Chuva by Secret Drum Band

"Chuva" is the second album from Portland percussion and electronic ensemble Secret Drum Band. The group is co- directed by Lisa Schonberg and Allan Wilson, formerly from the groups Explode Into Colors and !!!. The band combines intricately composed percussion and tonal electronics alongside ecological soundscapes rooted in study and observations from Hawaii, the Brazilian Amazon and Oregon. Through soundscape composition, investigations in acoustic ecology and politically driven percussion, Secret Drum Band brings attention to topics such as insect sentience, our relations with non-human species and how our decisions affect our environment and communities.

The tracks “Antifa Green” and “Antifa Fuschia” were recorded by Heather Treadway and Schonberg during an alt-right rally in Portland, OR. They were created in direct response and borne from anxiety, frustration and a sense of duty to resist the fascist creep. The tunes “Ka’ena Point” and “Alaka’i Swamp” are based on the endangered Hylaeus bees and their habitats on Oahu and Kauai. Schonberg also has ongoing research on ant acoustic communication with entomologists in Brazil which influenced “Surface of Abyss at Ducke”, “Terra Firme” and “Multispecies (Ants)”. “Robert Plants” and “Riparia” were commissioned by the Portland chapter of the Oregon Plant Society. Playing with concepts of synesthesia, Wilson and Schonberg observed plant species in Forest Park to craft sonic and rhythmic patterns. Then at Rooster Rock in the Columbia Gorge, they were inspired by the delicate motion of floating plant detritus near the shore.

Secret Drum Band’s powerful sound, political and ecological messaging and conceptual songwriting process firmly plants the band in the here and now.

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