Boxhead Ensemble

{{Short description|American musical group}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Boxhead Ensemble | image = | caption = | image_size = | landscape = yes | origin = Los Angeles, California, United States | genre = Post-rock, ambient, chamber music | years_active = 1991–present | label = Dark Companion | website = | current_members = Jim Becker Shahzad Ismaily Michael Krassner Fred Lonberg-Holm Tim Rutili Jim White Joshua Hill | past_members = Jessica Billey Michael Colligan David Michael Curry Joe Ferguson David Grubbs Ryan Hembrey Jacob Kollar Glenn Kotche Charles Kim Doug McCombs Jim O'Rourke Will Oldham Julie Pomerleau Darren Richard Frank Rosaly Scott Tuma Mick Turner Ken Vandermark }}

'''Boxhead Ensemble''' is a musical collective founded by composer Michael Krassner. The project began in 1991 to record music for the independent film ''The Original Pantry Café''. The group features an ever rotating line-up, which as included Edith Frost, David Grubbs, Glenn Kotche, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Jim O'Rourke, Doug McCombs, Scott Tuma, Mick Turner, Ken Vandermark, Jim White. Krassner is the only consistent member and Lonberg-Holm has contributed the most frequently to the project.

== History == Boxhead Ensemble was formed Los Angeles, California, in 1991 when Michael Krassner was commissioned by Braden King and Larry Stuckey to record the music for their independent student documentary ''The Original Pantry Café''. Krassner assembled local musicians who improvised the music comprising the score. In 1996, King invited Krassner to create the music for another documentary he had filmed, ''Dutch Harbor''.<ref name="fotofestbio">{{cite web |url=http://www.fotofest.org/archNewsDetails.asp?newsID=80 |title=Boxhead Ensemble: In Association with Truckstop Media/NYC & Aurora Picture Show |publisher=fotofest.org |date=March 13, 2004 |access-date=June 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130614231141/http://www.fotofest.org/archNewsDetails.asp?newsID=80 |archive-date=June 14, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Having moved to Chicago, Krassner became familiar with the local music and decided that Gastr del Sol would fit with the mood he was looking to create with the music.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Neil |last=Gladstone |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1CoEAAAAMBAJ |title=Dutch Harbor: Aleutians of Grandeur|magazine=CMJ New Music Monthly|date=March 1999 |issue=67 |page=64 |access-date=June 20, 2013}}</ref> Reed player Ken Vandermark joined the group and the improvised score was released in 1997 as ''Dutch Harbor – Where the Sea Breaks Its Back''.<ref>{{cite book |first=Martin Charles |last=Strong |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HJfGtREyuSAC |title=The Great Indie Discography |publisher=Canongate U.S. |year=2003 |access-date=June 20, 2013|isbn=9781841953359 }}</ref> The film and its soundtrack received some acclaim and ''Dutch Harbor'' began touring Europe, with Boxhead Ensemble providing improvised musical accompaniment to every screening of the film. Some of the music performed at the showings appeared in ''The Last Place to Go'', released in 1998.<ref>{{AllMusic|first=Marc|last=Gilman|class=album|id=mw0000040242|title=''The Last Place to Go''}}</ref>

After the tour of ''Dutch Harbor'', Krassner drastically altered the line-up of the group and Boxhead Ensemble started recording studio albums. They produced ''Two Brothers'' in 2001, ''Quartets'' in 2003 and ''Nocturnes'' in 2006.

In 2010, Boxhead Ensemble composed the soundtrack to Braden King's feature-length dramatic film ''Here''.<ref name="herefilm">{{cite web |url=http://herefilm.info/here-and-the-boxhead-ensemble/ |title=Here: A Multi-Platform Motion Picture |publisher=herefilm.info |year=2013 |access-date=June 20, 2013}}</ref> The group also performed for the movie's premier at the Museum of Modern Art, where they improvised the score while screening the film.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/film_screenings/9240 |title=Here [The Story Sleeps] |publisher=MoMa |year=2013 |access-date=June 20, 2013}}</ref>

== Discography == {{unreferenced section|date=November 2025}} * ''Dutch Harbor – Where the Sea Breaks Its Back'' (1997) * ''The Last Place to Go'' (1998) * ''Two Brothers'' (2001) * ''Quartets'' (2003) * ''Nocturnes'' (2006) * ''The Unseen Hand: Music for Documentary Film'' (2014) * ''La Hora Magica'' (2015) * ''Here: Chicago Sessions'' (2017) * ''Ancient Music'' (2023) * ''Armenia'' (2024)

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == * {{Allmusic |class=artist|id=mn0000082614}} * {{Discogs artist|Boxhead Ensemble}}

Category:Boxhead Ensemble Category:American ambient music groups Category:American post-rock groups Category:Chamber music groups Category:Musical collectives Category:Musical groups established in 1991 Category:Musical groups from Los Angeles Category:1991 establishments in California Category:Atavistic Records artists