Cleared
Hexa
Cleared, the duo of Steven Hess and Michael Vallera has re-emerged with Hexa, their sixth release and third for the Touch label. Steven Hess recorded sessions in the group's practice space, handing them over to Vallera, who in turn added his home recordings, mixing and manipulating them. The final product provides only the barest of hints to any instrumental points of origin, such is the extent of their intermixture.
Of Endless Light
Cleared is the longstanding project of Steven Hess and Michael Vallera, based in Chicago, Illinois. The six tracks complete the longest release to date by the duo, who were resolute in utilizing the maximum time available on the compact disc format. Cleared has produced a series of critically recognized recordings since its self-titled debut in 2011. Working with the Touch label on The Key (recorded in spring 2019, released in October 2020) was a leap forward, prompting remixed tracks by Philp J…
Breaking Day
"Breaking Day is the second full-length album from Cleared, the Chicago-based duo of Steven Hess and Michael Vallera. While their self-titled debut album found the duo exploring themes of stasis and texture, Breaking Day represents a huge development in the scope and overall style of the project. Where previous material had been slowly assembled from dozens of individual recordings and experiments, this new collection of songs was born from the raw documentation of Cleared's live performance in …
Drown
Cleared is the duo of Steven Hess and Michael Vallera, both veterans of the Chicago experimental underground. With their new album Drown, Cleared integrate elements of minimalism and sound design with the textures and spirit of early dream pop. Recorded and produced in Chicago, Drown weaves seamlessly between works of classic ambience and narcotic experimental rock. The band find themselves at the crux of both the light and dark components of their past material. The result is a truly lus…
s/t
The debut album from Chicago duo Cleared is now out in stores and available for immediate shipping via mailorder. Pre-order copies shipped a few weeks ago.Cleared is the duo of Steven Hess (member of On w/Sylvain Chauveau, Haptic, Ural Umbo, Locrian) and Michael Vallera (recordings for Catholic Tapes, Reverb Worship). The project is meant to focus on sound selection, repetition and patience as central elements of composition. Percussion, electronics, field recordings and other experiments are…