Stuart Hyatt on Turning Bat Sounds into Stunning Ambient Music

Recording bats

What would you say if I told you that one of the year’s best ambient/drone albums was made from field recordings of bats? That’s the story being Ultrasonic, the 8th album to be released under the Field Works name. Stuart Hyatt, the man behind the project, recorded the sounds made by bats in Indiana. From there, the recordings were used by a group of prodigiously talented musicians — including Kelly Moran, Noveller, Eluvium, and Christina Vantzou — to create a series of stunning ambient soundscapes. I talked with Hyatt via email about the project’s genesis and the permutations that this album underwent en route to its completion.

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Ted Hearne on Gentrification, Music, and Collaborating with Saul Williams on “Place”

Ted Hearne

The last time I spoke with Ted Hearne was in 2014; the subject was The Source, his collaboration with Mark Doten inspired by the work of whistleblower Chelsea Manning. Now, Hearne has returned with a new album, Placea collaboration with Saul Williams, in which Hearne addresses questions of gentrification in Brooklyn’s Ft. Greene neighborhood. It’s a work that involves countless vocalists, found audio, and a complex structure; it also involves moments of sublime beauty. I talked with Hearne about the genesis of Place and how he developed the themes contained within it.

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Decoding the Narrative of Billie Eilish’s “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?”

album cover_

On January 26th, Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas O’Connell stole the stage at the Grammy awards collecting a total of 5 Grammys, including the most prestigious award of ‘Album of the Year’ for their 2019 album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? Billie and Finneas entirely produced and wrote the album (with mixing and mastering by Rob Kinelski and John Greenham). Apart from all of the wonderful accolades, awards, and personal stories behind this masterful album, there’s something completely missing from mainstream praise and reviews of this record: its dense narrative and compelling themes. 

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Seed Triangular: An Interview with Musician, Composer, and Producer Robbie Lee

Robbie Lee

Robbie Lee is an artist who thrives on collaboration. Among his recent partners: Guitarist Mary Halvorson, who won a 2019 MacArthur “Genius Grant,” and composer Lea Bertucci, whose album Resonant Field, named a top Jazz album of 2019 by the New York Times, featured Lee on flute

In the following exchange, which took place over several months via a shared Google document, the multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer weighs in on David Bowie, his love of duos, NYC’s experimental music scene of the 1990s, and what it means to be a contemporary composer most comfortable in that liminal space between genres. 

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“Sandra Bell: Again”: An Excerpt From Dennis Callaci’s “100 Cassettes”

Dennis Callaci

Dennis Callaci is an esoteric guy. He’s the man behind the excellent indie label Shrimper Records, who have released music over the years by the likes of Woods, the Mountain Goats, and Dump. He’s also a talented musician and writer, with a new album and a new book both set to be released on February 14th. The album is The Dead of the Day; the book is 100 Cassettes. Along for the ride on the former are a group of musicians including Franklin Bruno; contributing an introduction to the latter is Jonathan Lethem.

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The State of Seattle Shoegaze: An Interview With somesurprises

Earlier this fall, the self-titled LP from Seattle’s somesurprises hit record stores and digital services around the country. somesurprises began as the solo project of Natasha El-Sergany and has gradually begun involving other musicians; the result is a group that creates textured, haunting music that clicks on multiple levels. Following a fall tour, I talked with El-Sergany about the creation of the band’s new album, their time on the road, and more.

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“Each Song Has its Own Creation Story”: An Interview With Gold Dime

Sometimes happy accidents are very real. A few years ago, I was at Basilica Soundscape when I happened upon a performance in a smaller space away from the main building. I had absolutely no idea what I was witnessing: something chaotic yet rhythmic, something that felt deeply new in a way I wasn’t expecting. The name of the band was Gold Dime; its founder, Andrya Ambro, had previously played in Talk Normal. Now, Gold Dime’s second album, My House, is out in the world. I talked with Ambro about how it came together, their recent tour, and her approach to songwriting.

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Lo and Behold: A Review of “The Low & Low” by Locust Honey

Locust Honey

Chloe is working on the watercolor—the same one, she tells me, she’d been meaning to finish for something like two years and is almost done working on, on the day before she heads out on tour for two weeks, though she tells me she’ll be done soon, working on the circular living room table with its set of chairs that looks like they could be from the sixties, like chartreuse seashells, while the CDs of The Low & Low, like their own sorts of shells, are all in their cases in the living room, having arrived in the mail not too long ago, to start shipping to everyone who preordered them—while I’m remembering the last time I had heard about someone who could turn water into something more than water.

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