Cleared

Chicago-based duo Cleared have been creating a blend of experimental and avant-garde drones and rhythmic pulses since 2009, originally coming together to create long-form pieces based on repetition and patience. Debuting in 2011 with their eponymous album, the duo has gone on to issue several releases including 2012's Breaking Day, 2020's The Key, and 2022's Of Endless Light.

Formed in 2009 by <a href="spotify:artist:5TOYGD5j99IcX390vp6QAL">Steven Hess</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2oNZXCHAKwdieQlwd10trP">Michael Vallera</a>, the pair had both been active in the experimental music scene, with <a href="spotify:artist:5TOYGD5j99IcX390vp6QAL">Hess</a> playing percussion and drums for several bands including <a href="spotify:artist:3qg85LFImCJ1zIefm6urwC">Locrian</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1asA1GU6YiNGNqogpjCjr8">Haptic</a>, while <a href="spotify:artist:2oNZXCHAKwdieQlwd10trP">Vallera</a> had been producing under his own name. The project started after the duo decided to experiment with repetition and time within composition, with the aim of creating long-form pieces of work that slowly evolved. Cleared issued their eponymous debut album in 2011 on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Immune%22">Immune</a>, a label that had released works by <a href="spotify:artist:3g17h6SvH53DJDXWUWtV7S">Expo '70</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:72X6FHxaShda0XeQw3vbeF">Slowdive</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:04vKt87g10XVIxBfGxj5vW">Simon Scott</a>. They returned to the label the following year with Breaking Day, another study of percussive rhythms, guitar drones, and field recordings. With <a href="spotify:artist:5TOYGD5j99IcX390vp6QAL">Hess</a> focusing on his other work and <a href="spotify:artist:3qg85LFImCJ1zIefm6urwC">Locrian</a> on his numerous side projects, <a href="spotify:artist:2oNZXCHAKwdieQlwd10trP">Vallera</a> focused on his own projects including releasing his debut work as <a href="spotify:artist:0Sd0buNr0jLaiBYU8VtmAb">COiN</a> for experimental British label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Opal+Tapes%22">Opal Tapes</a>. The duo reconvened for their third album, 2014's Drown. Once again focusing on their own output, it wasn't until 2017 that Cleared would release new music in the form of fourth album, Serpens. Following a break until 2019, <a href="spotify:artist:5TOYGD5j99IcX390vp6QAL">Hess</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2oNZXCHAKwdieQlwd10trP">Vallera</a> re-entered the studio, this time with engineer Greg Norman at Electrical Audio in Chicago. Armed with no more than notes and drawings, the duo crafted their fifth effort purely from improvisation in the studio, with an idea of returning to the roots of the project. The resulting album, The Key, was released in 2020 by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Touch%22">Touch</a> and was backed with a selection of reworks by <a href="spotify:artist:2DoQBgPsB9AdmWpIa2hUSz">Fennesz</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:17Woab4l0eJybbj5ymknYK">Philip Jeck</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7i3x23zTUhCJzEzQi7V6Ea">Bethan Kellough</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:56Q7JBQrSHgKRddRecbOAD">Olivia Block</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:5TOYGD5j99IcX390vp6QAL">Hess</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2oNZXCHAKwdieQlwd10trP">Vallera</a> continued to experiment with time for their sixth release, Of Endless Light. Guided by the maximum length of a compact disc, the album allowed for a more nuanced approach to the sound of experimental drones and rhythmic passages, while also becoming the longest release that Cleared had issued. ~ Rich Wilson