Boxhead Ensemble is a musical collective founded by composer Michael Krassner. The project began in 1991 to record music for the

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

''The Original Pantry Café''. The group features an ever rotating line-up, which as included

Edith Frost Edith Frost (born August 18, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter who describes her music as "pensive countrified psychedelia". Born in San Antonio, Texas, Frost moved to Brooklyn in 1990 where she played in the country bands ''The Holler Sis ...

David Grubbs David Grubbs (born September 21, 1967) is an American composer, guitarist, pianist, and vocalist. He was a founding member of Squirrel Bait, Bastro, and Gastr del Sol. He has also played in Codeine, The Red Krayola, Bitch Magnet and The Wingdale ...

Glenn Kotche Glenn Kotche (born December 31, 1970 in Roselle, Illinois, United States) is an American drummer and composer, best known for his involvement in the band Wilco. He was named the 40th greatest drummer of all time by Gigwise in 2008. Prior to w ...

Fred Lonberg-Holm Fred Lonberg-Holm (born 1 October 1962) is an American cellist based in Chicago. He moved from New York City to Chicago in 1995. Lonberg-Holm is most identified with playing free improvisation and free jazz. He is also a composer of concert wor ...

, Jim O'Rourke,

Doug McCombs Douglas McCombs is an American musician who plays bass and guitar with the instrumental rock band Tortoise and leads the instrumental band Brokeback. He is also the longtime bassist for the rock band Eleventh Dream Day. In 1997, he formed Pullma ...

Scott Tuma Scott Tuma is a musician from Chicago who is best known for his live performances and also for having played guitar in the pioneering alt-country band Souled American. Since his departure from Souled American in the late 1990s Tuma has released num ...

Mick Turner Mick Turner (born 1960) is an Australian musician and artist. He is the founding mainstay guitarist for Dirty Three and has had art exhibitions around Australia and internationally. Previously he was a member of the Sick Things, the Moodists ( ...

Ken Vandermark Ken Vandermark (born September 22, 1964) is an American composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist. A fixture on the Chicago-area music scene since the 1990s, Vandermark has earned wide critical praise for his playing and his multilayered composi ...

, Jim White. Krassner is the only consistent member and Lonberg-Holm has contributed the most frequently to the project.

History

Boxhead Ensemble was formed Los Angeles, California, in 1991 when Michael Krassner was commissioned by

Braden King Braden King (born 1971 North Carolina) is a New York-based filmmaker, photographer and visual artist. His feature film, ''Here'' (2011), starring Ben Foster and Lubna Azabal, premiered at the 2011 Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals and was distr ...

and Larry Stuckey to record the music for their independent student documentary ''The Original Pantry Café''. Krassner assembled local musicians who improvised the music comprising the score. In 1996, King invited Krassner to create the music for another documentary he had filmed, ''Dutch Harbor''. Having moved to Chicago, Krassner became familiar with the local music and decided that

Gastr del Sol Gastr del Sol (derived from a combination of the name of a race horse (Gato del Sol) and David Grubbs' previous band Bastro) was an American, Chicago-based band, consisting for most of their career, of David Grubbs and Jim O'Rourke. Between 19 ...

would fit with the mood he was looking to create with the music. Reed player

joined the group and the improvised score was released in 1997 as '' Dutch Harbor - Where the Sea Breaks Its Back''. The film and its soundtrack received some acclaim and ''Dutch Harbor'' began touring Europe, with Boxhead Ensemble providing improvised musical accompaniment to every screening of the film. Some of the music performed at the showings appeared in '' The Last Place to Go'', released in 1998. After the tour of ''Dutch Harbor'', Krassner drastically altered the line-up of the group and Boxhead Ensemble started recording studio albums. They produced ''

Two Brothers Two Brothers may refer to: Films * ''Two Brothers'' (1929 film), a 1929 German silent film, directed by Mikhail Dubson * ''Two Brothers'' (2004 film), a 2004 French-British film, directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud * ''The Two Brothers'' (film), a ...

'' in 2001, ''

Quartets In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...

'' in 2003 and ''

Nocturnes A nocturne is a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night. History The term ''nocturne'' (from French ''nocturne'' 'of the night') was first applied to musical pieces in the 18th century, when it indicated an ensembl ...

'' in 2006. In 2010, Boxhead Ensemble composed the soundtrack to Braden King's feature-length dramatic film ''

Here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Television * Here TV (formerly "here!"), a TV ...

''. The group also performed for the movie's premier at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

, where they improvised the score while screening the film.

Discography

* '' Dutch Harbor - Where the Sea Breaks Its Back'' (1997) * '' The Last Place to Go'' (1998) * ''

'' (2001) * ''

'' (2003) * ''Nocturnes'' (2006) * ''The Unseen Hand: Music for Documentary Film'' (2014) * ''La Hora Magica'' (2015) * ''Here: Chicago Sessions'' (2017)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boxhead Ensemble Ambient music groups American post-rock groups Chamber music groups Musical collectives Musical groups established in 1991 Musical groups from Los Angeles 1991 establishments in California Atavistic Records artists