Quicksails

Quicksails serves as the experimental solo outlet for Chicago multi-instrumentalist Ben Billington, who also handles drums for the free jazz outfit Tiger Hatchery. His expansive, fluid releases, including the 2013 album Mayville Dream, center on mesmerizing synthesizer loops shaped by Krautrock and minimalists like Terry Riley, while the rhythms draw from his jazz and global music experience. The 2023 set Surface echoes pioneering electronic experimentalists such as Morton Subotnick and Bernard Parmegiani.

Billington launched the project in 2009; within two years he had issued multiple cassettes through respected imprints including NNA Tapes, Digitalis, and Pizza Night. His first vinyl outing arrived in 2013 when Spectrum Spools put out Mayville Dream. A split cassette with Head Boggle followed in 2014 via Hausu Mountain’s Mugen series. Captcha Records issued the Fleurs de la Lune LP in 2015, which included playing from both of his Tiger Hatchery colleagues plus Haley Fohr of Circuit des Yeux and Rob Frye of Cave and Bitchin Bajas. Hausu Mountain brought out the Mortal album in late 2016. The Bright appeared in 2018 and contained reworkings by Shit & Shine, Khaki Blazer, and Brett Naucke. Blue Rise, emphasizing composed synthesis over spontaneous playing, surfaced in 2020. Surface, comprising rapidly shifting electronic vignettes, came out in 2023 and featured saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi on multiple pieces.