Cordis (band)

2001–2007: Pre-cordis RGC

In 2001, cimbalomist and composer Richard Grimes established Richard Grimes Collective to serve as a performance vehicle for his percussive-based compositions. The initial ensemble consisted of two acoustic cellos, two percussionists, and Grimes as featured soloist. Although the ensemble recorded audio and video, none of the recordings have been released commercially.

Despite the fact that Grimes owned a cimbalom and had studied extensively in Hungary with Viktoria Herencsar, he refused to take the instrument on the road citing a lack of proper casing and concerns of consequent wear. Grimes, instead, performed on marimba, vibraphone, and mbira (the latter of which Grimes studied with Cosmas Magaya). In 2004, Grimes decided to include the cimbalom in the RGC show. By this time, he was also performing as a featured cimbalomist with orchestras including Chicago, Boston and Atlanta.

From 2004 to 2007, RGC continued to tour, but by the fall of 2007, Grimes was expressing concerns of the project "lacking a sonic identity" and becoming "too large, too expansive for its own good.

2008–2010: Here On Out

Richard Grimes and former RGC percussionist Andrew Beall formed cordis in Boston, MA in August 2008. Liking the marriage of percussion and cello that RGC offered, but seeking a more focused, edgier sound, the two founded cordis (as a sign of humility, the group spells their name with a lower-case "c") and immediately set out to record the group's debut album, Here On Out with producer Tom Durack.

Here On Out was recorded at Q Division Studios from May to September 2007. The album was produced by Tom Durack and Grimes, mixed by Durack, and released on the group’s own label, Landspeed Records in October 2008. The group's record label name is taken from Minneapolis punk pioneers, Hüsker Dü's first album, Land Speed Record. The album was hailed as a critical success, but by 2010 the group had grown away from the more traditional compositional approach and acoustic timbres that pervaded the album.

The band began working with acoustic-electric cellist Jeremy Harman in 2009. Harman imported his guitar-based performance techniques to the electric cello, and established a new amplified aesthetic for the group that Grimes would eventually take on in his cimbalom sound as well.

2011–2012: Solidification of current band

In November 2012, following a performance on NPR's Mountain Stage, Oscar Rodriguez left the group and was replaced by Brian O'Neill. O'Neill was initially suggested as a replacement for Rodriguez by Andrew Beall, after seeing him perform and direct Mr. Ho's Orchestrotica at (Le) Poissom Rouge in NYC. The addition of O'Neill meant that 3 of the 4 members of cordis were trained percussionists. Grimes has noted that this presence works very well with the percussive and metric tendencies in his writing.

2013 – present: Seams

The band's forthcoming album, Seams, is slated for release in Fall, 2016. The album is being produced by Sam Kassirer and Grimes. Grimes describes his writing on the new album as a "dual compositional exercise in patience versus efficiency." Several of the new pieces on Seams were premiered on the group's 2014 fall tour.

Members

Touring members

Former members

Discography