ZETI announces Zero EP in aid of Palestinian causes

The EP will be available through Bandcamp for pay-what-you-want. Donations will go to the International Rescue Committee’s direct aid in occupied Palestinian territory and to mutual aid for peaceful pro-Palestinian protesters who face legal prosecution, including the GG26 Defenders. Because the EP is released on Bandcamp Friday, Bandcamp will waive its revenue share, meaning 100% of the money will go to support these causes.

Stutt, who has Jewish ancestry and has taken a bodhisattva vow, says the release is a collective effort. She met Sarah Ferrell and Amar Lal at a Working Studios show in West Oakland. Ferrell later told her she was facing felony charges for blocking a bridge in support of Gaza as one of the GG26 Defendants. Stutt says the encounter moved her to act. "We need to protect the right for freedom of speech and the right to gather peacefully and speak against injustice," she says. "We are here to do the untangling. Nobody is going to do it for us."

Zero's instrumentation includes accordion, piano, vibraphone, atmospheric percussion, spoken-word vocals, and field recordings. The four tracks – "Four", "Three", "Two", and "One" – are inspired by Zen ink enso paintings and Shunryu Suzuki’s Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind.

Personnel includes Andrew Maguire on vibraphone, percussion, and drums, plus the Barnard Avenue Choir. The EP was engineered by Beau Sorenson at Tiny Telephone, with choir engineering by Allen Cote at Dézòd Rèkòdand. Beau Sorenson mixed at Best House and Amar Lal mastered at Macro.