Natural Information Society: Perseverance Flow

"There's pleasure in following a circuit so frequently and so closely that everyday bits of the landscape become landmarks ( we always pass that bullet-holed stop sign on this route) and a pang when those landmarks change ( they replaced the stop sign!). Natural Information Society's music operates on similar principles, drawing together the thrum of Moroccan gnawa, the austere profundity of Philip Glass, and the circular structures of John Coltrane at his most spiritual into a sound that doesn't progress so much as it rotates."

"Perseverance Flow's tight focus-one theme looped ceaselessly, with modest embellishment, for 35 minutes-feels like a microscopic view of that same rug. The phrase is initially tight and loping: a two-note harmonium riff, a lightly heraldic bass clarinet, Abrams' clip-clopping guembri, a little one-two drumbeat, all of it held together as tightly as pencils bundled by a rubber band. The group performed the piece live for a year before recording, which gives the album a warm and lived-in feel despite its formal constriction;"

Natural Information Society sustains a single theme for nearly 35 minutes, weaving minimalist jazz with strands of dub and dance. The music fuses the thrum of Moroccan gnawa, the austerity of Philip Glass, and John Coltrane's circular spiritual structures, favoring rotation over linear progression. Repetition accumulates steadily, with small tweaks, evolutions, and devolutions creating the music's motion. Perseverance Flow follows a more relaxed 2023 outing but tightens focus into a microscopic loop. The core phrase centers on harmonium, bass clarinet, guembri, and a small drum pattern. Extended live performance gives the recording a warm, lived-in feel despite formal constriction.

Read at Pitchfork