The Lost Shapes

The Lost Shapes
Suface Tension

Release date: 12/06/2024

Slow & Steady Records announces the debut of The Lost Shapes, a Bay Area-based composer’s collective co-led by all its band members. Entitled Surface Tension, the five-track release explores the concepts of time and texture in music. The Lost Shapes features five of the most respected improvisers in the Bay Area – Max Miller-Loran on trumpet, Beth Schenck on alto saxophone, Mark Clifford on vibraphone, Jason Levis on drums, and Safa Shokrai on bass.

“We all compose for the band, and also refer to each other's ideas in our writing,” notes Shokrai. Each track is a journey, moving from delicate themes and layered melodies, to swelling and fiery improvisations. Written material and improvised segments flow together seamlessly. A melody could be improvised, or notated – two sides of the same coin. The band keeps you guessing as it breaks down into smaller instrumentations throughout a song, then changes the groove and builds it all back up. Surface Tension is an inspired first release from a new band that’s just scratching the surface.

Beth Schenck, alto
Max Miller-Loran, trumpet
Mark Clifford, vibes
Jason Levis, drums
Safa Shokrai, bass
Recorded at Guerllia Studios, engineered, mixed, and mastered by Myles Boisen