Featuring tenor saxophonist and electronics artist Julien Wilson, cellist Peggy Lee, guitarist Theo Carbo and drummer/percussionist Dylan van der Schyff, the project blends anthemic melodies, exploratory improvisation and shifting rhythmic landscapes. 

Treating composition as an open process rather than a fixed destination, the ensemble’s sound is grounded in a shared musical language of listening, trust, and collective exploration.

Waiting Music was recorded in a single day in June 2025 at The Warehouse in Vancouver following a major Canadian tour, with performances in Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, and Vancouver. During the tour, the ensemble explored and refined new material, advancing the collaborative approach that has guided Open Thread’s music since its inception. Compositional duties are shared across the ensemble, with each member bringing distinct ideas that are reshaped through collaboration and improvisation. 

Across eleven tracks, the record unfolds as a series of evolving sonic environments. Angular unison lines dissolve into psychedelic solos, delicate miniatures nod to the chamber-like simplicity of Erik Satie, while extended pieces such as Sumud – named after the Palestinian word for perseverance – use odd-meter grooves and electro-acoustic textures to propel the listener through constantly shifting musical terrain.

The opening title track establishes the album’s tone with a haunting two-chord guitar ostinato that gradually mutates before returning like a ghost at the end. Elsewhere, the anarchic energy of God’s Little Prefect contrasts with the sunlit circularity of From the Deck, while pieces such as Pocket Rocket, Travelling Home and Prince of Spoons move fluidly between folk-tinged lyricism, driving grooves and dreamlike abstraction.

Throughout Waiting Music, Open Thread balances immediacy with depth. The music moves between spacious atmospheres and driving rhythmic passages, inviting repeated listening as details gradually reveal themselves. The result is a collaborative work that feels restless yet focused – a reflection of the ensemble’s shared fascination with melody, rhythm and atmosphere.