Haley Fohr is a singer, multi-instrumentalist and recording engineer. In years past, she aspired to be a nuclear engineer, and even enrolled in a college program for it, but instead of this being the opening to a new future, it was the beginning of a long, crippling depression.

“I ended up having to move back in with my parents, and I pretty much did nothing for all of 2008. I didn’t get out of bed. I didn’t brush my hair. I didn’t eat… I was just lying in bed.”

It was writing and recording music that eventually lifted Haley out of this depression and back into the world. She went to school to be a recording engineer, bought a 1 inch Otari 8 track, eventually moved to Chicago, and started to record under the name Circuit des Yeux.

Which brings us to that sunny day, July 25, 2015, when she arrived at Miner Street Recordings in Philadelphia, all by herself. She was there to record “Stranger” for Shaking Through, and though nervous about the idea, she was brimming with excitement at the prospect of recording with guitarists Michael and John Gibbons of Philadelphia’s legendary art-noise outfit, Bardo Pond. There she was also introduced to the incomparable Chris Powell on drums (Man Man, Spaceship Aloha) and Matt Gibson on bass (Extraordinaires/ex-Man Man/Lux Perpetua).

The song was little more than a dark, escalating “ramble” as Haley would describe it, but it quickly came to life with everyone’s input. While the song demo was recorded on piano, we decided she would play her parts on an electric Rhodes piano, backed up by Powell’s earthy, mallated drums - heavy and expressive. And as she hoped, the brothers Gibbons would add their massive, dark clouds of guitars, reminiscent of nearly everything Bardo Pond has stirred up over the past 25 years.

“John and Michael are gods to me,” says producer and founder Brian McTear. “The music Bardo Pond was making in the 90s was a huge influence on the bands I was in, and no doubt sealed the deal on my decision to move to Philly, start Miner Street here, and eventually start Weathervane here, as well. This is the first time I’ve ever gotten to work with them in any way. I’m so happy this is happening!”

“Stranger” was an incredible success, not only for Haley, but for everyone who came together to make this episode happen. The recording is both surreal, yet utterly primal. The instrumentation would be comparatively minimal next to other Shaking Through songs, but the massively dense sounds along with Haley’s shrieking vocal experiments create a songscape that is both frightening and penetrating.

“I want to be different,” says Haley. “I want to sound like a trumpet. I want to sound like a dog. I want to sound like an angel. I want to do it all… but I will be singing until my voice runs dry, and gives out.”