Califone

After the demise of his alt-rock blues band Red Red Meat in 1997, chief songwriter Tim Rutili formed Califone, a Chicago-based experimental rock band whose name is an homage to the audio equipment manufacturer. Rutili and a rotating cast of characters that once included Brian Deck and Joe Adamik began creating indie rock animated by experimental melodies and ambient meditations. Califone became a crucial part of the avant-rock scene in Chicago, which also included Tortoise, Gastr Del Sol, The Sea and Cake, and more. After putting out their self-titled record in 1998, plus a number of lesser-known projects, the band released their Thrill Jockey debut in 2003 with Quicksand/Cradlesnakes. Their 2006 album, Roots and Crowns, was celebrated for its cinematic nature—inspired by Rutili’s work scoring films. It was released via Dead Oceans, with whom they dropped their 2009 post-rock opus, All My Friends Are Funeral Singers. The group, which evolved to include Rachel Blumberg and Ben Massarella, released Echo Mine in 2020, an album that blended their experimental rock compositions with a thrilling electronic bent.