Article Contributed by Calabro Music Media
Published on 2026-03-06
Groundbreaking Seattle-based saxophonist Skerik delivers his first fully fledged ambient album in a 30-plus-year career with SKERIK 061725, due April 24 via Loosegroove Records, a label co-founded by Stone Gossard. The collection’s first single, “Air Garden,” is out today.
Ambient music elements have long appeared throughout Skerik’s work, but here he fully embraces the approach across six tracks, using multi-dimensional, layered “saxophonics,” shaped by electronic effects, to create a dreamlike state of sonic texture and sound.
Skerik was first introduced to the genre through Ambient 1: Music for Airports by Brian Eno, which his mother played around the house while he was growing up. Later, high school friend and now Loosegroove labelmate Keith Lowe introduced him to ECM Records and artists such as Eberhard Weber, deepening his connection to spacious, atmospheric composition.
“My mother had Ambient 1: Music for Airports around the time it came out in 1978. I thought it was lame and couldn’t understand why anyone would listen. I was into rock, fusion, jazz, symphonic, and searched for a visceral experience from music. It wasn’t until I met Keith Lowe in high school that I learned how to engage with these new sounds. Keith was an older hero to us musicians where we grew up, and he had my full attention,” says Skerik. “He turned me on to Weather Report, Jaco Pastorius, and records from the label ECM. It was a time of monumental discovery and inspiration. But it wasn’t until the early ’90s that I was able to fully appreciate the minimalist, environmental concepts of ambient music. My band Critters Buggin recorded Amoeba in 1999, which had ambient sounds as a direct inspiration. I eventually recorded Psychochromatic in 2001 with looped saxophones. Ever since then, ambient music has been an inspiration in my recordings. Now film music and reading science fiction can help shape music created in this department. Hopefully this album can be used in anyway people see fit. I love making these records and always find inspiration in the discovery of saxophone loops and chord creation.”
Over three decades, Skerik has built a devout following through his often contrarian, outsider approach to jazz, funk, rock, and experimental music. A founding member of Critters Buggin, Garage A Trois, The Dead Kenny Gs, and DRKWAV, among others, he has also become an essential contributor to several Les Claypool projects and has collaborated with artists including Pearl Jam, Mad Season, and Roger Waters. With the release of SKERIK 061725, he continues to define himself as a distinct and uncompromising voice in modern American music.
SKERIK 061725
Track Listing:
1. Synesthesia
2. Air Garden
3. Crusading Frequencies
4. I Have Been Who You Are
5. Blood’s Current
6. Somatic
Available for Pre-Order/Pre-Save on Digital Formats at:
https://orcd.co/skerik
