Spirits, the Plankton Wat debut for Thrill Jockey, takes these diverse experiences and creates a record of soaring exploration and raw beauty. The album is intended as a meditation on the Pacific Northwest environment - the dramatic landscape of the Cascades, high desert, rugged coastline, and ever changing sky. Recorded throughout 2011 on 4-track cassette in Mahood's basement, Spirits traces a year of changing seasons, feelings, and emotions. Inspired by the "universal music" of Don Cherry and Alice Coltrane, the album uses a variety of instruments including electric and acoustic guitar, bass, hand drums (played by Dusty Dybvig (Edibles, Horse Feathers) on the title track), synthesizer, harmonium, banjo, cymbals, drum machine, and voice in a layered approach reminiscent of Sandy Bull and Brian Eno. Both a celebration of the magical possibilities of life, and a contemplative look into the darkness, Spirits creates a warm blanket of sound perfect for watching the sunset from a high coastal sand dune. Exotic and esoteric as the ancient city of Angkor Wat which Plankton Wat takes its name, this is future primitive music for mental escapism.