Hear Holland Andrews x Methods Body’s nocturnal, spacious “Open Water”

On June 12, Holland Andrews x Methods Body (John Niekrasz and Luke Wyland) release their new collaborative album REMAIN via Whited Sepulchre. Today they’ve released a new track from the album, “Open Water,” which showcases the group’s avant garde music at their most spacious and mesmerizing. Built around a percussive pattern that mimics the sound of dripping water, it carries a hypnotic and immersive sound that’s somewhere between ambient and vocal jazz. It has a late night vibe that recalls the spacey jazzscapes of Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily’s Love In Exile, which is fitting, since it was recorded at Ismaily’s studio. (He also contributed to the album.) Hear it below.

The trio said in a statement: “Open Water is one of our favorite moments on REMAIN; maybe it’s the sleeper track of the record. We hope this music evokes an otherworldly voyage—one marked by grief, ancestral struggle, and, ultimately, the joy of transformation.

“The three of us created Open Water at Shahzad Ismaily’s Figure 8 studio in a single, improvised take. It was Luke’s birthday—a stunningly sunny spring day in Brooklyn—and we went out to the bright street after recording this track to talk and laugh and admire the pampered neighborhood dogs. We may have shared an edible.

“For Open Water, Holland’s vocals were processed live through their pedals and through Luke’s electronics. John created a propulsive rhythmic conversation with drums, bell, woodblocks, and a special flat-ride cymbal from Shahzad’s collection. Luke’s ethereal improvisations on keys foreground the moments he captures all of our sounds to build lilting, looping tapestries in real time.”