Threshing Session is an unedited live recording of three sets of chimes in just intonation, subsequently slowed and pitched down. Recorded on the same porch where most of Afternoon Hours and the forthcoming Fricatives were realized, the set gradually evolves against the backdrop of a proper summer rainstorm in Maine. When I finished performing that day, I really felt like I had achieved something and sat with the results for a long time, trying to figure out the best way to release them. At one point, I was using the recording as the basis for something far more minimal, reducing the ringing of the chimes to little more than sine tones, but it breathes better in this mix. Close listeners might notice that an excerpt of this set was used as the foundation of what became “Drive Time Radio” on Afternoon Hours.

Taylor Deupree, who has been a patient guide in mastering my last few albums, created a number of masters that I still hemmed and hawed over. In the end, this final version is the result of his work and a bit of additional tweaking on my end. Let’s just say the parts that sound good are his—and anything less than that is on me.

A threshing session is a term given to certain Quaker meetings that foster further discussion without necessarily requiring resolution or decisions. To some extent, that summary mirrors an internal process that I went through in living with this music, so I thought the title was apt. That my professional job is teaching at a Quaker school only helped to solidify this link.

I’m proud of this music and believe it can really take you somewhere if you let it. Thank you to Jordan Smith for allowing me to use her photograph as its cover.