After their start as a largely acoustic improvisational field recording project from 2004 to 2008, the band electrified in 2014 and slowly began playing live shows. By 2017, the band had expanded into an evolving collective with members coming and going as time and life would allow. To accommodate a constantly rotating lineup, the band adopted a “structured improvisational” approach to writing, recording and performing. Songs became lofi roadmaps, never played the same twice and often heavily influenced by the players at that moment.
With the help of local arts organizations, the Northern Arm slowly began to find its footing in collaborative exercises and performances. After recording three albums in its larger format, the band moved to a fully improvisational approach with the COVID-19 pandemic severely limiting its ability to write and rehearse. Their latest release, the Destroyer, is the first album to feature this approach. More work is on the way. Ambient, dreamy, and big, this is music at home in a gallery. The Northern Arm’s new release Lima will be available exclusively on Bandcamp on February 3rd, 2023
