Guitarist, vocalist, and underground hero Ben Chasny has explored several paths during his multi-decade career, from mystical avant-folk to scorching noise rock. His most prolific body of work has been his drone-heavy experimental folk project Six Organs of Admittance, which has released dozens of records since the late '90s. However, he was also a major part of Comets on Fire, an influential heavy psych band whose Echoplex-heavy sound combined space rock, garage punk, and free-form jamming. Chasny has also been a driving force behind other projects including the all-star experimental ensemble Badgerlore, improv rock trio Rangda, lo-fi folk duo New Bums, and several others. He has additionally appeared on recordings by artists such as Current 93, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Howlin Rain, and Magik Markers. In 2021, Chasny released the solo acoustic record The Intimate Landscape, his first solo album under his own name. Ben Chasny played guitar in the blown-out noise rock trio Plague Lounge before establishing Six Organs of Admittance in 1998. The project's self-titled debut appeared that year, combining American Primitive-style guitar with drones and chiming percussion. SOOA began to receive greater recognition with subsequent releases like 2002's Dark Noontide and 2003's For Octavio Paz. Concurrently, he formed Badgerlore with Rob Fisk (7 Year Rabbit Cycle, Deerhoof), and the group gradually included Liz Harris (Grouper), Tom Carter (Charalambides), and Pete Swanson (Yellow Swans) among its members. Chasny also performed with Ethan Miller's cosmic noise-psych band Comets on Fire, and officially became a member in 2003, right before they signed to Sub Pop and released the well-received Blue Cathedral in 2004. In addition, Chasny collaborated with Japanese drummer Hiroyuki Usui (aka L, and formerly of Fushitsusha and Ghost) as August Born, releasing a self-titled LP on Drag City in 2005. Chasny performed on several releases by Current 93, additionally releasing a limited CD-R with David Tibet and Steven Stapleton under the name Black Ships. Chasny and drummer Chris Corsano collaborated on a split LP with Paul Metzger in 2006. Along with Comets on Fire's Noel Von Harmonson, Chasny released the noise LP Plays the Book of Revelations in 2007. He also collaborated with Magik Markers' Elisa Ambrogio and Mouthus' Brian Sullivan as Basalt Fingers, and Three Lobed Recordings put out their self-titled album in 2007. Comets on Fire went on hiatus in 2008, and Chasny performed on Wild Life by Miller's band Howlin Rain that same year. Chasny also worked extensively with Magik Markers, and formed 200 Years with Ambrogio, releasing a folky self-titled album on Drag City in 2011. The acoustic duo stood in stark contrast to another Drag City-signed project Chasny played in, the noisy improv rock trio Rangda, with Corsano and former Sun City Girls guitarist Sir Richard Bishop. In 2012, Chasny collaborated with Portuguese group Gala Drop on the groove-heavy psych EP Broda. Drunk with Insignificance, a collaboration with psych-folk veteran Dredd Foole, was issued by Feeding Tube Records in 2013. Chasny formed the stripped-down indie folk duo New Bums with Donovan Quinn of the Skygreen Leopards, and their debut album, Voices in a Rented Room, appeared on Drag City in 2014. The following year, SOOA released the first volume of the Hexadic series, based on a card-based music-making system Chasny devised. He also formed Coypu with Italian musicians Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo (Larsen) and Daniele Pagliero, issuing the full-length Floating in 2016. Chasny appeared on Quinn's 2019 solo album Absalom, and New Bums released their second album, Last Time I Saw Grace, in 2021. SOOA remained as prolific as ever, releasing the electronic-heavy The Veiled Sea that year. The Intimate Landscape, a solo guitar album created at the invitation of the legendary KPM music library, was issued by Drag City in November 2021. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi