''Automaginary'' is a 2015 collaborative album by the

Natural Information Society Natural Information Society is a music ensemble described as “ecstatic minimalism”. The group formed in 2010 and is led by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joshua Abrams. NPR called the group a "staple" of the underground music scene in Ch ...

and Bitchin Bajas.

Background

The album was released in 2015 on vinyl and cassette by Drag City. Natural Information Society, a largely acoustic ensemble, is led by double bassist and

guimbri The sintir (), also known as the guembri (), gimbri, hejhouj in Hausa language, is a three stringed skin-covered bass guitar, bass plucked lute used by the Gnawa people of Morocco. It is approximately the size of a guitar, with a body carved fro ...

player Joshua Abrams, and features guitarist

Emmett Kelly Emmett Leo Kelly (December 9, 1898March 28, 1979) was an American circus performer who created the clown character "Weary Willie", based on the hobos of the Great Depression in the 1930s. Early life Emmett Leo Kelly was born in Sedan, Kansas ...

, autoharpist and keyboardist Ben Boye, harmonium player

Lisa Alvarado Lisa Alvarado may refer to: * Lisa Alvarado (artist) Lisa Alvarado (born 1982) is an American visual artist and harmonium player.Beckwith, Naomi and Roelstraete, Dieter (2015)"The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 to Now". ...

, and drummer

Frank Rosaly Frank Rosaly (born May 30, 1974) is an American drummer, composer, and sound designer associated with a transparent compositional approach to drumming across various styles of music including jazz, improvisation, rock and experimental music. Ros ...

. Bitchin Bajas, using electronic instruments, is led by keyboardist Cooper Crain, and features bass clarinetist and flutist Rob Frye, and synthesizer player Dan Quinlivan.

Reception

In a review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Paul Simpson wrote: "The album generally sounds closer to Bitchin Bajas' cosmic zone-outs than Natural Information Society's exciting bursts of energy, but that doesn't mean the album is a snooze... ''Automaginary'' is a fluid collaboration with both parties completely tuned into the same wavelength, resulting in a sublime blending of kindred spirits." ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

s Aaron Leitko stated: "Bajas and Abrams both find serenity amid perceived stasis—making music that sounds repetitive, but is constantly undergoing subtle scene shifts and mutations... ''Automaginary'' works because both excel at making music that feels thoroughly modern, but also ancient." Marc Masters of ''

NPR Music NPR Music is a project of National Public Radio, an American privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization, that launched in November 2007 to present public radio music programming and original editorial content for music ...

'' noted that, on the album, "the insistent, hypnotic pulses of NIS meld with Bitchin Bajas' drone-tinted layers like gentle rain falling from dense clouds." He singled out "Sign Spinners" for praise, commenting: "This airy, spacious music grows and grows without ever sounding cluttered." Writing for ''

Boing Boing ''Boing Boing'' is a website, first established as a zine in 1988, later becoming a group blog. Common topics and themes include technology, futurism, science fiction, gadgets, intellectual property, Disney, and left-wing politics. It twice wo ...

'',

David Pescovitz David Pescovitz is partner and co-editor of Boing Boing, a technology and culture Web magazine, and vice president of communications and content at ICONIQ Capital, a global investment firm. In 2018 Grammy Awards, 2018 he won a Grammy Award for Be ...

called the album "stunning," and suggested that it will "launch you into the droney, pulsing minimalism pioneered by the likes of

Terry Riley Terrence Mitchell Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist music, minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his work became notab ...

and

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer best known as a pioneer of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, and canons. Reich descr ...

but with a

Krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electron ...

edge." In an article for ''HHV Magazine'', Sebastian Hinz noted "the sheer joy of the mix between wild improvisation and restraint" heard in "On No Fade," and wrote: "For Bitchin Bajas, the collaboration is a blessing. It's as if they've let the stoned Genie out of the bong." Colin Joyce of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' included ''Automaginary'' in his list of "The 20 Best Avant Albums of 2015." Author and music historian James Piazza stated: "It was an absolute delight to be introduced to a quality release which encompasses a trifecta of my favorite musical styles. From the first note, this triumph embodies all of the elements I enjoy in a composition."

Track listing

Personnel

;Natural Information Society * Joshua Abrams – double bass,

, small harp *

– guitar * Ben Boye – chromatic autoharp, electric piano *

– harmonium *

– drums * Mikel Avery – drums ;Bitchin Bajas * Cooper Crain – organ, synthesizer, bass * Rob Frye – bass clarinet, flute * Dan Quinlivan – synthesizers

References

{{authority control 2015 albums Drag City (record label) albums Natural Information Society albums