The Unheard Mixtapes Matthew Evan Taylor

THE UNHEARD MIXTAPES

MATTHEW EVAN TAYLOR

Composer and saxophonist Matthew Evan Taylor releases the first installment of his Metropolis Ensemble-commissioned five-part series The Unheard Mixtapes on September 29 on New Amsterdam Records.

Mixtape 1, entitled Follow to the End, begins a plaintive and epic odyssey in which Taylor explores, and ultimately achieves, the fraught goal of being himself. He boldly states in his notes for the project: “I am Matthew Evan Taylor, a musician who composes; a composer who performs; a performer who improvises. I am all of these things and more. The Unheard Mixtapes are my manifesto.”

Taylor has a long and ongoing fascination with the dissemination of art through underground or backdoor channels, such as zines and mixtapes. He explains that “not only have these methods proved to be effective means of delivering art to people without the focus on commercial gain, but they often give insight into the character and taste of the curators of keep reading the material. I see the mixtape, especially as it is used in the hip hop community, as a wholly American (specifically African American) genre akin to the string quartet or song cycle.”

Though recorded during our current pandemic reality, the lo-fi/DIY mixtape ethos is the confluence of a longstanding aesthetic to which Taylor has been drawn. This is evident in his organic creative process for composing new work, and his ongoing daily practice of uploading improvisations to Instagram and Facebook, called #project39.

For the first four mixtapes, Taylor utilizes the BOSS RC-300 Looping Station and improvises on alto and soprano saxophones, clarinet, flute, and the Chinese hulusi. The final mixtape, features solo improvisations without aid of the looping station.

Each album features original art from the team at Juniper Creative, LLC which includes renowned street artist and muralist Will Kasso Condry, his wife Jennifer Herrera-Condry, and daughter Alexa Herrera-Condry.

Matthew Evan Taylor has collaborated closely with Metropolis Ensemble since 2016, with projects that include an upcoming world premiere commission in collaboration with The Met Museum, Metropolis Ensemble, and Brooklyn Raga Massive for 2021-22.

Album Credits + Tracklisting:

MIXTAPE 1: FOLLOW TO THE END
TRACKS
1. First Sunrise [5:18]
2. The Anguish of Knowing [3:22]
3. Work Song and Rebellion [5:29]
4. No Compass [7:45]
5. Follow to the End [7:54]
6. Sunset [1:57]

MIXTAPE 2: LANGUAGE OF THE UNHEARD
TRACKS
1. Movement 1 - Fear of a Gray Hoodie [12:27]
2. Movement 2 - Lament for Ahmaud [08:15]
3. Movement 3 - Optimism in the Midst of Despair and Outrage [09:30]
4. Movement 4 - BLACK LIVES MATTER [05:26]

MIXTAPE 3: CHAMBER MUSIC
TRACKS
1. Passacaglia 1 [08:53]
2. Nocturne 2 [08:56]
3. Ballade [08:00]
4. Passacaglia 2 [07:58]
5. Nocturne 1 [10:21]

CREDITS
Written and Performed by Matthew Evan Taylor
Commissioned by Metropolis Ensemble Engineered & Produced by Matthew Evan Taylor
Mixed & Mastered by Matthew Evan Taylor
Executive Producers: Metropolis Ensemble and Andrew Cyr
Artwork by Juniper Creative, LLC (Will Kasso Condry, Jennifer Herrera-Condry, Alexa Herrera-Condry)