was that on purpose? celebrates the beauty that arises from chance encounters, mundane experiences with friends, and musical relationships transcending the professional. Comprised of 9 chimeric original works and arrangements, this debut release infuses modern jazz with a potpourri of influences spanning folk/disco (Hummingbird Dances, Nakajima), video game music (parhelion, Miranda) and the Beatles/J-pop (Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, Nakajima). Each track features expansive explorations of time and meter ranging from the frenetic burning swing of Set Time (Miranda), to the floating, Ghibli-esque ballad Moon Jelly (Nakajima), to free-time spacey improvisation in Sucker Punch (Miranda). Despite their eclectic ingredients, the tracks are united by a common structure of intricately through-composed sections suffused with interactive improvisations. The title of the album is a nod to that feeling of collaborative discovery unique to improvisation: each musical coincidence is unplanned, yet inevitable from years of deep practice, chemistry, and friendship. With this release, LOBE hopes to spread the communal joy they feel every time they sit down together on stage, in rehearsal, and at the dinner table.