-starts
Midnight Tea is also a Live Music Series: https://www.midnight-tea.com/
