“No Emotion” by Hamilton, Ontario-based producer and multi-instrumentalist moon:and:6 (Michael Chambers) is an angular instrumental post-rock track inspired by the jazz-influenced sounds of Chicago’s Tortoise and Isotope 217. Chambers uses vibraphones, twangy guitars, distorted bass guitars, synthesizers and crunchy drums to create his own genre-bending sound. The song, originally written and released by Chambers’ friend, labelmate and frequent collaborator ttwwrrss (Sean Thompson), is based around a central melodic motif repeated throughout the track with varying instrumentation. The climax of the piece features a multi-layered concoction of melodic instruments playing the same angular riff.

“It was the melody of ‘No Emotion’ that really chose the direction of the track for me. I really liked the way the angular melody seemed to jump right off of the vibraphone. The track quickly developed from there. When developing electronic synth patches, I’m always inspired by my friend Sean Thompson’s work (aka ttwwrrss), and this track is no exception. I also really wanted to try to incorporate the gnarled, syncopated drum sounds of Tortoise’s recordings into this track. The atmospheric, twangy guitar part was inspired in part by Jeff Parker (Tortoise), but also fellow Canadian guitarists Luke Doucet (Whitehorse, Sarah McLachlan) and Colin Cripps (Crash Vegas, Blue Rodeo), both of whom I love working in the studio with.” –Michael Chambers (moon:and:6)

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