One of the Pacific Northwest’s hidden societies, GEIST & THE SACRED ENSEMBLE forge a doom-inflected folk ritualism; dirges tinged with Eastern psychedelia and meandering meditative trances. For the last several years, the group has shown the Washington state underground a clear vision for their sound and lyrics – creating a shamanistic space for the listener, placing them into a trance, then building up the excitement. The overarching theme of their lyrical work is that of an idealist, a yearning for an end to the modern human condition, for destruction of the constructs & constraints of oppression. The group has appeared at Thirst For Light and on Hollow Earth Radio, and brought their hypnotic and emotionally charged live show to a wider audience through touring.

Geist started in 2005 after Michael Sauder left Geist Road in Lancaster, Pa and hitched-hiked around the country with a childhood friend. The music is inspired from that trip and experiences of growing up as a gravedigger from a religious household. In 2007 percussionist Samuel Joseph came in to offer his rhythmic wizardry thus becoming Geist & Samuel Joseph. In 2008 they self released their self-titled ep ‘Geist & Samuel Joseph’. The following year they started to have a rotating cast of musicians and Geist & the Sacred Ensemble was born.

In 2011 they released their first full length ‘In Search of Fabled Lands’ on cassette for the independent record label Translinguistic Other based out of Seattle, Wa. In 2013 they released ‘Beyond this Vessel’ on cassette followed by ‘Within’ in 2016 on Oakland based label Moon Glyph.