HORSE LORDS

Indie Rock, Indie/Alternative, Jazz, Post-Punk, Rock

Can a strong political message be delivered without words, but only with instruments, polyrhythmics and Renaissance music? Baltimore quartet Horse Lords is ready to show us how, with abstract soundscapes and mind-blowing mathrock on November 4th!

Ticket sales start on March 19 at 11 a.m.

Horse Lords is a band that creates complex instrumental musical journeys, created by the band's collective voice shaped by four unique music tastes and individuals. Formed in 2010, the quartet embraces Renaissance counterpoint compositions doing covers by composers such as Julius Eastman, played on instruments custom-made for microtonal scales over polyrhythmic matrices.

It sounds extremely geeky, you might think, but the whole machinery is humanised by a shared desire to explore the limits of music and a burning passion. Guitariat Own Gardner and saxophonist/percussionist Andrew Bernstein met in the 00s at a College in Baltimore - the former coming from a background in global folk and experimental, the other a budding composer. Through Baltimore's music scene, they met bassist Max Eilbacher and drummer Sam Haberman.

Horse Lord's music relies on repetition and complexity, often resulting in long tracks that act as a mouthpiece for the band's skepticism about social and political norms. “Conceptually, our music is interested in the field of tension between aesthetics, the political and material sides of art, and the nonpolitical nature of the instruments”, says the band.

How can one deliver a sharp political message without words, but only with instruments? That is the question the Horse Lords are trying to answer. Their self-titled debut album showcased the band's visual aesthetic, geometric art, no photos - as abstract and mathematical as the music.

That same year, they also featured Eastman, a musical and social radical, at a time when his posthumous fame was only just beginning to take off. Even their practice of releasing EP-length “mixtapes” between their five full-length albums so far challenges the norms of mainstream music. They have also done their best to democratise their touring experience by often taking to the road and playing at as wide a range of venues as possible.

Horse Lords are stepping out of a year of COVID-enforced standstill with 'Comradely Objects', an album composed at a more relaxed pace which nevertheless makes them sound more focused and urgent. And though Gardner, Bernstein and Eilbacher have all recently relocated to Germany -- separately -- the band is still very much active, playing gigs and looking forward to continuing the Horse Lords project. In autumn they will hit the Flea for a challenging but emotional concert on November 4!

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