Video premiere: SoundMass releases new single, prepares for SXSW 2026 shows

On March 17, SoundMass will gather at The 13th Floor for Cosmic Plants Clash IV, the SXSW day party our publication and Play to the Plants has produced at the venue the past four years. We’ve invited the group, which is really two awesome post-rock bands, Austin’s my education and Salt Lake City’s Theta Naught combined. The merging of the two acts produces a powerful, orchestral style performance with rock instrumentation. With two of every instrument, the stage becomes crammed with talented musicians which is basically our ideal scenario. Today we’re premiering SoundMass’ latest single, “Last Gasp.”

The song begins with droning keys and guitars, as instruments join the song gradually. The volume increases as does the intensity of the music. The video shows the 12-member ensemble (15 live) from high overhead with visual effects layered on top of the footage shot during the recording. The shots oscillate from this viewpoint to abstract camera feedback footage and back again. The effect is otherworldly, underlining the etheral tone of the piece.  The nearly eight-minute track soars with droning precision, reaching a cacophony of drums, percussion, bass, keys and even viola as it nears the six and half minute mark before gently settling down in the final 30-seconds of the video leaving the viewer satisfied in the way one feels after watching a picturesque sunset. Introspective and little awed at the beauty of it.

Fans can subscribe to the My Education YouTube channel and/or join the band mailing list via Bandcamp to learn about new songs SoundMass is putting out this year. Additionally, fans can grab a download of  “Last Gasp” by naming your own price for the track.

If you missed the link at the beginning of the story to the Cosmic Plants Clash on March 14 at The 13th Floor RSVP page, here it is again. Fans can also catch SoundMass at The Loyalty Firm’s official SXSW showcase at Zilker Beer on March 18. Read on to hear more from SoundMass member Ryan Standfield who answered some questions we had about SoundMass and the coming record…

We asked Theta Naught’s bassist Ryan Stanfield some questions about the band and the new video. His answers are below.

Where and when was the video filmed?
[RS]:The underlying band footage was captured from the loft on my iPhone at 5^th Street Studios on March 12, 2025, while we [SoundMass] were recording our fourth album.  Additional camera feedback footage captured by Kell Banks/@auddvisual_.

Who shot and directed the video?
[RS]:Ryan Stanfield directed, produced, engineered.

You mentioned this is the first single from the new record. How many other singles do you plan to release, and when do you anticipate releasing the album?
[RS]:Probably one other single this Spring [2026].  Full album release anticipated for later in 2026.

Are recording credits available? Who produced and engineered the record, and at which studio?
[RS]:Recorded by Evan Kleinecke at 5^th Street Studios in Austin, TX on March 12, 2025.  Mixed and mastered at Head Bump.  Produced by Head Bump Boyz and Ryan Stanfield.

[RS]:In June 2010, My Education found themselves in the midst of a West Coast tour with three days to kill in Salt Lake City. Luckily, guitarist Brian Purington had been in touch via email with Ryan Stanfield, the bassist of Utah’s finest improvisational collective Theta Naught, about a possible collaboration. Studio time was quickly booked, and both bands decamped to AudioSpace Studios to document their efforts. Nine hours and five soundscapes later, the ensemble had recorded what they have now affectionately dubbed Sound Mass. Suitably inspired by their efforts in the studio, both outfits quickly agreed that their planned show the following day at SLC’s famed DIY venue Kilby Court should become an avenue for further collaboration and experimentation. Ten musicians squeezed onto the stage of the tiny venue. An evening of noisy, exhilarating, cacophonous and yet somehow controlled joyous fun ensued.

[RS]:Theta Naught never intended to be “post-rock” per se, but shortly after forming the group knew it had to be instrumental and improvisational, with a drive to use traditional instruments in non-traditional ways and vice versa.  I think that philosophy carried over into SoundMass.  SoundMass was an extension.  Once we tried it out, and it seemed to work…all of us were excited and wanted to do something bigger and wilder.  It’s organized chaos.  It works best when you have a group of talented musicians that can subdue their egos long enough to blend so many sounds together…

[RS]: Fuubutsushi, Messthetics, Tourist…???  I listen to a lot of ’70s jazz, ’90s punk & metal.

[RS]: Pons, Graham Reynolds, Azamiah, Hania Derej…

I love being at SXSW in ATX every year, even as I’ve watched the festival morph and change over the years.  I go without an agenda.  That’s when it’s the most enjoyable to me…when I can walk around [when we aren’t loading in/out or performing], and happen upon some great, wild music.

Featured photo courtesy of SoundMass