Biography

Hush Arbors began in 2001 as a solo vehicle for Virginia-born singer/songwriter and guitarist Keith Wood. Wood had worked prolifically as a touring auxiliary musician in freak folk and experimental acts like Sunburned Hand of the Man and Six Organs of Admittance, and his acid country/drifter folk solo work fell in stylistically with those peers. Early Hush Arbors recordings came in the form of limited CD-R releases on the Digitalis label, and it wasn't until 2006 that early CD-R album Since We Have Fallen saw proper re-release on the Foxglove Recordings label. The same year also saw the release of newer material on the Landscape of Bone album, and some live dates to support the release. Still a rotating member of many bands himself, Wood adopted this cast-of-many approach for the lineup of Hush Arbors, enlisting players from the experimental scene like drummer Ryan Sawyer, Wooden Wand main man James Toth, and various other musicians to back him up in a live setting. In 2008, Hush Arbors began releasing records on Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace! imprint, beginning with a self-titled long-player. This album was followed by 2009's Yankee Reality, produced by Dinosaur Jr. leader J Mascis. During this time, Wood stayed equally busy collaborating with others and prolifically recording and releasing his own work. Apart from issuing scads of tour-only CDs, live recordings, and split releases with bands like Jerusalem and the Star Baskets and the North Sea, Wood continued work as a touring musician with Current 93, Jack Rose, Thurston Moore, and others. In 2011, a stripped-down Hush Arbors consisting of Wood and N.Y.C. improviser/composer Jason Ajemian embarked on a massive two-month tour of the U.S. and later overseas. The project's collaborative streak continued in 2012 with the release of Aureola on Thrill Jockey, a split LP with like-minded psychedelic contemporaries Arbouretum. ~ Fred Thomas, Rovi