Sparked by viewing Pablo Picasso’s mysterious absinthe glass sculptures at MoMA, renowned cellist Erik Friedlander and his new band The Throw - Uri Caine on piano, Mark Helias on bass, and Ches Smith on drums - spent the next year and a half writing and recording Artemisia (April 11 / SkipStone), a concept album on the murky history of absinthe and its use as a brain-bending hallucinogen.  “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so strongly about one of my projects,” says Friedlander, who composed both hypnotic meditations on obsession and songs that optimistically chase euphoria and the "green fairy."

“That sense of never-ending intrigue and discovery is one of the most redeeming qualities of Friedlander as a person and a player,” writes Pitchfork.   “On first look, the glasses were kind of pretty, innocent,” Erik remembers.   “But as I looked more closely, I saw that Picasso had torn away the fronts of the glasses, revealing their insides.  Was Picasso commenting on the effects of absinthe?  Does it tear away one's exterior?” 

Described as an “ingenious cellist who makes an art of soulful rusticity” (The New York Times), Friedlander formed The Throw for a gig at The Stone in New York City.  “I was blown away by the chemistry,” adds Erik, who got his start in New York City’s avant-garde Downtown music scene and has performed with everyone from The Mountain Goats, Mike Patton and Courtney Love to John Zorn, Dave Douglas and Wynton Marsalis.   The quartet recorded Artemisia in May of 2017, during a productive two-day session at The Bunker in Brooklyn.

Artemisia is a record about inspiration and where it comes from.  “So often we're looking for 'the great revelation' and missing the daily miracle that's there in plain sight,” says Friedlander.  “Moments of synchronicity, miracles of counterpoint, things that have never happened before and will elude you if you try baldly go after them again.  These are things to cherish. The so-called "revelation" is fool's gold."