For his third album release, Sydnor joins forces with Miramar vocalist Laura Ann Singh, bassist Adam Hopkins and drummer Scott Clark to bring forth a collection of songs mysterious and mournful, calling upon a congregation of spirits that includes Walt Whitman, Ornette Coleman, Chopin, Borodin, and Stereolab. In a break with Sydnor’s past recorded efforts, Revolutionary Etudes is a mostly acoustic exploration highlighting the musical sympathies between Singh, Clark, and Hopkins, whom Sydnor heard perform in late 2019 and engaged for a recording date just before the virus made in-person recording impossible. Prior to the recording date, several of these arrangements came quietly to life in sparsely-attended evening services at a small Virginia church where Sydnor has served as music director since leaving New York City in 2017. The result blends the ambience of sacred music, where market forces have no sway, with the freedom and spontaneity of the jazz club— that American sacred space whose loss to airborne pathogens we are only beginning to mourn. The album’s title is a nod to Chopin’s famous op. 10 no. 12, whose harmonies form the basis for the album’s second track.
credits
released September 4, 2020
Curt Sydnor— keyboards, vocals
Laura Ann Singh— vocals
Adam Hopkins— bass
Scott Clark— drums
Engineered and mixed by Lance Koehler at Minimum Wage Studios, Richmond VA. Recorded January 15th, 2020.
Mastered by Sarah Register
Cover art by Reid Collier
“War Orphans” by Ornette Coleman and Walt Whitman (arr. Sydnor)
“Lifespan of Lies” by Curt Sydnor (inspired by Chopin’s op. 10 no. 12)
“Watchman, Tell Us of the Night” by Joseph Perry and John Bowring (arr. Sydnor)
“The Spiracles” by Tim Gane and Læticia Sadier (arr. Sydnor)
“Stranger in Paradise” by Robert Wright and George Forrest (arr. Sydnor)
“Speak Low” by Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash (arr. Sydnor)
Another set of impossibly slick jams from an Aussie outfit who bathe disco-inspired rhythms in funky synths and psychedelic textures. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 3, 2024
supported by 8 fans who also own “Revolutionary Etudes”
Had been wanting to purchase something from Hollenbeck for years. Definitely one of my favorites for 2023. Have already listened to it 5 times in the last month. Nina's Dad 2022