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Some Phone Recordings (Vol. 1)

by Izzy Yellen

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1.
Sitting Here (on a patio) 05:32
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2.
Liminal’s End (with Vijay) 02:29
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3.
Sitting Here (with birds and bells) 06:38
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4.
Sitting Here (with birds) 01:46
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5.
Racquetball Courts (Excerpt 1: everybody knows to dance even with just one finger) 08:40
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6.
Racquetball Courts (Excerpt 2: Parallel Singing) 06:19
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about

Here are several phone recordings I made on a recent trip to Appleton, WI, where I went to school a few years ago. I like that they're all rough around the edges in their own ways.

The three songs entitled "Sitting Here" are loose representations of a loose practice I started while at Lawrence University. I would simply sit somewhere and improvise on solo banjo/guitar in a style somewhat reminiscent of Robbie Basho, Leo Kottke, and others. In my improvisations, plenty of mistakes and flubs are made, but regardless, I tend to enter a meditative state and usually come out of it with some ideas for future songs. Maybe these few will lead to something, maybe not - that’s part of the fun. You might recognize the title from the opening track of my debut, where I applied the practice to playing banjo through pedals.

“Liminal’s End” is one of the first songs I wrote during the pandemic and I’m still very proud of it. It’s a go-to to show to people who I want to collaborate with in a songwriting setting, and after hearing Vijay’s singing, I knew I wanted to get some harmonies from her. Maybe we’ll record this in the studio some day!

The last two tracks are excerpts from a long music and movement improvisation with Margaret Paek and E (her daughter) in the racquetball courts at Lawrence, one of my favorite spots in the world. And I daresay one of the most magical. Because of its construction, there’s about 14 seconds of natural reverb. It’s otherworldly. The phone can’t come even close to capturing its power, but hell, it tried its darndest.

I’ve always had such an appreciation and admiration for artists that release unpolished, of-the-moment phone recordings. To be let into the process in such a vulnerable way is inspiring to say the least. I know the phone recording releases aren’t typically the ones the listeners return to much, but I hope that these lil recordings of mine can at least remind you that if you have some way to record sound, you have some way to make and share your music. But if you record stuff and it sits on your phone just for you, that’s perfectly fine too. Thanks for listening. Thanks for making.

credits

released May 25, 2022

Izzy Yellen - banjo (all), vocals (2, 6), movement (5, 6)
Vijayashree Krishnan - vocals (2)
Margaret Paek - music and movement (5, 6)
E - music and movement (5, 6)

Additional thanks to Hannah, Nick, Matt, Seth, Culver’s, The Viking Room, Cleo’s, Wooden Nickel, Lawless, Mai’s Deli, and Cozzy Corner. And the Milwaukee Intermodal Station.

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Izzy Yellen Chicago, Illinois

Izzy Yellen is a songwriter with a foundation of improvisation and writing. Using his pedalboard with banjo, vocals, and trumpet (and whatever else he feels like using), he creates soundscapes, loops, and noise to tell stories within.

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