The Uproar in Bursts of Sound and Silence is a sort of emergent collage that came together over four years of composition, improvisation, and production. The foundations for this album were initially recorded in 2018 by producer/engineer Jack Endino (Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Skinyard) at Soundhouse in Seattle, WA with myself (Evan Strauss, electric bass and upright bass), 5-Track (Guitar) and Sheridan Riley (Drums). The initial foundations of this music consisted of my long-form graphically notated conceptual compositions based on the calls of the Veery songbird (Catharus fuscescens), the astrological transits at the precise time of the recording session and some thematic elements from Ursula K. Le Guin’s novel The Dispossessed.
In 2019 the album was given the working title Bird Songs for the Stars and I commissioned the cover art, Night Fisher, from Jeane Cohen. Also around this time, Daniel Carter had emphatically told me, “I’m going to become a rapper by the time I turn 90.” So, a few weeks later Daniel and I were hanging out, recording music and eating stir fry in my Ditmas Park apartment and I convinced him to make some progress on his goals by recording his voice into a microphone. Daniel began by recording an excerpt from Virginia Woolf’s The Waves and continued by recording some of his own poetry.
The recordings of Daniel from that afternoon would eventually make their way onto this album alongside my own experimentations in production inspired by Lee Scratch Perry, J Dilla and Ingram Marshall. I have since come to believe that this music was waiting for Daniel’s voice and music. Over the next couple of years I experimented with production techniques, renamed the album The Uproar in Bursts of Sound and Silence after an excerpt from The Waves (“wind blows the uproar in bursts of sound and silence across the court / now again they are smashing the china / that is the convention”), moved to the pacific northwest, corresponded with the estate of Virginia Woolf, mastered the entire project onto a cassette tape and convinced 577 records to release it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!
-Evan Strauss, February 2022
released August 26, 2022
Personnel:
A1. Hands, at the Bonfire
Daniel Carter: Voice
Evan Strauss: Synthesizers, Programming
Sheridan Riley: Drums
A2. Examination Exanimation
Daniel Carter: Voice
5-Track: Guitar
Evan Strauss: Electric Bass, Bass Clarinets, Tenor Saxophone
Sheridan Riley: Drums
B1. Gemini Rising
Daniel Carter: Flute, Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone
5-Track: Guitar
Evan Strauss: Upright Bass, Programming
Sheridan Riley: Drums
Produced by Evan Strauss
All compositions by Evan Strauss with significant contributions by 5-Track, Daniel Carter & Sheridan Riley
Hands, at the Bonfire words and "The Uproar in Bursts of Sound and Silence" text excerpted from The Waves by Virginia Woolf ©1931 and used with permission from the estate of Virginia Woolf
Examination Exanimation words by Daniel Carter ©2021
Cover art by Jeane Cohen, ©2019; Night Fisher, 10"x10", oil on canvas
Graphic design by Sergio Vezzali
Recorded by Jack Endino at Soundhouse in Seattle, WA; 2018
Additional recording by Evan Strauss in Brooklyn, NY; 2019
Mixed and mastered by Evan Strauss
All material ©2021 Evan Strauss except where otherwise noted
Specific analog systems have been utilized in the production of this music. Artifacts of these systems, which may be perceived as imperfections in audio quality, are present in this music.
Gracious thanks to all who contributed to this music including 5-Track, Sheridan Riley, Daniel Carter, Jeane Cohen, 577 Records, Virginia Woolf, the estate of Virginia Woolf and The Society of Authors.
577 Records is an independent record label
based in Brooklyn, New York
operating since 2001
577 Records
Brooklyn, New York
www.577records.com
©+℗ 2022