
Photo: Colin Patrick Smith
Modular synthesist Jeremiah Chiu and violist Marta Sofia Honer return with Different Rooms, a follow-up to their 2022 duo debut Recordings from the Åland Islands. The album was pieced together between late 2024 and early 2025, with material developed onstage during their Autumn EU tour and later shaped in their neighboring home studios in LA. The title is both literal and figurative as most of the pieces were composed in parallel, each artist working in their own space, and a few others came from live sessions with Josh Johnson and Jeff Parker. Speaking about it, Chiu and Honer say:
“This record marks an evolution in our approach to studio production. Our studios are side-by-side. When we were writing this album, you might have found us tracking viola stacks in one studio while, in the other, we were writing through-composed themes and rearranging the material. Granular synthesis and tape manipulation are key tools we use to create variation and movement in a composition. This process often yields surprising results, capturing the emotion but expressing it in unexpected ways. It feels essential that we embrace a bit of chance.”
Unlike the dreamlike landscapes of their previous album, which was captured in an archipelago in the Baltic Sea, the upcoming Different Rooms stays grounded. “We want this music to meet you where you are”, they explained. Described as an “urban album”, on the record field recordings are still present, but they come from train platforms, city streets, and everyday domestic scenes.
The full album lands on June 20th through International Anthem and ahead of it they have shared the enveloping and hazy ‘Mean Solar Time’ as the first single. Take a listen now.