Bryant, of the bands Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Set Fire to Flames, and Doria, of Growing and Total Life, first met and began working together in 2004; Bryant was the recording engineer for three Growing albums released between 2006 and 2008.[1]
In 2008, Bryant and Doria worked together to create and record music for the Lausanne Underground Film and Music Festival.[2][3] To identify music and experimental sounds recorded at this time and over the next several years, the duo began calling themselves Hiss Tracts.[4]
Because both men were busy with other bands and projects, the arranging, mixing and layering of the Hiss Tracts recordings took place over a number of years. The first release under that name did not materialize until early 2014, when the group released a track, "Halo Getters", to promote the release of the full-length album Shortwave Nights.[5][6]
Shortwave Nights was released by Constellation Records in May 2014.[7] The album incorporated an eclectic mix of sound collage, ambient music, and noise music.[8][9] The title track, "...shortwave nights" was eight minutes long and included post-rock guitar work as well as cello and electronic keyboard sounds.[10]
