Illiterate Light

Illiterate Light formed as a Virginia-based duo whose sound spans multiple genres, from gritty indie rock propelled by guitars to swirling neo-psychedelia and folk marked by layered harmonies and subtle synth textures. The pair surfaced toward the end of the 2010s, releasing their self-titled debut album in 2019 and the follow-up Sunburned four years later.

The partnership traces back to 2010 in the Shenandoah Valley, where multi-instrumentalists Jeff Gorman and Jake Cochran first connected while employed at an organic farm. They later assumed ownership of the property, merging their interests in music and cultivation to create a vibrant local hub; the two traveled by bicycle on tour and cultivated a dedicated regional audience. By 2015 they had abandoned farming to devote themselves entirely to music, taking the name Illiterate Light, with Gorman handling guitar and foot-pedal synth bass while Cochran played a stripped-down standup drum kit.

In 2019 the duo secured a contract with Atlantic Records and entered the studio alongside producers Vance Powell (Jack White, Kings of Leon, Chris Stapleton) and Adrian Olsen (Foxygen, Natalie Prass) to record their first full-length project, which appeared that September. Two years afterward they moved to Thirty Tigers, unveiling the singles “Light Me Up” and “Heaven Bends,” both of which featured on the second album Sunburned.