Yob guitarist and vocalist Mike Scheidt has teamed up with composer James Romig for a 58-minute piece called "The Complexity Of Distance." The title for the piece was chosen in December 2019 and according to Romig "refers to the shifting temporal distances created by the work's background rhythmic structure and also references the challenges of collaboration between the Illinois-based composer and Oregon-based performer."
Scheidt explained the piece more in an Instagram post, comparing it to the works of Sunn O))). No release date has been set for the piece, but you can hear four minutes of it below. Given it's Scheidt and all the fantastic music he's put out over the years, anyone who's even remotely a fan should feel pretty excited about this.
"In 2018 I was lucky enough to meet a composer by the name of James Romig @jamesromigcomposer . He's a classical composer and music professor at Western Illinois University. One of his recent compositions for solo piano, 'Still,' was a Pulitzer finalist in 2019. Around that time, he asked me if I'd be interested in performing and recording a new piece that he'd compose for me for solo distorted guitar, somewhat in the vein of Sunn O))), but really it's own thing. My answer was yes, of course.
"After receiving the score, I spent the better part of 2021 taking lessons with my friend and fabulous guitarist Jake Pavlak @fernsoforegon , learning how to read Romig's composition, how to count the beats, and how articulate the 20+ different chord voicings. In October I walked into Gung Ho Studio to work with Billy Barnett (who's worked on 6 out of 8 of Yob's albums) and together with James (remotely), Jake Pavlak, and Billy, we recorded 'The Complexity Of Distance.' It turned out great!
"It's monolithic, clocking in at 58 minutes. Romig's website is in my bio for a more detailed look at his work (he's also on Instagram and Facebook). There is also a sample of the new piece on Youtube (which can be found in the link to James's website). I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to work with James! We do not have a release date as of yet, but I'll have more to share on that front this year. Maybe soon. Until then, cheers!"
You can also check out Romig's site here for an explanation on the piece.
