A Shaw Deal, out January 31, is the first album by Geologist & D.S., an expanding sonic field built up by Animal Collective’s Brian “Geologist” Weitz that lovingly reorders and reconstructs a few minutes of Doug Shaw’s fine folk guitar chops and magic vibe. Utilizing a handful of pieces Doug posted online, Brian’s loops and edits take Doug’s playing on an affirmative trip through peaceful idylls and energizing spaces, melding their very different music into a singular intangible essence — one representing a decades-long friendship. The first single, “Route 9 Falls”, is out today with a music video by Danny Perez.

Geologist & D.S. go back a long ways — back before Highlife, before Shaw joined White Magic, towards the early childhood of Animal Collective. A couple years ago, Doug was posting bits of his playing on Instagram, which Brian found to be a much-needed escape from reality; he’d let them loop for stretches of time, get lost in there, and emerge with recharged energies. Inspired by these mini-encapsulations of Doug’s spirit, Brian ran them through his modular system — tweaking and looping what was already there — to create a birthday present for Doug: an album made entirely of his own music. “I didn’t set out to make a Geologist record, or even a record anyone but Doug would hear,” Brian reflects. “I didn’t add any new sounds beyond what existed, and just fed the raw materials through myself as a possible channel. That way, I could say, ‘Happy birthday. You made a record, you just didn’t know it.’”

The casual folk brilliance of D.S.’s guitar implodes from within on “Route 9 Falls”, transformed by Geologist’s searching treatments. Mirroring this process, Danny Perez’s music video takes clips of Doug’s playing — the same footage that moved Brian to strike up A Shaw Deal — and stretches them through a black hole as their worlds collide, strobing with an intense heat. Geologist’s recomposition reaches past Oswaldic heights of plunderphonic majesty: bluegrass riffs in hyperspace, buzzing and ringing like insectoid clamor at a summer midnight rural crossroads, while an equally undulating sky drones resonantly above.

From start to finish, A Shaw Deal draws out meditative waves in new forms, tapping into D.S.’s guitar playing as Geologist explores the worlds within them. Reach for A Shaw Deal with Geologist & D.S. on January 31, 2025.