AU

Drawing as much comparisons to Terry Riley and Philip Cup as they perform to Grizzly Carry and Pet Collective, Portland, OR’s Au will be the brainchild of singer/songwriter Luke Wyland, who started the group in 2005 even though their studies at the Massachusetts College of Art. After relocating, he linked to a rotating solid of Portland instrumentalists, including drummers Tag Kaylor and Dana Vlatka and multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Sielaff. The group’s 2007 self-titled recording — which wove collectively bluegrass, contemporary traditional, and indie rock and roll affects — was a popular with regional and online magazines, using the Portland Mercury naming it the year’s number 2 Portland recording and Stereogum and Pitchfork providing it reviews that are positive. The group’s second recording, Verbs, found its way to summer 2008. The next year, they released the Variations EP, which highlighted alternate assumes Verbs music. Vlkatka and Wyland reteamed for 2012’s Both Lighting, which made probably the most from the duo’s backrgounds in traditional and jazz.