Archie Pelago - "Hall of Human Origins"

Listening to Archie Pelago's jazz-y joy rides floods me with relief, because it reminds me that Brooklyn is still full of fucking weirdos. I might have a bruise on my hip from bumping into a beer pong table on my way through Williamsburg, but in the end, everything will be OK.

Hirshi, Kroba and Cosmo D (I won't bore you with their real names), are all classical musicians by training. Before you start picturing three sniveling nerds though, we're talking the kinds of classical musicians who drop acid and play the saxophone in the forest. You know the type.

Apparently, they met in the smoky side rooms of seminal Brooklyn parties like TURRBOTAX®, and bonded over their mutual loves for jazz and beatmaking. After a string of vinyl releases on indie labels like Mister Saturday Night Records and Slime Recordings, their latest EP, Hall of Human Origins, was released last month on the New York upstart Styles Upon Styles.

The synesthetic video, much like the one they made for their last track "Chronomancer," unfurls as a procession of bizarre psychotropic effects. Each sound is represented by a different kaleidoscopic pattern, and a Zen-like figure randomly flashes into the color-saturated frames. Watch out for her. She's creepy.

A thundering kickdrum forms the spine of the primal techno workout. Tempos change without warning. Distant horns blare in the background. Strings come out sideways. Everything feels loose and improvised—which, as evidenced by this cute little flowchart they made for their live setup, is exactly how the guys like things to go.