Toil to Gather is a multi-media duo collaboration between Nicki Chen (electroacoustic viola) and Nick Deyoe (electric guitars and basses). Their music makes use of amplified masses of delicate details operating amidst chaotic walls of sound, noise-infused melodies introducing unexpected harmonic relationships, and the constant evolution of reality. At the core of their approach to sound is the importance of human touch. The nuanced interactions between hair, wood, flesh, and metal is what drives their world, even when the resulting sounds are so disfigured that the original instrument is unidentifiable. In addition to their improvised instrumental live performances, they work with abstract narratives built from erasure poetry, dyed paper, and video production. Their EP Reared an Amoeboid Entity is three tracks of improvised, melodically-winding, and texture-driven noisy landscapes. Traversing from rich and warm textures to biting and punishing, Toil to Gather creates a lush and complex landscape.
