Clear Path Ensemble

New Zealand's Clear Path Ensemble is an electro-acoustic project created by DJ, drummer, sound artist, composer, and dance music producer Cory Champion (aka Borrowed cs) that also includes a revolving door cast of some of Wellington, New Zealand's finest musicians. Part of the burgeoning neo-jazz and electronic music scenes in Wellington, CPE's music collects several genres under its umbrella of expression, including psychedelia, spiritual and electric jazz, ambient, house, and more. Their February 2020 self-titled debut album appeared on Cosmic Compositions and staked out a singular terrain between fusion, spacy improv, sculpted beats, funky grooves, and airy textures. His supplemental players on the date included luminaries such as guitarist/bassist Mara TK and bass clarinetist Jaxe Baxendale. The album was so popular at home -- despite the group's inability to play live due to the COVID-19 pandemic -- it inspired a remix collection in September. Further, word of its quality spread across the internet via Bandcamp, making them the figureheads for New Zealand's burgeoning neo-jazz scene. In 2021, Champion and his evolving collective played everywhere, from jam band venues and dance parties to a prime slot on the main stage of the 2021 Wellington Jazz Festival. They signed to Miles Cleret's Soundway label at the end of the year. First single "Absolvo" appeared in June; it was followed by "Solar Eclipse" in July, and the charting "Drumatrix" in August. Their sophomore album, also titled Solar Eclipse, was issued in September.