In the press materials for Jonah Parzen-Johnson’s forthcoming full-length, Remember When Things Were Better Tomorrow, the baritone saxophonist’s music is described as “lo-fi experimental folk music for solo baritone saxophone and analog synthesizer.” If that description makes anything clear, it’s that Parzen-Johnson doesn’t care much for musical labels, preferring instead to carve out unique sonic spaces that can only be described in oddball terms like the aforementioned genre word salad. Case in point: a new remix of his tune “If You Can’t Sleep, Just Shut Your Eyes”, made by Landlady and Father Figures band member Adam Schatz. Like Parzen-Johnson, Schatz has an acute ear for how to warp sounds; on this remix, he completely defamiliarizes the sound of the instruments, to the point that it’s difficult to say which sounds are coming from where when it’s all said and done. Such sonic experimentation is what makes composers like these two gentlemen exciting as musicians. There’s good reason to keep your ears ready for the June release of Remember When Things Were Better Tomorrow.
Schatz explains the remix to PopMatters, “I divided segments of the recording to a micro-cassette recorder and ran it through my rig of pedals and dreams, and put some chunks into a Roland SP 555 sampler. All the pieces of this were improvised on top of each other and I feel quite nicely about how it sounds as a complete cake.”
Parzen-Johnson follows up, “Solo music can be a very creatively isolating endeavor. Although I really enjoy that part of it, there are a ton of musicians and artists who I care a lot about, and its important to me to find ways to collaborate and include their voices. Remixes are a great way to make that happen. Adam is one of my favorite musicians. Not just because of the songs he writes or the music he plays, but because of the way he makes his musical life about building a community, and connecting with people. I’m excited to share our collaboration.”
Remember When Things Were Better Tomorrow is out on 2 June via Primary Records.
Upcoming Jonah Parzen-Johnson tour dates:
4/20 — Brooklyn NY — Silent Barn — Singles: Solo Series
5/18 — Brooklyn NY — Silent Barn — Singles: Solo Series
5/27 — Brooklyn NY — Manhattan Inn
5/28 — Hudson NY — The Spotty Dog
5/29 — Pittsburgh PA — Mr Roboto Project
5/31 — Toledo OH — Robinwood Concert House
6/1 — Cleveland OH — The Bop Stop
6/2 — Detroit MI — Cliff Bells
6/4 — Portland OR — The Improvisation Summit of Portland 2015
6/5 — Seattle WA — Cafe Racer
6/6 — San Francisco CA — Center For New Music
6/8 — Sacramento CA — Luna’s Cafe
6/9 — Los Angeles — Moryork Gallery
6/11 — Chicago IL — Elastic Arts
6/12 — Milwaukee WI — Frank’s Power Plant
6/13 — Madison WI — Bright Red Studios
6/15 — Minneapolis MI — Ice House
6/16 — St Louis MO — Foam
6/17 — Louisville KY — Dreamland
6/19 — Greensboro NC — New York Pizza
6/20 — Durham NC — The Shed
6/21 — Asheville NC — The Mothlight
6/24 — Charlottesville VA — The Garage
6/25 — Washington DC — 453 Florida Ave NW
6/27 — Philadelphia PA — TBA
6/30 — Boston MA — The Lilypad
7/1 — Montreal QC — TBA
7/2 — Providence RI — 186 Carpenter