It’s been about three years since a spell was cast on me. It was at the 2016 TBA Fest, where I got caught in the waves of undulating sound and exuberant wonder brought forth by the members of AU, some of their assorted musical friends, and, most crucially, the many, many young bodies that made up the Camas High School Choir. Their collaborative performance, which included some re-arranged material from AU’s catalog and new material, was a glorious immersion that I’ve never fully recovered from. I’ve been seeking out its analog ever since with mixed results.

My search may have come to an end with the news that AU is digitally releasing a live performance of this same set, recorded earlier in 2016 at Yale Union. It is, as the PR copy for this release states, “the summation of a yearlong project that found [keyboardist/vocalist Luke] Wyland working directly with Camas students to produce an entirely new body of music that blurs the lines between propulsive art-pop and avant-garde choral soundscapes.” While it can’t beat the experience of seeing the pure delight that played across everyone’s faces as they played or the visceral feeling of soundwaves hitting my chest, it will help scratch that peculiar itch in me nicely.

Hear the whole thing right here or, to get a taste of the full AU & the Camas High School Choir experience, check out the video from their Yale Union performance below.

This news does come with a slightly sad coda: This live recording is the final AU release. The project of Wyland, drummer Dana Valatka, and, towards the end of the band’s run, Holland Andrews (AKA Like A Villain) on clarinet and vocals, came to a conclusion around the same time as their performances at Yale Union and the TBA Fest.

Disappointing, yes, but nothing to fret too much about. Wyland has since released an incredible solo album and is busy with his new duo Methods Body (featuring drummer John Niekrasz). Valatka is happily performing as a member of Aan. And Andrews is set to release a new full-length on the UK label run by experimental artist Matthew Herbert that will be blowing minds around the globe before we know it.

AU & the Camas High School Choir - Live at Yale Union from Seth Nehil on Vimeo.