High attitude: According to the bio of Zen Mother’s Monika Khot and Adam Wolcott Smith, the trading of “avant-garde secrets” led to the duo’s formation (sometimes a trio with the addition of drummer Sheridan Riley). That seems fitting for a group that lends itself “to sonic focus and harnessing control of the mind.” Zen Mother’s otherworldly hodgepodge of industrial harshness, ambient beauty, and feelings of torment recently accompanied a live rescoring of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s The Holy Mountain in Seattle, a gig previewed by The Stranger as a “mindfuck-redefining mindfuck.” The resulting album, The Ascent, will be released on May 17.
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