International Anthem maintains its status as your favorite indie rocker's favorite modern-day jazz label — or at least my favorite modern-day jazz label — in part by maintaining connections with the indie rock community in its home city of Chicago. One example is the label's work with Macie Stewart. You may know Stewart as half of the rock band Finom with Sima Cunningham, as well as her work with Windy City heavy hitters like Jeff Tweedy. But she's also a composer and multi-instrumentalist working in the experimental and improv realm. Last month, International Anthem released her album When The Distance Is Blue. Today, they've got a new collaboration from Stewart on deck.
BODY SOUND [STONE PIECE] brings Stewart and her violin together with two other composers, Whitney Johnson (who here is on violin) and Lia Kohl (rocking a cello here). The trio has a whole album in the works for next year, but in the meantime they're sharing this two-part suite ahead of their performance at the inaugural Sound & Gravity Festival, taking place Sept. 11 in Chicago. The first of the two recordings, "Stone Piece I," is droning yet melodic as it blurs together orchestral strings and wordless human voices. It might just move you to tears. Listen below.
And here's Stewart's new album too while we're at it:
