ALBUM OUT NOW – LISTEN
TRIBUTE ALBUM IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN KRONOS QUARTET AND GHOST TRAIN ORCHESTRA
WATCH THE ACCOMPANYING MINI-DOCUMENTARY HERE
Today, Kronos Quartet and Ghost Train Orchestra release “Why Spend the Dark Night with You? (feat. Joan As Police Woman).” The track is a song from the upcoming album Songs And Symphoniques: The Music Of Moondog, a collaboration between Ghost Train Orchestra and Kronos Quartet with re-imaginings of the music of Moondog, set to be released on September 29 through Cantaloupe Music.
Joan As Police Woman:
“There have been times in my life where the only thing I wanted to listen to is Moondog. When nothing makes sense, Moondog’s music does. It feels like mantra. It feels like he’s tapped into the movement of the planets and the stars and yes, the moon. Brian Carpenter’s Ghost Train Orchestra is one of the most alarmingly versatile and wildly creative ensembles in NYC, featuring the best musicians this city has to offer. They are the perfect group to interpret and honor the tradition of Moondog. Max Moston, who I met in my years of playing with Antony & The Johnsons, created this stirring arrangement for “Why Spend A Dark Night With You?” To me, it feels like a swiftly moving current I’ve slipped into and have began singing because it felt like the only way to avoid sinking. If that feels a bit uncomfortable, maybe this is Moondog.”
Maxim Moston, arranger of Ghost Train Orchestra:
“I wanted to contribute an arrangement to the Ghost Train record that was the antithesis of my other contribution, All Is Loneliness-something that had lots of layers and rocked. But we didn’t get an opportunity to develop it at all in rehearsal or to try it out live at a show. So when I showed up at the tail end of a multi-day recording session with a stack of parts for everyone, I had no idea what was going to come out. Fortunately these guys are all amazing and they devoured my directions and took my ideas to a new level. Once I brought my dear friend Joan the cobbled-together track and asked her to lay down some vocals, I knew we would have a banger.”
The album was previously heralded by the June 30 single and video release of Marissa Nadler’s take on “High On A Rocky Ledge (feat. Marissa Nadler)” here.
Moondog (Louis Hardin), was an eccentric blind musician who was ever-present on Sixth Avenue in New York City in the middle of the 20th century, decked out in Viking regalia while busking, reading poetry or selling his sheet music. Most passersby would have no clue that he composed beautiful and haunting music and was an inspiration to Phillip Glass and Steve Reich, who referred to him as “the godfather of minimalism.”
The album was initially conceived as a collaboration between Brooklyn-based Ghost Train Orchestra and the legendary Kronos Quartet, but quickly expanded to include numerous guest vocalists, including Marissa Nadler, Rufus Wainwright, Jarvis Cocker, Joan As Police Woman, Petra Haden, Karen Mantler, Sam Amidon and Aofie O’Donovan, and Brian Carpenter.
