Ebony and Ebony

Aquarium's organic mix of live instruments and programming was recorded song by song in six different home studios around town--one belonging to each band member. Williams believes the fluid results came from the ability to record spontaneously in the studio. "They tried that whole multitrack thing before," he says of earlier collaborators, "but it was defeating our whole purpose as a band. So we had to stick to our guns: We signed as a band, and we're going to stay a band. We get a lot of love from people who say, Keep doin' what you're doin', be strong: It'll happen."