Winter Music by Chaz Knapp
Winter Music is a new solo album by Chaz Knapp, recorded outdoors in the dead of winter. Following the spirit of his Microfolk series, this record explores how acoustic improvisation takes form in snow and sub-freezing temperatures, with frozen hands, minimal takes, and warped instruments.
Built around three cassette players and a live looping process, Winter Music features nylon-string guitar (with a neck that shrunk in the cold), voice, banjo, harmonium, bansuri flute, and shruti box. Knapp would record short loops to cassette, then improvise over them on the spot. The sessions were captured with a Zoom recorder for the tape loops and two condenser mics for the live instruments - no overdubs, no second takes. Winter Music is a quiet, solitary work shaped entirely by winter and its constraints, which culminates in a raw, imperfect, and deeply reflective sound.
"i carried a few instruments into the cold and let winter undo me. the air froze my breath, the wood bent against me, my hands stiffened. still, the tape loops kept turning. fragile sounds bound together for a moment. what remains is a snapshot in time: raw, imperfect and deeply reflective - but it felt real to me. performed, recorded and mixed by chaz knapp. mastered by andrew weathers. design and layout by kim awa. thanks to Aural Canyon for giving this a home."
Performed, recorded and mixed by Chaz Knapp
Mastered by Andrew Weathers
Design and art by Kim Awa
Tracklist
| 1. | wm jan14 24 | 3:01 |
| 2. | wm jan19 24(i) | 3:27 |
| 3. | wm feb17 25 | 4:15 |
| 4. | wm jan23 24(i) | 5:09 |
| 5. | wm jan19 24(ii) | 5:51 |
| 6. | wm jan23 24(ii) | 3:51 |
| 7. | wm dec11 24 | 4:15 |
| 8. | wm jan15 25 | 2:48 |
| 9. | wm feb19 25 | 3:07 |
| 10. | wm feb03 25 | 4:40 |
