There are certainly exceptions, but I’m typically pretty cynical when it comes to sharing a “story” surrounding a recording. Sometimes the narrative overshadows the work, and inadvertently (or even deliberately) provides a roadmap that sends the listener down a particular path as they engage with the material. When those details provide further insight into an artist’s intention, I usually end up feeling that it detracts rather than elevates the recording.
Despite these reservations, the conceptual underpinning of this recording seemed odd enough that I thought it warranted a mention. But of course it should stand or fall on its own merits without these details. Even if it is intimately tied to the sad and tragic death of my dear mother.
[REDACTED]
When my mom ended up in hospice I took a trip to Lorain to visit, knowing that it would probably be the last time I’d see her alive. We hung out and ate banana popsicles. At one point, smiling, she said, “I could go at any time.” It was a dark joke, quoting the Leonardo DiCaprio character, Arnie, from one of her favorite films, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. The quote, which references a diagnosis Arnie was given at birth, indicates that he will likely not see adulthood, and could in fact, die at any moment. I enjoyed the levity. And I also like to think the comment reflected our shared appreciation for the absurd.
I wanted to find an angle to explore the experience of losing a parent that felt both personal, yet unexpected. And also challenging- creatively, in addition to emotionally. The aforementioned moment resonated with me, and I decided to take it a step further. One process led to many other processes, and eventually a series of tracks emerged, each comprising samples from the score to the 1993 film What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. In most cases this approach led to the foundation for the tracks, which then influenced their development and direction. It’s as good an angle as any I suppose. And I think my mom would approve.
There is, of course, much more to the “story.” But I’ve already said too much.
credits
released October 22, 2025
Written and played by Nate Scheible, 2024-2025
John Dierker – bass clarinet (2,4,5)
Kimia Hesabi – viola (1,4,5)
Alma Laprida – tromba marina (4)
Mattson Ogg – guitar (4,5)
Kay Scheible – voice (2,6)
Percussion and piano recorded by Don Godwin at Tonal Park, Takoma Park, MD
Mastered by Adam Badí Donoval
Early ideas for this project were developed in residency at Centre d’Art i Natura in Farrera, Spain in 2024
supported by 8 fans who also own “then, inaudibly”
Personally, this is my favorite Grouper album. The lofi sound of this record is amazing and it gives off that melancholic, ethereal, and somewhat depressive feel to it. That kind of album you listen to either when it's a cold early morning or when it's a freezing moonlit night. Love this album so much. The Laughing Stock
supported by 7 fans who also own “then, inaudibly”
A string section warms up with John Adams or Phillip Glass on their minds in an empty theatre two hundred years ago. A forlorn piano remembers something in an ancient, long-forgotten hotel lobby. Somebody plays standup bass in the dark, in a sunken vessel at the bottom of the ocean. An orchestra scores a desperate, wintery Scandinavian shoreline for no-one to hear. There's something hopeful in desolate and unheard things, because they can be beautiful without human commentary.
albinobone
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