GH—002
Connor Hanwick
Limited physical edition
Reusable 8GB USB drive with 'UR' imprint containing:
.mp3 and .wav formats of ‘After Ur’
.maxpat and .js files from 'After Ur'
Supplemental visual & text materials
3 two-sided prints
Housed in a 6”x9” 3 mil poly zip bag
Released January 31st, 2020.
︎ORDER
TRACKLIST
01. NETWORK (06:10)
02. MESHWORK (07:33)
03. CARGO (07:38)
04. COLLAPSE (04:36)
05. DISASSEMBLY (03:48)
06. AFTER UR (06:35)
Connor Hanwick
After Ur
Limited physical edition
Reusable 8GB USB drive with 'UR' imprint containing:
.mp3 and .wav formats of ‘After Ur’
.maxpat and .js files from 'After Ur'
Supplemental visual & text materials
3 two-sided prints
Housed in a 6”x9” 3 mil poly zip bag
Released January 31st, 2020.
︎ORDER
TRACKLIST
01. NETWORK (06:10)
02. MESHWORK (07:33)
03. CARGO (07:38)
04. COLLAPSE (04:36)
05. DISASSEMBLY (03:48)
06. AFTER UR (06:35)
“Connor Hanwick’s abilities as an artist have taken countless forms over the years. A multi-instrumentalist, writer, and performer, Hanwick’s expertise continues to extend far beyond his decade-long involvement with notable indie bands and engineering projects throughout New York City. In 2018, Hanwick’s solo debut as Dondadi introduced a less-familiar side of his compositional interests. Two years later, Hanwick returns with After Ur, his second solo record released on Green House, and first under his own name.
After Ur positions Hanwick fully entering a new phase of his musical career. The record is entirely ambient, and is largely inspired by improvised music, especially that of artists like Anthony Braxton and Loren Connors. Hanwick avoids using traditional instruments: instead he opts to create a rich and hazy sonic universe using an array of programming languages as well as flickers of clarinet and bass clarinet. “I like being able to build and play with musical structures in ways that have nothing to do with ‘playing’ anything,” he says of his craft. You can feel this free associative style of composition in every corner of the record. Take a song like “Collapse,” which oozes and decays like an abandoned building. Meanwhile, on “Meshwork,” things are more melodic: distorted vocals give the impression of a medieval choir while the backdrop of ambiance veers on the side of industrial. The sounds you hear throughout the record are hard to pinpoint: they drip, fizzle, and burrow deep inside your ears.
The record takes its name from the ancient Mesopotamian city of Ur: “My interest is in looking at the events which took place around the fertile crescent during the mushy period between the end of the neolithic era and the fall of Ur III (the literal cradle of civilization) and imagining that things had gone a little differently,” says Hanwick of the record’s concept. Indeed, After Ur is a dense piece of music that is deeply rich in meaning. It’s transportive and invites a malleable and immersive approach to contemplating humanity’s progress. After Ur promises a compositionally challenging and strangely beautiful listen made by a veteran artist with serious curiosity and ambition.”
After Ur positions Hanwick fully entering a new phase of his musical career. The record is entirely ambient, and is largely inspired by improvised music, especially that of artists like Anthony Braxton and Loren Connors. Hanwick avoids using traditional instruments: instead he opts to create a rich and hazy sonic universe using an array of programming languages as well as flickers of clarinet and bass clarinet. “I like being able to build and play with musical structures in ways that have nothing to do with ‘playing’ anything,” he says of his craft. You can feel this free associative style of composition in every corner of the record. Take a song like “Collapse,” which oozes and decays like an abandoned building. Meanwhile, on “Meshwork,” things are more melodic: distorted vocals give the impression of a medieval choir while the backdrop of ambiance veers on the side of industrial. The sounds you hear throughout the record are hard to pinpoint: they drip, fizzle, and burrow deep inside your ears.
The record takes its name from the ancient Mesopotamian city of Ur: “My interest is in looking at the events which took place around the fertile crescent during the mushy period between the end of the neolithic era and the fall of Ur III (the literal cradle of civilization) and imagining that things had gone a little differently,” says Hanwick of the record’s concept. Indeed, After Ur is a dense piece of music that is deeply rich in meaning. It’s transportive and invites a malleable and immersive approach to contemplating humanity’s progress. After Ur promises a compositionally challenging and strangely beautiful listen made by a veteran artist with serious curiosity and ambition.”
-Sophie Kemp
Made with Max/MSP and Node.js for computer, clarinet, bass clarinet and tape / Recorded and mixed by Connor Hanwick at Ong Room Audio / Mastered by Stephan Mathieu / Design by Wyatt Carroll