Lichens

Robert Lowe, the Chicago-based composer who had previously handled bass duties in the art rock outfit 90 Day Men, developed Lichens as his vehicle for solo improvisation. Hailing from the Kansas City region, Lowe joined 90 Day Men in 1996 shortly before the band moved from St. Louis to Chicago; after the ensemble paused activity following a European tour behind its 2004 album Panda Park, he turned his focus toward longstanding solo work, performing as Lichens at that summer’s Arthur magazine-sponsored Million Tongues Festival and issuing the limited-edition CD-R R. Brown on his own. By layering wordless vocals with avant-folk fingerpicking into expansive, immersive drones, Lowe drew the interest of Kranky Records co-owner Bruce Adams, who issued the project’s first proper full-length, The Psychic Nature of Being, in autumn 2005.