Apiary by Apiary

DAT#21 was originally released on 13 November 2020 by The Tapeworm as TTW#135 in a cassette-only edition of 100 copies.

Here is the original press release:

Formed in Chicago in 2009, Apiary brought together four of that city’s most versatile and prolific musicians: David Daniell (guitar), Steven Hess (drums), Joseph Clayton Mills (electronics), and Jason Stein (bass clarinet). Together, Apiary interwove disparate strands of Chicago’s improvised music community, seamlessly incorporating their influences – ranging from jazz to minimalism to noise – into a whole that was dense and hypnotic.

Having developed a reputation for the intensity of their live performances, Apiary entered the studio in the spring of 2010 in an attempt to document their unique sound. These recordings, uncovered and revisited a decade later, have lost none of their power or immediacy. If anything, the intervening years provide a sense of perspective and insight into how vital Apiary’s music – grounded in collaboration and possibility – remains. Apiary was reworked and brought to completion in 2020; it provides a fascinating window into a crucial moment in Chicago’s musical history, one that still vibrates with startling urgency.

The Digital Archive of Tapeworm is a repository for audio from out of print cassettes on The Tapeworm.