Johnny Bell is a Northern New Mexico-based musician whose work explores the banjo as a vehicle for expansive, progressive instrumental music. Working from within the lineage of American Primitive music but drawing equally from heavier experimental influences, Bell juxtaposes traditional technique with acoustic drone, recursive patterns, and layered sonic textures, foregrounding the banjo’s darker and more resonant possibilities.

“he leans into the instrument’s droning quality and resonance, using repetition, layered phrases, and buzzy undercurrents to build a series of hovering transcendental acoustic zones that should appeal to string-band geeks, ambient naturalists, American Primitive aficionados, horizon-wide hypno-jammers, and way-out-there travelers alike.”
Ben Salmon, Bandcamp Daily

El Mantis weave heavy psychedelic jazz with Afro‑Cuban rhythms, free improvisation, and dramatic, operatic vocals. Their self‑titled debut appeared in 2022, followed by II on CIA Records (2024), and El Lago de los Ciegos (2025), which pushed their sound even further across genres. El Mantis was founded in 2021 by saxophonist Danny Kamins, drummer Angel García, and guitarist Andrew Martínez.