Buke And Gase, So Percussion – A Record Of (2021)

Buke and Gase (originally Buke and Gass) are an experimental indie rock duo from Brooklyn, New York, who made their recording debut in 2009. Playing unique instruments of their own design, Buke and Gase generate a sonic palette that's very much their own, rooted in the traditional functions of guitar and bass but thrown into different relief. Their songs, usually built from ideas generated during extended improvisation, mix fractured melodic lines and strong but jagged rhythms, generating a sound that's playful but also curiously alien. The duo's early recordings, such as 2010's Riposte and 2013's General Dome, were rooted in the instrumental interplay between musicians Aron Sanchez and Arone Dyer, while 2019's Scholars found the group expanding their boundaries as they relied more on electronics. This trend carried into the next decade, beginning with their 2021 collaboration with fellow Brooklyn experimentalists So Percussion.

Founded in 2008, Buke and Gase is comprised of multi-instrumentalists Aron Sanchez and Arone Dyer; the latter was formerly a member of the band Proton Proton, while both worked together in Hominid. The group's name is derived from two experimental instruments created by the bandmembers: the buke, played by Dyer, is something of an electrified six-string ukulele, while the gass, played by Sanchez, is something of a cross between a guitar and bass (guitar plus bass equals g-ass, thus gass). Buke and Gass made their recording debut in 2009 with +/-, a self-released seven-track mini-album, which was followed by their first full-length effort, Riposte, in 2010. The duo also played occasional shows locally in Brooklyn. They eventually tweaked their name, changing the spelling to Buke and Gase to avoid any confusion about the pronunciation of their trademark instrumentation.

The pair released their first album under the newly refined moniker, General Dome, in 2013. The band performed extensively in support, playing in North America, the United Kingdom, Asia, and Australia, while also touring as an opening act for the National, who invited Dyer to contribute a guest vocal on their 2017 album Sleep Well Beast. They also shared stages with a diverse range of respected artists, including Laurie Anderson, Deerhoof, Swans, and Shellac. During downtime from the group, Sanchez was commissioned by composer Bryce Dessner to build a set of third-bridge instruments specifically for his 2015 piece "Music for Wood and Strings."

Buke and Gase took time off from recording after their 2015 projects as they re-evaluated their approach. Dyer and Sanchez developed a strong interest in electronic music, and they created a device called the Arx that would allow them to trigger percussion samples, manipulate vocals, and change effects on their instruments with ease. At the same time, the buke and the gass became less prominent in their arrangements as they explored the possibilities of electronic instruments. 2019's Scholars was the first project from this new incarnation of Buke and Gase; initially, Scholars was going to be a new name for the duo reflecting their change in direction, but they chose to keep the original moniker and use Scholars as an album title. Their next LP, 2021's A Record of, was recorded in a 300-year-old house in Hudson, New York, in conjunction with experimental percussion ensemble So Percussion.