Bear the Sleuth
Michael O’Neill and Dave Willey have been prominent talents in the Boulder. Colorado creative music scene for three decades. Despite their proximity, they’d never performed or recorded an album together. Until now. Bear the Sleuth is the name of their duo electronic music project, and it is well worth the wait. Their 2024 album, Whorl, is an amalgam of sounds and textures knitted together in a beguiling mixture that is airy, dynamic and captivating. The pair improvised the album’s 12 distinct tracks in the studio, making inventive use of guitar effects and synths. The music emerged organically, with the underlying principles of deep listening and discovery in the moment. It flows with the ease of a conversation between friends.
Michael is no stranger to Right Brain Records. He’s half of the duo Electro Manifesto, which produced two mind-tingling albums that skirt the worlds of electronic, free jazz and experimental music. Read his bio here.
“Uncompromising, challenging, and adventurous but also engaging and tuneful.”
Dave is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and a quarter of The Low Mids, which contributed a song to the RBR compilation album, Guitar Improv Summit Vol. 2. He is perhaps best known as co-founding member of the Boulder-based avant rock band Hamster Theater, as well as Thinking Plague and 3 Mice. His 2011 solo album Immeasurable Currents was released by the Italian AltrOck label. Read more of Dave’s bio here.
