Inventions

Formed in 2013, Inventions arose from a partnership between Matthew Cooper of Eluvium and Mark T. Smith, guitarist in the instrumental post-rock band Explosions in the Sky. Departing from the primary projects of both musicians, the group’s output—such as the 2015 album Maze of Woods and Continuous Portrait from 2020—blends skipping beats with playful vocal samples, atmospheric guitars, and ambient textures.

Longtime friends who each already had releases on Temporary Residence Ltd., Cooper and Smith launched the project while their respective bands were affiliated with the label. At that moment Cooper had confined his playing to solo work since his teenage years in basement punk bands, while Smith had remained exclusively with Explosions in the Sky since the group’s formation in the late ’90s. Their experiments with shifting synth tones and electronic manipulations first appeared on a self-titled album issued by Temporary Residence in April 2014. Fresh creative momentum prompted rapid production of new material, resulting in the March 2015 release of Maze of Woods less than a year after the debut. That second album adopted a stronger rhythmic focus and emphasized vocal sampling alongside the dialogue between treated voices and surrounding ambience. A companion EP presented remixes by the Field, Leyland Kirby, and A Winged Victory for the Sullen. Later in 2015 the duo issued the Blanket Waves EP, consisting of two extended dreamlike collages. Following a five-year hiatus, Inventions delivered their third full-length, Continuous Portrait, in 2020—an adventurous blend of joy, wonder, and melancholy.