Bonnie Whiting and Eliza Brown Deliver A Percussive, Storytelling Record
- R.A.G.
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
A new release from Bonnie Whiting and Eliza Brown delivers a very unique set of works that are based on storytelling in the form of spoken word, along with percussion that gives death to those stories, along with some mood and intensity levels.
The record is called Through The Eye(s), and is based on perspectives delivered from women who are incarcerated, and upon this knowledge, you really end up paying attention to those words quite closely.
The stories are told in such great detail, with descriptive elements that help you paint pictures as the pieces unfold. This really pulls you into the record quite a bit.
The percussion aspect gives everything a different layer. It brings the stories to life and lets them come through with an extra texture that really adds to the emotional backbone or mood the stories display.
"My Tunnel" is an amazing example of how the percussion and the storytelling come together with brilliance. Being able to get pulled into a story and also have the percussion follow along with what's happening during that story is something I don't think I've heard quite this way before.
More intense pieces like "Violent Passion" come through with a robust and sort of boisterous attack. Both percussion and vocals are more in your face as the story that's being told is more aggressive and invasive as well.
I like how songs like this come right in with that high intensity level.
This whole thing really had a beautifully theatrical approach to it.
A lot of these pieces had a strange way of putting you there in the moment with them. Perhaps it's the storytelling, but also the way that the stories are told.
When the stories are more intense, the vocal approach is the same. The dynamic of how the stories are told follows suit with the actual storyline.
Again, these are all perspectives from incarcerated women at the Indiana Women's Prison. The project was facilitated by composer Eliza Brown, who helps display those very personal but important perspectives.
This was a unique approach to creative work, and it feels a bit boundless, which I enjoyed.
It is certainly outside the box and again, very theatrical, but that's part of what wraps itself around you.
"HER" is the track that gives you a bit of a different approach, as it has a bit of a jazzy undertone, and instead of spoken word, it's more singing. The vocal approach on this one definitely has a classic jazz undertone to it, and I loved how the record managed to branch off and go a little bit of a different direction here and there.
It is very easy to get swallowed up by this album. It is easy to be engulfed by the stories being told and the way that they are performed on the record.
That combination of percussive instruments used to help tell those stories and build the moods behind them was a borderline brilliant move and something that lets the soundscapes become more engaging.
This was an exploratory and experimental set of songs that were built with very few walls around them.
For some, this can be eye-opening, as again, the perspectives are coming from a particular place. The stories are coming from people who have a lot to say, and we need to pay attention to that aspect. It doesn't matter who they are, what their stature is in the world, or where they come from.
Everyone has stories, and Bonnie Whiting and Eliza Brown have joined up to help those stories be told.
Definitely listen to this one with headphones on because it's one of the best ways to soak in the stories and music together.
Dive into this record now, and I'm sure you won't come out until it's over.