Falling by Jesse Gelaznik

"Falling" was a really important group of recordings for me because it was the impetus for my collaging process that would appear in almost all of my recordings after. For this process, I'd find a scale I like and ask Heather to come up with a word for each note of that scale. She would sing each word (or lyric) assigned to each note and send it to me. I really wanted to get away from meter, so I began combining these recordings like a cut-up poem on Logic without thinking too much about theory. I then sent off my viola ideas to Brianne, whose recordings would also be collaged into the recording in a similar manner. I relied heavily on my pocket piano oscillator and SK1 synthesizer (flute) for the organic musical soundscape. During this time, I was listening to Palestrina's "Missa de Beata Virgine" on repeat, which I'm sure influenced me.

Though I have studied modal counterpoint seriously (with Judith Berkson), I was just composing by ear and letting influences creep in subconsciously. I really wanted to create an atmosphere of vocal harmonies mixed with "dust in the air" emotions and swooshing undercurrents – something that would come to you without pretense and find your diary with invisible hands. A sound that was both relatable and new, born from the chemistry Heather and I created while working together remotely.

Around the same time my partner Rachel Blackwell was working on large scale collages, which I thought would be perfect for the cover image. I just wanted to make something with the people closest to me during a really dark time.

-Jesse Gelaznik

Dirty Churches is a performance art and song writing dynamic duo, with music by Jesse Gelaznik and costumed performances by Rachel Blackwell.

jessegelaznik.com