Horse Lords are an experimental rock quartet from Baltimore who play in just intonation, modifying their instruments and playing unconventional tunings in order to create a unique sound. Additionally, the group utilize modular synthesis, algorithmic composition, microtonal harmonies, and other techniques. The group's lengthy, hypnotic, polyrhythmic pieces draw from Krautrock, Afrobeat, and Appalachian folk traditions, and are surprisingly accessible for such experimental music. After forming in 2010, the band became a fixture of the American D.I.Y. music scene, touring continuously and releasing acclaimed recordings such as 2016's Interventions.
Horse Lords consist of
Andrew Bernstein (saxophone, percussion),
Max Eilbacher (bass, modular synthesizers), Owen Gardner (guitar), and Sam Haberman (drums); most of the group's members had previously played together in Teeth Mountain. Inspired by composers
La Monte Young and
James Tenney, the group formed in 2010 and began writing music for just intonation, using self-modified guitars with repositioned frets. They issued Mixtape, Vol. 1 in 2012, followed by their self-titled proper debut full-length on
Ehse Records. Two more mixtapes followed, as the group toured the United States and Canada with the likes of
Matmos,
Guerilla Toss, and
Guardian Alien. Following a 2013 split 7" with
Lower Dens on the
Famous Class label, Horse Lords' sophomore LP Hidden Cities was put out by Burlington, Vermont-based
NNA Tapes in 2014. The group issued digital collection Hidden Cities Remix in 2015, featuring reinterpretations by
Jason Urick,
Wobbly, and solo mixes by both members of
Matmos. The quartet's third album, Interventions, was released by Brooklyn's
Northern Spy label in 2016. Mixtape IV appeared in 2017, containing the
Julius Eastman composition "Stay on It" as well as the band's own "Remember the Future." The Common Task, Horse Lords' most politically minded released, arrived in 2020. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi