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Today, the GRAMMY-nominated musical collective Wild Up releases Julius Eastman Vol. 3: If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich on New Amsterdam Records. Julius Eastman Vol. 3 is the third entry in Wild Up’s multi-volume anthology celebrating Eastman, the late composer whose musical vision was repeatedly dismissed during its day, but is now being unearthed to critical acclaim. It follows 2021’s Julius Eastman Vol. 1: Femenine, “a masterpiece” (The New York Times), and Julius Eastman Vol. 2: Joy Boy, which contains the GRAMMY-nominated closing track, “Stay On It.”
On Eastman Vol. 3, Wild Up are joined by two luminaries of modern music:Devonté Hynes (known both for their work as Blood Orange, collaborations with the likes of Solange, Harry Styles, and Philip Glass, and for soundtrack work on films like Gia Coppola’s Palo Alto and 2019’s acclaimed Queen & Slim) & Adam Tendler (whose music has been deemed “emotionally involving and musically rewarding” by The New York Times).
Listen To Julius Eastman Vol. 3: If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich HERE
In a new review, The Guardian names Julius Eastman Vol. 3 their Contemporary Album Of The Month and, in a 4-star review, calls it “a deliriously great tribute.” Meanwhile, Avant Music News deemed it “a welcome and needed recording from a nearly-forgotten composer who should be counted amongst the greats of the 20th century.” Of the series, AllMusic says that “the performances have a fine edge, with the precision necessary to make this music tick…Hear this one without delay.”
For The Guardian, writer John Lewis describes Wild Up’s performance of Eastman’s confrontational composition “Evil N—” as “a wild, sensual, high-intensity, maximalist minimalism that’s as unsettling as its title. It starts with jabbering, rumbling pianos, then piles on strings that are initially lush and romantic but end up neurotic and terrifying.”
Listen to Wild Up’s performance of “Evil N—” here.
Pre-order Julius Eastman Vol. 3: If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Richhere.
To celebrate the release of Vol. 3, Wild Up will be holding an album release party and listening event at 2220 Arts & Archives in Los Angeles. More details can be found here.
Recently, Wild Up performed Eastman’s “Joy Boy” and “Buddha” — both which appear on Vol. 2 — as part of the University Of Michigan’s University Musical Society’s Pride Month presentation. Watch the stunning performances here.
Eastman was young, gay, and Black at a time when it was even more difficult to be young, gay, and Black. He swerved through academia, discos, Europe, Carnegie Hall, and the downtown experimental music scene. And in 1990, at age 49, Eastman died in Buffalo, New York, less than a decade after the New York City Sheriff’s Department threw his scores, belongings, and ephemera into the East Village snow.
Julius Eastman Vol. 3: If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich finds Wild Up deftly navigating some of Eastman’s most treacherous compositional terrain, and emerging with an ever more nuanced interpretation of his ambitious artistic intent. The cinematic title track exhibits dynamism and intrigue amid an almost-thwarted catharsis, boisterous brass figures trailing off into scattered pieces at the height of the work’s slow boil, while “The Moon’s Silent Modulation” ponders a sort of stillness before an almost demonic chorus of voices and hand percussion introduce a devious jolt. All throughout, Wild Up’s performers operate with virtuosity and an explosive verve — these sonic behemoths are not for the faint of heart, and Wild Up meet their peculiar demands with enthusiasm.
Wild Up’s Eastman anthology represents a departure for New Amsterdam Records, which, until Femenine and Joy Boy, had exclusively released new music by active, living composers. But Eastman is a special case, a composer whose music shines like a beacon to today’s musical creators. Any term used to characterize today’s musical landscape— ”genre-fluid,” or the like —was anticipated by Eastman decades before; yet he was punished for being ahead of his time, both in the treatment of his music and, tragically, his person. Eastman’s music flowed freely from, and through, his myriad influences, and was terribly served by the musical infrastructure of his day. (At the time of his death, it took some eight months for a newspaper, any newspaper, to run his obituary). It makes sense, then, for Wild Up’s Eastman anthology to arrive on New Amsterdam Records, a sort of loving backward embrace of a musical torchbearer to 21st-century composers.
Earlier this spring, Wild Up presented a “rollicking, pop-aware” (The New York Times) series of Eastman performances at 92NY. Read a full review of the performances at The New York Times.
Julius Eastman Vol. 3
IF YOU’RE SO SMART, WHY AREN’T YOU RICH?
1. If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?
2. The Moon’s Silent Modulation
3. Evil N—
Wild Up
Devonté Hynes
Adam Tendler
Wild Up
Andrew Tholl, violin
Adrianne Pope, violin
Mona Tian, violin
Rachel Iba, violin
Andrew McIntosh, viola
Linnea Powell, viola
Derek Stein, cello
Mia Barcia Colombo, cello
Jonathan Richards, bass
Marlon Martinez, bass
Erin McKibben, flute
Michael Matsuno, flute
Breana Glicher, oboe
Archie Carey, bassoon
Brian Walsh, saxophones / clarinets
M.A. Tiesenga, saxophones
Shelley Washington, saxophones
Pat Posey, saxophones
Patrick Shiroishi, saxophones
Amy Sanchez, horn
Danielle Ondarza, horn
Drew Ninmer, trumpet
Jonah Levy, trumpet
Mattie Barbier, trombone
William Roper, tuba / animal bones
richard valitutto, piano
Matt Cook, percussion
Sidney Hopson, percussion
Jodie Landau, percussion / voice
Anna Schubert, voice
Laurel Irene, voice
Molly Pease, voice
Chloe Vaught, voice
Eliza Bagg, voice
Catherine Brookman, voice
Odeya Nini, voice
Sharon Chohi Kim, voice
Fahad Siadat, voice
Saunder Choi, voice
James Hayden, voice
Scott Graff, voice
Devonté Hynes, piano / leader
Adam Tendler, piano / leader
Christopher Rountree, conductor / artistic director
Produced, recorded, and mixed by Lewis Pesacov
Engineered by Lewis Pesacov, Clint Welander
Assisted by Harriett Tam
Recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders and United Recording
Mixed at Ahata Sound
Mastered by Reuben Cohen at Lurssen Mastering, Los Angeles, CA
Designer: Andrea Hyde
Cover Photo: Christine Rusiniak
Session Photos: Glen Hahn
Executive Producer: Elizabeth Cline
Production Associate: Glenna Adkins
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