Shannon Harris Audio Urbanology: The Art of Audio Truism (Urbanicity Recordings) Release date: August 21
To get a sense of Shannon Harris¹s imaginative new album, you might look no further than its name: Audio Urbanology: The Art of Audio Truism, although, actually, I don¹t think he really means truism (loosely defined as a fact so obvious it¹s pointless to mention) as these tracks are indeed quite worth the mention. But the point is, yes, this is just that: a study of the city or, more precisely, its people and movement and rhythms. Employing more guest recordings than I can list here, Harris guides us through the late-night siren wails of the cities you know, across tin-drummed Caribbean beaches and onto the deep red dirt of an African road, all the while seamlessly weaving one style into another to create a sort of continuous acoustic mantra. Everything is familiar and haunting and evocative of something you somehow know. And then, most beautifully, I think, comes ³Spirits of the Black Experience,² which, were I a choreographer, I would attempt to stage, so thoroughly does it embody the echo of conflict and beauty, with nearly dissonant notes pushing up against an ever-rising rhythm. Harris is an artist whose musical awareness reaches so far across cultural lines it gives him full play with all of them, resulting in an album full of sound and feeling and signifying everything.
-Serena Hedison
