Chris Schlarb (born July 10, 1977) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and guitarist. He is best known as the founder and leader of the Psychic Temple cult.
Career
In 1998, Schlarb co-founded the free improvisation ensemble Create (!).
Schlarb founded the record label
Sounds Are Active in 1999.
Sounds Are Active released over 50 albums and produced the
Sean Carnage Sean Carnage, born Sean Carney, is an American director and producer living in Los Angeles. He is also a concert promoter, hosting "Sean Carnage Monday Nights" at Pehrspace in Echo Park, Carnage has also hosted his "Monday nights" in the past at Lo ...
rockumentary
A concert film, or concert movie, is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by either a musician or a stand-up comedian.
Early history
The ...
''
40 Bands 80 Minutes!'' (2006).
Schlarb's first solo album, ''Twilight and Ghost Stories'' (2007), was the result of recordings sourced from musicians across the US as well as his own home recordings of instruments, rainfall, and traffic.
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
named ''I Heart Lung's'' ''Interoceans'' (2008) one of their ''Top 5 Jazz Albums of 2008.''
In 2009, Schlarb collaborated with Swedish video game developer
Nifflas
Nicklas Nygren (born 6 January 1983), better known by the handle Nifflas, is an Indie game, independent Swedish video game developer. He is known for his freeware ''Knytt'' series and along with another freeware game, ''Within a Deep Forest''. He ...
on ''NightSky''. Schlarb composed forty tracks of original music for ''NightSky'' which was nominated for the
Independent Games Festival
The Independent Games Festival (IGF) is an annual festival at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), the largest annual gathering of the independent video game industry. Originally founded in 1998 to promote independent video game developers, ...
’s Seumas McNally Grand Prize.
BoingBoing
''Boing Boing'' is a website, first established as a zine in 1988, later becoming a group blog. Common topics and themes include technology, futurism, science fiction, gadgets, intellectual property, Disney, and left-wing politics. It twice won ...
described the score as “''what game music can be''”.
''Psychic Temple''
In 2010, Schlarb formed a band in
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
called ''Psychic Temple''. The band is called a 'cult' by members, drawing from similarities Schlarb observed between bands and cults.
''Psychic Temple'' has released 5 studio albums: ''Psychic Temple'' (
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
), ''Psychic Temple II'' (
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
), ''Psychic Temple Plays Music For Airports'' (
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
), ''Psychic Temple III'' (
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
), and ''Psychic Temple IV'' (
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
).
BIG EGO
In 2016, Schlarb and wife, Adriana, opened BIG EGO Studios, a recording studio located in Long Beach, California.
In 2018, Schlarb founded BIG EGO Records, a record label that handles all physical distribution with a bi-annual shipment of select vinyl albums to BIG EGO annual series subscribers.
Schlarb has collaborated with
Mike Watt
Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter.
Watt co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo ...
(
Minutemen
Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...
),
Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released nine solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomi ...
,
Nels Cline
Nels Courtney Cline (born January 4, 1956) is an American guitarist and composer. He has been the guitarist for the band Wilco since 2004.
In the 1980s he played jazz, often in collaboration with his twin brother Alex Cline, Alex, a percussionis ...
(
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently dur ...
),
Paul Masvidal
Paul Albert Masvidal (born January 20, 1971) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist, singer and a founding member of the progressive metal band Cynic. He has remained a continual member in Cynic for nearly three decades and has ...
(
Cynic),
Mick Rossi
Mick Rossi, (born December 9, 1956) is a Grammy-nominated American pianist, drummer, percussionist, conductor and composer known for his diverse, progressive work in the New York Downtown scene. A longtime collaborator of Philip Glass and Paul S ...
(
Philip Glass Ensemble),
Dave Longstreth
David Longstreth (born December 17, 1981) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer and guitarist for the band Dirty Projectors.
Biography
Longstreth was born in Southbury, Connecticut. Longstreth attended Yale University and ...
(
The Dirty Projectors
Dirty Projectors is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002. The band is the project of singer-songwriter David Longstreth, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The b ...
),
Julianna Barwick
Julianna Barwick is an American musician who composes using electronic loops. Her first album, '' The Magic Place'', was released in 2011.
Music career
Barwick has said that her music is influenced by her participation in church choir while gro ...
,
Dave Easley (
Brian Blade Fellowship),
Ikey Owens
iKey, LTD, also known as iKey Industrial Peripherals, is an Austin, Texas-based manufacturer of rugged computer keyboards, mice and other peripherals. The company was founded in 1989 and currently works with several Fortune 500 companies. The comp ...
(
The Mars Volta
The Mars Volta is an American progressive rock band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 2001. The band's only constant members are Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, producer, direction) and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals, lyrics), whose partnership forms ...
),
Daedelus, Chad Taylor,
Serengeti
The Serengeti ( ) ecosystem is a geographical region in Africa, spanning northern Tanzania. The protected area within the region includes approximately of land, including the Serengeti National Park and several game reserves. The Serengeti ...
,
Omid Walizadeh
Omid Walizadeh, also known as Omid or OD, is a hip hop producer based in Long Beach, California. He has produced tracks for the likes of Freestyle Fellowship, Busdriver, 2Mex, Subtitle, and Awol One.
History
Omid Walizadeh graduated from Loyola ...
,
Busdriver
Regan Farquhar (born February 12, 1978), better known by his stage name Busdriver, is an American rapper and producer from Los Angeles, California. He has collaborated with rappers such as Myka 9, Milo, Nocando, Open Mike Eagle, 2Mex, and Radioi ...
,
Awol One
Anthony Martin, better known by his stage name Awol One, is an alternative hip hop artist and graphic designer based in Los Angeles, California.
Discography
Albums
Awol One
* ''Souldoubt'' (2001) (with Daddy Kev)
* ''Number 3 on the Phone'' (2 ...
,
Diane Cluck
Diane Cluck is an American singer-songwriter. She describes her music as "intuitive folk". She currently resides in Virginia.
Early life
Cluck was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She began taking piano lessons at the age of 7, and was classi ...
, Steuart Liebig,
Walter Kitundu Walter Jesse Kitundu (born July 3, 1973) is a musical instrument builder, graphic artist, and musical composer from San Francisco, California.
Biography
Kitundu was born in Rochester, Minnesota and spent his early years in Tanzania. He returned to ...
,
Soul-Junk
Soul-Junk is an experimental genre-hopping Christian rock and hip hop group from San Diego, California.
Background
The roots of Soul-Junk began in 1993 when Glen Galloway began experimenting while touring in Europe with his rock band Truman ...
,
Chad Van Gaalen, Liz Janes, Maria Elena Silva,
Philip Glenn
Philip Glenn (born October 19, 1987) is an American violinist, pianist, and mandolinist. He is best known for his work on ''Psychic Temple IV'' (2017), ''How it All Goes Down'' (2017), and ''Outsider'' (2018).
Early life
Glenn was born in Los ...
,
DM Stith
David Michael Stith is a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who released his first album ''Heavy Ghost'' in 2009 on the Asthmatic Kitty label. He currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.
David Stith comes from a musical family: his fa ...
,
and
Talip Peshkepia.
Discography
Studio Albums
As Composer
* ''Twilight and Ghost Stories'' (
2007) (
Asthmatic Kitty
Asthmatic Kitty is an American independent record label founded in 1999 by a community of musicians from Holland, Michigan led by Sufjan Stevens and his stepfather Lowell Brams. Some were Holland natives, and others had come to attend local coll ...
)
* ''Psychic Temple'' (
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
) (
Asthmatic Kitty
Asthmatic Kitty is an American independent record label founded in 1999 by a community of musicians from Holland, Michigan led by Sufjan Stevens and his stepfather Lowell Brams. Some were Holland natives, and others had come to attend local coll ...
)
* ''NightSky'' (
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
) (
Asthmatic Kitty
Asthmatic Kitty is an American independent record label founded in 1999 by a community of musicians from Holland, Michigan led by Sufjan Stevens and his stepfather Lowell Brams. Some were Holland natives, and others had come to attend local coll ...
)
* ''Psychic Temple II'' (
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
) (
Asthmatic Kitty
Asthmatic Kitty is an American independent record label founded in 1999 by a community of musicians from Holland, Michigan led by Sufjan Stevens and his stepfather Lowell Brams. Some were Holland natives, and others had come to attend local coll ...
)
* ''Making The Saint'' (
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
) (
Asthmatic Kitty
Asthmatic Kitty is an American independent record label founded in 1999 by a community of musicians from Holland, Michigan led by Sufjan Stevens and his stepfather Lowell Brams. Some were Holland natives, and others had come to attend local coll ...
)
* ''
Dropsy
Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...
'' (
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
) (
Joyful Noise Recordings
Joyful Noise Recordings is an independent record label from Indianapolis, Indiana. The label was founded in 2003 in Bloomington, Indiana by Karl Hofstetter, who also played drums on many of the label's first releases. Joyful Noise maintains an a ...
)
* ''Psychic Temple Plays Music For Airports'' (
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
) (
Joyful Noise Recordings
Joyful Noise Recordings is an independent record label from Indianapolis, Indiana. The label was founded in 2003 in Bloomington, Indiana by Karl Hofstetter, who also played drums on many of the label's first releases. Joyful Noise maintains an a ...
)
* ''Psychic Temple III'' (
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
) (
Asthmatic Kitty
Asthmatic Kitty is an American independent record label founded in 1999 by a community of musicians from Holland, Michigan led by Sufjan Stevens and his stepfather Lowell Brams. Some were Holland natives, and others had come to attend local coll ...
)
* ''Psychic Temple IV'' (
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
) (
Joyful Noise Recordings
Joyful Noise Recordings is an independent record label from Indianapolis, Indiana. The label was founded in 2003 in Bloomington, Indiana by Karl Hofstetter, who also played drums on many of the label's first releases. Joyful Noise maintains an a ...
)
With I Heart Lung
* ''Interoceans'' (
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
) (
Asthmatic Kitty
Asthmatic Kitty is an American independent record label founded in 1999 by a community of musicians from Holland, Michigan led by Sufjan Stevens and his stepfather Lowell Brams. Some were Holland natives, and others had come to attend local coll ...
)
* ''Between Them A Forest Grew, Trackless and Quiet'' (
2007) (
Sounds Are Active)
With Create (!)
* ''A Prospect of Freedom'' (
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
) (
Sounds Are Active)
* ''Liz Janes & Create (!)'' (
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
) (
Asthmatic Kitty
Asthmatic Kitty is an American independent record label founded in 1999 by a community of musicians from Holland, Michigan led by Sufjan Stevens and his stepfather Lowell Brams. Some were Holland natives, and others had come to attend local coll ...
)
Filmography
Film
References
External links
BIG EGO- Official Website
Chris Schlarb BandcampAsthmatic Kitty Artist PageJoyful Noise Recordings Artist PageInstagram
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlarb, Chris
Living people
People from Long Beach, California
1977 births
Asthmatic Kitty artists
American jazz musicians
21st-century religious leaders
American bandleaders
Songwriters from California
American jazz composers
Jazz musicians from California