Chicago trio Hearsay announce brilliant, genre-defying "Glossolalia," forthcoming new album

Everything is in place here. Experimental / improvising trio Hearsay's new full-length, Glossolalia is unequivocally far out –– free rhythms and atonality are hallmarks of the recording. But interwoven with drums and cello are Allen Moore's profoundly physical turntablist acrobatics, Moore's contributions are the result of a radical process of casting records by hand, often incorporating found objects and materials and then "overlaying the ghostly sounds of the hand-cast records with echoes of voices from the Black Diaspora (friends, family, and prominent Black figures) and samples of Black soul, jazz and hip-hop." Here, chopped up soul singing voices blast in and interweave with Bill Harris's deeply intuitive drumming and Ishmael Ali's profound tone-texture-melody explorations. This music is out there but it is intriguing, inviting, and deeply pleasing –– perhaps even to a surprising degree. 

Expanding on the adventurous techniques that manifested their self-titled debut album, Chicago improvising trio, Hearsay returns with Glossolalia.

Comprised of visionary experimental sound artist Allen Moore, versatile cellist / guitarist / composer Ishmael Ali, and dynamic drummer Bill Harris, Hearsay cultivates a distinct and captivating aesthetic that traverses ethereal dimensions, gradually morphing rhythmic tapestries, and electrifying improvised soundscapes that bounce off of free jazz and textural noise music to land on a kind of wild and bounding avant-groove music that is as pleasing as it is avant-garde.

Their music elicits a mesmerizing blend of textures, as if conjured from another dimension, leaving listeners both spellbound and invigorated. Fractured but soulful blasts of uncanny soul emerge from Allen Moore's breathtaking, adventurous turntablist experiments to dance against –– and eventually with –– Bill Harris's propulsive drumming and Ishmael Ali's electrifying pursuits: he seems to discover melodies on his cello as much as create them. 

Glossolalia is a testament to the boundless creativity that emerged during their fruitful recording sessions. Pushing the boundaries of experimental music even further, this latest offering embraces a vast sonic palette, seamlessly interweaving timbres, grooves, and a compelling interplay that defies categorization but evokes familiarity and wonder. The results are difficult to categorize but will be well-loved by fans of contemporary sonic adventurers like Valentina Magaletti and Maria Chavez or fellow Chicagoan, the late jaimie branch's work in Anteloper, as well as those who turn regularly to the rich and wild depths of the ESP-Disk discography or that of the AACM.