Photo Credit: Tristan Williams

BrhyM, the collective featuring Bruce Hornsby and the experimental chamber ensemble yMusic, have come together to announce a new collaborative project, Deep Sea Vents, due on March 1 via Zappo Productions/Thirty Tigers. As a first listen of the impending 10-track LP, the ensemble has shared the first single, “Deep Blue.” Listen here. 

The initial single is a surprising blend of layered instrumentation made unique with the robust vocal additions that drape the funky meditative strut. Speaking about the “Deep Blue,” Hornsby offered, “In eighth grade, we had a poetry section in English class, and Stephen Crane (“The Red Badge Of Courage”) was on the list. For some reason, some of my friends and I thought two of his poems were a scream so we never forgot them, and I couldn’t get them out of my mind after creating this track so just started singing them- voilà.”

He continued, “The rest fairly much wrote itself, and Rob and CJ took over from there. yMusic may be the funkiest, groovingest chamber group in all the land! Plus- I’m making my recorded debut as an electric sitarist on this piece- I have a limited range and not much ability, granted, but I feel it added a wry, exotic and soulful texture to the song, so why not?

yMusic and Bruce Hornsby crossed paths after the two billed acts performed back-back sets before Bon Iver at the Eaux Claires Music and Arts Festival 2016. Following the festival, Hornsby asked them to play at his Funhouse Fest the following year, igniting their collaborative exchange, with yMusic first appearing on Hornsby’s 2019 album, Absolute Zero. 

In due time, the collective hit the road in 2020, performing in late February and early March before the Covid shutdown. Ultimately, the experience planted the seed of what has become Deep Sea Vents. The LP was produced by Hornsby and Rob Moose and recorded in Williamsburg, Va., and New York City, with additional contributions from jazz legend Branford Marsalis, Mark Dover, and drummer Chad Wright. 

Pre-order Deep Sea Vents. Scroll down to listen to the initial single, “Deep Sea.”

Deep Sea Vents Track Listing:

1. Wild Whaling Life 4:21

2. (My) Theory Of Everything 3:26 

3. Platypus Wow 3:49

4. Phase Change 4:22

5. Foreign Sounds 4:30

6. The Wake Of St Brendan 3:40

7. Deep Blue 3:22 

8. The Baited Line 2:35

9. Barber Booty 3:05

10. Deep Sea Vents 3:34