Weir & Mxxnwatchers Go Feral on Stoner House EP

Weir (Chris Weir) and Mxxnwatchers (Gunter Jones) have solidified a unique sound to the point that when one of their tracks plays, you know almost immediately that it’s theirs. It's a challenge most musicians can't always conquer.

Weir and Mxxnwatchers are both electronic musicians; a lot of their timbres come from some sort of synthesis or processing. However, it sounds more as if someone ingested a heroic dose of psilocybin and took a synthesizer, hooked it up to a Land Rover and drove it into the middle of the rainforest to capture the aural ambiance of the landscape. Riding in the back of this sound safari is a groove-focused band, comprising organic instruments such as guitars, horns and percussion in the vein of cajones, roto toms, bongos and shakers.

All of these sounds are forged together to form the pair's latest EP, Stoner House, which has just been released on Boulder’s New Something label.

The opening track, “Sine Seeds,” reflects the ambience of a nocturnal rainforest. Tropical insects rattle and chirp around the stereo field of the song as a bellowing, synthesized croak of a frog whoops from underneath the cacophony of the jungle. A softened swash of a reversed cymbal appears, and a delayed percussion greets Jones’s melodic, Latin-influenced guitar. After a little bit of this, a four-to-the-floor kick drum comes in, countered by a tempered snare, as auxiliary percussion played primarily by Weir fills in the spectral space around it. Blustering from the deep, a layered saxophone played by Tanner Fruit emerges, adding a dub-influenced aesthetic to the mix. This is all while oscillating, mildly distorted synths run through for the duration of the track, giving off vibes similar to the collaborations between the late Lee “Scratch” Perry and Dr. Alex Patterson of the Orb.

Similar elements are used on “Rainfloral Kaffè,” except instead of frogs, tropical birds fill in the track; their squawks accent the shakers and Latin-influenced electric guitar, which is run wet through a drawn-out delay effect. A thumping bass line acts as the groove for this track, solidified by a downtempo, house-infused kick drum. Drawn out, legato Andean flutes act as the primary lead, as more of Fruit’s layered saxophone acts as occasional fills. A slithering synth runs throughout most of this track. To some, the song may flutter on the edges of cultural appropriation, but “Rainfloral Kaffè” exemplifies a global society with its multicultural composition.

The third track, “Bday Boomers,” is possibly the most dance-floor-oriented cut on Stoner House. It clocks in at around 110 beats per minute, which may seem slow, but is fast compared to the previous songs. This strips back most of the rainforest elements of the EP, opting instead for a floaty, synthesized lead whose frequencies open and close while jumping between different octaves, accenting the downbeat of the phrases with a punctuated, staccato synth stab. If you’re familiar with old Twisted Records artists like Ott, you will find a lot of familiarity in the timbres chosen for this song, with plenty of delayed dub synths juxtaposed to downtempo house rhythms.

“Reinstated Boom Groove” is basically an amalgamation of the previous three tracks. It uses the South American aesthetics of “Sine Seeds” and “Rainfloral Kaffè,” but incorporates the signature timbre of the punctuated, staccato synth stabs. It exemplifies how Mxxnwatchers and Weir have found their sound: They have figured out a method to incorporate all of the elements of the tracks and piece them together in a way that doesn’t feel overplayed or stale. Instead, the approach is rather defining.

“Sunrise Sorbet” uses world-infused textures and rhythms similar to those on the rest of the EP, holding to a sonic continuity. However, the major difference between “Sorbet” and the rest is its cheerful buoyancy and retro aesthetics. Warm, nostalgic synth pads ascend optimistically, while a glistening arpeggio acts as the pad’s counterpart. Since it’s a sunrise, naturally, there are bird sounds, those these are less feral-sounding than those that grace the other tracks.

The post-production of Stoner House also stands out. The mixing and mastering is crisp and multi-dimensional. Sounds fit just where they are supposed to, and little gets masked in terms of frequency overlap. There is also a similar decibel level on all of the songs, so it isn't jarring when one track transitions into another.

I had the opportunity to see how the EP would perform in a live setting at a release party at Supermoon in Boulder. Before the two went on, Weir told us that they hoped their audience could go downtempo, since the DJ before, Garrettson Streit, was playing at a considerably higher tempo. The crowd did thin out by about 20 percent, but overall, it was well received, with a hundred or so people staying until the last call.

It seems like Weir and Mxxnwatchers know what they have, though: music that’s meant to be listened to in more tranquil situations, whether at an after-party, over headphones or in more ceremonious contexts. Overall, they accomplished what they set out to do — create an ethereal, groovy piece of music with continuity and crisp timbral depth.

You can listen to Stoner House on all major platforms.