Not familiar with 8 in 8? Well, you WILL be familiar with the tremendous talents that make up this project. The 8 in 8 team includes Amanda Palmer (formerly the singer/pianist/writer of the The Dresden Dolls), her hubby Neil Gaimon (best known for his late 80’s graphic novels “The Sandman” series), Ben Folds (yes, THAT Ben Folds), and OK Go’s Damien Kulash. I’m not a huge fan of “supergroups,” but it applies to this foursome, who correctly bill themselves as “Tomorrow's supergroup today."

Whatever you’d like to call the group, spectacular is the word that best describes this six-song effort. Every single song is damn good, especially considering the ultra-short timeframe. “Nikola Tesla” has Amanda’s quirky style and vocals, with what sounds like music from Folds. “Because the Origami” is a collaboration/duet with Folds & Palmer. It’s a satisfyingly sarcastic rail on modern society and child rearing/child appeasement. “One Tiny Thing” which has ended up being my favorite from project is voiced by Kulash. The funniest songs are a toss up between the suicidal squirrel themed “Twelve Line Song” and oddball crazy homeless person rant, “I’ll Be My Mirror.” The album also features the singing debut of Gaimon on the clever ditty, “The Problem with Saints.”

Palmer, Gaimon, Kulash, and Folds got together for Boston’s Berklee College of Music’s Rethink Music conference (which runs through April 27). Palmer is a native of Lexington, MA and now makes her home in Boston with Gaimon. Folds and Kulash along with Palmer & Gaimon are all speakers at the conference, so it was a natural fit when they decided to write and record eight songs in eight hours on April 25, and release them a mere 10 hours later. They actually got six songs in about 12 hours, not too shabby! When a tired Amanda misheard Gaimon say “8in8” as “Nighty Night” the album was christened.

Prior to the project’s kick off, OK Go’s Damian Kulash wondered aloud; "Can the album cycle actually be reduced to a single day? If the recording industry is supposed to be a means of connecting musicians to music listeners, well, then, here it is -- spontaneous and circular."

Palmer continues, "The four of us are creative internet addicts with our own huge Twitter circles. This project is exciting as it will give us the opportunity to collide our circles. I think the Rethink Music conference is going to be a groundbreaking event."

The Rethink Music conference was designed to bring “together all sides and viewpoints on the subjects of creativity, commerce, and policy to engage in critical dialogue examining the business and rights challenges facing the music industry in the digital era, and to formulate ideas for the creation and distribution of new music and other creative works.”

Have a listen to some teaser tracks below, and check out the full album on Amanda’s bandcamp page (link to the right). All proceeds go to charity.