The Why Because are a creative music collective based in the San Francisco Bay Area. This multi-faceted ensemble was founded in 2002 with the understanding that group membership would change over time, allowing for new perspectives and continual artistic growth. A diverse spectrum of ideas and influences guides their explorations within a shifting stylistic framework.

Through interactive listening and structured improvisation, The Why Because have developed a shared musical language that evolves organically with each new incarnation. The group has appeared onstage with as few as four members and as many as ten. More than twenty musicians and visual artists have contributed to their recordings and performances over the last four years, including past and present members of Subtle, Themselves, OKR, Run_Return, The Betty Expedition, Flimsy Vessels, The Maze Changes, GoGoGoAirheart, Waterline Drift, The Mothballs, Galena, and The Yellow Press.

Musicshapes, the group's third release on their own Musicshapes label, was recorded by a sextet that included two members of the Oakland-based avant-rock/electronic/hip-hop outfit Subtle (Anticon). Captured live during this lineup's first session together, the five extended improvisations on Musicshapes feature an eclectic array of sounds and instrumentation, blending elements of space-rock, fiery jazz, ambient haze, and dubby, percussive stomp into a cohesive whole.

The music of The Why Because has evoked comparisons to the classic grooves of Can and electric-era Miles Davis, the modern tribal psychedelia of the Boredoms and Gang Gang Dance, the cosmic spiritual jazz of the Art Ensemble of Chicago and Sun Ra, and the epic post-rock soundscapes of Cinematic Orchestra and Do Make Say Think.

Despite these reference points, the collective are much more than just the sum of their influences. As they continue to evolve and expand, it is evident from their intuitive flexibility and innovative spirit that The Why Because are a unique entity in the modern musical landscape.