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sinceileftyoublog · 4 months ago

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SML Interview: The Creative Umbrella

Photo by Joyce Kim

BY JORDAN MAINZER

The origin of one of the finest albums of the year is a now-defunct jazz club/oyster bar in Los Angeles. Well, not just any defunct jazz club/oyster bar: the Enfield Tennis Academy, immortalized on Jeff Parker's Mondays at The Enfield Tennis Academy record from 2022. The venue had become a hotbed for the ever-burgeoning experimental jazz scene in the city; over time, bar regular and studio engineer/producer Bryce Gonzales decided to set up a recording rig in stereo direct to Nagra, so that he could document the sets the nights he happened to be there. Such was the case for supergroup SML and their (sort-of) self-titled debut, Small Medium Large (International Anthem). The band started when guitarist Gregory Uhlmann and synthesist Jeremiah Chiu decided to act on a long-held desire to somehow collaborate. Each brought along some of their frequent collaborators--for Uhlmann, bassist Anna Butterss and saxophonist Josh Johnson, for Chiu, percussionist Booker Stardrum--and the just-formed quintet stepped on stage in October 2022 with one goal in mind: play.

After the members of SML got back the initial recordings from their two-night, two-sets-per-night residency at ETA, they were intrigued enough by the results for a repeat performance. After recording two more nights and four more sets, they realized they had enough material to make something out of it, so each member took recordings back to their home studio to rearrange and edit them into songs. (Cut from the same cloth, the band was heavily inspired by Miles Davis and Teo Macero's sonata form-influenced editing first explored on 1969's fusion masterpiece In A Silent Way.) With chronology tossed to the wayside and segues added, the result is an album that evokes the spontaneity of live performance while remaining a cohesive listen. Opening track "Rubber Tree Dance" is whirring and nostalgic, a smorgasbord of ping-ponging synth, fluttery saxophone, and subtly trickling hi-hats. Lead single "Industry" layers distorted saxophone, driving bass, and rubbery synths over a breakbeat, an appropriately genre-bending track for a band whose player's credits range from Leon Bridges to Lee Ranaldo. And not everything can double as a dancefloor filler: "Switchboard Operations" revolves around a humming drone, while the minute-long "Chasing Brain" is an exercise in maximalism, plucks of stringed instruments buzzing like a mosquito in conjunction with saxophone and stabs of guitar distortion, all over a lightning quick beat.

Rest assured, SML aren't trying to trick you. That is, many of the track titles, some of which started as funny working titles for the songs but stuck, are evocative of what lies beneath them. "Herbie for Commercials" imagines a world where the foremost post-bop bandleader of his generation was instead writing warped jingles, a mixture of garbled polyrhythms that are nonetheless catchy. The sax and drums on "Window Sill Song" indeed patter like rain. "History of Communication" sports interweaving synth lines, some of which sound like birdcalls. And closer "Dolphin Language" is like a slice of Reichian hyper-pop, synth vocalizations panning over shaky percussion and scraggly and disintegrating bass.

Back in June, I spoke with Johnson over the phone, just after SML was announced to play Chicago's inaugural Warm Love Cool Dreams festival at The Salt Shed, which takes place this weekend. At the time I spoke to Johnson, Small Medium Large was set to come out in a week, and the band was going to play two nights at Zebulon in Los Angeles in early July. Though four of the five members live in L.A., the exception Booker, who lives in New York, they don't necessarily practice their material. First and foremost, despite Small Medium Large being coddled together in post-production, improvisation is still a major tenet of the band's records and performances. They also have a long history of playing with each other, in one form or another. "We're all in a community with each other, hanging out and playing each other's music all the time," Johnson said. "There's a continuously collaborative thing happening with all of us. I'll see Greg a couple of times a week, and I'll play on what he's working on and he'll play on what I'm working on. Many members of the band have that relationship internally. That all is kind of baked into the cake."

In between their performance at Zebulon and Sunday, SML won't have played as a quintet since soundcheck. They're also likely not playing their debut album. "Part of the spirit of the thing is, 'Press play, and let's go,'" Johnson said. "That's part of the excitement, the trust of knowing that an interesting and compelling sonic experiment can be created because we trust each other, and we know that'll happen in real time." Wait, press play? Yes, the band is going to record their Salt Shed set. "It feels like it's kind of in our DNA of the band," Johnson said. "If we're gonna play, we should also record. Not necessarily because we're making an album, but as a document to check out later and see what's there to see if there's stuff we can built upon and contribute to the next album."

Tickets are still available to both days of Warm Love Cool Dreams. Go check out SML on Sunday, who play their set at 5:15 PM and back none other than legendary Jamaican dancehall DJ and singer Sister Nancy at 6! And read my conversation with Johnson below, edited for length and clarity.

Since I Left You: How did SML come to be?

Josh Johnson: The catalyst was Greg Uhlmann and Jeremiah Chiu. They had been talking about doing something together with International Anthem, presenting a night of new collaboration at ETA in Los Angeles. I don't know if they had yet played together, but they knew they wanted to do something together at some point, and it seemed like a good opportunity to do so. As they imagined what it might be, they thought of everyone else who is involved in it. Greg, Anna, and I have played a lot of music together, in many different settings over many different years. Jeremiah and Booker have played together a lot. I think they were thinking, "[What'll] it like to put it all together?" We did it once. It was very fresh. There was no conversation about what it was going to look like. It was like, "Let's start and see what happens." The cool thing about it was that Bryce Gonzales was there to record it. There was a feeling of, "We don't know what's gonna happen, but we should probably record this."

SILY: So there were no plans to make this more than a one-time thing, let alone an album. Did you then listen to the first recordings and at that point, think, "We should release this in some form?"

JJ: We did two, two-night residencies. The first one was in October 2022. The experience of playing was like, "Oh wow, there are some really cool moments in here. It feels like an energizing collaboration." We got those recordings back and listened to them and thought, "It would be cool to cultivate this a little bit more, do it again, and see what we're gonna get from that," with having the experience of having done it once. The first time we got back the recordings, it was exciting, and we thought it would be cool to collect a little bit more material and see what we have.

SILY: So it wasn't until after that second residency and all the recordings that you thought it could be a record.

JJ: Yeah. I think we knew there was some special stuff documented. From there, we took all those recordings. Each of these nights ,we played two sets of improvised music, so we thought, "Maybe it's not good to collect anymore and [instead] parse out what we have," take some beautiful moments and expand on what's there. Bryce Gonzales' recording rig grew and developed in that space. He had stuff wired in the room, so if he was free on a night, he'd record a show. Knowing that was a possibility was something we were aware of the whole time, but I don't think we knew we were making a record.

SILY: Does the order of the tracks correspond roughly to the chronological order of the days you played?

JJ: No. As things came together, sequence-wise, I think it was less important to us to document it that way and [instead] make a compelling album. Maybe International Anthem is this way, too, but all of the musicians in [SML] like to think of [records in terms of] Side A/Side B. Song-to-song is important, but the flow of the whole side of the record [is most important]. There are some tracks where you're getting a large chunk of the live energy of the live performance. Some tracks have some editing and overdubs where we're taking stuff from other parts of the recording and figuring out ways to expand what's there.

SILY: I had a feeling it wasn't chronological because there are so many segues, and the album seems cohesive in a way that isn't resulting from pure improvisation. I understand that the final recordings were then taken to your individual home studios. How did you manage to keep the sound of the album so cohesive considering all of you worked on the recordings separately after they were finished?

JJ: We'd each work on something we were drawn to. That was one part of the process. But another stage was coming together: Jeremiah and I would get together, or Jeremiah, Greg, and I would get together, or Jeremiah and Booker [would get together.] It was very collaborative, even in the editing. We'd each add something and would pass it on to the next person.

One of the beautiful limitations of this was that Bryce records straight to stereo, straight to tape. Practically, what that means is we're not dealing with multi-tracks where we can mute or isolate an instrument. It forced us to be really creative. Sonically, there's something already unique about the sound that Bryce captures that's integral to the sound of the record. And the way we approached edits and overdubs, we tried to preserve the spirit of what happened, really thinking about augmenting or connecting things more than masking the fact that it's live. Like on a lot of records, you're working on parts individually, but as the direction and specificity of the vibe becomes clear as more gets finished, then you start to see how the parts are inter-connected, and that influences how you proceed with the rest of it. The way it was recorded definitely helps, but the fact that the improvised recordings are featuring everyone being themselves, already, people's voices as arrangers, orchestrators, and editors is not disconnected from what's already documented in the recordings.

SILY: I like how the second-to-last song, "Greg's Melody", is the first time you can actually hear an audience clapping. It grounds you. If you didn't pay attention to the context of the album--and not every listener will--you might not know this was recorded in front of an audience until then.

JJ: We had a conversation about the applause. It felt like a nice reminder: "Hey, this is something that happened in a space with people." It's one of my favorite moments. You're immersed in this world sonically, and then it's like, "Hey, this is live."

SILY: The track titles are provocatively funny. How did you come up with them?

JJ: That's a good question. I think they all came from different people. Jeremiah and Booker were responsible for many of the titles, and some of them were working titles that do have some humor in them, that [Jeremiah and Booker] thought would be changed later but the rest of us really loved. The one specifically [we loved] is "Herbie for Commercials". I think it started as a joke, but it was actually perfect. It captures something. It speaks to the vibe in a way that is actually very clear to me. But the titles came after the music. A lot of these songs changed a lot. There are many different versions of them. There are times people work from a title, but for us, [titles are] not necessarily descriptive, always, but what are the things it evokes.

SILY: "Herbie" is just over a minute of music, and I suppose you could think that if in an alternate universe, Herbie Hancock was hired to write commercials, it could sound like that song.

JJ: Mhm. It's playful.

SILY: How did you come up with the band name?

JJ: Being in a band can be fraught. It's challenging. We had a shared Google Doc where everybody would contribute different ideas, and ones we liked would get more focus. Small Medium Large came from the feeling of a collective. Also, the idea that this thing is something that can expand and contract. There were a few nights it wasn't all of us recording at the same time, and we added pieces after the fact. We landed on the band name, and it spoke to the nature that it's a creative umbrella, and even if it takes slightly different forms, it's a collective spirit. It's compelling.

SILY: Why did you decide to make "Industry" and "Three Over Steel" the singles? Was there something about them exemplary of the album as a whole?

JJ: Good question. It's challenging to know what you're going to accomplish with the singles, but those two have some sort of magnetism, something that draws you in. I don't know if I can describe them as accessible, but there are many different access points. They have something sonically that's somewhat familiar but really different from this particular combination of instruments. They have an undeniability to their experimental nature and [a quality] that can make you want to dance but is not overly sweet. There's edge and a rawness to them. Both of those tracks feel very alive. They also have the quality of, for a while, [songs that] could be a studio recording, but you're kind of dropped into [that moment where you think], "This is definitely live." There's forward motion.

SILY: Was the band involved at all in the making of the "Three Over Steel" video?

JJ: That video was made by Miranda Javid, Booker's partner. She's an amazing artist. Miranda had already done the artwork, which we really loved, and is an incredible animator. I think there was a prompt from Jeremiah; I think Jeremiah was ultimately involved in some edits of the video. We're all fans of Miranda, like, "Please, do your thing," and her and Jeremiah sat and refined it. It was a unanimous yes.

SILY: Did the cover art have the same process?

JJ: Absolutely.

SILY: Would you ever appear in public as SML if it was anything other than the five of you playing?

JJ: There's a minimum number of core member for it to be under the umbrella, but within that, there's room to contract and expand.

SILY: Whether in L.A. or Chicago, International Anthem has roots in both places, so why wouldn't you leave the door open?

JJ: There are so many friends, incredible musicians, and artists who are like-minded who we know should hop in and join the fold.

SILY: What's next for you in the short or long term?

JJ: I put out a solo record in April, so I've been doing a lot of solo shows. It's a similar sonic world to what's documented on the SML record, but expanded. I also do a lot of playing with other people. Greg and I are working on a record which will probably be released in 2025.

SILY: Is there anything you've been listening to, watching, or reading that's caught your attention?

JJ: I'm reading an autobiography of Henry Threadgill called Easily Slip Into Another World. It's very inspiring. It's part autobiography, but you get a lot of insight into his life and Chicago and New York creative music. It's an inspiring and interesting read even if you're not particularly familiar with his music. He's also kind of documenting community in a way that's really inspiring for me. You get to see the tributaries and the ways in which these creative practices are interconnected. It feels very connected to the spirit of what's happening on International Anthem and [with] this band right now.

Music-wise, I'm always listening to these compilations, Akora Radio, field recordings from different parts of the world. There's a collection of [music from] Burundi I find myself returning to very often. I'm really interested in how repetition functions in that music. I wouldn't say it's quite trance, but [it employs] artful use of repetition to take you somewhere and put you in a space. I'm often thinking about that. I'm listening and thinking about how you can establish direction through duration. That's part of what we get to explore in live performance. You get to a place, but how do you stay there? How do you keep people there? When you're in repetition, there's a moment where you think, "Okay, this is still happening. Then you push past that point, and you settle and think, "We're gonna be here for a while," it's a whole different experience that's fascinating to me.

SILY: On this album, you have some songs like "Feed the Birds" that pass the six-minute mark, but a lot of them are short. With this type of music, you don't often see these short little songs written the same way someone might write a perfect pop song. But "Herbie for Commercials" is a little taste that says all it needs to say. "Chasing Brain", too.

JJ: I appreciate that. I don't know. It's different than people liking short songs because of an attention span reason. It's side A/side B, what's the flow of the record? What kind of space are you trying to help people move through.

SILY: It's clear to me that the track lengths on here are of ultimate service to that idea. I was more commenting on how in this type of music, I rarely hear an idea communicated so briefly yet so effectively.

JJ: One of the things in edits that Jeremiah's really good at is being ruthless: hard start, hard end. Just a strong statement, then we're out. I think it's a different endeavor and skill to make something short but also feel complete.

SILY: Is there anything I haven't asked about that you want to say about the album?

JJ: I feel proud of it as a document of overlapping scenes. [When making the album,] we never talked about what we were going to do, as in, "It's gonna sound like this with these references." It feels like a very truthful collaboration in that way. "Here's a bunch of people with a unique point of view doing what they want to do in the moment and reacting to each other." You can do that, and all the elements don't always work together, but what feels special about this is everyone being themselves and a collective.

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