Isotope 217 is made up of Dan Bitney, John Herndon, and Jeff Parker from Tortoise along with Rob Mazurek (Chicago Underground, Exploding Star Orchestra), and Matt Lux (Iron & Wine).

This is the band's 1997 debut, here reissued on blue vinyl. »The Unstable Molecule« is a best seller from Thrill Jockey’s early days and is finally back on vinyl for a whole new generation to experience,

"Drawing from free jazz, hard bop, funk, dub and post-rock, without resulting in some featureless muddle or lifeless ‘fusion’, the group’s aesthethic simultaneously recalls different aspects of early 70s musical experimentation: The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Bitches Brew/On the Corner-era Miles Davis, and vintage King Tubby. Isotope 217 don’t merely assemble these diverse elements in one place, but rather explore the common ground that already underlies them: a shared emphasis on texture, timbre, space, and groove" - The Wire