“William Brittelle. I can’t say enough good things about that guy. He’s such a special person. He has such a strange mind and wild ear for aesthetic choices.”
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Spiritual America
This is the kind of big, bold, sometimes even crazy symphonic work of which we could use a lot more, with orchestral brass and strings competing with fat synthesizers, rock drums, choral singing, and more.
On paper, the project could appear bombastic, what with the army of resources utilized, yet he somehow makes full use of said resources without the result becoming overblown.
With this collaboration between Nonesuch Records and New Amsterdam, walls of genre are broken down as sounds morph and blend throughout Spiritual America.
Brittelle’s inimitable blend of chamber pop forms a shape-shifting sonic collage: ripped edges, buzzing synthesizers, melodies that echo, morph, and transform in an instant—like a rush of memories overwhelming the senses.
Andy Stack has been even more secret-saucy… the structures he helped build under the visionary pop-classical song cycle Spiritual America.
Composer William Brittelle has shared the full score for and story behind "Forbidden Colors," the fifth track from his new album, Spiritual America, out now on Nonesuch/New Amsterdam Records.
One of the most astonishing records of 2019 has slipped under many radars, likely because it’s hard to describe, categorize, and explain.
For contemporary classical artists, metadata is not just an abstract consideration.
“William Brittelle – Spiritual America – Wye Oak, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Metropolis Ensemble/Andrew Cyr (New Amsterdam/Nonesuch; due May 3, 2019)”
“Wye Oak, The Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and Metropolis Ensemble join together to perform a song-cycle written by composer William Brittelle, and a Wye Oak piece reimagined by Brittelle, on Spiritual America, due out May 3 via Nonesuch. The first single from the project, “Forbidden Colors,” places Jenn Wasner’s vocals over a multilayered chamber orchestra piece.”
William Brittelle’s Spiritual America has drawn from classical music, punk rock, and electronica to produce music that is at once free-ranging and a thrill to experience.