Ah, Chicago. I occasionally get lost in fantasies about diving into an especially deep-dish pizza that I forget about the city’s supernatural ability to forge unique and lasting musical relationships. They say that the city was built on an old Indian burial ground (actually not far from the truth), and instead of cursing the European immigrants who carelessly ravaged the land for development purposes, the indigenous people were all, “Eh, fine. But you’re henceforth obligated to collaboratively craft some innovative tunes.” So Deerhoof and the Chicago-based Ensemble Dal Niente both performed at the Wordless Music Series in 2012, and now they’re releasing an album together. The spirit of L.A. so couldn’t have pulled this off.
Balter / Saunier comes out April 29 on New Amsterdam, and even though the name of the album might suggest something limited in participation, the album itself involved no less than 30 people spread across two long arrangements — one each from Marcos Balter and Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier, plus a shorter composition from the former. Balter’s longer “meltDown Upshot” was composed specifically for the meeting of creative minds between Deerhoof and Dal Niente, while Saunier’s “Deerhoof Chamber Variations” ultimately serves as an orchestral recollection of Deerhoof’s back catalog.
Check out a track from “meltDown Upshot” below, and anticipants local to the Chicago area can also look forward to Dal Niente’s 10th Aniversary Season party on April 30. Saunier’ll be there assisting in the performance of “Deerhoof Chamber Variations.”
Balter / Saunier tracklisting:
01. meltDown Upshot - 1. Credo (Marcos Balter)
02. meltDown Upshot - 2. Parallel Spaces (Marcos Balter)
03. meltDown Upshot - 3. Ready (Marcos Balter)
04. meltDown Upshot - 4. True/False (Marcos Balter)
05. meltDown Upshot - 5. Home (Marcos Balter)
06. meltDown Upshot - 6. Cherubim (Marcos Balter)
07. meltDown Upshot - 7. Rapture (Marcos Balter)
08. Pois que nada que dure, ou que durando (Marcos Balter)
09. Deerhoof Chamber Variations (Greg Saunier)
More about: Deerhoof, Ensemble Dal Niente, Marco Balter
