The Beacon Sound Choir is a new project put together by composer and former Efterklang member, as well as Erased Tapes and Bella Union associate, Peter Broderick alongside a number of figures from Portland’s alt folk scene, including Alela Diane, Vikesh Kapoor and Holland Andrews.
Sunday Songs is the debut album from the group and it’s scheduled for release this Friday (June 16) via First Terrace Records. Ahead of the album’s release, we have a premiere of ‘Sea Of Voices’ which is a reinterpretation of the album by Dutch musician and sound artist Machinefabriek. You can listen above.
Stretching out across 16 minutes, the rework is prime flotation tank music, rich in hypnotic, ambient textures. The Beacon Sound Choir itself is described as one of Broderick’s most ambitious and avant-garde projects yet, with Sunday Songs seeing him put to use the harmonies of a 35 strong choir, bringing together individual contributions to create a seamless collective project.
Talking about the remix and project, Machinefabriek said: "In recent years, I did a few projects with amateur musicians and singers. The great thing about that is that they’re doing it for fun, not because they want to be perfect. The ‘mistakes’ and inconsistencies that might happen are always little gifts that bring the (in my case minimal and static) compositions to life.
"So when Peter asked me to do a rework from the recordings of The Beacon Sound Choir, I didn’t have to think twice. Now that I think of it, you might hear the influence of Josquin des Prez in my rework, the floating quality of it. It’s a patchwork, connecting and expanding the more dreamlike parts of Sunday Songs into a sea of voices, where it’s unclear where one voice stops and the other begins."
You can pre-order the album ahead of its release here.
