Sound artist, media artist and composer for both humans and computers. So much banjo, too
Fiddler Esther Morgan-Ellis and I have been working on a set of original banjo and fiddle tunes. We’ll be playing them out in public beginning in May 2024. We’ll also record the collection for future release.
Get a jump start on the shows by visiting Esther’s website to hear some sample tunes.
The University of Alabama Art and Art History Department will present Hank Lazer and me in a poetry and music performance along with a screening of our latest collaborative video Brush Mind: Begin To.
Wednesday February 7, 2024 at 12pm
Brush Mind: Begin To – Hank Lazer and Holland Hopson
Sarah Moody Gallery of Art
Tuscaloosa AL
part of the 2024 Biennial Faculty Exhibit
Hank and I have collaborated over the last four years on a variety of projects including three installments of the Brush Mind series, the book with accompanying album field recordings of mind in morning, and recent performances at the New Orleans Poetry Festival and Blue Ridge Arts Center.
I’m thrilled to announce my latest solo recording, Sky Sparrow Snow. This release is a return to song forms for banjo, voice and electronics. Sky Sparrow Snow is a collection of seven original songs merging old-time Appalachian banjo with ambient electronics. The tunes touch on folk (“Laurel Cove“) and gospel (“Over Yonder’s Ocean“) with adventures into hybrid genres like raga blues (“Alap Catfish Impala“) or Steve Reich-meets-Dock Boggs (“No Mule“).
The record is available at Bandcamp, Apple Music, Spotify and other streaming services.
Though these recordings may sound like studio creations, they’re largely documents of live performances, with only minimal edits and overdubs. All of the electronic treatments happen in real-time; I play the banjo and sing while custom Max patches respond to the audio signals and data from my sensor-equipped instruments.
All of the videos from the field recordings of mind in morning project with poet Hank Lazer have been assembled into a playlist at https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfbjRdn65YhoGXZk98dnAPyBylDeuATCF
Don’t forget that Hank’s book is available at BlazeVox and our audio recordings are available at Bandcamp.
Here’s the final video from the field recordings of mind in morning project with poet Hank Lazer. I’m pretty sure I randomly tuned the banjo just before this improvisation–there are some lovely, dissonant open string combinations that aren’t typical. Lots of chiming harmonics, too.
My favorite line from the poem: “I am nothing more than a location for change”