Big Ears No. 2: Tortoise x SML

Two novel approaches to absorbing, head nod-inducing instrumental music.

Apr 18, 2025

Part two of a visual journal of Big Ears Festival explores two innovative quintets who create novel, head nod-inducing instrumental music.

(Here’s Part One.)

Tortoise: (l to r) John McEntire, Douglas McCombs, Jeff Parker, John Herndon and Dan Bitney.

SML: (l to r) Booker Stardrum, Anna Butterss, Jeremiah Chiu, Gregory Uhlman and Josh Jackson.

Going in to Big Ears, I had felt a connection between two bands that shared a common objective to create immersive, groove-driven instrumental sonic worlds: veteran Chicago indie/post/adjacent-rock collective Tortoise and the more recently formed L.A.-based improvisational ensemble, SML.

Both groups draw not only from jazz but sources as disparate as Krautrock, ambient music, Dub, Steve Reich-ian minimalism, prog rock, Afrobeat and synth electronica. In the case of Tortoise, I would also add Exotica and the atmospheric guitar music of Duane Eddy, The Ventures and Link Wray into the mix.

Tortoise—Jeff Parker (mostly guitar), Dan Bitney (mostly synths), Douglas McCombs (mostly bass), John Herndon and John McEntire (each mostly drums and percussion)—used the occasion of their Big Ears appearance to announce their first new music in 9 years releasing the new single “Oganesson” on the first day of the festival. A full album is set to follow on International Anthem &

Nonesuch Records

I popped in to check out soundcheck in the afternoon returned later that evening to photograph the performance.

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With their recent signing, Tortoise now share a label with SML, who create hypnotically grooving music through on-the-fly collective improvisation. The Standard was at capacity with lines stretching up and down West Jackson Ave. when I arrived for their set on Saturday.

With a large patch-bay of analog synth modules, Jeremiah Chiu often sets the metronomic gears in motion with bleepy loops, allowing bassist Anna Butterss and drummer Booker Stardrum to explore the pulse and beat. From there, saxophonist Josh Johnson and guitarist Gregory Uhlman used their instruments to build melodies and textures with effects, harmonizers and samplers.

There were a contingent of enthusiastic dancers spinning in the back corner, and at the conclusion of their set, the packed crowd whooped and coaxed them back on stage for a 10-minute reprise, the only encore I witnessed at the festival.