Contrary to what people might be telling you, Zodiac Dust is not a crazy new drug or some David Bowie glam-pop tribute. In fact, it is the work of Brooklyn’s own Loop 2.4.3 [MySpace] that merges myriad elements of classical, jazz, rock and many other world musics. Loop 2.4.3 employs the gamut of percussion instruments, from marimba and steel drum to tom-toms, bongos and snare drums, temple bowls and wood blocks, opera gongs and electronics. That sounds weirder than the fact that I made a “How to Succeed in Business” reference on my own site, but it is really prety chill.

Sound fun? Come check out more “after the jump”

[mp3] Loop 2.4.3. – “Zodiac Dust”

Its music has been described as “transportive percussion odysseys,” (The Boston Phoenix) “taut compositions with a stunning improvisational sense,” (Time Out Chicago) and as containing of both “action adventures and reveries… all sound[ing] like part of a well-thought-out tradition, only the tradition has never existed until now.” (NPR Fresh Air)

In the tradition of sonic innovators like Steve Reich, Konono N°1, Mike Oldfield and Brian Eno, Loop 2.4.3’s new album flows through a vast array of sounds and rhythms across the nine tracks on Zodiac Dust. From edgy to impressionistic, classical to experimental, the music of Loop 2.4.3 takes the audience on “a really focused and thrilling percussive ride,” creating vibrant contemporary music that is “enrapturing and truly alive indeed.” (NewNoise.net)

Hailing from Michigan and arriving in Brooklyn via New Haven and Seattle, Loop 2.4.3 has spent the last five years alternately traveling and working in a Bed-Stuy loft space, focused on writing, improvising and creating their own style. They were exclusively a live act until the release of their debut CD, Batterie, on the Brooklyn label, Music Starts From Silence (MSFS) in the fall of 2007. Batterie was captured in a one-hour session for Sonarchy Radio in Seattle, WA. Upon hearing Doug Haire’s radio show, the group asked if they could release it as a CD. There was NO EDITING of any kind on the recording (other than removing the voice announcements in between tracks). Their new album, Zodiac Dust, is more varied, with tighter compositions, and a more cohesive dramatic flow throughout the entire album. The group introduces two new instruments, the eLog and Rose Echo, and utilizes cello, violin, piano, and voice, along with their standard barrage of percussion.

Loop 2.4.3 has toured throughout North America, Europe, Scandinavia, South Korea, and Australia, and has performed for radio, film, and television, including footage for The Learning Channel and MTV. The group has given concerts, conducted master classes, and held residencies at Cornell University, Okalahoma City University, and Michigan State University amongst others. As active figures in a cross-world of musical genres, they have performed with Clogs, The Books, Willie McBlind (Jon Catler), Evan Ziporyn, Sufjan Stevens, Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond), Belle Orchestre, Newband, their late mentor Robert Hohner, and as soloists with the Brooklyn Philharmonic at the BAM Opera House.

Loop 2.4.3 members have also played at The London Jazz Festival, Merkin Hall, Tonic, The Sydney Festival, Music Works Northwest, Carnegie Hall, The Japan Society (NYC), the Harry Partch Institute and many others.

The duo has received awards and support from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Connecticut Council on the Arts, Chamber Music America, Analog Arts, the UK Arts Council, Yale University, and the International Association of Jazz Educators.

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