Four years after Jherek Bischoff released his magnificent debut album Composed, which was a Pick of the year then and remains a favourite of ours to this day, the follow-up has finally arrived. Cistern, a profoundly beautiful and majestic album, came out a couple of weeks ago via The Leaf Label. Coinciding with its release, and marking his first UK show, the immensely talented multi-instrumentalist and composer launched the album last Tuesday at The Courtyard Theatre in London, accompanied by a string quartet in what was an incredibly special and sweaty show. Bischoff’s longtime friend and collaborator Amanda Palmer also took part in the show, joining him to perform material from their Strung Out In Heaven: A Bowie String Quartet Tribute EP as well as a few of her own songs. The two and a stellar slew of other musicians and guests will perform Bowie cover songs arranged for string quartet tomorrow at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms.
In more recent related news, Bischoff has shared a video for the album’s resplendent and poignant ‘Automatism’, directed by Jim Batt. Here it is.