Immaterial Possession

Conjuring a mysterious brew of folk, psychedelia, world music, and progressive rock, Immaterial Possession are a group from Athens, Georgia whose music takes listeners into a world all their own. Their sound is exotic without being forbidding, created within the framework of pop music while embracing a mindset that falls outside its boundaries, and generating a sense of joy even when it slips into a shadowy mood. The group introduced themselves with their self-titled debut album in 2020, and 2023’s Mercy of the Crane Folk fleshed out their ideas with greater skill and assurance.

Immaterial Possession was formed by Cooper Holmes and Madeline Polites, a pair of multidisciplinary artists originally from Atlanta. They had been part of a community of musicians, artists, and theatrical performers who had established themselves in the city’s D.I.Y. underground scene. Feeling confined by the size of Atlanta, Holmes and Polites relocated to nearby Athens, a college town that had a reputation as a home for free-thinking and bohemian culture in the Peach State. The two were eager to start a band, with Holmes on bass and vocals and Polites on guitar and vocals. Looking for like-minded collaborators, they found experienced percussionist John Spiegel and keyboardist and woodwinds player Kiran Fernandes (whose father, John Kiran Fernandes, was a member of celebrated Elephant 6 group Olivia Tremor Control). Dressed in fanciful costumes and playing music they hoped would transport and transform their audiences, Immaterial Possession soon earned a unique reputation in Athens, and the Elephant 6-affiliated label Cloud Recordings issued their debut in 2020. The album was well-received, and the British independent label Fire Records took an interest in the band, offering them a record deal. They signed with Fire, who reissued Immaterial Possession in 2022. The group soon started work on their second LP, and Mercy of the Crane Folk was issued by Fire in May 2023.