Sunwatchers

Inspired by <a href="spotify:artist:7DnLQaXsqcYkgm0nyDrB3r">Terry Riley</a>, Ethiopian and Thai music, and the outer limits of jazz, Sunwatchers are a New York City-based ensemble who play a heavy, intense brand of mystical free rock. Coming from roots in Athens, Georgia's wild-eyed <a href="spotify:artist:6qo9PT06Eh8hccESV1DSOT">Dark Meat</a> collective, the group quickly became a part of New York's experimental scene and released records on exploratory indie labels like <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Castle+Face%22">Castle Face</a> and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Trouble+in+Mind%22">Trouble in Mind</a>. Their electric energy was in full swing by the time of their third album, 2019's Illegal Moves, and they continued expanding outward in revolutionary directions on efforts like their 2023 LP Music Is Victory Over Time.

Sunwatchers is centered around <a href="spotify:artist:1bQ0a5ywohpFnzWhvqgniG">Jim McHugh</a>, who plays guitar and electric phin, as well as alto sax player Jeff Tobias, bassist <a href="spotify:artist:3xYglWdCFU8LGl7NK0niAO">Peter Kerlin</a>, percussionist Cory Bracken, and drummer Jason Robira. Other musicians who contribute to Sunwatchers include <a href="spotify:artist:1bQ0a5ywohpFnzWhvqgniG">McHugh</a>'s wife Katie Eastburn (formerly of <a href="spotify:artist:7INYH0JeKwbyS56GprCaWu">Young People</a>), guitarist/keyboard player <a href="spotify:artist:2ZEtnLILrDPXloC9ujwaJS">Dave Harrington</a> (formerly of <a href="spotify:artist:2933wDUojoQmvqSdTAE5NB">DARKSIDE</a>), guitarist Ben Greenberg, keyboard player Dave Kadden, and fiddle player Jonah Rapino. Originally from North Carolina, <a href="spotify:artist:1bQ0a5ywohpFnzWhvqgniG">McHugh</a> first became known as one of the founders of the wild, improvisatory Athens collective <a href="spotify:artist:6qo9PT06Eh8hccESV1DSOT">Dark Meat</a> before moving to New York City and becoming involved with its experimental music scene. He formed the acclaimed psychedelic rock group Nymph and played with free jazz legend Arthur Doyle, in addition to solo performances and sound installations.

By 2013, Sunwatchers had begun to take shape, performing at new music festivals and small venues in New York, and the group's self-released cassette Tomb Howl appeared in late 2014. Sunwatchers' self-titled debut full-length arrived on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Castle+Face%22">Castle Face</a> in March 2016. They moved to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Trouble+in+Mind%22">Trouble in Mind</a> for their second album, II, which was released in early 2018. 3 Characters, a double-LP collaboration with <a href="spotify:artist:3VWsCRWk23WloHRP9ilRsw">Eugene Chadbourne</a>, was issued by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Amish+Records%22">Amish Records</a> later in the year. The band's 2019 album Illegal Moves was their most charged effort to date, including a cover of <a href="spotify:artist:0oKYiTD5CdNbrofRvM1dIr">Alice Coltrane</a>'s "Ptah, the El Daoud" along with its many exploratory original compositions. HausLive 1, documenting a gig at Chicago's Cafe Mustache, appeared on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Hausu+Mountain%22">Hausu Mountain</a> in September 2019. After several rounds of international touring, the band quickly returned with fourth album Oh Yeah? in the spring of 2020.

For their next set, Sunwatchers worked with <a href="spotify:artist:3qYfqdVwX0fil71onLpLkh">Thee Oh Sees</a>' <a href="spotify:artist:5vIYVb7FAzYeQRE8xuYS9j">John Dwyer</a> shortly after he opened his Discount Mirrors recording studio in Los Angeles. Released in November 2023, the band's fifth album, Music Is Victory Over Time, continued pushing their boundaries with songs that called on the spiritualism of free jazz, the cosmic repetition of Krautrock, and the righteous fervor of revolutionary political ideas. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi