Explosions in the Sky

Explosions in the Sky
From left to right: Mark Smith, Michael James, Munaf Rayani, and Chris Hrasky
Background information
Origin	Austin, Texas, U.S. Midland, Texas, U.S.
Genres	Post-rock instrumental rock
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Temporary Residence Limited, Bella Union
Members	Chris Hrasky Michael James Munaf Rayani Mark Smith
Website	www.explosionsinthesky.com

Explosions in the Sky is an American post-rock band from Texas. The band is a quartet, composed of drummer Chris Hrasky and guitarist/keyboardists Michael James, Munaf Rayani and Mark Smith. The band originally played under the name Breaker Morant, then changed to the current name in 1999. They primarily play with three electric guitars and a drum kit, although James will at times exchange his electric guitar for a bass guitar and all three guitarists also add additional keyboard and synthesizer parts. The band later added a fifth musician to their live performances, largely to accommodate for these bass and keyboard parts. This role was occupied by multi instrumentalist, Carlos Torres, from 2010 to 2018, and reprised in 2024. The band has released eight studio albums to date; their most recent, End, was released in September 2023.^[1]

The band has garnered popularity beyond the post-rock scene for their elaborately developed guitar work, narratively styled instrumentals – which they refer to as "cathartic mini-symphonies" – and their emotional live shows.^[2]