Tyler Bradley walker
The Sun The Moon The Earth and Me
OUT JUNE 20
CONTACT:
ROSIE BOYD // PUBLICIST
LYDIA KRUMPER // PUBLICIST
Tyler Bradley Walker was raised just outside of Atlanta by a potter and a high-school principal. His father's boombox played for hours outside as he glazed and fired pottery with his electric and salt-fire kilns. The result was a childhood atmosphere full of diffused John Prine, Mussorgsky, and Dylan echoing among the trees and hills while he explored nature. Walker’s work is stylistically different from those early formative musical experiences he grew up with, and one can’t draw a hard line to any genre as his work transcends categorization. Walker says, “I’m interested in balancing classical craftsmanship and technique with the fury and sound of rock, the discontent and vernacular lyrics of grunge, and a passion for sonic exploration in the recording studio. Being deeply versed in the classical tradition while being a non-traditionalist is a necessary friction for the conditions of an expressive urgency. I feel right at home as an outsider in-between the two impasses of ‘classical’ expectation and the sacred, binding expectations of popular music.”
Walker’s new album The Sun The Moon The Earth and Me stemmed from his work with a hardware MIDI sequencer and a slew of analog synths and processors during the early stages of conceiving the record. After finishing a grant sponsored by the Office of Research and Economic Development at the university that had supported the creation of three compositions, Walker was inspired to further create similar material. “I composed around sixty sequences of material with each sequence being 20 to 60 minutes long,” he elaborates. “The most appropriate sequences were taken and developed further through DSP, the addition of acoustic instruments, and eventually vocals. These seven tracks are the result of that process.”
The record features contributions by several heavy-hitters, including vocals by composer Mikel Rouse on “In Between The Shadow of Myself,” indie experimental rock legend Tim Rutili of Califone, who plays guitar and sings on the eerie track "Moon Broke Quiet," soprano Lydia Adelle Brown, Alex Games, and a video produced by Merchandise’s frontman Carson Cox. Alex Games, the moniker of an established Irish composer, sings on the track “Stowaway” which is minimalistic with its incessant repetition but maximalist in its sonic treatment and depth.
On the track "Nobody Wants To," Brian Deck sings "nobody wants to help" as a moody plea for change on top of an expertly crafted and diffused guitar and drum atmosphere. On the opening track “Because of the Many,” which one could describe as a fight song, moments of minimalism are infused with shoegaze and rock supported by a powerfully incriminating vocal utterance. "The Quiet Loudness" highlights soprano Lydia Brown's stunning voice against a neo-experimental pop sound world articulated by the talents of Cameroonian American bassist Gross Pokossi. "Moon Broke Quiet" features experimental rock musician Tim Rutili of Califone, who delivers an evocative vocal and guitar performance supported by an ethereal and ghostly-like fusion of analog synths and pulsing kick drums.
Walker says, “There are a few lines on this record that take a knife edge to intellectual dishonesty. It wasn’t my intention to make a dark, reflective record but perhaps that’s what I ended up with. However you see it, I hope the expressive urgency is clear throughout.”
In 2004, Tyler Bradley Walker and Matt Heim formed the rock-electronic duo Gone to Color, who have since earned acclaim from outlets like NPR, Paste Magazine, Stereogum, BrooklynVegan, Under the Radar, and beyond. As a producer, audio engineer, and studio director over the last 15 years Walker has collaborated with and supported a long list of familiar bands including The Doobie Brothers, Elton John, Larkin Poe, Megadeth, String Cheese Incident, Zac Brown Band and has facilitated work with producers Brian Deck, Tom Drummond (Better Than Ezra), Mike Fraser, Ryan Hewitt, Damien Lewis, Manny Marroquin, Neal Pogue, Matt Serletic, Keith Stegall and Matt Wallace.
Walker is currently an Associate Professor of Music Composition and Director of Alabama Electronic Music studios in Tuscaloosa. Over the past several years, Walker and his colleague Amir Zaheri have built the largest music composition studio in the SEC.