The Infamous Stringdusters’ Chris Pandolfi Releases ‘Astral Plane’ Single

The Infamous Stringdusters banjo player Chris Pandolfi shared a new single, “Astral Plane.” The track is the first taste from Pandolfi’s upcoming album, Trance Banjo, set for release under his Trad Plus moniker on February 12 via Americana Vibes.

Pandolfi announced the album earlier this week via social media and now follows with the first single, “Astral Plane.” The song is not only the lead single but also the opening track on Trance Banjo and features fiddler Stuart Duncan.

Chris Pandolfi detailed the new album in a statement. Read his words below:

This is a concept record that grew out of some experimentation that was happening as I finished my last TRAD PLUS record, Interference, in 2015. I was searching for texture in the music, and I started creating my own vinyl samples from old classical records.

It was the perfect complement to all the clean, modern sounds of the virtual instruments I was using, and just sounded beautiful under the stuff I was writing on banjo. The writing progressed and the tracks just started growing from there, but it was a massive project, and it took being home during quarantine to really immerse myself in the project to where I could finish it. Some tracks have 20 or more voices, so it was a lot to write, play and piece together. But I wanted this big, unique sound, and I am always trying to re-contextualize the banjo. That’s what Trance Banjo is all about.

Stream Chris Pandolfi’s “Astral Plane” below: