Je'raf - All My Friends are Holograms

"The premise of je’raf is to make the avant-garde accessible. Upon listening to their music, what is most likely to strike you is that it sounds both extremely familiar and wildly extraterrestrial. This is intentional: it’s left-field music you can groove to, and it exists to make you feel grounded while spiraling far out into other possibilities. Get into it."
-Erin Margaret Day, Bandcamp

credits

released July 15, 2022

je'raf is:

Brianna Tong - vocals
pt Bell - vocals, piano
Ishmael Ali - guitar, electronics, cello, piano, vocals
Wills McKenna - saxophone, flute
David Fletcher - trumbone
Eli Namay - bass, vocals
Bill Harris - drums, percussion, vocals, piano, wurlitzer

Recorded at Marmalade by Ishmael Ali and Bill Harris
Mixed and mastered by Ishmael Ali and Bill Harris
Produced by je'raf
Released and distributed by Don't Panic Records and Distro

This is DP-031

Cordoba - Specter - (track 2 Factory)

I laid down some upright bass on Track 2 of this album, by my good pals in Cordoba. I’m also in the music video performing some “musical labor” … lol.

Liner Notes:

Specter is motivated by a deep-seated feeling that the fabric of society is quickly unravelling, and their songs react to issues like gentrification, police brutality, and escalating social unrest. Cordoba also reflects on feelings of isolation and anxiety that have only been amplified in this time of pandemic. The album is characterized by the band’s typical off-kilter grooves, nuanced arrangements, and vocal versatility, this time incorporating performances from KAIA String Quartet and a cast of local jazz musicians.

credits

released October 30, 2020

Cordoba is…
Brianna Tong - Vocals
Eric Novak - Vocals, Saxophone, Flute, Oboe, Bass Clarinet
Cam Cunningham - Guitar
Zach Bain-Selbo - Keys
Khalyle Hagood - Bass
Zach Upton-Davis - Drums

Also featuring...
A.ADISA - Vocals on Track 2, Background Vocals on Track 3
Neko Jackson - Background Vocals on Track 3
Eli Namay - Bass on Track 2
Matt Riggen - Trumpet on Tracks 2, 3, 9, 11
David Fletcher - Trombone on Tracks 2, 3, 9, 11
KAIA String Quartet - Strings on Tracks 2, 5, 7, 9, 11

Tracks 3, 10, 11 written by Cam Cunningham
Tracks 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, written by Cam Cunningham and Brianna Tong
Track 2 written by Cam Cunningham, Brianna Tong, and Asha Adisa
Tracks 4, 9 written by Cam Cunningham and Eric Novak

This record was recorded at Jamdek by Doug Malone and at Limbic Audio by Cordoba’s own Zach Bain-Selbo. It was mixed by Zach Bain-Selbo and mastered by Greg Obis of Chicago Mastering Services. Album art by Eric Novak and Brianna Tong.

Errata - Many People are Unenthusiastic About Your Work

Errata's debut album recorded March 03, 2019 at the Shape Shoppe by Nick Broste.

credits

released May 10, 2020

Ishmael Ali - guitar & electronics
Eli Namay - upright bass
Bill Harris - drums & percussion

mixed and mastered by Errata
artwork by Errata

tracks 1,3,5, & 6 - Ali
2 - Namay
4 - Harris

Chicago Winter 2020 - Eli Namay (solo)

Solo upright bass recorded live at Elastic Arts in Chicago, February 27th 2020.

released May 1, 2020

Recorded and Mixed by Bill Harris
Eli Namay - upright bass & album art


All music by Eli Namay except Composition No. 245 by Anthony Braxton & Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum by Wayne Shorter.

Je'raf - Throw neck

CASSETTE TAPES AVAILABLE AT NO INDEX RECORDS HERE:
noindex.bandcamp.com/album/throw-neck


Danceable woke conspiracy theory noise hip-hop metal jazz funk monologue-core. Je'raf is a Chicago/New York based band that formed in 2017. They combine hip hop, funk, and free jazz elements into tightly arranged songs that leave room for improvisation and looseness, while incorporating critical and satirical social commentary on police, conspiracy theories, religion, cults, and the emergence and trajectory of the American Bro.

Je'raf has held a monthly residency at Cafe Mustache in Chicago since July of 2019, playing every third Tuesday of the month. Their debut record, Throw Neck, is set to release this February 29 (LEAP YEAR!) at the Hungry Brain, with a split release on both Amalgam and No Index Records based in Chicago.

Formed in 2017, art-rock ensemble Je'raf arrange bits of hip-hop, jazz, funk, and postpunk into whimsical, progressive jams. All seven members (they're split between New York and Chicago) play in similarly animated, eccentric bands outside of the group too--bassist and vocalist PT Bell is in art-punk unit Blacker Face, for instance, and vocalist Brianna Tong fronts jazz-fusion group Cordoba. On Saturday, February 39, local labels Amalgam and No Index release Je'raf's rambunctious and politically charged debut album, Throw Neck. That night they celebrate with a headlining set at Hungry Brain; Udababy opens.

By J.R. Nelson for the Chicago Reader

Recorded at Pallet Sound by Seth Engel on February 2 and 3, 2019. Mixed and mastered by /jə'raf/
Design and layout by /jə'raf/
Artwork by Jordan Martins
Photo by Rachel Winslow

/jə'raf/ is:
Brianna Tong - Vocals
PT Bell - Vocals, bass
Ishmael Ali - Guitar, electronics
David Fletcher - Trombone
Wills McKenna - Saxophone
Eli Namay - Bass
Bill Harris - Drums, percussion, Microkorg

noindexrecords.com
amalgamusic.org  

credits

released February 29, 2020

license

all rights reserved

Eli Namay (solo) - A ≠ A

A ≠ A is a set of recordings and critical theory that serve as an attempt to soberly position myself in the world both culturally and politically. The writing portion of A ≠ A is an examination of the nature of symbols in relation to the human brain, how symbols constitute large scale class based societies, and what that might mean for struggles both culturally and politically. I make the case for understanding political struggle and cultural struggle as representing two distinct yet interrelated activities, each affecting the other but ultimately having distinct scopes. While the writing represents an offering in the realm of political struggle the recording is an offering in the realm of cultural struggle. Through the strategic deconstruction and reconstitution of familiar cultural symbols the recording will hopefully allow folks who are not necessarily immersed in experimental music traditions to viscerally experience the possibility for creative activity outside of the aesthetic logics of both the commercial market and the ivory tower. As well as illustrating how dominant value systems (ideology) function in a society dominated by monetary exchange value, the writing in turn critiques this kind of cultural activity as, although necessary, inadequate on its own for the liberation of humanity from both direct and abstract domination. For this project the decision to present the recording and writing side by side, but at a formal distance, is not an arbitrary one. It is based on my analysis of the distinct scopes of cultural and political struggle, and hopefully illustrates a hew type of dialectical communication that does not settle into static images for the sake of ontological comfort, or organizational or careerist expedience. 

credits

released May 17, 2018

Eli Namay - Upright and Electric Bass, Design, Engineering & Production
Alexa Rixon - Design and Printing

All music by Eli Namay except "Ducks on the Pond" (traditional) and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (Harold Arlen & Y.E. Harburg)

"Two Europeans" was recorded at High Concept Labs