We Contain Multitudes

BIOGRAPHY

We Contain Multitudes is an instrumental trio consisting of Jon Fine (guitar, keyboards), Simon Kobayashi (bass), and Orestes Morfín (drums).

Jon and Orestes first played in a band so long ago that they’d really rather not discuss it. It was 1987 when Orestes joined Bitch Magnet. A signal American post-hardcore band of its era, Bitch Magnet put out three albums and toured the US and Europe before breaking up in late 1990. Its records were reissued in 2011 by Temporary Residence, and the band reunited for tours of the US, Asia, and Europe—including an appearance at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival— in 2011 and 2012. Jon and Orestes met Simon when his band smallgang opened for Bitch Magnet in London during the reunion tour. When Jon and Orestes decided to start a new band, they immediately thought of Simon for bass, largely because, based on that one show, they understood at once that he is a substantially better guitarist than Jon.

Simon also plays in the British band Hurtling. Jon was in Vineland and Coptic Light, and was a touring guitarist for Don Caballero for a bit. Orestes was in Walt Mink, God Rifle, and Bored Spies. Also, Spin once named Orestes as the 50th-greatest drummer in alternative music, a ranking that—as anyone who has heard Orestes play understands—is far too low.

Jon is also the author of the punk rock memoir Your Band Sucks, which was published by Penguin in 2015 and won critical acclaim from the likes of The New York Times, Men’s Journal, The Boston Globe, The Atlantic, and The Philippine Star. Your Band Sucks concludes with Jon deciding to retire from music at the conclusion of Bitch Magnet’s reunion tours, and to not pursue a new band he’d been discussing with Orestes. (Jon changed his mind.)

We Contain Multitudes’ debut record, Minako, which was recorded by Abe Seiferth and produced by Seiferth and the band, will be released on June 25, 2025, by Expert Work Records. It’s a limited pressing of 300 copies; a very limited edition of 50 copies are on orange vinyl. It’s a double album whose music is spread over three sides.

Minako, pronounced mih-NAH-ko, is a Japanese name that means ‘beautiful child.’ The album is at least partly named for the city-pop vocalist Minako Yoshida. (Simon, whose father is Japanese, came up with it.) We Contain Multitudes is heavy and intricate. At times, the album goes far deeper into psychedelic, repetitive, and minimal/maximalist realms than anything these guys’ prior bands have done.