0:03

list of supported wnycstudios

0:06

to else

0:11

from new sounds org this is

0:13

the soundtrack podcast

0:29

more or

0:31

cars or cause twenty

0:33

years but decision is slightly

0:35

more recent it's rude to the eight

0:52

it's just the soundcheck podcast our key

0:57

performances and john sheppard

0:59

the , electronic when cat called

1:02

police a has just released a new

1:04

album and it sounds nothing like anything

1:06

they've done before because

1:08

it's not just a police record

1:10

it was done in collaboration with the berlin

1:13

based orchestral collective known

1:15

as stargaze together

1:17

they've released an album called music

1:20

for the long emergency and with

1:22

such a wide orchestral palette

1:24

of orchestral instrumental cult to draw from

1:27

no surprise that the songs have

1:29

a real dramatic kind of sound

1:31

to them which you will hear in

1:33

our studio today we have three

1:35

members from each of the ensembles

1:37

for lisa and stargazer joining us

1:39

to play some songs from the new album

1:42

this first one is called how is this happening

1:45

here is police a and star gays

1:47

live on sounds

6:02

that is police a and stargaze

6:05

with a song called how is

6:07

this happening which comes from their

6:09

collaborative album brand new called

6:12

music for the long emergency and

6:15

, as i mentioned in the introduction we have three members

6:17

from each of the ensembles from police

6:19

a shiny lena is the

6:21

the vocalist and a we've

6:23

got ryan olson lurking in the corner handling

6:26

electronics as needed chris beard

6:28

and playing the bass and from stargaze

6:31

uh mika vendor linda playing the flute

6:34

flute least on hunger when playing the

6:36

oboe and it's lower pitched cousin the english

6:38

horn and on french horn roman

6:41

li and a journey

6:43

to you a and the rest of police

6:45

a welcome back yeah seem very

6:47

different sound from a the last time

6:49

you guys were here and that's

6:52

and very different sound from what's on the record

6:54

that is so on your

6:56

is a good way to start with a song that doesn't

6:59

sound like anything that else is on the record

7:01

but i'm yeah that's sort of this

7:03

are capella songs that i wrote

7:05

the lyrics you're right before

7:07

our own first show in saint

7:09

paul minnesota where the sort of the the

7:13

beginning of our collaboration was

7:15

a permission by liquid

7:17

music which is a music series in saint paul

7:19

minnesota that connects

7:22

modern new music

7:24

with is kind of

7:26

whatever iraq

7:27

it's

7:29

a a program from the paul chamber music

7:37

from the director

7:39

of liquid music from

7:42

yet which is a phenomenal program very

7:44

much encourage you to put to check it out

7:46

i'm a kid off as a program now called infinite

7:49

palette of which connected us with daniel

7:51

whoa week daniel

7:54

i'm composed a new piece for play

7:56

some stargate called angels that we've been sort of

7:59

workshop in that it

7:59

smoker

8:00

very nice daniel wall is a composer

8:02

who's been on a ,

8:04

new sounds a number of times and

8:08

so that the album that

8:10

you've done that's just out is called music

8:12

for the long emergency which

8:15

is a dark

8:17

title and a it is an album

8:20

that has a lot of i mean you can't

8:22

use the lyrics i can't breathe

8:24

anymore without it meaning something

8:26

in modern america so

8:29

how do you balance that dark

8:31

and light that the acknowledgement

8:34

of difficult times with you

8:36

know not falling into despair

8:38

having some kind of hope

8:40

i recently read a quote

8:42

and perhaps somebody on can help syrup

8:44

to it was by but that music

8:46

isn't the greatest forms of hope and

8:48

the creation of music like the and i think

8:51

in general one

8:53

, the greatest acts of resistance

8:55

and just resisting these dark times

8:57

falling into a whole a complete apathy

8:59

and to

9:01

fear is creating new

9:04

things trying to create and

9:06

especially together with people

9:08

people that have different views and you or come

9:10

from across the ocean said different experiences

9:13

create a new things on the idea of creating

9:15

new things is that you have hope you

9:17

have tomorrow too the country

9:20

where you have to mild you have other people enjoy

9:22

them and so this idea

9:24

of

9:25

what is the purpose of art what is the purpose

9:27

of music in dark times

9:29

when it feels

9:30

little bit like maybe we should all just

9:33

though you know learn to be nurses

9:35

and rumors and take care of people that

9:38

can't get the services in the food

9:40

that they need where is there

9:42

so a place for music and we've decided

9:44

that we are going to continue to make music

9:46

and what kind of songs he making that time arms

9:49

used to make love songs when your

9:51

bike the end is near because

9:54

we still are falling in love and the midst of war

9:57

and horrible times you times you there

9:59

so you know having kind of meaningless

10:01

, on people find love

10:03

and and so exploring that that

10:06

feeling of darkness

10:08

but this idea of creation of like a

10:10

form of home

10:11

i mean one of the problems

10:13

is we look at things as everything

10:16

is binary is either one thing or the other and

10:18

you know the the more we acknowledge

10:21

that there are infinite shades of grey

10:24

a , that's emotional to i

10:26

mean yes things can be terrible but there

10:28

can also be wonderful things happening at the same

10:31

same think it was bertolt brecht i mean you talked

10:33

about what kind of songs you right in dark times

10:36

i think bertolt brecht of i'm i'm

10:38

not going to get the quote exactly right but it was something like

10:40

will there be music in the dark times yes

10:43

there will be music in the dark times what

10:45

will that music be like it will be

10:47

music about the dark times uh-huh

10:49

and yeah i'm in you know and then he

10:52

went out and with court vile

10:54

made that music yeah music there's

10:56

there's a tradition here as there

10:58

is an important one yeah so

11:01

yeah this one yeah

11:04

of police a and stargaze has

11:06

that led to a different way

11:08

of approaching the song writing process

11:11

your arms it has

11:14

it's it's hard to really investigate

11:17

into like your own creative

11:20

ways sometimes but it's

11:22

about you know it's funny we had

11:25

we had with the stand you will peace which

11:27

sort of required us

11:29

to listen to only ourselves because

11:31

otherwise you may get messed up a little that were

11:35

in all of the other music

11:37

police and stargate have worked on to me

11:40

i think probably for everybody involved

11:42

keep listening to each other and sort of a fading

11:45

away of just like yourself

11:49

i wanted to make lyrics i wanted of

11:51

the for myself lyrical and melodies that

11:54

weren't the main

11:56

thing or like lyrics the didn't take away from

11:58

the smoothness of the strings i don't wanna be

12:01

articulating there could

12:03

be over melody

12:05

that also need to have a voice in a place

12:07

and it involved with this

12:09

many people and wanted it to be truly collaborative

12:12

i don't think i'd she did that thing that i just

12:14

said but i'm micah

12:18

would it be right behind me accompany

12:20

me it's like i'm actually going

12:23

to accompany her so there's from

12:25

reading and everything with each other with police and started

12:28

has been sort of like a crushing down of

12:30

maybe it's like hierarchies of like hierarchies soloist

12:32

store this way but trying to truly

12:34

build a song together funded

12:37

start and where the voice is

12:39

not foreground and everyone else

12:41

background but everything is everything

12:43

is fooling around there and

12:45

for me to the can very imaginative

12:47

races on music for pieces of wood

12:50

the vocals are another instrument

12:52

that as a company the instruments

12:54

are during i'm right i'm in the background trying

12:56

to see how i can hi

12:59

rhythm over everybody else that i'm not in the way

13:01

but still going into the

13:03

date

13:04

right well i mean steve rice

13:06

over the course of a long career as

13:08

one of america's leading composers as

13:11

you know really use the voice isn't just

13:13

as another instrument in his ensemble i

13:16

, what you guys did the police and star

13:18

days with the album called

13:20

a bruise blood every imagining

13:22

steve rice's music for pieces

13:24

of wood which is now for up

13:26

lots of different sounds of

13:29

tell me about this next song agree

13:31

because you make because you

13:33

here between relief

13:36

and agreement that one does not necessarily

13:39

follow the other

13:41

there

13:43

the idea of and august there

13:46

of enlightenment of this

13:49

point in time on most

13:52

people i know we

13:54

have seen hundreds of marriages

13:56

if not in the news or to send their friends

13:59

fall apart the men a great but yet

14:01

so work so going to marriages as

14:03

idea that it's very difficult

14:06

not even just necessarily marriage but he

14:09

the monogamous relationships and

14:11

how on the can be so challenging but we

14:13

continue to , through

14:15

them were like stuck in these rituals rituals

14:18

though even know ,

14:21

and we sort of yeah

14:23

we route ritualistic aspect

14:25

of life on the continuation

14:28

to keep on going forward and

14:30

not inventing new ways of doing love

14:33

adam and kind of sticking kind these old formats

14:36

but though finding like

14:39

joy and positivity

14:41

in those two just kind of the confusion have

14:43

been confusion human and knowing better and

14:45

home

14:47

you're wanting to continue on in the flick

14:49

half of ritual that

14:55

comforting i guess

14:56

well as that goes back to what you're saying

14:58

before about you know it is not

15:00

a binary saying no it's not a small

15:02

mixes together and

15:04

, looks like mike is switching from the flute

15:06

to the base flute for up for this

15:09

piece i love the sound of that

15:11

instrument don't get to hear a lot but we'll

15:13

hear it now or in a live performance

15:15

police and star days are

15:17

here with us in the sound check studio the

15:19

new album is called music

15:22

for the long emergency and this song

15:24

is called agree

18:31

oh

18:44

once again police and stargazer

18:47

lives in the soundtrack studio

18:49

with a song called agree from their

18:52

collaborative record called music for

18:54

the long emergency

18:57

and we heard the couple of

18:59

different , their roman playing

19:02

both the french horn and the trumpets and

19:05

a more leases playing both the oboe and the english

19:07

horn and as we mentioned earlier might

19:09

have just as staying on the base flute for

19:11

that song and or chris

19:13

helping out on backing vocals channy

19:15

and dumb that you

19:17

know that gets into more kind

19:20

of pop music territory in terms

19:22

it's got like a regular rhythm and all that kind

19:24

of stuff but the arrangement makes

19:26

it something different yet again

19:28

who did the arrangements added that

19:30

get worked out him

19:32

well and not get the microphone

19:35

to roma

19:36

let's let's take the effects off

19:38

the microphone first if recruited and

19:40

let my only , to hear

19:42

one the world mom talking that stories

19:45

stories some of the arrangements as he

19:47

made all together a the first

19:49

time we met we we could spend five

19:51

days in berlin and

19:54

at the same time we composed songs were to

19:56

the got to just figure out our own

19:58

parts so

19:59

the collective orange month because

20:02

ninety percent of it's so forth so

20:04

forth song you and more lisa

20:06

kind of answering each other that

20:08

lawrence's was melody that ryan brought

20:10

and we thought okay how can

20:13

we make class a little bit [unk]

20:15

the same thing dark

20:18

in bright right right running like

20:20

it's a sweet melody but when you overlap when

20:23

not with with another then suddenly

20:25

becomes really spooky somehow on like

20:27

yeah

20:29

right so the the

20:31

album is called channy as i said music

20:33

for the long emergency what is the long emergency

20:36

it is in reference to a book that

20:39

police has talked about on the road for

20:42

a pass or going on seven years i'm

20:44

kind of reference this idea of

20:47

oil the sort of a

20:49

time when are we in the long emergency

20:52

right now or that com ing wen mercer of our resources

20:54

are tapped and we had this long

20:56

this long and the world's history when

20:58

recruiter going towards the

21:00

end and if the constant to havana

21:03

i'm conversation and it and it

21:05

at the time of writing this record leading

21:07

up to the two thousand and sixteen election

21:10

that we are for her

21:11

in it or and drain and climate change

21:13

and economic

21:16

disparities and

21:17

right other things

21:20

so so the idea that a hundred years

21:22

from now water might be the most

21:24

valuable come on and that sorta thing

21:26

and yeah this idea of peak oil

21:28

i was i was a part of a neighborhood group where

21:30

you know john at the end of the block

21:33

raised you know hawthorne bushes

21:35

and the chestnuts and then a couple of doors

21:37

down that's the like rain garden

21:39

water preserve a person then we have

21:41

a couple of blocks down there like ,

21:43

house builder kind of people everybody in the neighborhood

21:45

has a responsibility

21:48

so that you can truly be like a collective

21:50

of everybody bringing their

21:52

gifts and talents to the group in

21:54

making music is making making big group like

21:56

this is very much like

21:58

the people

21:59

what

22:01

it

22:03

sounds like police of than rides

22:05

are pretty heavy affairs

22:07

nasa means that i'm usually

22:09

assist who gets to control the cd

22:12

player

22:12

they were we like to talk says

22:15

that set it up

22:16

the meter true with one of our german public

22:19

the conversation

22:20

he drives the com realize that kind

22:22

of conversation

22:23

the going but yeah we all actively like debate

22:25

and talk things out and talk

22:28

about music to what we're listening to that

22:30

whoa there are there

22:32

are two projects so far from this

22:34

collaboration bruce blood came out new

22:36

few months back that's the real imagining of

22:38

the steve rice work or now we have

22:40

music for the long emergency is

22:42

this a sustainable saying given

22:44

the fact that the two groups exist on

22:46

two different continents

22:48

i don't know what the future holds but already

22:51

didn't it has his own project

22:53

called visible boy and already some

22:55

members of sergei

22:56

right on matt ryan

22:59

, is putting on a record called

23:01

swamp dog that he produced and some members

23:04

of stargate recorded on that recorded on nights ago

23:06

and finding that is not

23:08

justice directly will all keep

23:10

on working with each other and

23:13

, to make were music police and target

23:15

too but already bout already sort of happening

23:17

so tell me about

23:19

this next piece called sake like

23:22

i usually have a song

23:24

in every

23:25

fans american sort

23:28

of like a little

23:29

man who

23:33

writing partner and life partner

23:36

ryan olson this is part of a song

23:38

about our beginnings

23:42

around hundred wrote the beginning melody to

23:44

and than the group as a whole figured out

23:47

the way to mess with that had

23:49

an interesting opportunity here

23:51

yeah i is almost

23:53

unplugged ah but it's certainly

23:55

strip down ah so let's let's

23:57

hear this serves as version of fake like

24:00

from police and star gays you'll

24:02

find a version on the album called music

24:04

for the long emergency but this is live

24:06

performance

25:35

but i feel that

28:02

such cool found fully sir

28:04

and stargazer members of each

28:06

band playing live for us here

28:09

in the studio and a song called

28:11

sake like they , collaborated

28:13

on a and earlier record called a

28:16

bruise blood but they're brand new album

28:18

together is called music for the long emergency

28:21

and is almost orchestral

28:24

at times this album channy but even

28:27

in this kind of appalled at chamber music

28:29

version is a lovely kind of sonic

28:31

palette that you guys who work and

28:33

these are very amazing they

28:35

were very honored to play with them

28:37

what you for

28:39

having a thank you for coming in and playing for

28:41

us as good a real pleasure lot

29:00

the song called live

29:02

comes from police's new album

29:04

madness which they released in june

29:07

twenty twenty two you can watch

29:09

the video of this live session

29:11

it's session our website at new sounds

29:14

dot org our technical director

29:16

is irene fidel our producer is

29:18

karen affleck i'm john schaefer

29:20

see you next time