News & Features » October 2022 » Listen to “Imaginary Composition” by Sonnenzimmer

Listen to “Imaginary Composition” by Sonnenzimmer

To celebrate Joe Meno’s Book of Extraordinary Tragedies and its close connection to music, we’ve asked five critically-acclaimed musicians and composers to create new musical compositions based on individual sections of the book.

Our fifth and final musical composition for this accompanying soundtrack is “Imaginary Composition” and comes from the extraordinary Chicago-based art duo Sonnenzimmer.

Listen to “Imaginary Composition” here.

From Sonnenzimmer about the song:
“Made with field recordings, bicycle wheels, electric guitar, keyboard, air organ, drum machine, and whistling, the song traces the journey of Aleks & Jazz, characters from the book, on a short bike ride up Kedzie avenue in Chicago in the late summer. The song pairs environmental sound with a pulsing melody in an attempt to blur the two completely. Distant whistling clings to the wind, rattling thickets snap to the beat. Can you notate traffic noise?”

“Imaginary Composition” brilliantly captures Aleks as he moves beyond the confines of his family and neighborhood, exploring the wider possibilities of Chicago and the world around him, capturing the feeling of Aleks riding his nice Jazzy to school or searching for interesting silences to use in another one of his imaginary songs. Somehow Nick and Nadine have been able to translate the powerful connection of sound and movement and place into this fantastic piece, completely transporting the listener on a bike ride down 95^th street.

****************

Our incredible fourth song comes from the ridiculously-talented Orchestra of One, a project created by Joseph Fuller, a producer, sound engineer, and multi-instrumentalist from Little Rock, AR. He is a festival headlining performer and has played on the same bill with groups such as Chicago, Snoop Dogg, Kelly Rowland, Joe Walsh, among other artists. His extensive experience in music ranges from Symphonic to Theatrical and Pop. Joseph’s work as a producer has received international recognition from notable publications including Billboard Magazine.

Joseph’s classically-inspired composition, “Beginnings, Endings, and Other Musical Figures” captures Aleks’ love of historical European music with the trials of his daily life, from his own hearing loss to the demands of his riotous family, marrying the epic scale of classical music with the small tragedies all of us are forced to confront, beginning with an opening chord progression of D-E-A-F. Listening to this piece, it’s easy to imagine Aleks pedaling on his bike from one challenge to the next, searching for joy among the minor notes around him.

Listen to “Beginnings, Endings, and Other Musical Figures” on soundcloud.

****************

Catastrophe Will Never Let You Down by Adam Gown, performed by Margo Seibert

Our third song comes from the award-winning composer Adam Gwon and is sung by Broadway powerhouse Margo Seibert, both of whom live in NYC. Adam’s lush song explores the complexity of Aleks and his older sister Isobel’s relationship, focusing on their belief that “catastrophes never let you down.” Margo’s incredible voice gives such depth and dimension to Isobel’s struggle to move beyond the many obstacles she finds in her way, including her own sense of doubt.

Listen to the song here:

Or download here:

CatastropheWillNeverLetYouDown Download

Adam Gwon is a composer and lyricist whose musicals have been produced on six continents in more than half-a-dozen languages. Off-Broadway: Scotland, PA (Roundabout Theatre – Drama Desk Award nomination, NYT Critic’s Pick), Ordinary Days (Roundabout Theatre, Keen Company revival – Drama League Award nomination), Old Jews Telling Jokes (Westside Theatre, NYT Critic’s Pick); Regional: String (Village Theatre), Cake Off (Signature Theatre – Helen Hayes Award nomination, Bucks County Playhouse), Cloudlands (South Coast Rep), The Boy Detective Fails (Signature Theatre), Bernice Bobs Her Hair (Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma); West End: Ordinary Days (Trafalgar Studios). Honors include the Kleban, Ebb, Loewe, and Richard Rodgers Awards, Second Stage Theatre’s Donna Perret Rosen Award, Weston Playhouse New Musical Award, ASCAP Harold Adamson Award, MAC John Wallowitch Award. Recordings include: Ordinary Days (Ghostlight Records), Audra McDonald’s Go Back Home (Nonesuch), The Essential Liz Callaway (Working Girl Records), Over the Moon: The Broadway Lullaby Album. Adam has been a fellow at MacDowell, Hermitage Artist Retreat, the O’Neill, and the Dramatists Guild.

—
www.adamgwon.com
www.youtube.com/adamgwon

Margo Seibert was last seen on stage starring in Berkeley Rep’s production of Dave Malloy’s Octet. Margo received a Special “Ensemble Award” at the 2020 Drama Desk Awards for her performance in Octet’s award-winning World Premiere at Signature Theatre Company. On Broadway, Margo won critical acclaim for her performance as “Adrian” in the Broadway musical Rocky, a role she originated and for which she was nominated for a Drama League Award. She later starred in the lead role of “Jane” in Circle in the Square’s Broadway production of the acapella musical In Transit. Other Off-Broadway credits include Playwrights Horizons’ Unknown Soldier and The Thanksgiving Play; as “Tamar” in Marisa Michelson and Josh Cohen’s acclaimed Tamar and the River, for which she received a 2014 Drama Desk Award Nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Musical; and in Rattlestick Playwrights Theater’s The Undeniable Sound of Right Now. She has developed work at The Public, MTC, Playwrights Horizons, NAMT, The O’Neill Center, New Dramatists, and has originated roles in pieces for award-winning writers, including David Byrne, Ahrens & Flaherty, Goldrich & Heisler, Adam Gwon and more. Television: FBI: International, Instinct, Elementary, The Good Cop, and Boardwalk Empire. Margo is a voice teacher and public speaking consultant. Find out more at www.margoseibert.com @margo_seibert

******************************

Leave It Alone by Jason Kaminski

Our second song comes from incredible indie talent Jason Kaminski. Jason is a singer/songwriter from Cleveland who has released 3 full length albums since 2013. The most recent, “Until Tomorrow”, was released by Head2Wall Records in 2020 and there is a forthcoming full length due to drop late 2022/early 2023 on the same label. Blending mellow vibes with heartfelt lyrics, Jason’s music is reminiscent of past songwriters like Elliott Smith and Jason Molina, yet still brings a personal accent that is instantly recognized as his own. His music can be heard at https://jasonkaminskimusic.bandcamp.com/album/until-tomorrow

Jason’s song, “Leave It Alone”, captures Aleks’ relationship with his family and the complicated sense of fate he wrestles with as he cares for his niece Jazzy, who also suffers from hearing loss. It perfectly depicts the need to make the most of what you can, ignoring all the obstacles that appear in your way.

Jason will be appearing with Joe Meno in Cleveland Heights at Mac’s Backs to debut the song live on Thursday, September 22nd. Listen to “Leave it Alone” here:

Or download the song here:

LeaveItAlone Download

*****************

“Evergreen Park” by Elia Einhorn

First up is the incredible Elia Einhorn, a Webby award-winning music podcast host and an Audie award-winning recording engineer. He is a host and producer for Sonos Radio, Pitchfork Radio and TV, and special Talkhouse podcasts. Elia was frontman of the critically acclaimed indie-punk band The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir (Bloodshot Records) and is the songwriter/producer for the new collaborations-based project Fashion Brigade which features work with Shamir, Exene Cervenka of X, and members of LCD Soundsystem, Frankie Cosmos, Phosphorescent and more. His music has been heard on TV shows such as Gossip Girl and The OC, on networks like Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, and in Off Broadway musicals in Times Square. Elia hosts the Brooklyn-based Brit music dance night ‘This Is Britain!’ which has seen guest DJ sets from members of The Smiths, Battles, Vagabon, Japanese Breakfast and Savages. He is the editor of Sober 21, a zine for recovering musicians released by The Creative Independent. Elia studied under Terry Riley, and once starred in a Belle & Sebastian video. Follow his antics on Instagram at @eliaeinhorn and at https://fashionbrigade.bandcamp.com.

His track for this project is “Evergreen Park,” named after the neighborhood where the narrator, Aleks, a twenty-year-old former classical music prodigy, lives while facing the challenges of hearing loss and supporting his family. It’s a perfect introduction to Aleks and the entire world of the story.