Formed in 2019 in Oakland, California by Benjamin Rodgers and Zekarias Thompson, Agnes Martian began as a weekly ritual of unstructured, cosmic exploration—a musical extension of gatherings at their shared home, Agneshaus, named in part for painter Agnes Martin. What started as open-ended warehouse jams with friends from the Bay Area’s improvisation scene evolved into a live ensemble known for immersive, largely improvised sets that bridge the Kosmische pioneers of the 1970s with the region’s deep experimental lineage.
Their 2022 debut, The Future Light Cone (on Centripetal Force/Cardinal Fuzz’s Altered States imprint), introduced their blend of propulsive rhythm and meditative drone, featuring poet gideon hart and Icelandic composer Pétur Eggerts. Since then, the group has expanded its collaborative network through a series of quadraphonic performances around the Bay Area, treating sound as a spatial and sculptural medium.
Following that debut, Elsewhere finds Agnes Martian widening their sonic and philosophical scope. Conceived from the ground up through synthesizer exploration, the album incorporates FM and wavetable synthesis alongside acoustic instrumentation to create a richly textured suite that moves between propulsion and stillness, balancing analog pulse with organic resonance. The title extends the “light cone” concept from special relativity—“Elsewhere” describing a space beyond both past and future events, a metaphor for the band’s search for new soundmaking approaches and imaginative futures.
Developed over three years through remote and in-person collaboration, the album features contributions from Primary Mystical Experience (Galecstasy) on drums, Rocco Freeman (Banshee, Mirage) on guitar, and Eggerts on violin and acoustic textures, with Thompson and gideon shaping its narrative and emotional core. The project’s evolution reflects connection as much as distance, continuing the spirit of open collaboration that began at Agneshaus.
At its heart, Elsewhere moves from tightly wound repetition to open, exploratory drift—a journey that captures Agnes Martian’s fascination with the spaces between rhythm and release, sound and silence. Drawing inspiration from Harmonia, Upper Astral, The Far East Family Band’s Fumio Miyashita, and Philippe Besombes & Jean-Louis Rizet, the band channels the spirit of self-recorded experimentation that defined the outer reaches of Kosmische and new age sound.
Elsewhere will be released November 14th on Centripetal Force, available in a limited vinyl edition and digital formats. Recommended for fans of Harmonia, Popol Vuh, Cluster, The Far East Family Band, and other travelers of the cosmic range.
Preorders for Elsewhere are currently live and can be found at Centripetal Force.
