Balam Acab is the musical project of 20-year-old Pennsylvania native Alec Koone. Citing Animal Collective and Pavement as two of his biggest influences, Koone is also a fan of noise bands such as Prurient and Grouper.
 
The first artist to be released on Tri Angle, Acab’s debut EP "Sea Birds" (2010) quickly became one of the leading releases of the witch house microgenre which is categorized by moody synths, slow tempos, warped vocals, and anonymous producers shielded by hoodies, and that rapidly emerged that same year. Quickly following up with a debut full-length "Wander/Wonder" (2011), also on Tri Angle, Acab emerged as one of the finer artists of the witch house wave by delivering a mysterious and genuinely haunting record that seems to exist in a world all of its own, striking a balance between the ecstatic ‘wonder’ referenced in the title and something altogether more indefinable and uncertain of itself. While "Wander/Wonder" retains some of the hallmarks of witch house through its ethereal voices and slow, dreamy tempos, its atmosphere shifts away from the genre’s usual darkness to something much more organic, soothing. Acab’s use of water samples to produce an oceanic shimmer throughout the album gives his music a dreamy force that eases the listener in, breath by breath, until completely submerged.
 
In the artist’s own words: “The most important thing that I want to say about the record is I don't want to say anything at all.”
 
 
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