Now Available

Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer
Different Rooms

(( Photo by Joe Jones ))

IARC0098:

Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer
Different Rooms

Out June 20, 2025

Album notes by Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer:

Different Rooms is a collection of songs and musical motifs we composed, edited, and collaged in the weeks between late 2024 and early 2025. Most of the recorded material was performed during that editing process, except for live performances taken from improvisations we recorded with Jeff Parker and Josh Johnson some time in 2023.

In our typical process, much of our material is collaged and combines moments of live improvisation, field recordings, and in-studio experimentation. This record, however, marks an evolution in our approach to studio production.

Our studios are side-by-side. When we were writing this album, you might have found us tracking viola stacks in one studio while, in the other, we were writing through-composed themes and rearranging the material. Granular synthesis and tape manipulation are key tools we use to create variation and movement in a composition. This process often yields surprising results, capturing the emotion but expressing it in unexpected ways. It feels essential that we embrace a bit of chance.

In contrast to our first album, Recordings from the Åland Islands, we wanted this music to feel very present. Where Recordings was intended to transport you to another place, Different Rooms is meant to meet you where you are. It’s a decidedly urban album. The field recordings were captured on train platforms, in city streets, in rooms at home, and intentionally paint a quotidian sonic image, blurring the line between what you hear in your own environment and what is on the record.

The song cycle is set in palindromic sequence, figuratively, with certain pieces (reflected) by a reprised or recurring motif that is often reimagined with new instrumentation.

The sonic and temporal abstraction between what is performed in real-time versus what is recorded, manipulated, and collaged reinforces our intent to collect the works under the title Different Rooms, which literally expresses the way the material was recorded in different rooms while reminding us that our shared experience of present time is also one that is asynchronous, historied, and complex.

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Retail Locations

    • Akron, OH - Square Records

    • Amsterdam, NL - Rush Hour

    • Asheville, NC - Harvest Records

    • Austin, TX - End of An Ear

    • Austin, TX - Waterloo

    • Baltimore, MD - Sound Garden

    • Bari, IT - New Records Bari

    • Belfast, UK - Sound Advice

    • Berkeley, CA - Amoeba Music

    • Berlin, DE - HHV

    • Berlin, DE - Rough Trade

    • Birmingham, AL - Seasick Records

    • Bloomington, IN - Landlocked Music

    • Boise, ID - Record Exchange

    • Bologna, IT - Disco D'Oro

    • Brescia, IT - Kandinski

    • Brighton, UK - Mr. Bongo

    • Brighton, UK - Resident Music

    • Brisbane, AU - Quiet Storm Records

    • Brooklyn, NY - Finer Sounds

    • Calgary, AB - Blackbyrd Myoozik

    • Calgary, AB - Melodiya Records

    • Canada - Rotate This

    • Catani, IT - Rock 86

    • Charlotte, NC - Lunchbox Records

    • Cheltenham, UK - Badlands Record Shop

    • Chicago, IL - 606 Records

    • Chicago, IL - Dusty Groove

    • Chicago, IL - Laurie's Planet of Sound

    • Chicago, IL - Rattleback Records

    • Chicago, IL - Reckless Records (Belmont)

    • Chicago, IL - Reckless Records (Loop)

    • Chicago, IL - Reckless Records (Wicker Park)

    • Chicago, IL - Tone Deaf Records

    • Cincinnati, OH - Shake It

    • Coventry, UK - Just Dropped In

    • Cremona, IT - Music Cremona

    • Davenport, IA - Ragged Records

    • Dearborn, MI - Dearborn Music

    • Denver, CO - Twist & Shout

    • Denver, CO - Wax Trax

    • Dresden, DE - Sweetwater Record Store

    • Durham, NC - Chaz's Bull City Records

    • Düsseldorf, DE - A&O

    • Edinburgh, UK - Good Vibes Neighbourhood Store

    • Edmonton, AB - Blackbyrd Myoozik

    • Edmonton, AB - Listen Records

    • Encinitas, CA - Lou's Records

    • Faenza, IT - Casa Del Disco

    • Ferndale, MI - Found Sound

    • Florence, IT - Contempo Records

    • Forli, IT - Rock 86

    • Fredericton, NB - Backstreet Records

    • Genova, IT - Disco Club 65

    • Glasgow, UK - Some Great Reward

    • Grand Prarie, TX - Forever Young

    • Grand Rapids, MI - Vertigo Music

    • Hamburg, DE - Groove City

    • Hamburg, DE - Michelle Records

    • Hamburg, DE - Zardoz

    • Heidelberg, DE - Musikzimmer

    • Heidelberg, DE - Musikzimmer

    • Indianapolis, IN - Luna Music

    • Iowa City, IA - Record Collector

    • Kasai, Hyogo JP - Tobira Records

    • Kingston, ON - Something Else Records

    • Lawrence, KS - Love Garden Sounds

    • Leigh, UK - Sticky Black Tarmac

    • Little Rock, AR - Control

    • Liverpool, UK - Dead Air Records

    • London, UK - Dreamhouse Records

    • London, UK - Honest Jons Records

    • London, UK - Rough Trade

    • London, UK - Stranger Than Paradise Records

    • London, UK - World of Echo

    • Los Angeles, CA - Amoeba Music

    • Los Angeles, CA - Healing Force of the Universe

    • Los Angeles, CA - In Sheep's Clothing

    • Loveland, OH - Plaid Room Records

    • Madison, WI - Strictly Discs

    • Manchester, UK - Piccadilly Records

    • Marseille, FR - Bazar Musiques

    • Miami, FL - Sweat Records

    • Milano, IT - Serendeepity

    • Milano, IT - Volume BK

    • Milwaukee, WI - Acme Records

    • Minneapolis, MN - Electric Fetus

    • Montreal, QC - Atom Heart

    • Montreal, QC - Aux 33 Tours

    • Montreal, QC - Le Backstore

    • München, DE - Echt Optimal

    • Nashville, TN - Grimey's

    • New Orleans, LA - Domino Sound

    • New York, NY - Rough Trade

    • Norridge, IL - Rolling Stones

    • Norwich, UK - Venus Vinyl

    • Nottingham, UK - Nottingham Record Co-op

    • Oak Park, MI - Street Corner Music

    • Omaha, NE - Homer's Records

    • Orlando, FL - Park Ave. CD's

    • Ottawa, ON - Birdman Sound

    • Oxford, MS - The End of All Music

    • Oxford, UK - Truck Music Store

    • Paris, FR - Balades Sonores

    • Phoenix, AZ - Stinkweeds

    • Phoenix, AZ - Zia Records

    • Portland, ME - Bull Moose Music

    • Portland, OR - Clinton Street Records

    • Portland, OR - Everyday Music

    • Portland, OR - Mississippi Records

    • Portland, OR - Music Millennium

    • Portland, OR - Passenger Seat Records

    • Princeton, NJ - Princeton Record Exchange

    • Reggio Emilia, IT - Tosi Dischi

    • Richmond, VA - Plan 9

    • Richmond, VA - Small Friend Records & Books

    • Roma, IT - Radiation

    • Rome, IT - I Want to Believe Records

    • Salerno, IT - DISCLAN

    • San Francisco, CA - Amoeba Music

    • San Luis Obispo, CA - Boo Boo Records

    • Santacangelo di Romagna, IT - The Book Room

    • Seattle, WA - Hex Enduction Records & Books

    • Seattle, WA - Silver Platters

    • Seattle, WA - Sonic Boom Records

    • Somerville, MA - Vinyl Index

    • St. Louis, MO - Euclid Records

    • Tokyo, JP - Harunoame Cafe & Records

    • Tokyo, JP - Rana-Musica Record Store

    • Torino, IT - Les Yper Sound

    • Toronto, ON - Sonic Boom

    • Totnes, UK - The Drift Record Shop

    • Treviso, IT - Moving

    • Troy, NY - Sound House Records

    • Vancouver, BC - Audiopile Records

    • Vancouver, BC - Dandelion Records

    • Ventura, CA - Salzer's

    • Wallingford, CT - Redscroll Records

    • Wien, DE - Substance Recordstore

    • Winnipeg, MB - McNally Robinson

    • Winooski, VT - Autumn Records

    • Zapopan, MX - Tea Recs

Kind Words

  • "When Marta and Jeremiah's first album dropped, we eagerly stocked it in our growing International Anthem section. After a couple of listens, it was clear that this was unlike any other release the label had done so far; its subtle complexities of violin, synth, and concrète sound felt worlds away from jazz, or any other genre, really. It sounded obscure and remote, yet somehow universal. One had to google the location of the Åland Islands, and even then it was hard to imagine exactly where they were. Not knowing either of these artists by name, it felt safe to assume they were Finnish or Estonian or something. Then several customers came in asking for the record by name, with a few mentioning that they knew Marta from their childhood days. When their collab album with the legendary Ariel Kalma was released, Marta's mother came in to pick up a copy. Turns out, she lives down the street from the shop, and Marta grew up right here in Madison. The universe had indeed come to us. We've been looking forward to a follow-up release from them, and 'Different Rooms' is a sweet reward, an album of pure music that transcends the straight-forward output of its instrumentation."

    — Evan Woodward - Strictly Discs (Madison, WI)

  • "Listening to this record is like wading through a rocky stream bubbling with meandering wisps of digitized nostalgia. That gentle feeling of peace only found on a listless summer evening with the beauty of this life wrapping you in a warm embrace."

    — Justin Smith - Euclid (St Louis, MO)

  • "Our favorite hometown duo return to the IARC with fresh sounds that feel comfortably familiar. Always a buy on sight, but the Jeff Parker and Josh Johnson features make this a certified turntable staple all summer long."

    — Johnny Garciaros - In Sheep's Clothing (Los Angeles, CA)

Selected Press

Notes

All Compositions by Jeremiah Chiu and Marta Sofia Honer;
except “Side by Side” composed by Jeremiah Chiu, Marta Sofia Honer, and Jeff Parker, and “Different Rooms” composed by Jeremiah Chiu, Marta Sofia Honer, and Josh Johnson.

Performed, recorded, and arranged from November 2024 – January 2025 by Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer in Los Angeles, with additional performance recordings from Amsterdam, London, and Hamburg.

Jeremiah Chiu – modular synthesizer + live-sampling
Marta Sofia Honer – viola + electronics

Jeff Parker – guitar (on “Side by Side”)
Josh Johnson – saxophone + effects (on “Different Rooms”)

Voice on “Long and Short Delays,” “Different Rooms,” and “Mind by a Way” by Giovanna Jacques.

Zhinan Temple field recording on “One of Eight” by Michael Hilger.

Additional string treatment on “Before and After Signs” by Ben Babbitt.

Mixed by Jeremiah Chiu, Marta Sofia Honer, and Dave Vettraino.

Sequenced by Jeremiah Chiu, Marta Sofia Honer, and Scott McNiece.

Mastered by David Allen.

Album Cover Art by Sam Prekop (Untitled, September 2023).

Photography by Christophe Guary and Daniel Everett.

Design and Layout by Jeremiah Chiu.

Thank you to our Los Angeles community.

About the Artists

The LA-based duo of synthesist Jeremiah Chiu and violist Marta Sofia Honer have spent years refining a masterful interplay of acoustic and electronic sounds, both in live performance and across three albums for International Anthem.

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