A New York Experimental ensemble, composer Christopher Bono designed Nous to remove ego and promote collaboration, with fluctuating group members and each release featuring a different concept. Their first foray, 2018's NOUS I: A Musical Rite, featured Caleb Burhans, Greg Fox (Liturgy), Thor Harris (Swans), Shahzad Ismaily (Yoko Ono, Bonnie Prince Billy), and Greg McMurray (itsnotyouitsme). A side premutation called NOUS Alpha emerged, predominantly as a scaled-back collab between Bono and Gareth Jones (Depeche Mode, Can, Mogwai, Grizzly Bear), using the sounds of nature combined with electronic elements; they released Without Falsehood in 2018. NOUS II arrived the following year, with a greater emphasis on post-rock and ambient music, an approach which continued on 2020's NOUS III. The following year saw another NOUS Alpha release, A Walk in the Woods, alongside another mainline NOUS album, Circle of Celebration.