drumming with electronic music, as well as have complete flexibility in his craft and not worry about copying the skill of other drummers. He noticed that using Sensory Percussion "started to take on an architectural quality and an environmental quality," and the drums served as a "blanket" to reveal the "invisible sculpture[s]" that was being made by the virtual instruments." Despite the free-style-esque performance on the album, the songs were not improvised, but rather composed via what Fox labeled "virtual scaffolding," a technique that departed from the "liner" method of writing compositions and was like composing in "virtual reality." Composition of the tracks took place at the non-profit place Pioneer Works for weeks. Release and promotion The lead single of The Gradual Progression was "Catching an L," issued on June 22, 2017. Its video was also released the same day, which was filmed by Fox and "re-purposed" by Johann Rashid. Released on September 8, 2017, the video for "By Virtue Of Emptiness" was also directed by Rashid and is a collage of shots of Maria Kim Grand and Michael Beharie performing the song on a rooftop and other footage assembled by Fox. The same day, RVNG Intl. released The Gradual Progression. On October 7, 2017, Fox performed The Gradual Progression at the non-profit New York City art space The Kitchen. Critical reception Critical reviews of The Gradual Progression were favorable overall. Bandcamp Daily stated that the album "shows there aren’t any rules to making good music. Do what feels right and let the art fall into place." Magnet magazine described it as a "curious balance between high-concept art and Fox's own fiercely independent spirit and virtuosic talent." Pitchfork labeled the album as "overwhelming but beautiful, like stepping inside a waterfall," also stating that its only dud song was "Catching an L," "a late ’70s funk cast off with weirdly farty synths and a meandering sax." Danny Riley of The Quietus praised the LP as "an unselfconscious attempt to forge forward with music" and "an unabashed statement for progression" but was heavily critical towards Fox's overuse of the Sensory Percussion technology. He stated that it led to sounds that were "meandering and forgettable when presented on their own." Riley also stated that using Sensory Percussion prevented Fox from performing "interplay" required for the "spiritual" jazz style he went for. Track listing Derived from the RVNG Intl. website. Personnel Derived from the