Brian Weitz, the Animal Collective member better known as Geologist, has been busy as shit in 2026. In January, Geologist released Can I Get A Pack Of Camel Lights?, his first-ever solo album. After that, he launched Croz Boyce, his duo with Animal Collective bandmate Avey Tare, and their self-titled debut LP came out in May. Now, Geologist is half of another duo, with another new album on the way. This latest enterprise has a truly unique way of making music, and it involves the moon.
For many years, Geologist has been close friends with Kyle Simon, an artist and printmaker who lives in Joshua Tree, California. Simon is also the founder of Joshua Tree's Farrington Observatory, and he and Geologist figured out a way to use moonlight, as captured in the observatory's telescope, and using it to make improvisational synth music. Here's how the Bandcamp description for their upcoming LP The Sirens: Hunter's Moon describes their process:
[Simon] fitted homemade telescopes with photodiodes and optical sensors to make the images audible, finding latent patterns in the noisy sonic signals he began receiving from the stars. With Weitz, the process expanded as the signal was routed through an analog amplifier and set to modulate the pitch, filter, and other elements of his synthesizer. Together they developed a system of improvisation, with Simon adjusting the telescope to change the intensity of the light based on its relationship with the moon’s position (imagine a theremin player moving their hands in subtle, meaningful motion), and Weitz responding to that input in real time: bending it, amplifying it, or letting it stand on its own.
Geologist and Simon started their project the Sirens as a recurring performance piece and sound installation, and they gave the first performance back in 2018. The upcoming album was recorded live in 2024, and it consists of a couple of long instrumental drone piece. They've shared a seven-minute excerpt of the opening track, which really does have a vibe all its own. Listen below.
The Sirens: Hunter's Moon is out 10/16 on Outside Time. Pre-order it here.
