History & Practice


The Glass Bees are a means to indeterminate ends. Begun as an improvisational music duo, the project has evolved into a malleable and adaptable platform for experimenting in sound and other media. It is a method for engaging with collaborators, and for exploring the Internet as a means of dissemination and publishing.

Currently, the core of the group is Chris Williams and Jason Das. Sound artist Andrea Williams (no relation to Chris, though they share a birthday) was also a regular member of the group in 2008-2009.

Using electronics, guitar, keyboards, acoustic percussion, cello, computer-processed field recordings, and found objects, the Glass Bees spontaneously assemble soundscapes from colliding abstract loops, ambient noise, and sudden inspirations. Started as an improvisational studio project in 2006, the Glass Bees have posted dozens of recordings as an ongoing free podcast on their website.

In 2008, they self-released their first CD, titled Tops Crops Snaps Hots, which sequenced highlights from their early tracks into a continuous 63-minute mix. The CD has been featured on radio stations including WFMU, WPRB (Princeton), KGNU (Boulder, CO), and KDVS (Davis, CA), as well as independently produced podcast radio shows.


Also in 2008, the Glass Bees began performing improvisations in live venues around New York. Several of these have included multimedia components. They have participated in the EyeWash video-audio series at Monkeytown and the Optosonic Tea series at the Diapason Gallery. In March 2009 they collaborated with Ranjit Bhatnagar in a performance at Barbes that utilized instruments he built from detritus salvaged near his apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The event was featured on NPR’s All Things Considered. In July 2009, they presented their own first multimedia work, including not only live performance, but a set of two-channel video works that they filmed and produced themselves.

Among their collaborators to date are video designer Peter Shapiro, electronic composer Blevin Blectum, and California recluse Meth Jive. Their music has also been featured in short documentaries by filmmaker Nerina Penzhorn on artists Chico McMurtrie and Mary Lynch.

Future goals include performing outside the New York area, exploring other methods of multimedia performance, finding new collaborators, and releasing more sounds.

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