Electro-acoustic trio from Chicago.
Creating densely textured works that can range from stark minimalism
to violent, carefully directed chaos, Haptic combines a rigorous attention
to sonic detail with restless experimentalism. Formed in Chicago in the
spring of 2005 by Steven Hess (Cleared, RLYR, Innode, ex-Dropp
Ensemble), Joseph Clayton Mills (Maar, Partial, Jonathan Chen, ex-Dropp Ensemble),
and Adam Sonderberg (ex-Dropp Ensemble), Haptic was initially
conceived as a vehicle for live collaboration. To that end, the group has
frequently incorporated a different, rotating fourth member, deliberately
chosen to send the music in unpredictable and challenging directions.
Such collaborators have ranged from Tony Buck (The Necks) and
Olivia Block to Mark Solotroff (BLOODYMINDED).
Individual members of the group have recorded for a multitude of
labels including Kranky, Crouton, Editions Mego, Longbox Recordings,
Relapse Records, Utech, Cathnor, Tonschacht, Absurd, Thrill Jockey,
and BOXmedia among others.