DISCOGRAPHY
intelligent life | Thirty days of June (2021)
“The next message you need is always right where you are.”
— Ram Dass
On the heels of the success of “Lost in Translation”, Intelligent Life presents “Thirty days of June”, their third album of boundary defying experimental music, recorded during Covid-19 lockdown. Right from the start, opening track “And when the time comes” evokes a potent sense of time and place. Underground travel through the dark tunnels of the NYC subway system. A sudden stop. A forward lurch. The unseen but ever present East River churning dangerously above. The hypnotic sounds of the album continue and intensify with each subsequent track. “Collective memory”, “Summer solstice” and “With the way things are” smoothly seduce the listener while, at the same time, give nothing away. True to its title, “Mysteriously silent on the subject” weaves a musical path that brings a feeling of peace and wonder and the magic of being in "the moment.” Title track “Thirty days of June” helps you get through the isolating days of Covid, yet you may not be quite sure just how it does that. Therein lies the genius. After the final track, “It is the time”, when you are fully immersed in the out-of-body experience that is Intelligent Life, you will leave with the sense that everything will be alright. It may be lot to expect from an album, but “Thirty Days of June" delivers.
CREDITS
released August 13, 2021
Jeff Düngfelder: Electronics
Mike Brown: Contrabass
Joshua Trinidad: Trumpet
Recorded in Brooklyn & Queens, New York, and Denver, Colorado
Mixed & Mastered at the Georgian Gardens Studio, New York City
Artwork by Jeff Düngfelder
Orange Peels | celebrate the moments of your life (2021)
Celebrate the Moments of Your Life is the first double album by the band, and an adventure into uncharted waters.
Featuring more than an hour of new music, the album was recorded from summer 2019 though fall of 2020 at the band's former headquarters in the Santa Cruz Mountains, mixed by longtime collaborator Bryan Hanna in Minneapolis, and mastered by Dave Gardner at Infrasonic in Los Angeles. Original artwork was created by collage artist Nereida Dusten.
wheelchair sports camp | alice in wonderland (2021)
Written for Phamaly Theatre Co.’s original production of Alice in Wonderland
intelligent life | lost in translation (2021)
On the crest of “Everything is always the same”, Intelligent Life now presents their visionary second release, “Lost in Translation”. Joining the group is renowned trumpeter Joshua Trinidad, whose burnished tones and spellbinding improvisational skills beguiles the listener with an air of relaxed restraint. The alluring timbre of Brown’s contrabass gently floats the articulated notes of Trinidad’s trumpet, which then seamlessly interweave with the mystical texture of Düngfelder’s electronic world. Out of this fluidity of sound a new language is born. Boundaries are defused
and the listener gets lost into an unchartered world.
Düngfelder, Brown and Trinidad merge their individual experiences and talents to produce meditative music with an edge. With a blend of idiosyncrasy, depth and the unexpected it is a unique palette not come across in most experimental albums.
intelligent life | everything is always the same (2021)
Intelligent Life makes its powerful debut with this genre-defying album. Ultimately unclassifiable and obsessively listenable, it is an ephemera of sound that defuse boundaries. A structural philosophy of experimental contrabass underscores the ambient, down-tempo and avant-garde components, which fluidly superimpose with the electronica. While the contrabass is clearly a foundational element, it serves more as a point of departure than a defining sonic envelope. Düngfelder & Brown take their disparate experiences and talents to attack convention. Alive with vivid colors they give the meditative music a real edge with the unexpected. It’s full of an idiosyncratic energy not found on most experimental albums. A brilliant debut.
The Death particle | Selected works, vol. 1 (2020)
A selection of work chosen by HP.C for this limited, first & last press vinyl release.
The digital release features the brand new, and final track, under The Death Particle moniker...𝕯𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖍 𝕭𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖒𝖘.
KOMUNYAKAA, CIERI, BROWN: DARK FURNITURE (2019)
While Cieri was writing the music (along with Trent Reznor and Yo-Yo Ma) for Ken Burns’ The Vietnam War Documentary, he kept close Yusef Komunyakaa’s poetry book Dien Cai Dau as a source of insight and inspiration. As good fortune would have it, The Gavagai Music and Reading series run by Danielle Blau, brought Komunyakaa, Cieri, and Brown together for the first time on St. Patricks Day 2016 to perform in NYC. From the downbeat, a deep relationship and understanding immediately caught fire and they have been playing with matches ever since as they fuse Komunyakaa’s poems with the sounds and music of Cieri and Brown.
universal hall pass | Lyra (2019)
released April 17, 2019 Music/lyrics/voice/piano/synths & sound design: Melissa R. Kaplan Bowed double bass arranged and performed by Mike Brown: lilbrownbass.com Mix/Mastering - Kasson Crooker of Speed of Dark Music: speedofdarkmusic.com © 2019 all rights reserved BMI/(UHP) Universal Hall Pass
THE DEATH PARTICLE: TANGENT SONS | GHOST OF JUPITER (2019)
Tangent Suns || Ghost of Jupiter, the new dual single release from The Death Particle. thedeathparticle.com
EPIC BEARD MEN: THIE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FUN (2019)
EBM are on the road throughout 2019, starting in the US in April on the "Come To The Sand Dunes" TOUR: fanlink.to/EBMTour2019 This Was Supposed to Be Fun, the debut LP (and second official offering) from EPIC BEARD MEN, is an indie-rap tour de force by two of the underground's finest; SAGE FRANCIS and B. DOLAN. This album knocks. It parties with disreputable outlaws in truck stops. It blends the classic sounds of breakbeats and timeless drum machines with soul grooves and sub bass. Guitars, violins, and a goddamn brass band have sat in before the party's over. On the vocal side of things, more than a few lyrical heavyweights drop in to take their turn on the mics. SLUG of ATMOSPHERE joins the gang in some NC-17 fun, as Sage and B. are soulfully backed by BLUE RASPBERRY (Wu-Tang Clan) on the road-noir tale "Pistol Dave". ELIGH of LIVING LEGENDS and South African newcomer YUGEN BLAKROK contribute blistering verses, while New Orleans Bounce legend Vockah Redu... more credits released March 29, 2019
THE MAYO CLINIC - UNITY OF FORCES (2018)
Released September 28, 2018 Bill Frisell – guitars Putnam Murdock – guitars Dan Brantigan – flugel horn and trumpet Jay Frederick – drums and percussion David Cieri – piano Rubin Kodheli – cello Yoko Waynen – violin Mike Brown – bass Engineer – Bryan Pugh All music composed by David Cieri except - I’ll Twine Mid the Ringlets - Maud Irving and Joseph Philbrick Webster Wagoner’s Lad – Traditional British Broadside Ballad Shenandoah – Traditional American Folk Song Give to the Wind Thy Fears – Paul Gerhardt Concerto for Two Mandolins – Antonio Vivaldi Hard Times – Stephen Foster Slane – Irish Traditional Folk Song Be Thou My Vision – 8 th century Irish Traditional Folk Song All music produced by Erik Ewers and David Cieri
KOTORINO: SEA MONSTER (2017)
Dark, elegant and rambunctious; a collection of spavined waltzes, latin flavored post-punk struts, and neurotic rock confessions. Songs of adventure, triumph and unease. credits released November 15, 2017 Credits: Jeff Morris: guitar, vocals Mike Brown: acoustic bass Jerome Morris: drums, percussion Ellia Bisker: backing vocals, ukulele, percussion Estelle Bajou: backing vocals, violin Molly White: backing vocals, violin Patricia Santos: backing vocals, cello Jesse Selengut: trumpet Stefan Zeniuk: reeds, owls Liz Prince: tuba Jeanie Schroder: tuba Caroline Ritson: musical saw All songs written and arranged by Jeff Morris, except Too Bad (You Haven’t Eyes Like Us Owls) written by Stefan Zeniuk. Recorded and engineered by Don Godwin at Phantom Center (Brooklyn, NY) and Figure 8 Recording (Brooklyn, NY). Mixed by Don Godwin at Airshow Mastering (Takoma Park, MD) and Classic Bear Studios (Silver Spring, MD) Mastered by Don Godwin at Airshow Mastering (Takoma Park, MD) Album artwork by Omer Gal © 2017 all rights reserved.
DAVID CIERI: NOTES FROM THE UNDERSCORE - 10 YEARS WITH FLORENTINE FILMS (2017)
Collaborating with Florentine Films over the course of the last 10 years has yielded music which I am very grateful and excited to share. To remove these compositions from their visual counterparts— from the bath that the images have been swimming in - and present them as expressions in their own rite has its advantages. Working with these remarkable human beings has taught me a great deal about the potentials inherent in stitching together Sound and Image - the compositions are true co conspirators in helping to have mutual influence over the film watcher and in a sense, this music has “changed” the images as much as the images have framed the music. My first assignment for the Florentine gang - the stately “Leola” by Scott Joplin works to accentuate the freedom and accessibility of our national treasures in “The National Parks” while the swag in Prohibition Ramble was built to dance with a newly emerging sense of inner freedom as exemplified in “Prohibition” After traveling to Vietnam so as to ready myself for writing and performing the music for The Vietnam War, the music that eventually was tempted forth worked to etch out the mystery and the horror of our darkest potentials as humans while never losing sight of our redeeming... more credits released December 1, 2017 All songs written by D.C. except Tet - written by Mike Brown and D.C. license
YUSEF KOMUNYAKAA, DAVID CIERI, MIKE BROWN: WHITE DUST (2017)
‘I cued up White Dust without warning; by that I mean I had no advance notion of what it was. In seconds I was locked in - that voice, those voices! Everything seems to fall together without effort but with unanimous purpose. There is no precept or definition that gets in the way of what they are doing. I’ve been waiting for this natural intersection for some time.’ (Louis Marks, Ropeadope)
CARTA: THE SAND COLLECTOR'S DREAM (2017)
Saint Marie Records is honored to release the fourth album from SF Bay Area collective Carta. The evocative titled The Sand Collector’s Dream is everything music should be in 2017—completely original and soaked in a despair that is both absolute and yet somehow uplifting. The Sand Collector’s Dream is the medicine you didn’t even know you needed. If only there were a way it could cure the sickness of this society and the demons that threaten to subsume us.
MSB: Nope (2017)
The long-awaited release from Denver's premier trio, Nope stands at the 5-point intersection where jazz, pop, rock, improvisation, and avant-garde converge. This music is the soundtrack for the full spectrum of a city. MSB is: Becca Mhalek: Alto and Bari Saxophones Mike Brown: Double Bass Rich Santucci: Drums Recorded at Pink Eye West Studio by John Getter Mixed and mastered by Mike Brown at Pink Eye East Studio
Room 40 (2016)
Recorded in Denver, CO and featuring: Doug Anderson: Accordion / Composer Carrie Beeder: Violin Mike Brown: Double Bass / Composer Al Scholl: Guitar / Composer Timothy Quigley: Percussion Produced by Room 40 All tracks: Engineered by Geoff Gilkes @ N.F.A. Recording Mixed by Colin Bricker @ N.F.A. Recording Except Ether Dreams: Engineered and mixed by Shane Etter Mastered by Steve McNamara
Wheelchair Sports Camp: No Big Deal (2016)
NO BIG DEAL, the first official studio album from Denver’s WHEELCHAIR SPORTS CAMP, is produced by the late, great IKEY OWENS (Jack White, The Mars Volta, Free Moral Agents.) This musical milestone details the signature experience of lead vocalist, Kalyn Heffernan, a shit-talking emcee and activist whose unique circumstance provides perspective unlike those heard almost anywhere.
B. Dolan: KILL THE WOLF (2015)
B. Dolan’s latest record is the self-produced “KILL THE WOLF”, a sweeping, powerful opus five years in the making. The album reinforces Dolan’s status as a complex lyricist and introduces him as a ambitious, versatile producer, dedicated as ever to concept and vision over fleeting hip-hop trends.
WHEELGRABBERS (2015)
After years of dedicated prep and fresh off a month long national tour to SXSW, the Wheelchair Sports Camp + GirlGrabbers collaboration is out now.
