The Black Heart Procession took root in San Diego in 1997, when Pall Jenkins (vocals, guitars, synths, etc.) and Tobias Nathaniel (piano, guitar, organ, etc.) put their previous band, Three Mile Pilot, on an open-ended hiatus. They are the core members of Black Heart, joined by drummer Joe Plummer (Modest Mouse, the Magic Magicians), bassist Jimmy LaValle (The Album Leaf) and violinist Matt Resovich (The Album Leaf).
The Spell is their fifth full-length album. To make it, the band assembled a new recording studio and then traveled between San Diego and Portland, OR to write and rehearse the material. The album was recorded and produced by The Black Heart Procession in their new studio, SDRL, in San Diego.
