STS9

Sound Tribe Sector 9, which later shortened its name to STS9, took shape in Georgia during the closing years of the 1990s. The ensemble quickly honed a psychedelic approach laced with dub echoes and breakbeat drive, placing strong weight on collective improvisation in a manner that echoed jam-band contemporaries the Disco Biscuits and the New Deal. Their first recording, Interplanetary Escape Vehicle from 1998, captured the unit barely after its inception and therefore offered only faint previews of the direction it would later pursue, concentrating instead on instrumental funk and jazz-based grooves.

Percussionist Jeffree Lerner joined in 1999, at which point the core lineup—Hunter Brown on guitar and sequences, David Phipps on keyboards and synths, Zach Velmer on drums, and David Murphy on bass—coalesced into a forceful, highly danceable identity all its own. Regular road work helped the group cultivate a sizable audience among jam-band listeners. Two subsequent projects, the 1999 release Live and the 2000 album Offered Schematics Suggesting Peace, traced both the ensemble’s evolving aesthetic and its deepening engagement with Mayan mysticism and culture. The former preserved the assured character of its nonstop stage shows, whereas the latter combined analog tape loops, a mixture of concert and studio material, and prominent contributions from guest flutist Kofi Burbridge to achieve a more understated blend.

Guided by principles of spirituality, equality, and the surrender of individual musical egos, the musicians avoided extended solos, favoring instead compact, repeating phrases that interlocked into a hypnotic yet richly layered texture. Festival bookings further elevated their profile, with appearances at major American events such as Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Coachella, New Orleans Jazz, and Outside Lands.

Late in 2000 the collective moved its base to Northern California. While maintaining an intensive touring schedule, the members established their own imprint, 1320 Records, and issued Artifact in 2005. That album, later revisited through companion projects including Remixes, Vol. 1 and Perspectives, reached number twelve on Billboard’s electronic chart. Subsequent full-lengths on the label comprised Peaceblaster in 2008, Ad Explorata in 2009, and Axe the Cables in 2010, followed by the 2011 EP When the Dust Settles. Prior to the next release, Murphy departed in early 2014 and was succeeded by Alana Rocklin.

In 2016 STS9 delivered the funk-oriented album The Universe Inside, drawing inspiration from Carl Sagan’s “Golden Records,” which had been launched into space as an attempt to contact extraterrestrial life. The opening track “Supercluster” incorporated audio from the original NASA STS-9 transmission, completing an apt circular arc for the group. The record entered the top five of both the Billboard Dance/Electronic and Heatseekers charts and reached the top forty on the Independent listing.