Chimney Choir-Recording Music in a new Direction
by Tim Wenger
Denver’s Chimney Choir is in the very long process of releasing a new album, and they are taking their time. It could almost be said that they are teasing their fans, giving them just the tip four separate times before they get the full orgasmic experience. It could also be looked at in a way of anticipation; by releasing an album in four separate parts, they are keeping a steady level of hype around their work and maintaining a steady desire from the masses for more, more, more.
They are tracking the four points on the compass, doing a release party for each direction featuring three songs that will be “found” at each event. Putting on full stage shows, the band will rely heavily on the crowd, and themselves, for these shows are not the typical “go see a band, buy a cd, and go home” type of event.
“Every release should be a completely different experience and adventure,” says the band’s David Rynhart. The band has released two of the four parts to the album thus far; with the second being the South direction part released April 21 at Leon Gallery.
The four parts of the album were recorded live in one take at San Luis Sound in Broomfield. “Beautiful space,” says Rynhart. “It’s a studio-quality live album, and we kind of made experimental collages out of the banter between songs.” Guests can acquire one disc containing three songs, representing one direction of the compass.
“We wanted to release the album in parts,” says Rynhart. “A lot of people are doing things like this, where you subscribe and you get a song a day or a song a week until the album is completed. I think it’s sort of embracing the disintegrated state of the music industry lately. Why does a coherent album even matter anymore?”
Recording an album is a huge experience for a band, and part of the reasoning for doing four independently themed releases was that Chimney Choir wanted their fans to have an exceptional experience as well. “We wanted to have people go through an experience with the album before just getting it,” says Rynhart. “It’s a way of having people go through this entire experience, and then having the album at the end. It’s risky because it’s over four months, but in the meantime things adjust around (the symbols).
“There’s a kind of presentation about the deeper significance of events going on, on that day,” says Rynhart. “We looked into astrologically what is going on at that day, astronomically as well. We looked into historically what is going on, on this day.”
They looked up at the sky as well as into the history books to put together the themes for each show. “Kind of just go with whatever- the date, what’s happening in outer space, and bring it all down and funnel it into what is happening in the room,” says Kevin Larkin. “The shows are different than anything we are doing live. Usually at a club or something, we do songs and that’s it, but this is really messing with the performer and audience roll. The whole idea behind the show is that we all meet there to look for this part of the compass, like we haven’t found the songs yet.”
“We say [at the release shows] that we haven’t found the album yet, we have to look for it,” says Rynhart. “On this [first] show we looked west, and we find this piece of it. At the next show, we all get together and we look south, and we find that piece of it. We keep meeting and looking in different directions until we find the whole thing.”
Each show is a combination of spoken word, visual imagery, and music, which is why the band wanted to do the releases in gallery settings instead of traditional venues. “It’s a different experience,” says Larkin. “There is a lot that can happen. It’s not a bar; you’re not competing with noise. It reminds me more of like a theatre.” The parts to the album are “found” differently at each show, providing a new experience for guests.
“The album is fairly cohesive in its style,” says Larkin. “We’ve done some ambient tracks. The bulk of the songs are similar in style.”
At the conclusion of the four parts, guests will finally be able to have all of the songs on one disc, representing the album finally being “found.” “We want to create a situation in which people have no idea what is going to happen next or what is going to be required of them,” says Rynhart. “I think, in the long run, if you put people in that position, they have to pay attention a little more and they get more out of it.”
Chimney Choir has developed a reputation for being artsy and putting a lot of thought into their music and shows, and this project is pushing the envelope even for them. “It’s very experimental for us because we haven’t done anything like this before,” says Rynhart. Stay tuned at coloradomusicbuzz.com for news on the upcoming release dates and locations. The big finale takes place June 23 at The Warehouse, 389 S. Lipan.
Online: chimneychoir.com
Category: Buzzworthy2
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