Anthemic boot-stomping rock dipped in darkness and trippy funk madness, interstellar fretwork, wicked riffs and hooks, searing solos and soul-searching lyrics paired with haunting EBow and slide guitar symphonies. If any of that sounds good to you, check out my brother Brian's new collection of songs, Practicing Synthesis, wherever you listen to music (links @ https://lnkfi.re/PracticingSynthesis).
CREDITS: All art and puppets, plus photos 1, 3, 5, 10: @mattjacksonstudios. Photos 7, 9: @ma_dengler. Lyrics: Brian Ullman. Digital packaging: David Ullman.
Selecting imagery for an act called "fascist puppeteer" can be tricky. Lucky for us, our longtime friend Matt Jackson has designed and built many remarkable puppets—both as commissions and for his own art projects. In looking over Matt's documentation of his work on his Facebook and Instagram profiles, Brian was struck by the rawness of what became the cover image from a 2016 studio picture of a traditional Japanese 'bunraku' puppet in progress. As I worked on designing the digital liner notes around that image, I kept thinking about Practicing Synthesis as an active process—one involving experimentation, tools, and work. This led me to focus on a series of shots showing Matt working at De Openbare werkplaats in Amsterdam from 2014 by Polish photographer Mariola Dengler.
Download Practicing Synthesis from www.dreamingoutloudrecords.com and receive the high-resolution pdf liner note booklet with your choice of MP3, WAV, AIFF, or FLAC audio bundle.