In honor of the 20th anniversary of Phish‘s ninth studio album Farmhouse, the folks over at JamBase have released Cluster Flies. The 17-track album hosts loving tributes from luminaries throughout the jam scene and beyond, including Brendan Bayliss, Jennifer Hartswick, Reed Mathis, Neal Francis, a new group led by Tim Palmieri featuring members of Twiddle and Goose, and more.
While Cluster Flies paid tribute to a classic Phish album, it also allowed the participating musicians to run free with inspiration, rather than being bound to strict adherence to the musical architecture (similar to how Phish itself interprets music). Thus the compilation features lengthy explorations like Chris Forsyth‘s 18-minute “Piper” that takes up an entire side of the LP, as does Ryler Walker‘s “First Tube”.
In addition to the musicians’ creative liberties, the production of the tribute album itself strayed from the established path. Not only does the order of Cluster Flies diverge from that of Farmhouse, but the compilation also hosts three songs that Phish has never released on an album (“Bye Bye Foot”, “Vultures”, and “Dogs Stole Things”).
Even more personal than Cluster Flies‘ stated mission of paying tribute to Farmhouse is its timing at a crucial moment in music history. According to a press release, the funds raised by the tribute album will go to benefit musicians who haven’t been able to tour in over a year. As JamBase CEO David Onigman said in a statement,
In July of last year, as it became clear the COVID-19 pandemic would have a devastating impact on the live music industry, I tasked the team to come up with an idea that we could rally around in place of live music and to raise lost revenues for JamBase. Rather than a standard fundraiser, the Cluster Flies project was conceived, and we soon reached out to an incredible group of musicians who graciously jumped at the opportunity to support JamBase. What happened over the last nine months outperformed even my wildest of expectations. I’m elated with how the performances, the artwork, the packaging, the mastering and the podcasts we are going to be launching daily came together. It’s a collection of work I am extremely proud of and honored to share with the world.
Stream JamBase’s Cluster Flies compilation below, and click here for a full list of personnel. Vinyl pre-orders for the album are open through May 3rd at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Various Artists – Cluster Flies