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1.
2.
Saturn Way 06:14
3.
4.
Smoketree 06:30
5.
Thumbprint 04:53
6.
One Day 07:50
7.
Rising Snow 05:03
8.
9.

about

“Made up of three highly distinctive voices in the world of jazz and avant-garde music, Thumbscrew should probably collapse under the weight of its own star power but Tomas Fujiwara (drums), Mary Halvorson (electric guitar) and Michael Formanek (acoustic bass) are just too aware of the potential of this supertrio to let that happen.” – S. Victor Aaron, Something Else!

Michael Formanek - bass
Tomas Fujiwara – drums
Mary Halvorson – guitar

Thumbscrew demonstrates their unique collective musical vision in contrasting but complementary ways on two exciting new CDs. Ours and Theirs are the first to be released on a newly revamped Cuneiform Records, just returning from a hiatus. Comprised of longtime collaborators Michael Formanek, Tomas Fujiwara, and Mary Halvorson, Thumbscrew is a true collaborative effort with all three members contributing at an equal rate both in terms of composition and improvisation.

Born out of a residency at Pittsburgh’s City of Asylum where Thumbscrew created their striking second album Convallaria, Ours and Theirs showcase Thumbscrew in two different contexts performing all originals on Ours and all covers on Theirs. Both albums present a meticulous and intuitive original sound that could only be crafted during focused and intensive time as a collective in a place like City of Asylum. “When we arrived at City of Asylum for our second residency in June 2017, we immediately said, ’we’re home!’” says Fujiwara, “The feelings we get when being at City of Asylum, around the people that make it such a unique place doing great work...All of this contributes to a creative process that’s open and inclusive and experimental.”
Tomas, Michael, and Mary are no strangers to each other’s work, having performed in a multitude of projects together, including Michael Formanek’s Ensemble Kolossus, Tomas Fujiwara and the Hook Up’s After All is Said, and most recently, in Mary Halvorson’s critically-acclaimed Code Girl.

Ours, as its namesake suggests, is an album of original compositions with Fujiwara, Formanek and Halvorson contributing three works apiece. Opening with Halvorson’s striking “Snarling Joys,” Ours begins with delicate (and ever so slightly warped) ensemble figures that very naturally develop into an urgent and tense thrill-ride of a track, with a brilliant bass solo from Formanek. Fujiwara’s “Saturn Way” shows the ensemble bouncing off of each other’s rhythmic framework with Fujiwara anchoring the group through a pummeling rolling tom figure that slowly descends into a spacious and attentive group improvisation. Later, on Formanek’s punk-thru-the-wormhole style “Cruel Heartless Bastards” the ensemble shifts metric pulse in total lockstep on the turn of a dime while a teasing 4/4 figure creates a sense of gravity for the entire composition. Halvorson takes the track to the stratosphere with a dizzying guitar pedal laden solo after the group snakes their way through Formanek’s labyrinth.

On the contrast between the two records, Halvorson says, “The approach to presenting a unique and personal take on a composition is the same whether it’s one of Ours or one of Theirs.”

credits

released June 8, 2018

Tracks 1, 4 & 5 composed by Mary Halvorson (BMI).
Tracks 3, 8 & 9 composed by Michael Formanek (Formtone Music, BMI).
Tracks 2, 6 & 7 composed by Tomas Fujiwara (BMI).

Recorded on June 22-25, 2017 by Nate Campisi at Mr. Smalls Studio, Pittsburgh, PA.

Mixed October 2017 through January 2018 by Jake K. Leckie, Brooklyn, NY.

Mastered February 2018 by Liberty Ellman at 4D, Brooklyn, NY.

Produced by Thumbscrew.

Art and design by Diane Samuels.

Thumbscrew would like to thank City of Asylum, Henry Reese, Diane Samuels, Silvia Duarte, Nate Campisi, Jake K. Leckie, Liberty Ellman and Steve Feigenbaum.

This album is lovingly dedicated to Tatiana Formanek (1927–2017), who passed away peacefully in the early morning of the day after we finished the residency that produced the music on these recordings. She was in our thoughts throughout much of the time we spent rehearsing and recording the Ours and Theirs CDs, and her presence can surely be heard and felt in the music contained within them…where she will live on forever.

Thumbscrew

www.thumbscrew.net
www.twitter.com/ithumbscrew
www.facebook.com/thumbscrew

The music on this album was developed and recorded during a residency at City of Asylum in Pittsburgh, June 2017.

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Cuneiform Records Washington, D.C.

Cuneiform Records is an independent record label releasing adventurous, boundary-bursting music by artists from around the world.

Founded in 1984.
Based in Washington D.C.

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