Primarily a violinist and composer, the Swiss multi-instrumentalist credits her time in New York as a major influence for her work on this latest release. Bringing to mind a rush-hour subway, the high-intensity music strives to capture the feeling of trying to keep up with the wild pace the city serves you.

“If you’ve ever spent a day running errands in Manhattan, that’s what this record feels like. It’s intense, it’s non-linear and there’s something electric in the air, at all times.”

Schuler composed the music in front of the piano with a pencil and staff paper in her lap, outlining melodies by singing them and mapping out harmonic and melodic structures on the instrument. 

With the strengths of each member of her ensemble in mind – as well as renowned special guest saxophonist Tony Malaby – she sought to strike a balance between the complexity required to push improvisation into an interesting place, and an openness to allow her musicians to express themselves.

A reflection of the conflicting faculties of human nature, the rational and the emotional, the quartet move between warm, prismatic, open spaces and the jagged, disruptive and stark. 

Angular contemporary-classical violin melodies, unapologetic rock drum grooves, and evolving synth textures come together to create a chaotic world of their own, with Schuler’s compositional voice and the personality of each participating musician in the spotlight.

Recorded in just three days, what the listener hears is a meticulously pieced together collage of different takes. A study in tension and release, Schuler’s ebb and flow of chaos reels the listener in and keeps them transfixed.

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