Russell Glynn - Examples Of (2016)

Russell Glynn is a Cambridge, MA, US-based musician. 'Examples Of' is Russell’s first album to be released for label distribution, the homespun result of freewheeling experimentation and careful tinkering.

Russell picked up a violin at age nine, with guitar and keyboard following shortly thereafter. True to his lineage in makeshift home recording, Russell's work is driven by improvisation and sonic spontaneity. Russell starts by building a barebones structure from a loop, then hits record and allows layers to crystallise naturally. As the inspiration to improvise wanes, Russell digs up previously recorded sessions, eventually committing to a found idea or theme. Russell then takes stock of his experiments and decides what is best to include as part of an album or other body of work.

‘Examples Of’ is one such body of work with the nine tracks that comprise the album being derived from three key elements: guitar, violin, and tape-loops. Each track began as a loop crafted from one of these three elements, then joined with the other two. Russell also incorporated noise elements to allow the sounds natural space. He recorded about half of the songs to tape then re-recorded them into Logic, carefully setting microphones around an old tape deck to capture the crackles and warmth of analog cassettes in combination with electro-acoustic drones. Experimentation with household objects also features; 'Measured' includes a clever loop of a metal tape measure cast around Russell’s bedroom. Field recordings further expand the aural atmosphere, with snippets suggesting the sound of distant winds, muddled conversation, and far-off chimes.

'Examples Of' is a remarkably cohesive body of work grounded in Russell’s experimental approach to sound. Whilst there is no overall concept, Russell cites nostalgia as a point of reference for the album, striving to convey an optimism tempered by the unsettling quality of drone noise.