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A little over two-and-a-half years ago, I came to the realization that there was too large a discrepancy between the music I cherished the most and the music I created. I decided it was time to embark on a large-scale, album-length project to close this gap, birthed from the following question: what's the absolute most awesome thing I can imagine doing? No excuses, no limitations, no needless adherence to style or genre. Immediately a few things leapt to the forefront: an expansive pallet mixing rock instruments and orchestral horn and string sections, face-melting virtuosic guitar solos, a sax section featuring extended jazz harmonies, a wash of vintage synthesizers and drum machines, rich vocal harmonies, delicate harp ornaments, and late 1970's style french horn and flute riffs (the list goes on). In order to hone these seemingly disparate elements into a cohesive whole I decided to give myself some useful parameters: my five favorite albums of all time. Prince's "Purple Rain", The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds", The Complete Orchestral Works of Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy, Michael Jackson's "Thriller", and Radiohead's "OK Computer" are radically different records, but together they have defined my musical language more than any other works of art. They acted as wonderful guides throughout the process of creating 50-minute work honest to my influences. As part of the process, I allowed myself to use any instrument - acoustic or electric - that seemed appropriate at the given moment. Thus the final instrumentation for the album reads like a true modern day orchestra: Vocals, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Bass Guitar, Upright Bass, Piano, Synthesizer, Flute, French Horn Section, Saxophone Section, Violin, Viola, Cello, Harp, Timpani, Marimba, Drumkit, Caribbean Steel Drums, Orchestral Percussion, and Children's Choir.

The pre-premiere of the piece took place on May 29th (see video), as part of the final night of the Undiscovered Islands Festival in Brookyln. Following the performance, The New York Times had this to say:

"...the music was substantial: a riotous shotgun wedding of rich orchestrations and complex arrangements with the rock-oriented pleasures of flamboyant posturing and excessive volume, Mr. Coale’s fuzz-pedal bass lines and the bombastic precision of Ted Poor’s drumming. Where the two sides came closest together — as when Mr. Dancigers, Mohawk-coiffed and wearing a “Classical Music Is Dead” T-shirt, piloted a dive-bombing guitar solo into a plush thicket of horns — the results were irresistible."

The record will be produced by Lawson White and released on New Amsterdam in early 2010, accompanied by a full-scale record release show and press campaign. I've been extremely fortunate to have some of the most polished and versatile performers from New York's blossoming indie classical scene taking part in the project. Here's a full list of the personnel:

William Brittelle: Vox/Synth
Mark Dancigers (NOW Ensemble): guitars
Logan Coale (NOW Ensemble): bass
Ted Poor (Jerseyband): drums
Kate Campbell: piano
Megan Levin: harp
Matt Marks (Alarm Will Sound): french horn
Kate Sheeran: french horn
Jacquelyn Adams: french horn
David Crowell (Philip Glass Ensemble, David Crowell Ensemble): alto sax
Ed Rosenberg (Jerseyband): tenor sax/flute
Alex Hamlin (Jerseyband): baritone sax
Mary Jo Stilp: violin
Andi Hemenway (ACME, Wordless Music Orchestra): viola
Amanda Gookin (ACME): cello
Lawson White (So Percussion): production, orchestral percussion

All proceeds collected from Kickstarter will go directly towards recording, mixing, and mastering costs. Thanks!

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