VISCERA

Released July 3rd, 2020

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Brian Krock- alto saxophone, clarinet

Olli Hirvonen- guitar

Marty Kenney- bass

Steven Crammer- drum set

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Recorded at Firehouse 12 by Greg DiCrosta

Mixed and mastered by Joe Branciforte at Greyfade Studio

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“Viscera”- the second full-length recording from saxophonist and composer Brian Krock's working band, liddle- was recorded live at the venerated venue/recording studio Firehouse 12 in New Haven, Connecticut. Following the critical success of their first album, 2019’s liddle, Krock wanted to capture the telepathic, fiery interplay of the band in a live setting for their sophomore effort. “Those sets at Firehouse 12 were absolutely wild in terms of the energy in the room,” remembers Krock. “This album captures the sixteenth show of our first tour as a band, and we were equal parts exhausted and inspired.” Knowing that the band would have the all-but-unheard-of luxury of three weeks of warm-up gigs before the recording sessions, Krock felt comfortable writing his most challenging book of music to date. As complex and abstract as the music may be, it also reveals the emotive cohesion of a band on the road together- sleeping, eating, and breathing nothing but music for weeks on end. 

The title track, “Viscera,” was inspired by the internal organs of the human body. While many theoreticians talk of the natural symmetry of the human body, Krock was interested in conveying the organic, uneven mess of intestines, pancreas, lungs, heart, and the like that live inside each of us. Drawing on the limitless talents of his longtime cohort Olli Hirvonen, Krock wrote an arpeggiated guitar part which stretches and contracts in surprising ways. 

“Eyes beseeching, hands gagged” features a frenetic duo between Krock and the newest member of liddle, drummer Steven Crammer. Their fast 13/8 groove slowly dissolves into a chaotic mess, with sinewy shapes mirrored between guitar and alto saxophone. 

Bassist Marty Kenney- also a member of Krock’s big band, Big Heart Machine- has no trouble navigating the constantly shifting irrational meters within “Nurturing a vulture (in my body).” This piece is an exploration of various gradations of swing at a sluggish tempo, with Kenney articulating extremely precise subdivisions of 5, 7, and 9 within the bands lilting triplet feel. 

As the new compositions began to solidify on tour, the “old” tunes from Krock’s last record began to change in interesting ways. “This was due in large part to the new personnel and instrumental configuration,” says Krock, “but also because our night-to-night experimentations led to unforeseen musical territory.” So, Krock felt it was necessary to include live versions of two previously-recorded songs: “Saturnine” and Anthony Braxton’s “Composition no. 23b.” “Night after night, we tried tweaking elements of these pieces both large and small, and taking big chances, so that by the end of the tour, these pieces felt fresh and new.”  

liddle

released April 26, 2019 

Brian Krock- alto saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet 
Olli Hirvonen- electric guitar 
Matt Mitchell- piano, Fender rhodes 
Simon Jermyn- 6-string electric bass (track 4), baritone guitar (track 9)
Marty Kenney- upright bass 
Nathan Ellman-Bell- drum set 

Produced by Brian Krock 
Tracks 1-2, 4-6, 8-9 composed by Brian Krock, BMI 
Track 3 composed by Olli Hirvonen, TEOSTO & Brian Krock, BMI 
Track 7 composed by Anthony Braxton, Synthesis Music, BMI 

Recorded by Michael Perez-Cisneros at Big Orange Sheep 
Mixed and Mastered by Joseph Branciforte at Greyfade Studio 
Album artwork and layout by David Foarde 
Photography by Desmond White

Big Heart Machine

released August 24, 2018 

Produced by Darcy James Argue 
Recorded at by Mike Marciano at Systems Two, Brooklyn on August 15 & 16, 2017 
Mixed by Brian Montgomery 
Mastered by Sangwook “Sunny” Nam at Jacob’s Well Mastering 

All compositions by Brian Krock, BMI 

Miho Hazama- conducter 
Charlotte Greve- soprano & alto saxophones, clarinet, flute, sopranino recorder 
Brian Krock- alto saxophone, clarinet, piccolo, flute, alto flute, soprano recorder 
Timo Vollbrecht- tenor & soprano saxophones, clarinet, soprano recorder 
Paul Jones- tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute, alto recorder 
Jay Ratmann- baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, clarinet, flute, tenor recorder 
John Lake- trumpet & flugelhorn 
Nolan Tsang- trumpet & flugelhorn 
Cody Rowlands- trumpet & flugelhorn 
Kenny Warren- trumpet & flugelhorn 
Nick Grinder- trombone 
Chris Misch-Bloxdorf- trombone 
Isaac Kaplan- trombone 
Jennifer Wharton- bass trombone 
Yuhan Su- vibraphone 
ArcoIris Sandoval- piano & synthesizer 
Olli Hirvonen- electric guitar 
Marty Kenney- electric and upright bass 
Josh Bailey- drums and percussion 
With invaluable assistance from Peter Lenz, Adam Neely, and Molly McAdoo