Moraine

Cascadence 2025's next reveal! Khu.éex’, an Indigenous-centered band whose powerful blending of jazz and improvisational funk with storytelling and visual elements of Tlingit, Haida, and Y’upic culture is unique in the world. Appearing alongside Gong(!) and others tba - discounted tickets available at the link!
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18x4RBw1Jp/

Khu.éex’ added to Cascadence 2025 roster – Seaprog Music Festivals Khu.éex’ playing live, photo by Dave McGraw We are more than thrilled to announce the participation of Khu.éex’ in this year’s festival. This group of Northwest musicians exemplifies the spirit of exploration and creativity that we seek to highlight, and they do it like no other band on the ...

Dear friends and admirers of the late Wally Shoup,��

On the occasion of this weekend's Wally Shoup life celebration, Wally’s friends announce the dual release of his two final recordings, "briefcase featuring Wally Shoup" and "Wally Shoup 2x4tet," on Salish Sea-based independent labels Magik Carpet Records and Right Brain Records, respectively. Both albums are now available in physical and digital formats, with the bulk of sales proceeds being donated to Wally’s life partner, Shirley Wong. We hope you’ll consider acquiring one or both of these commemorative albums that preserve Wally's brilliance in late efflorescence. Read on for details...

�briefcase featuring Wally Shoup

Wally Shoup's final recording is a fitting capstone on the intrepid saxophone improviser's musical legacy, capturing Wally in the novel context of intentionally brief "singles" conjured in real time with some of his closest musical friends in mid-pandemic 2020. Recorded and anchored by drummer oLLi kLOMp in the verdant glens of West Seattle, "briefcase" preserves two informal house sessions, one involving electric bassist Dominic Chiaverini and guitarist Bill Horist, the other trumpet player Greg Kelley and guitarist Dennis Rea. Shoup soars throughout, unspooling musical interrogations rooted in a lifetime of artistic and philosophical inquiry. Released by Magik Carpet Records.

* Vinyl LP available at Wally Weekend shows
* Download: https://briefcasefeaturingwallyshoup.bandcamp.com/album/briefcase-featuring-wally-shoup

Wally Shoup 2x4tet

To honor the legacy of their late friend Wally Shoup, six of his longtime musical associates forged a new album from recent recording sessions. 2x4tet combines the final two formal recording sessions instigated and led by Wally, recorded before the pandemic interregnum in 2017 and 2018. The album alternates between an electric quartet (with Bill Horist, Dennis Rea, and Greg Campbell) and an acoustic quartet (with Paul Kemmish, John Seman, and Olli Klomp), showcasing Wally's versatility and the power of innate musical chemistry in a fitting tribute. Released by Right Brain Records.

The electric half of 2x4 is also significant for being the final broadcast of the venerated Sonarchy live radio hour, a joint production of Seattle's Jack Straw Cultural Center and KEXP curated and engineered by Doug Haire every week from 1996 to 2018. Sonarchy provided a vital platform for adventurous Pacific Northwest musicians to air their work before the broader public. The session here took place nearly 22 years to the day after Wally's first Sonarchy broadcast at the series' outset.

* CDs available at Wally Weekend shows
* Download: https://billhoristguitar.bandcamp.com/album/wally-shoup-2x4tet

Moraine is extremely honored to once again open for venerable UK psych and fusion pioneers Soft Machine! Nearly 60 years after the band's founding, the Softs' current lineup features luminaries John Etheridge, Theo Travis, Fred Baker, and Asaf Sirkis. Joining Moraine for the occasion will be guest bassist extraordinaire Dave Pascal.
(Note that despite the venue's listing, Vaalbara will not be in the lineup for this show.)

The Triple Door Check This Out: Buy tickets and see performance listings from The Triple Door

Seattle-are folks with long memories might recall Axolotl, one of my favorite bands over a long career. A paedomorphic avant-rock band that confounded cochleas back in turn-of-the-millennium Seatown, Axolotl was spearheaded by the dastardly guitar duo of myself and Bill Horist and propelled by bass invader Ryan Berg and (on this release) drum levitator Olli Klomp. "Flight of the Grackle," the band's first-ever release, captures Olli's final gig with the band at Seattle's I-Spy in 2000, a fiery set of Rea and Horist originals. Recorded by James Drage of the SiL2K collective; available now on most streaming/download platforms.

Flight of the Grackle: Live at I-Spy, Seattle 7.24.2000, by Axolotl (Seattle) 7 track album

(Dennis) In the "good things come to those who wait" category, I'm elated to announce that the entire collected works of Earthstar - a band led by Craig Wuest that I and several other hometown friends were involved in way back in the '70s in Utica, NY and Germany - have now been reissued as a five-disc box set (including a previously unreleased full album) by the MiG label more than 40 years later. Some of the material was produced by electronic music pioneer Klaus Schulze. Available now from numerous retailers and the major streaming platforms.

Back story:

Some of you might be aware that I was deeply involved in a music project called Earthstar way back in the 1970s. Led by my hometown pal Craig Wuest and involving several other musicians from Utica, New York, and from Europe, Earthstar released four LPs between 1978-82, including three on famed krautrock label Sky Records - one of which, French Skyline, was produced by electronic music pioneer Klaus Schulze - plus a fifth 'lost' album, Sleeper The Nightlifer, recorded at Schulze's IC Studio but unreleased at the time. Craig decamped to West Germany with Schulze's encouragement and was joined there by several core musicians including myself at the close of the ‘70s.

The albums eventually fell out of print and languished for decades until we were unexpectedly approached this year by the Germany-based label MiG, who've now reissued the entirety of the band’s recorded work - including the 'lost' Sleeper the Nightlifer album, in which I was most deeply involved - as a five-disc box set complete with extensive liner notes, vintage photos, and a band history penned by yours truly.

Fabulous new banner photo by Danette Davis! Many Seattle-area musos will agree that Danette's the best in the biz - check out her work and writings at https://www.danettedavis.com/

Very grateful to _finally_ have some fine photos representing Moraine's current lineup.

Danette Davis Danette Davis, Photographer - I shoot pictures of people, places, objects, musicians, and document moments in time.

Beaucoup gratitude to Moraine ally Jon Davis for putting together this multi-angle video from the band's performance supporting Soft Machine in 2019. 'Bout time we had something more current to show for ourselves - enjoy!

Moraine - Wind of the World's Nest Live 2019 Moraine live at the Triple Door in Seattle, January 29, 2019. "Wind of the World's Nest" by Dennis Rea. Dennis Rea (guitar), Alicia DeJoie (violin), Kevin Mi...

To whet appetites for Moraine's 10/25 show at the Royal Room with the superb Spontaneous Rex in their first appearance in years, here's a repost of us performing at Chrome Hearts Factory in Los Angeles some years back. We'll be playing all our latest at the coming show - hope to see your shining visages!

Moraine: "Skein," live from the Chrome Hearts Factory 12.7.12 Moraine performs "Skein" live at the Chrome Hearts Factory in Los Angeles, December 7, 2012. Alicia DeJoie (violin), James DeJoie (woodwinds), Kevin Millard ...