Planetarium [LP]

by Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly, Sufjan Stevens, James McAlister

Overview

A project that began as a commissioned work by the Muziekgebouw Eindhoven for composer Nico Muhly, Planetarium premiered in 2012 but was transformed by the arrival of this collaborative recording five years later. With Muhly, singer/lyricist Sufjan Stevens, the National guitarist Bryce Dessner, and drummer James McAlister receiving equal credit for the music, it also features a string quartet, seven trombonists, a keyboardist, and numerous instrument credits, including synths and programming, by the co-composers. Inspired by the Solar System, Planetarium's 17 tracks are named after celestial objects and related phenomena, with Stevens' often enigmatic lyrics focusing on the subjects of science and Greek and Roman mythology. (Falling after touring for his album Carrie and Lowell, Stevens has said it was a relief to work on something that wasn't personal.) "Hurricane heart/Hurricane haste/Wandering star/Put in its place" describes the planet "Jupiter." Like much of Planetarium, the song has a melancholy tone reinforced by humming, occasionally glitchy electronics. Its steady rhythm drops out halfway through, and filtered vocals proclaim: "Sermon of death says Jupiter is the loneliest planet." Distorted drums, mechanical noise, and eventually trombones warp the track into something more epic and ominous. Each piece is a musical mini-drama, to varying degrees and at widely fluctuating lengths, with the glistening wash of "Halley's Comet" lasting about 30 seconds, and "Earth" getting the most attention at around 15 minutes. Keyboard instruments ranging from piano, organ, and celeste to Mellotron, Moog, and other synths blend with strings, Dessner's lithe guitar, and Stevens' airy vocal timbre for a thematically atmospheric, unearthly effect across pieces that also contain passages of explosive percussiveness and symphonic grandeur (all of the above can be found on "Mars"). "Saturn" even develops into a pulsing club-type entry ("Tell me I'm evil/A Capricorn creature/A chemical addiction, first incision"). It's a sprawling effort with an over-70-minute running time, but also a haunting one, recommended for musically adventurous stargazers of all types. [A vinyl LP edition of Planetarium was also released.] ~ Marcy Donelson

Product Details

Release Date:	06/09/2017
Label:	4Ad
UPC:	0191400000919

Tracks

1. Neptune
2. Jupiter
3. Halley's Comet
4. Venus
5. Uranus
6. Mars
7. Black Energy
8. Sun
9. Tides
10. Moon
11. Pluto
12. Kuiper Belt
13. Black Hole
14. Saturn
15. In the Beginning
16. Earth
17. Mercury

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Sufjan Stevens   Primary Artist,Chant,Piano,Vocals,Bagpipes,Keyboards,Mellotron,Prophet 5,Synthesizer,Drum Machine,Prophet Synthesizer
Nico Muhly   Primary Artist,Bass,Organ,Piano,Celeste
Bryce Dessner   Primary Artist,Guitar
James McAlister   Primary Artist,Drums,Organ,Acetate,Jupiter 6,Percussion,Synthesizer,Moog Synthesizer
Ryan Keberle   Trombone
Joe Barati   Trombone,Trombone (Bass)
Tim Albright   Trombone
William Lang   Trombone
Claire Bryant   Cello
Ben Lanz   Trombone
Nadia Sirota   Viola
Ben Russell   Violin
George Flynn   Trombone
Rob Moose   Violin
Dan Levine   Trombone,Trombone (Bass)
Thomas Bartlett   Piano,Mellotron

Technical Credits

Thomas Bartlett   Vocal Engineer,Engineer
James McAlister   Mixing,Composer,Creation,Engineer,Programming
Ben Stanton   Lighting Design
Jonathan Low   Engineer
Stephanie Black   Photography
Alison Fielding   Design
Jessica Dessner   Artwork,Cover Art,Cover Image
Ragnar Kjartansson   Artwork
Stephen Halker   Artwork
Jim Hodges   Images,Artwork
Deborah Johnson   Producer,Project Design
Brandon Reid   Engineer,Live Sound Engineer
Marcel Dzama   Artwork
Matthew Ritchie   Artwork
Karl Jensen   Artwork
Nathlie Provosty   Images,Artwork
Cecily Brown   Artwork
Saya Woolfalk   Artwork
Josh Higgason   Technical Director
Mehreen Murtaza   Artwork
David Huffman   Artwork
Eliav Kadosh   Technician
T.W. Walsh   Mastering
Bryce Dessner   Composer,Creation,Engineer
Nico Muhly   Arranger,Composer,Creation
Sufjan Stevens   Mixing,Composer,Creation,Engineer,Programming
Chad Copelin   Engineer