Photo by Matt Cohn

“If I’m searching for music and I can’t find what I’m looking for, I have to create it,” says musician/composer/producer Chris Schlarb, a Long Beach native who has assembled a colorful array of musicians to help achieve that objective on his new album, Psychic Temple II, coming out July 16 on Asthmatic Kitty Records.

The 35-year-old father of two is an exemplar of the do-it-yourself spirit, putting in long hours as a truck driver for an organic produce company each weekday before devoting his creative efforts to his music. He composes, records and mixes his albums out of his home, and, during a 10-date run of east coast shows later this month which includes stops in New York City, Washington D.C., and Nashville, he’ll be working as his own tour manager.

The tour will wind up in Oshkosh, Wisconsin at the Clawhammer Music and Arts Festival–which was curated entirely by Schlarb.

Schlarb and his touring band, which includes all the core players from Psychic Temple II, will be playing in the style he aspires to: relaxed, meditative and spacious.

“There’s a certain intimacy to the music I make. I don’t like melodrama,” he says.

Psychic Temple II features angular and lyrical melodies played by trumpeter Kris Tiner, fluid and un-bombastic drumming by Andrew Pompey and Tabor Allen, and plain-spoken and unaffected vocals by Sarah Negahdari of the L.A.-based band The Happy Hollows, along with Asthmatic Kitty labelmate Sufjan Stevens, among many other musical contributors.

In addition to Schlarb’s compositions, the album includes covers of tunes by three other “auteur” music producers: Brian Wilson, Frank Zappa and Joe Jackson.

Schlarb played clarinet at Hughes Junior High before his mother bought him his first guitar. At Jordan High School, he played guitar in the gospel choir band and did hip-hop sessions after school. In his early 20s, he became interested in experimental music and hung out with “fusion heads and prog-rock freaks.” By the early 2000’s, he was playing local shows, but they were very sparsely attended. He got some major inner validation, though, in 2005 when he played an opening-act show at the NYC New Music venue Tonic, to a packed house.

“I remember wondering, ‘Where are these people in Long Beach?'” says Chris.

By 2006 Chris was running his own eclectic record label, Sounds Are Active, which released recordings by artists like guitarist Nels Cline and bassist Mike Watt. After employing the talents of many Asthmatic Kitty artists during the making of his album Twilight and Ghost Stories, which was structured around field recordings of rain, Schlarb joined the Asthmatic Kitty roster. He then got inspired to bring to fruition the dream music ensemble in his mind.

“The first Psychic Temple album contained all the elements of ambient music, jazz, classical and folk music that I love,” he says.

After years of experimenting with noise, field recordings, ambient gaming soundtracks, and free improvisation, Schlarb has become devoted to improving as a composer. He has picked up a few electronic tricks along the way, like using his espresso stirrer to create a dulcimer-like effect on his guitar, but says he’s wary of falling down the gadget rabbit-hole.

“I like exploring those things, but don’t lean too heavily on them,” he says. Instead, he’d rather call upon traditional instrumentalists like violinist Philip Glenn, who stands out on the dreamy Psychic Temple II cut “Bird In The Garden,” a countryish waltz that also features Long Beach keyboardist and studio mainstay Ikey Owens.

Schlarb will be doing a free in-store appearance at Fingerprints in Long Beach on August 8 and will immediately launch into his next project.

“I’m planning on going with my wife out to the middle of nowhere and recording a solo guitar record,” he says. “I’m just going to set up two mics, record for a couple of days and put that out.” He’s hoping that his summer efforts will draw more listeners into his sonic space. “Wherever people are listening to it, they’re in the Psychic Temple,” says Schlarb.

For more information about Chris Schlarb, including upcoming tour dates, visit chrisschlarb.com. To order Psychic Temple II, visit asthmatickitty.com