Setting

Setting is Nathan Bowles (solo/trio, Pelt, Black Twig Pickers) on strings, keys, tapes, and percussion; Jaime Fennelly (Mind Over Mirrors, Peeesseye) on synthesizers and harmonium; and Joe Westerlund (solo, Califone, Sylvan Esso, Jake Xerxes Fussell) on drums, percussion, metallophones, and zither. After the release of their acclaimed 2023 debut LP ’Shone a Rainbow Light On,’ (Paradise of Bachelors) a record borne of performances in private rather than in public, Setting honed their group approach to improvisation and arrangement via a string of dates up and down both U.S. coasts. These developments were documented via a couple of live reports, both from Asheville NC (‘at Black Mountain College Museum’ and ‘at Eulogy’) but recorded 9 months apart, each indicating a continued honing of methods and direction. Further rehearsals to develop these ideas, including Fennelly’s incorporation of more programmed synthesizer material into the Bowles/Westerlund octopus polyrhythm, took that direction and paved the way for the sessions that produced their recently released second studio album, and debut release with Thrill Jockey. Setting’s self-titled album is a definitive statement of their improvisational acumen meeting compositional rigor, a robust wellspring of hypnagogic grooves and mosaiced textures. Setting harnesses the euphoria of communal creation.

Setting has been presented by Big Ears, Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Black Mountain College Museum, The Lab, Public Records, and Solar Myth, amongst others. In 2026, they will be performing at many of the great open-eared US festivals, including Sound & Gravity, Solid Sound @ MASS MoCA, Pickathon, and Suoni Per Il Popolo.