The Way Is Read

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Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

The English trio The Staves and NYC–based ensemble yMusic join forces for The Way Is Read, a twelve-song album stemming from their 2016 collaboration at Justin Vernon's Eaux Claires Festival. "A wonderful album," exclaims the Times of London. "The fusion of the siblings interweaving harmonies and yMusic’s sonic chattering results in music that is equal parts Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell, Philip Glass and the Penguin Café Orchestra."

Description

Nonesuch Records released The Way Is Read, a twelve-song album by the English trio The Staves—Emily, Jessica, and Camilla Staveley-Taylor (all vocals)—and New York City–based ensemble yMusic. After being commissioned in 2016 by Justin Vernon's Eaux Claires Festival to collaborate on a live performance piece, The Staves delved deep into yMusic's catalogue of contemporary classical compositions to find pieces suited to their lyrics and vocals. Musically they built upon several compositions written by Ryan Lott, as well as works by Sufjan Stevens and Marcos Balter. While the Festival is known for bringing musicians together for one-off performances, this is the first time one of those partnerships has made the leap into a studio album. The LP was produced by Rob Moose and Jessica Staveley-Taylor and mixed and engineered by Brian Joseph at his studio, Hive, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Emily Staveley-Taylor says of the collaboration, "Our aim from the outset was to truly collaborate with yMusic. We wanted to feel like instruments and join in with some of yMusic's existing work, using our voices in ways we hadn't previously explored. We chopped up compositions and put them together again in new ways. We took old folk songs and made them abstract. The idea of forming an orchestra with these incredible musicians was fascinating. What we have ended up with is everything we'd hoped, more than we dreamed, and hopefully the tip of the iceberg."

Rob Moose of yMusic adds, "When Justin raised the possibility of our groups collaborating, we immediately upped the stakes by focusing on a combination of new Staves songs and transformations of yMusic's composed works. It was as much a thrill to hear songs emerge organically over sections of intricate chamber music as it was satisfying to strip songs of the instrument that created them, whether guitar or piano, in order to craft new connective tissue. This project was born of voice memos sent back and forth across the seas, two frenetic days in a Manhattan rehearsal space, a festival set, and a single day of recording in the woods outside of Eau Claire."

The Staves, also known as Jessica, Camilla and Emily Staveley-Taylor, moved to Minneapolis from London in the summer of 2016, where they lived for a year in order to be closer to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, friend and collaborator Justin Vernon's hometown, which has become a creative hub and second home to them. The sisters have worked with Stones and Who producer Glyn Johns, as well as Laura Marling and Ryan Adams producer Ethan Johns. In addition to their three albums and several EPs, The Staves have headlined tours across North America and Europe and performed on tours with Bon Iver, Florence and the Machine, Angus and Julia Stone, and The Civil Wars. The New York Times said of their 2015 Vernon–produced Nonesuch debut, If I Was, "the songs are illuminated from within," and Magnet said, "The perfection just goes on and on until you start to wonder: Are they human?"

Hailed by Performance Today's Fred Child as "one of the groups that has really helped to shape the future of classical music," yMusic comprises six New York City instrumentalists—violinist Rob Moose, violist Nadia Sirota, cellist Gabriel Cabezas, clarinettist Hideki Aomori, flutist Alex Sopp, and trumpeter CJ Camerieri—flourishing in the overlap between the pop and classical worlds. Their virtuosic execution and unique configuration has attracted the attention of high profile collaborators—from Paul Simon to Ben Folds to José González—and inspired an expanding repertoire of original works by some of today's foremost composers, including Nico Muhly and Andrew Norman.

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Rob Moose and Jessica Staveley-Taylor
Mixed and engineered by Brian Joseph at Hive
Assistant engineering by Matthew Cooke
Mastered by Zach Hanson at April Base, Wisconsin

Tracks 1, 3, 6, 9, 10 written by The Staves
Tracks 2, 5, 8, 11, 12 written by Ryan Lott and The Staves
Track 4 written by Marcos Balter
Track 7 written by Sufjan Stevens
Arrangements by Rob Moose on Tracks 3, 6, 9, 10
All vocal arrangements by The Staves

Artwork by Camilla Staveley-Taylor
Design by Ben Tousley and Camilla Staveley-Taylor

Nonesuch Selection Number

564053

ns_album_releasedate
Album Status
Artist Name
The Staves
yMusic
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
The Staves:
Camilla Staveley-Taylor, vocals
Emily Staveley-Taylor, vocals
Jessica Staveley-Taylor, vocals

yMusic:
Rob Moose, violin
Nadia Sirota, viola
Gabriel Cabezas, cello
Hideki Aomori, clarinets
Alex Sopp, flutes
CJ Camerieri, trumpet

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
LP+MP3
Price
17.00
UPC
075597931952
Label
MP3
Price
9.00
UPC
075597933734
Label
FLAC
Price
10.00
UPC
075597933697
Label
96/24 HD FLAC
Price
12.00
UPC
075597933703
  • 564053

News & Reviews

  • "This song is about balancing all the intricate parts and many faces of self and womanhood and the feelings of doubt that come from containing these multitudes," The Staves say of "I'll Never Leave You Alone," the new song from the upcoming album, All Now. "It’s about learning to navigate and live with them. To make friends with your doubt and with yourself." The Staves conclude their tour as special guests of Nickel Creek in Jacksonville tonight and begin their own US headline tour in Washington, DC, on April 7.

  • "This was the first song we recorded for the album, and we had just written it so there’s a freshness and an immediacy to it for us,” The Staves say of "I Don’t Say It, But I Feel It," the new song from their upcoming album, All Now. “The song is about passing surges of emotions and memories that often don't get expressed or articulated. It’s exploring that state of stillness on the outside but with a flurry of things happening below the surface and how, often, we don’t let on what we’re really feeling most of the time or how much we’re feeling it."

  • About This Album

    Nonesuch Records released The Way Is Read, a twelve-song album by the English trio The Staves—Emily, Jessica, and Camilla Staveley-Taylor (all vocals)—and New York City–based ensemble yMusic. After being commissioned in 2016 by Justin Vernon's Eaux Claires Festival to collaborate on a live performance piece, The Staves delved deep into yMusic's catalogue of contemporary classical compositions to find pieces suited to their lyrics and vocals. Musically they built upon several compositions written by Ryan Lott, as well as works by Sufjan Stevens and Marcos Balter. While the Festival is known for bringing musicians together for one-off performances, this is the first time one of those partnerships has made the leap into a studio album. The LP was produced by Rob Moose and Jessica Staveley-Taylor and mixed and engineered by Brian Joseph at his studio, Hive, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

    Emily Staveley-Taylor says of the collaboration, "Our aim from the outset was to truly collaborate with yMusic. We wanted to feel like instruments and join in with some of yMusic's existing work, using our voices in ways we hadn't previously explored. We chopped up compositions and put them together again in new ways. We took old folk songs and made them abstract. The idea of forming an orchestra with these incredible musicians was fascinating. What we have ended up with is everything we'd hoped, more than we dreamed, and hopefully the tip of the iceberg."

    Rob Moose of yMusic adds, "When Justin raised the possibility of our groups collaborating, we immediately upped the stakes by focusing on a combination of new Staves songs and transformations of yMusic's composed works. It was as much a thrill to hear songs emerge organically over sections of intricate chamber music as it was satisfying to strip songs of the instrument that created them, whether guitar or piano, in order to craft new connective tissue. This project was born of voice memos sent back and forth across the seas, two frenetic days in a Manhattan rehearsal space, a festival set, and a single day of recording in the woods outside of Eau Claire."

    The Staves, also known as Jessica, Camilla and Emily Staveley-Taylor, moved to Minneapolis from London in the summer of 2016, where they lived for a year in order to be closer to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, friend and collaborator Justin Vernon's hometown, which has become a creative hub and second home to them. The sisters have worked with Stones and Who producer Glyn Johns, as well as Laura Marling and Ryan Adams producer Ethan Johns. In addition to their three albums and several EPs, The Staves have headlined tours across North America and Europe and performed on tours with Bon Iver, Florence and the Machine, Angus and Julia Stone, and The Civil Wars. The New York Times said of their 2015 Vernon–produced Nonesuch debut, If I Was, "the songs are illuminated from within," and Magnet said, "The perfection just goes on and on until you start to wonder: Are they human?"

    Hailed by Performance Today's Fred Child as "one of the groups that has really helped to shape the future of classical music," yMusic comprises six New York City instrumentalists—violinist Rob Moose, violist Nadia Sirota, cellist Gabriel Cabezas, clarinettist Hideki Aomori, flutist Alex Sopp, and trumpeter CJ Camerieri—flourishing in the overlap between the pop and classical worlds. Their virtuosic execution and unique configuration has attracted the attention of high profile collaborators—from Paul Simon to Ben Folds to José González—and inspired an expanding repertoire of original works by some of today's foremost composers, including Nico Muhly and Andrew Norman.

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    The Staves:
    Camilla Staveley-Taylor, vocals
    Emily Staveley-Taylor, vocals
    Jessica Staveley-Taylor, vocals

    yMusic:
    Rob Moose, violin
    Nadia Sirota, viola
    Gabriel Cabezas, cello
    Hideki Aomori, clarinets
    Alex Sopp, flutes
    CJ Camerieri, trumpet

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by Rob Moose and Jessica Staveley-Taylor
    Mixed and engineered by Brian Joseph at Hive
    Assistant engineering by Matthew Cooke
    Mastered by Zach Hanson at April Base, Wisconsin

    Tracks 1, 3, 6, 9, 10 written by The Staves
    Tracks 2, 5, 8, 11, 12 written by Ryan Lott and The Staves
    Track 4 written by Marcos Balter
    Track 7 written by Sufjan Stevens
    Arrangements by Rob Moose on Tracks 3, 6, 9, 10
    All vocal arrangements by The Staves

    Artwork by Camilla Staveley-Taylor
    Design by Ben Tousley and Camilla Staveley-Taylor