75 Dollar Bill was formed in 2012 in New York City by percussionist Rick Brown and guitarist Che Chen. Played on a deeply resonant plywood crate, Brown’s earthy, elemental rhythms are both the foundation and foil for Chen’s ecstatic, modal guitar style. The group’s electric, richly patterned music can shape shift from joyful dance tunes to slowly changing trance minimalism, an uncategorizable hybrid which draws on the modal traditions of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, early electric blues, Sun Ra’s space chords and the minimalist and No Wave histories of their hometown. While Brown and Chen are always at the band’s core, the band frequently expands into different configurations live and on record, from trios and large ensembles to marching band. Their 2020 album Live at Tubby’s (Grapefruit Records) struck a chord by capturing an exuberant pair of sets recorded just days before the pandemic sent everyone into lockdown, and their last studio album I Was Real (Thin Wrist/tak:til)was named #1 record of the year by WIRE magazine in 2019. They will have a forthcoming record on Thin Wrist in early 2024.

https://75dollarbill.bandcamp.com/