Chris Schlarb Explained

Chris Schlarb
Birth Name:Christopher Robin Schlarb
Birth Date:10 July 1977
Birth Place:Long Beach, California, United States
Occupation:Composer, Songwriter, Record Producer, Guitarist
Years Active:1998-present
Associated Acts:Psychic Temple, I Heart Lung, Create (!)

Chris Schlarb (born July 10, 1977) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and guitarist. He is best known as the founder and leader of the Psychic Temple cult.

Career

In 1998, Schlarb co-founded the free improvisation ensemble Create (!).

Schlarb founded the record label Sounds Are Active in 1999. Sounds Are Active released over 50 albums and produced the Sean Carnage rockumentary 40 Bands 80 Minutes! (2006).[1]

Schlarb's first solo album, Twilight and Ghost Stories (2007), was the result of recordings sourced from musicians across the US as well as his own home recordings of instruments, rainfall, and traffic.[2]

National Public Radio named I Heart Lung's Interoceans (2008) one of their Top 5 Jazz Albums of 2008.[3]

In 2009, Schlarb collaborated with Swedish video game developer Nifflas on NightSky. Schlarb composed forty tracks of original music for NightSky which was nominated for the Independent Games Festival’s Seumas McNally Grand Prize.[4] BoingBoing described the score as “what game music can be”.[5]

Psychic Temple

In 2010, Schlarb formed a band in Long Beach, California called Psychic Temple. The band is called a 'cult' by members, drawing from similarities Schlarb observed between bands and cults.[6]

Psychic Temple has released 6 studio albums: Psychic Temple (2010), Psychic Temple II (2013), Psychic Temple Plays Music For Airports (2016), Psychic Temple III (2016), Psychic Temple IV (2017), and Doggie Paddlin' Thru the Cosmic Consciousness (2024).

BIG EGO

In 2016, Schlarb and wife, Adriana, opened BIG EGO Studios, a recording studio located in Long Beach, California.

In 2018, Schlarb founded BIG EGO Records, a record label that handles all physical distribution with a bi-annual shipment of select vinyl albums to BIG EGO annual series subscribers.

Schlarb has collaborated with Mike Watt (Minutemen),[7] Sufjan Stevens,[8] Nels Cline (Wilco), Paul Masvidal (Cynic), Mick Rossi (Philip Glass Ensemble), Dave Longstreth (The Dirty Projectors), Julianna Barwick,[8] Dave Easley (Brian Blade Fellowship), Ikey Owens (The Mars Volta), Daedelus, Chad Taylor, Serengeti, Omid Walizadeh, Busdriver, Awol One, Diane Cluck, Steuart Liebig, Walter Kitundu, Soul-Junk, Chad Van Gaalen, Liz Janes, Maria Elena Silva, Philip Glenn, DM Stith,[8] and Talip Peshkepia.

Discography

Studio Albums

As Composer

With I Heart Lung

With Create (!)

Filmography

Film

YearTitleDirector
width=65 Credited as
200640 Bands 80 Minutes!Sean CarnageProducer
2009We Scream: Voices From the Ice Cream UndergroundChris SchlarbDirector

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Chris Schlarb Bio . chrisschlarb.com . 15 September 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140915231102/http://www.chrisschlarb.com/bio/ . 15 September 2014 .
  2. Web site: Sumner. Dave. All Of These People Saved Me: An interview with Chris Schlarb. 15 July 2013. birdistheworm.com. 15 September 2014.
  3. Web site: Gotrich. Lars. Take Five's Top 5 Jazz CDs Of 2008. NPR. 22 December 2008. NPR.org. 15 September 2014.
  4. Web site: IGF 2011 Main Competition Entrant . igf.com . 15 September 2014.
  5. Web site: Boyer. Brandon. Ten for 2010: the 10 most-anticipated games coming in the new year. 28 December 2009. BoingBoing.com. 15 September 2014.
  6. Web site: Woodbury. Jason. 16 May 2016. Psychic Temple :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview. live. 2 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20160520125641/http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com:80/2016/05/16/psychic-temple-the-aquarium-drunkard-interview/ . 2016-05-20 .
  7. Web site: Chris Schlarb and Mike Watt work on Psychic Temple's album, 'III'. Smithsonian Institution. June 6, 2014. May 13, 2020.
  8. Web site: Pitcherella. Amanda. Psychic Temple, "You Ain't A Star". Impose. May 13, 2020.