Hymnal by Rendition

You will, no doubt, recognize Rendition as the band on Sally Barry’s Rendition album and 2019s jolly GMR Xmas album. On this one there is no Sally, just bandmates Mark Brunke and Ruth Davidson improvising in Mark’s backyard. You can hear the crows. Recorded outside, socially distanced, with a Blue Snowball mic recording into Audacity onto a single stereo track. No overdubs. The sound balance was achieved solely by positioning the amplifiers, one about one foot away, the other about three feet away from the microphone. Sent to me to master. Boom. Recorded Sunday, released Friday. I think it is excellent!

Rendition create a sound that is restrained in tone, but unfettered in scope. As improvisation it is avant-garde, but it remains more ethereal than cerebral, more exploratory than explosive. Each performance offers a cinematic score to accompany the images it evokes.