The Wireless [EP]

Submitted by nonesuch on
Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

Recorded during the T Bone Burnett–produced sessions for Punch Brothers' album The Phosphorescent Blues, the band's five-song EP The Wireless comprises four original compositions, including a song with words by Gabriel Kahane entitled "Sleek White Baby," plus a cover of Elliott Smith's "Clementine"; four of the tracks are featured on the vinyl edition of The Phosphorescent Blues.

Description

Punch Brothers' five-song EP The Wireless is due from Nonesuch Records on November 20, 2015. The tracks were recorded during sessions for the band's T Bone Burnett–produced album The Phosphorescent Blues, which was released earlier this year to critical acclaim, and four of the tracks were included on the vinyl edition of the album. The Chicago Tribune called the album "a typical genre-busting melange of avant-roots music that fuses jazz instrumental chops and acoustic earthiness, Beach Boys harmonies and Debussy string dances, slinky acoustic rock songs and blues laments." The Wireless comprises four original compositions, including a song with words by Gabriel Kahane entitled "Sleek White Baby," plus a cover of Elliott Smith's "Clementine." A behind-the-scenes video from that song's recording, with a cameo from the band's friend actor/musician Ed Helms, can be seen above. 

After working with Burnett numerous times, Punch Brothers decided to join forces with the multiple Grammy Award–winning producer for their new record. In the summer of 2014, the band and Burnett spent a month at Hollywood's Ocean Way Recording laying down the songs that guitarist Chris Eldridge, bassist Paul Kowert, banjo player Noam Pikelny, mandolinist and lead singer Chris Thile, and fiddler Gabe Witcher had written during several writing "retreats" the previous winter and spring.

Thile explains one of the ways the music on The Phosphorescent Blues reflects the band's view of modern life: "We often go to bars after shows or writing sessions, to be around other people for a little while. And I'd see people just like me on their phones, telling people they wish they were there, texting people who really are there. Then a song would come on that somebody likes and then they see that someone else does too and maybe they both sing it together and that moment is spiritual, some shared experience, and they are interacting in the flesh, with their fellow man. And that's communion. Many of the songs on this record dive into that: how do we cultivate beautiful, three-dimensional experiences with our fellow man in this day and age?"

Shortly before the sessions began, Thile and Witcher met with Burnett and discovered the producer had the very same things on his mind. In fact, he'd just given a commencement address at the University of Southern California on the subject of technology and human interaction. Witcher remembers, "Thile and I looked at each and said, 'This is unbelievable. It's exactly what we are writing about.' So this was a perfect, serendipitous union."

Punch Brothers was formed in 2006 by Thile. Its first Nonesuch record, Punch, was released in 2008 and combined elements of the band's many musical interests: indie rock, folk, jazz, bluegrass, classical, etc. In 2009 they began a residency at NYC's Living Room, trying out new songs and ultimately spawning the Grammy-nominated Antifogmatic. In 2012 the band released Who's Feeling Young Now? of which Rolling Stone said, "The acoustic framework dazzles—wild virtuosity used for more than just virtuosity."

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by T Bone Burnett
Engineered and Mixed by Mike Piersante at Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, CA & The Village Recorders, Santa Monica, CA
Additional engineering by Tucker Martine and Jason Wormer at Flora Recording and Playback, Portland, OR and Dave Sinko at Lalaland Studios, Louisville, KY
Mastered by Gavin Lurssen and Ruben Cohen at Lurssen Mastering, Hollywood, CA

Illustration: Kyler Martz
Design: SMOG Design, Inc.

Nonesuch Selection Number

552785

ns_album_releasedate
Album Status
Artist Name
Punch Brothers
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
All songs written, arranged, and performed by Punch Brothers (Christopher Thile, Gabriel Witcher, Paul Kowert, Christopher Eldridge, and Noam Pikelny), except "Sleek White Baby," music by Punch Brothers, words by Gabriel Kahane, with guest performances by Jay Bellerose and Ed Helms. "Clementine" written by Elliott Smith.

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
UPC
075597948097
Label
96/24 HD FLAC
Price
6.00
UPC
075597948134
Label
FLAC
Price
5.00
UPC
075597948103
Label
MP3
Price
4.00
UPC
075597948158
  • 552785

Track Listing

News & Reviews

  • Chris Thile has announced his inaugural Acousticamp to take place July 30–August 3 at Glen Cove Mansion in Glen Cove, New York. For the four-day event, he and his fellow instructor/collaborators—including several Punch Brothers and Nickel Creek band mates—will explore the width and breadth of acoustic music practice, performance, and composition, anchored by but not limited to string band instruments and vernacular singing, buoyed by coffee and cocktails, all bookended by intimate concerts from Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers.

  • Punch Brothers recently concluded a US tour with Béla Fleck’s My Bluegrass Heart featuring Sierra Hull. You can now watch a holiday medley from their December 15 Indianapolis show—including “The Chipmunk Song,” “Sleigh Ride,” and letters to Santa—here. Punch Brothers' latest album, Hell on Church Street, a reimagining of, and homage to, the late bluegrass great Tony Rice’s landmark solo album Church Street Blues, has been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album.

  • About This Album

    Punch Brothers' five-song EP The Wireless is due from Nonesuch Records on November 20, 2015. The tracks were recorded during sessions for the band's T Bone Burnett–produced album The Phosphorescent Blues, which was released earlier this year to critical acclaim, and four of the tracks were included on the vinyl edition of the album. The Chicago Tribune called the album "a typical genre-busting melange of avant-roots music that fuses jazz instrumental chops and acoustic earthiness, Beach Boys harmonies and Debussy string dances, slinky acoustic rock songs and blues laments." The Wireless comprises four original compositions, including a song with words by Gabriel Kahane entitled "Sleek White Baby," plus a cover of Elliott Smith's "Clementine." A behind-the-scenes video from that song's recording, with a cameo from the band's friend actor/musician Ed Helms, can be seen above. 

    After working with Burnett numerous times, Punch Brothers decided to join forces with the multiple Grammy Award–winning producer for their new record. In the summer of 2014, the band and Burnett spent a month at Hollywood's Ocean Way Recording laying down the songs that guitarist Chris Eldridge, bassist Paul Kowert, banjo player Noam Pikelny, mandolinist and lead singer Chris Thile, and fiddler Gabe Witcher had written during several writing "retreats" the previous winter and spring.

    Thile explains one of the ways the music on The Phosphorescent Blues reflects the band's view of modern life: "We often go to bars after shows or writing sessions, to be around other people for a little while. And I'd see people just like me on their phones, telling people they wish they were there, texting people who really are there. Then a song would come on that somebody likes and then they see that someone else does too and maybe they both sing it together and that moment is spiritual, some shared experience, and they are interacting in the flesh, with their fellow man. And that's communion. Many of the songs on this record dive into that: how do we cultivate beautiful, three-dimensional experiences with our fellow man in this day and age?"

    Shortly before the sessions began, Thile and Witcher met with Burnett and discovered the producer had the very same things on his mind. In fact, he'd just given a commencement address at the University of Southern California on the subject of technology and human interaction. Witcher remembers, "Thile and I looked at each and said, 'This is unbelievable. It's exactly what we are writing about.' So this was a perfect, serendipitous union."

    Punch Brothers was formed in 2006 by Thile. Its first Nonesuch record, Punch, was released in 2008 and combined elements of the band's many musical interests: indie rock, folk, jazz, bluegrass, classical, etc. In 2009 they began a residency at NYC's Living Room, trying out new songs and ultimately spawning the Grammy-nominated Antifogmatic. In 2012 the band released Who's Feeling Young Now? of which Rolling Stone said, "The acoustic framework dazzles—wild virtuosity used for more than just virtuosity."

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    All songs written, arranged, and performed by Punch Brothers (Christopher Thile, Gabriel Witcher, Paul Kowert, Christopher Eldridge, and Noam Pikelny), except "Sleek White Baby," music by Punch Brothers, words by Gabriel Kahane, with guest performances by Jay Bellerose and Ed Helms. "Clementine" written by Elliott Smith.

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by T Bone Burnett
    Engineered and Mixed by Mike Piersante at Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, CA & The Village Recorders, Santa Monica, CA
    Additional engineering by Tucker Martine and Jason Wormer at Flora Recording and Playback, Portland, OR and Dave Sinko at Lalaland Studios, Louisville, KY
    Mastered by Gavin Lurssen and Ruben Cohen at Lurssen Mastering, Hollywood, CA

    Illustration: Kyler Martz
    Design: SMOG Design, Inc.