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Tied for #5: The Cosmic Tones Research Trio
Sounds like: A big, meditative exhale, sprinkled with stardust.
In this hyper day and age, instrumental music doesn’t get enough focus. It’s often diminished to “mood music,” something passive and out of the way, paired with a philodendron on a bookshelf to complete a “chill vibe.” But the sounds of The Cosmic Tones Research Trio aren’t ones that get tangled in any kind of generic background. They envelop you—rhythmic and smooth—float into your circulatory system, your mind, and expand a universe within.
That’s not coincidence, it’s intention. The trio—Roman Norfleet, Harlan Silverman, and Kennedy Verrett—initially connected musically through Norfleet’s Be Present Art Group, each multi-instrumentalists with backgrounds in composition that might bend anywhere from spiritual release to cinematic soundtrack. (Norfleet’s Be Present Art Group made WW’s Best New Bands list in 2023.) The three came together as an ensemble for a fundraiser, raising money for Mississippi Records following a fire at the shop in 2023. The intent was a one-off performance, a sonic healing balm; but the palpable shift in the room while the three performed indicated there was something that needed to be explored beyond one night.
“I think it really comes together in the uniqueness of the three of us,” Silverman says. “We all have overlapping different spiritual practices—nature, science, music—so the intention of the group from the beginning of the community offering was to give people time to breathe. That fire was obviously heavy, and we wanted to create a space where people could relax. That has carried on to all that we do.”
A trio was formed; then an EP, All Is Sound, arrived in 2024, followed by a self-titled full-length in 2025. Part cosmic jazz, part spiritual exploration, the songs are filled with space and light, with a deeply ethereal, highly knowable feeling. The cello and saxophone fly on a wide wingspan, the percussion takes curious little steps. These sounds are embodied and earthy; they might make you want to plunge your hands into a garden bed.
“Getting together in the studio, it felt more meaningful,” Verrett says. “A lot of times when you’re collaborating, there’s ego, but when everyone understands the purpose of gatherings where we might share those basic intentions and this concept of calling in the ancestors, the spirit element—it feels more like a ritual. We’re not just putting that on for a show. It’s for me, when I’m observing, really important.”
Since the band’s eponymous release in late October, they’ve brought the songs to stages of all sizes, including a performance at Le Guess Who? festival in Utrecht, Netherlands, and opening for Khruangbin at Crystal Ballroom; they’re also on the bill at Pickathon this summer. But the stage or crowd doesn’t hinder the intimacy or the intention.
“We have that energy already of a million people in the room,” Norfleet says. “I’m not saying we don’t receive anything from the energy or we don’t notice—maybe it does a thing—but we give that same intensity and power at every show.”
Each show is a chance to slightly improvise songs, bring in new material, see what comes alive. Each is an opportunity, its own experience for something new to keep unfurling.
“There’s a serious intention,” Silverman says. “We don’t have to think about ‘what are we trying to say, to provide’; it’s just evolving and growing, which I think is different from a lot of musical groups. I think that’s what has helped us reach people fast. It’s clear.”
