Natural Information Society and Bitchin Bajas

Natural Information Society is a shifting collective led by bassist, composer, and improviser Joshua Abrams. A long-time presence in the Chicago jazz and experimental music community, he’s spent the past five years releasing albums—including Natural Information, Represencing, and the recent double LP Magnetoception—that have concentrated on meditative, pulse-driven music. Rather than a traditional upright or electric bass, Abrams favors a three-stringed North African lute called a guimbri. The instrument’s percussive but rubbery tone provides a foundation for fluid and hypnotic embellishments on percussion, guitar, autoharp, and harmonium.

Lead by Cooper Crain —of Chicago-based krautrock revivalists, Cave— Bitchin Bajas’ music draws inspiration from the minimalist and new age records of the late ’60s and ’70s. Their group crafts patient and serene zone-out music that made heavy use of vintage synthesizers and tape loops.