The Consolidated Hand Mouth and Ear Institute

The Consolidated Hand Mouth and Ear Institute (CHMEi) was formed in Philadelphia in 2004 and is a project of the visual artist Douglas Witmer, who is also a multi-instrumentalist and the older brother of the singer songwriter Denison Witmer. Its first full-length album, "Condensery," self-released in 2007 and is inspired in part by the modernist American poet Lorine Niedecker. It is primarily instrumental, a combination of electronic and acoustic instruments and spare vocals.