Onyx Collective - Lower East Suite Part Two (2017)

The first five tracks from "Lower East Suite Part Two" were recorded at The Good Company, a small shop in Manhattan's Lower East Side that often serves as an impromptu venue for Onyx Collective. Recorded on an iPhone, the tracks are taken from four sessions at the store and include ambient noises, such as honking horns from the street and the sound of passerby stepping in to hear the performance. Mike Swoop mixed the five tracks to render an accurate depiction of the Onyx Collective live experience.

The latter three tracks on "Lower East Suite Part Two" were recorded at various locations around New York. 'Shed Meditations' features a composition of Jack Gulielmetti's guitar recorded to cassette tape at the Onyx practice space in Chinatown. 'From Air' features an enthusiastic conversation from a stranger about his love for music at a bookstore opening, with Austin Williamson using droning chimes as a cymbal to provide a harmonic effect. The EP ends with 'Eyes Closed', a duet from Isaiah Barr and Paul Johnson (electric bass) taken from a past session at 172 Forsyth St, the old Know-Wave space. "Lower East Suite Part Two" is the next entry in Onyx Collective's archival scrapbook, a captured live moment of the band's history.

In September of 2016, Onyx Collective, a jazz ensemble who had been performing throughout New York for years in both rugged DIY spaces and esteemed clubs, quietly released their debut album 2nd Ave Rundown on vinyl via Supreme. In the ensuing year they would continue to build an underground profile in the city, in spite of the fact that none of their recordings existed online. Now, they are prepared to make their proper debut through the release of three projects (two EPs and an LP) via Big Dada. Titled "Lower East Suite", the recordings that make up the releases are taken from Onyx's performances over the past year. Storefronts, bars, and street corners act as both venues and studios for Onyx Collective.