aaronk4455
Traversing almost an hour in a second's time. Wood River has truly created something special. I can wait for the next LP, as long as it takes, it'll be worth the wait.
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On October 15, 2021, New Amsterdam and firgureight records will release Sediments We Move, the new seven-part album from German-born, Brooklyn-based composer, singer, and saxophonist Charlotte Greve. The winner of two ECHO Jazz Prizes (the German equivalent of a GRAMMY), Greve has been hailed the “Best of Bandcamp” for her nebulous sound—one that flows freely between choral music, rock, noise, free jazz, metal, ambient, and bombastic 80s-inspired pop. On Sediments We Move, Greve, backed by her band, Wood River, and Berlin choir Cantus Domus, invites listeners into a world where disparate sounds weave together like twine, melding into one beautiful, cohesive flow.
Though Greve is a graduate of Jazz Institute Berlin and New York University Steinhardt, the composer frequently abandoned academic form during the creative process. Waves of inspiration overcame Greve, who then recorded her ideas on a whim—singing and talking and clapping into her phone. But perhaps the most intriguing artifact from Sediments We Move is the series of scrawls and drawings and mind maps Greve created along the way.
“I would describe this work as an image of myself, turned inside out, completely vulnerable and bare, out in the open,” says Charlotte Greve. “All my influences are here, interwoven together unapologetically. This is a genre-fluid piece. Listeners are invited to open their ears, to hear assorted sounds uniting, to conceive Sediments We Move as one.”
Sediments We Move is imbued with this theme of connectivity. “This album has many different moments and phases, kind of like our lives,” says Greve. “We all go through different moments, different phases, though we don’t always see their interconnectedness.”
After speaking with her grandmother, Greve began to clearly see the similarities between her relatives—habits and influences, traits and oddities passed through time. Fittingly, then, Greve’s older brother, Julius Greve, wrote lyrics for Sediments We Move, blending familial ties with nature imagery, expanding the circle beyond the Greve family—one layer fading into the next, until all is one.
“I felt an urgency to compose a large-scale piece,” says Greve. “I had never written for choir before, or ever since, and it was a lot of trial and error. But the sound of many voices coalescing with a beat-driven band was extremely appealing.”
In addition to her two ECHO Jazz prizes, Greve has won both the Jazz Baltica Award and a Praetorius-Musikpreis. For over a decade, the composer has toured across Europe, South Asia, and the United States, playing festivals from Jazz Baltica to Jazzfest Berlin to Haldern Pop to Jazzfest Kolkata, collaborating with New Amsterdam artist Arooj Aftab, dancer Isabel Umali, drummer Vinnie Sperrazza, pianist Marta Sanchez, and songwriter Grey McMurray.
Since 2014, Greve has been leading the Brooklyn-based band Wood River, and on Sediments We Move, the indie-art-pop quartet of Greve, Jim Black, Simon Jermyn, and Keisuke Matsuno merges with Cantus Domus, a Berlin choir conducted by Ralf Sochaczewsky. Martin Offik recorded both Wood River and Cantus Domus, helping engineer Greve’s most ambitious work to date.
Like plunging a bottle into the ocean, then swirling the sand and silt and water together, Sediments We Move mixes Charlotte Greve’s myriad influences—both as a composer and a human.
credits
released October 15, 2021
Composer: Charlotte Greve
Lyricist: Julius Greve
Performers:
Wood River & Cantus Domus
Wood River:
Charlotte Greve — Voice / Saxophone / Synthesizers
Keisuke Matsuno — Guitar
Simon Jermyn — Bass
Jim Black— Drums
Cantus Domus:
Conductor — Ralf Sochaczewsky
Producers: Charlotte Greve, Cantus Domus, Martin Offik
Recording Engineers: Martin Offik, Michael Coleman
Mixing Engineer: Seth Manchester
Mastering Engineer: Zach Hanson
Album Artwork: Tracy Maurice
Recorded at:
Audio Cue, Berlin
Traumton Studios, Berlin
Figure 8, Brooklyn, NY
Charlotte’s Bedroom, Brooklyn, NY
Wood River is a Brooklyn based band lead by multi instrumentalist Charlotte Greve.
Expect back beats, through composed
melodies, enigmatic lyrics and grooves, bathed in swirling synths, alto saxophone, electric bass and guitars - Music that is as uncategorizable as the musicians are versatile. A captivating blend of jazz, ambient and rock music with a rarely heard compositional rigour....more
supported by 212 fans who also own “Sediments We Move”
Dearest Arooj, firstly thank you. My brother died this year n what can be said about such loss n sadness. I saw n heard you at The end of the Road in England. I spent many years in India n love all the music, poetry of your heritage. Thankyou Arooj❤️ ben1769
supported by 185 fans who also own “Sediments We Move”
This is one of the most exciting cds I've heard in ages and I feel LUCKY to have discovered Wild Up and their recordings of Julius Eastman. Wow!! jamesaarons
supported by 183 fans who also own “Sediments We Move”
I have been entranced by Caroline Davis's music since the Wonderful Heart Tonic. Then the beautiful Anthems, followed by this swirling masterpiece. Also just picked up Live Work & Play. Caroline Davis is THE jazz musician to watch. Robert Middleton
Sparkling synthpop with an emphasis on high-wattage chords and the kind of melodies that burrow themselves deep in the brain. Bandcamp New & Notable Dec 1, 2023
The brilliant Sally Dige returns with this sweeping new single that is grand in scope and centered on a radiant chorus. Bandcamp New & Notable May 16, 2022
supported by 182 fans who also own “Sediments We Move”
I'm always quite interested in new (or in this case pretty old) instruments and what possibilities that offers to the composer and the listener. I dig the sound of the viola da gamba and the intelligent compositions here. Though this record is full of emotions and moods, it's hard to tell how I feel while listening. Kind of engrossed I guess. StrangeFlow