Codeine is touring in September in the EU and UK, in their first non-US shows since 2012. They are performing with original band members Stephen Immerwahr, John Engle, and Chris Brokaw. The tour is bringing them to Ireland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Croatia, Italy, France, Belgium, and England. Later this fall they'll be performing in the US in Texas, Cambridge, NYC, D.C., and Philadelphia.

Codeine in Berlin, Sept 1 2023

The shows are in celebration of the release of "Dessau," a previously unreleased studio album from 1992. It came out September 9, 2022 on Numero Group. It's for sale at Numero Group and at the Codeine Bandcamp page.

NPR notes the originality of the music when it was created: "There was quite simply nothing else like it."

Read a profile in The Guardian of Codeine and "the glacial pleasures of slowcore."

The New Yorker writes, "During its original incarnation, in the early-nineties underground, the doom-laden New York band Codeine issued two LPs, “Frigid Stars” and “The White Birch.” Listen to Stephen Immerwahr’s dour poetry, John Engle’s tolling guitars, and Chris Brokaw’s glacial drumming, and picture falling snow."

Treble says “Dessau is the band’s codex, a monument to their own aural navigation of sadness, contemplative, crushing, and finally complete.” See Codeine's full discography.

In an interview with Brooklyn Vegan about their reunion, their legacy, black metal, and more, Chris said of 'Dessau': “It was heartbreaking, for me anyway, when we shelved it. I thought it was the best thing we'd done.”

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In a project running from 2021 to 2023, Fire Records of London has reissued the entire catalog of Come, the Boston-based band that recorded and toured the globe in the 1990s.

"NEAR LIFE EXPERIENCE" (from 1996) was released June 2, 2023. It joins "GENTLY DOWN THE STREAM" (from 1998), released April 22; "PEEL SESSIONS" recorded live at the BBC in 1992 and 1993, which came out in 2022; and the first reissue, "DON'T ASK DON'T TELL" (from 1994), which came out in 2021.

Come in Boston, May 13 2023

The original lineup of the band (Thalia Zedek, Arthur Johnson, Sean O’Brien, and Chris) regrouped to celebrate the releases and has spent much of 2023 touring Europe, the UK, and the US.

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Chris began playing drums in a new trio last year called Lupo Citta. The band recorded its first LP in January 2023 with Pete Weiss at Bluetone Studio, Somerville.

The LP will be released on 12XU Records of Austin, Texas, in January 2024.

Lupo Citta is Jennifer Gori, Sarah Black, and Chris Brokaw.

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Chris traveled to Norway in June 2022 to perform a solo electric show at a small festival at a decommissioned power station in Florli, about an hour from Stavangar.

Chris writes: "The 'festival' turned out to be more like an artists' retreat, combined with the wedding of Iver and Marit. My involvement was kinda last minute but I was very happy to be there. I met some great artists, experienced some cool and unusual performances; and played 2 solo sets, one electric in this giant decommissioned power plant, and one acoustic in the living room of a cabin. Both were thrilling for me; my new friend Jim Dawson recorded the electric one. This tape is that whole performance. As 'post covid rejuvenation get togethers' go this one was pretty great; the tape a good memento to an inspiring weekend."

The recording was released by 12XU January 19, 2023. Cassette (limited edition, 150) and digital download, both for sale at 12XU's Bandcamp.

Watch a short video clip of the performance by Victoria Heggelund.

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Chris has been scoring a new film by Julia Halperin and Jason Cortlund, "Crookedfinger."

Chris' other movie work includes Halperin and Cortlund's "Barracuda," a 2017 feature film that was nominated for the SXSW Gamechanger Award and the SXSW Grand Jury Award.

Chris composed the score for "Buck Run," which premiered at the 2019 Palm Springs International Film Festival. It's directed by Nick Frangione and stars James Le Gros. Watch the trailer.

Variety says: "The drifting electric guitar of Chris Brokaw’s score further amplifies a timelessly melancholy air."

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Reuss Musical Instruments of Copenhagen has collaborated with Chris on a guitar pedal, the Reuss Recidivist Chris Brokaw signature pedal.

Both the first edition and second editions have sold out, but there are plans for a third batch, hopefully later in 2023.

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Other projects: Chris' duo with Jeff Barsky, Sunset To The Sea, released its second cassette, "LOT COP," in 2022. Find it at Chris' Bandcamp page.

Chris and Jeff's first tape, from 2016, is long out of print but available as a digital download. "There’s a bleak dystopian feel in places that recalls the most probing and exploratory corners of industrial zones, but also a crackly warmth and humanity that only two skilled improvisers like these could add. Dark and hypnotic in the best way possible."

Chris was recruited to play drums with Dan Burton and Chris Carothers, who since 1994 have been making music under the name Ativin. They worked together in New Orleans and then recorded in Chicago in December 2021, with Steve Albini producing.

In another project called Dark Money, Chris plays drums and bass with Mark Morgan (guitar) and Greg Kelley (trumpet). The band recorded and mixed its first batch of music at Oddfellows in Weymouth, MA, in October 2021.

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