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unthunkmusic

Unthunk merges chamber and popular music: modal polyphony with modern perspective, instruments and lyrics.

Gentle swell winds through the rocks to shore . Ex

Gentle swell winds through the rocks to shore
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Except of “Swell” from The Mid-Century Molluscs perform Unthunk’s “Return to the sea”
Details in bio link
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#avantpop #postrock #chamberpop #modularsynth #indiemusic

Unbelievably thoughtful and appropriate. At our re

Unbelievably thoughtful and appropriate. At our recent album release party, a friend brought a mid-century copy of Larval Forms as a hostess gift. Who knew that a marine biologist might honour his creatures - including molluscs - in verse? Just finished reading it aloud as bedtime stories- so touching! Thank-you Jody!

Follow the bio link to learn what molluscs have to do with music… and to listen to The Mid-Century Molluscs perform Unthunk’s “Return to the sea”

#avantpop #postrock #molluscs #rachelcarson #indiemusic

Enjoy this delightful little video illustrating on

Enjoy this delightful little video illustrating one of the sections of “Reverence”, a song on The Mid-Century Molluscs perform Unthunk’s “Return to the sea”. Italian multi-media artist Isobel Blank created a pen and ink animation to show the breaking wave described in the text.
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Follow bio links to watch in larger format and to hear the whole song and album.
#avantpop #postrock #chamberpop #modernclassical #indiemusic

@isobelblank - the Italian multidisciplinary artis

@isobelblank - the Italian multidisciplinary artist - posted this drawing the other day. By chance, it nicely evokes the feeling of “Reverence”, a song from the recently released album: The Mid-Century Molluscs perform Unthunk’s “Return to the sea”. Follow the bio links for album details, and check out Isobel Blank’s account to enjoy her enthralling visions.
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Stay tuned for a short video from Isobel, animating a section of “Reverence”…. Coming soon#avantpop #postrock #chamberpop #modernclassical #indiemusic #modalcounterpoint #modularsynth #eurorack #rachelcarson #ocean #animation

Unthunk is honoured to have a contribution from Gi

Unthunk is honoured to have a contribution from Giovanni Grandi on The Mid-Century Molluscs perform Unthunk’s “Return to the sea”. While on vacation in the Azores, Giovanni settled into a secluded rocky bay, absorbing the ocean sounds to conceive a suitable piece.

While originally envisioning his modular synthesizer, heavily filtered, to express the ocean’s power as heard deep within its depths, the piece evolved to include surface sounds of drips and wind and creaking decks. To incorporate the expanded perspective, Giovanni brought his vintage button accordion into the mix, evocative of pirate ships and sea shanties. The two instruments are integrated, with accordion mechanics invoking the creaking ship, and its drones processed and combined with his synth using ring modulation and filtering. The intermittent, thunderous low accordion drone supports his original conception.

The accordion’s modal melodies are appropriate to Unthunk’s early music roots, while the spacious and imaginative treatment is uniquely Giovanni Grandi. Enjoy the the Sea shanty as a special preview track on Bandcamp. The full album is available January 11, 2026. Follow bio links for more details.

Shad: A Carson Favourite In Rachel Carson’s writi

Shad: A Carson Favourite
In Rachel Carson’s writing on marine biology, she used shad to illustrate nature’s eternal cycles, highlighting the interconnectedness of all creatures.
Of course, the Mid-Century Molluscs hang on her every reference to their own species, but they don’t bear the shad any ill will.
The Mid-Century Molluscs perform Unthunk’s “Return to the sea” will be available January 11. Check out the Molluscs paying Carson tribute in the preview track “Reverence” on Bandcamp- follow the bio link.
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#avantpop #postrock #chamberpop #modernclassical #indiemusic #modalcounterpoint #modularsynth #eurorack #rachelcarson #shad #mollusc

The OG musical mollusc A recent article in the jou

The OG musical mollusc
A recent article in the journal Antiquity reports on 6,000-year-old Catalonian conch shell instruments delivering some intense sounds. Created from Charonia lampas shells, these early horns are precursors to those used by the Mid-Century Molluscs.
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The Mid-Century Molluscs perform Unthunk’s “Return to the sea” will be available January 11. Check out “Reverence”, the preview track to this Rachel Carson tribute on Bandcamp, following the bio link.
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Photo credit: Jkepic
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#avantpop #postrock #chamberpop #modernclassical #indiemusic #modalcounterpoint #modularsynth #eurorack #rachelcarson #mollusc

Album cover art. Return to the sea with Rachel Car

Album cover art. Return to the sea with Rachel Carson, available January 11 on Bandcamp. More details through bio link.
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#avantpop #postrock #chamberpop #modernclassical #indiemusic #modalcounterpoint #modularsynth #eurorack #modularsynthesizer #rachelcarson #ocean #environmental

The Mid-Century-Molluscs perform Unthunk’s “Return

The Mid-Century-Molluscs perform Unthunk’s “Return to the sea”.
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Preview track for the album paying tribute to Rachel Carson available on Bandcamp- follow links in bio to have a listen.
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#avantpop #postrock #chamberpop #modernclassical #indiemusic #modalcounterpoint #modularsynth #eurorack #rachelcarson #ocean

Dichloro - diphenyl - trichloro - ethane, aka DDT.

Dichloro - diphenyl - trichloro - ethane, aka DDT. This chemical name is a mouthful that you do not want in your mouth. It was invented by the same generation that hatched the atomic age, though it seeped into our lives more insidiously than the bomb.
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Rachel Carson, appalled at the loss of songbirds on her family farm, upon learning that it was DDT eradicating the birds, fought the chemical industry promoting its use. Her influential book Silent Spring effectively launched the modern environmental movement.
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Coming soon- an album honouring Carson- details in the bio link.
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#avantpop #postrock #chamberpop #modernclassical #indiemusic #modalcounterpoint #modularsynth #eurorack #modularsynthesizer #rachelcarson

Ocean’s kiss: a slurp of oyster brine. Rachel Cars

Ocean’s kiss: a slurp of oyster brine.
Rachel Carson loved the sea; the molluscs bequeath their gratitude.
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The Mid-Century Molluscs perform Unthunk’s Return to the sea. Updated details in the bio link.
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#avantpop #postrock #chamberpop #modernclassical #indiemusic #modalcounterpoint #modularsynth #eurorack #rachelcarson #oysters #mollusc

Texture: decaying wood feeds new life. . #avantpop

Texture: decaying wood feeds new life.
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#avantpop #postrock #chamberpop #modernclassical #indiemusic #modalcounterpoint #modularsynth #eurorack #moss

Rachel Carson, mid-century American marine biologi

Rachel Carson, mid-century American marine biologist and founder of the environmental movement, is honoured in the upcoming Unthunk release. Details in bio link.
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#avantpop #postrock #chamberpop #modernclassical #indiemusic #modalcounterpoint #modularsynth #modularsynthesizer #rachelcarson #environmental #ocean

Q: Why are The Molluscs so devoted to Rachel Carso

Q: Why are The Molluscs so devoted to Rachel Carson?
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A: Ms. Carson devoted herself to their environment, giving her life to preserving their environment. Molluscs know what it is to make the ultimate sacrifice.
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See link in bio to learn more.
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#avantpop #chamberpop #modernclassical #postrock #indiemusic #modalcounterpoint #indiemusic #modalcounterpoint #modularsynth #mollusc #rachelcarson

Moon jellyfish cresting the surface. Accompanied

Moon jellyfish cresting the surface.

Accompanied by a snippet of mensural canon.
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#avantpop #chamberpop #indiemusic #modernclassical #modalcounterpoint #modularsynth #eurorack #jellyfish

Smooth swell on ferry wake. . #modularsynth #post

Smooth swell on ferry wake.
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#modularsynth
#postrock #avantpop #chamberpop #modernclassical #indiemusic #modalcounterpoint #ocean

The video from Aug 9 isn’t much, but it is memorab

The video from Aug 9 isn’t much, but it is memorable to watch the full moon rise… Reference Paul Bowles, The Sheltering Sky- “How many more times will you watch the full moon rise?”
The novel and quote is referenced in Coin, Unthunk’s album about an imagined suicide cult. The audio clip is from the album. Follow links in bio for further info.
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#postrock
#avantpop
#chamberpop #modernclassical #indiemusic #modalcounterpoint #modularsynthesizer #modularsynth #moon

Secret mollusc feelings revealed in their shells.

Secret mollusc feelings revealed in their shells. Oysters, seemingly cool and insouciant, are in fact roiled with passion, as can be seen by inspecting their shells. Stay tuned for the Mid-century Molluscs, performing soon in your favourite ocean.

Not as inspiring or useful as Oblique Strategies,

Not as inspiring or useful as Oblique Strategies, but did tickle my fancy from time to time. “Play is how children learn Art is how adults play”
Play on!
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#indiemusic
#chamberpop
#avantpop
#postrock
#modernclassical
#modularsynthesizer
#art
#brianeno

Texture: cast iron pot . #indiemusic #chamberpop

Texture: cast iron pot
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#indiemusic
#chamberpop
#avantpop
#modularsynthesizer
#eurorack
#postrock
#modernclassical
#modalcounterpoint
#rust

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© Trevor Tunnacliffe