NOUS

NOUS was convened to investigate what collective music-making looks like when meditation is the compositional method. The ensemble's debut document, NOUS I: A Musical Rite, was recorded over seven days at Dreamland Recording Studio in upstate New York — a session built around free improvisation, guided visualizations, chant, and sustained attentional practice rather than arranged scores.

The core band — Christopher Bono, Caleb Burhans, Greg Fox, Thor Harris, Shahzad Ismaily, and Grey Mcmurray — was joined by ten special guests including Cecilie Hafstad, Clarice Jensen, Alex Sopp, and Laraaji. The ten tracks move between devotional percussion and Dorian guitar meditations, chant to electronics, held together by shared attention rather than arrangement.

The New York Times described NOUS as "a wise, post-category, electric and acoustic 12-person crew."

“often sounds like contemporary classical viewed through an extreme metal lens, and the result is pretty exciting stuff.”

Brooklyn Veganon NOUS III

“spontaneous-sounding, heavily percussive recordings”

Flood Magazineon NOUS III

“a hypnotic piece of moody post rock, balancing vibraphone pulses with urgent drumming and some dusty strands of noir guitar and strings. It's stunning.”

Trebleon NOUS III

“The collective conjures a transfixing instrumental display that keeps with the band's 'Godspeed You! Black Emperor playing krautrock' ethos… my most anticipated album dropping this month”

Heavy Blog is Heavyon NOUS III

“shows collaborators deep in the flow with layered percussion, an undertow of groove, wordless vocals and multiple peaks and valleys as the 4 minutes stretch into an infinite ocean of sound. Incredible work.”

Tome To The Weather Machineon NOUS III

“Circle of Celebration is a stirring ode to the power of collaboration, but also, in simpler terms, to music's role as a vehicle for sheer joy.”

Loud and Quieton Circle of Celebration

“Hearing his (Laraaji) baritone soar over this endlessly groovy, locked in composition from Christopher Bono's NOUS project is a joyous flash of life.”

Tome to the Weather Machineon Circle of Celebration

“Textured and bucolic, its 10 pieces are gently rhythmic tapestries of new age melody, wordless vocals, dubwise undulation and, pleasingly, cascades of actual laughter”

Mojoon Circle of Celebration

“It is hard to express exactly how uplifting this music is, how it creates a bright, lucid, dreamlike space and maintains excitement and calm somehow simultaneously”

Dustedon Circle of Celebration