Moritat is the hard-grooving, avant-rock trio from Chicago behind the 2012 studio LP Clill Blanzin, which the Chicago Reader hailed as “full of serious earworms”. The group is composed of vocalist and keyboardist Venus Laurel, bassist/guitarist Konstantin Jace, and drummer Corey McCafferty. Their first EP, One Minute Fade, was released in the summer of 2010.

The three met in Chicago, and their subsequent contributions to Venus’ solo piano project quickly blossomed into a full musical collaboration. Since 2007, they have lived together in a heavily-fortified two-flat in Albany Park. Their danceable, driving sound blends ethereal pop hooks, world-music influences, and the sometimes heavy, textured palette of Chicago’s post-rock scene.

Legendary indie-folk producer Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine) made a natural fit for the group’s first full-length album, produced in Deck’s Engine Studios. Deck’s ear for off-beat recontextualizations of traditional sounds and beats was matched only by his zeal for pinching the band members’ food during recording sessions. The result of the collaboration is Moritat’s Clill Blanzin, a pre-emptive greatest hits album from the future.

As the band follows up on the release of Clill Blanzin with a tour, a remix project, and music videos, their thoughts are already on the next studio effort, a beat-oriented EP which will expand on the danciest sounds from Clill.