{"id":4770,"date":"2022-07-18T21:50:18","date_gmt":"2022-07-19T02:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=4770"},"modified":"2022-07-21T21:35:34","modified_gmt":"2022-07-22T02:35:34","slug":"human-nature-wooley-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/human-nature-wooley-i\/","title":{"rendered":"Human Nature: A Conversation with Nate Wooley (Part One)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Throughout history, humans have struggled to understand their place in nature. Often, however, perspectives on nature have at least bordered on antagonistic. Even the most cursory reading of Thomas Hobbes reveals the perspective that, in nature, human lives are \u201cbrutish and short.\u201d But the reality of mankind\u2019s relationship with nature is far more complicated. Despite every social instinct to escape, the natural world plays a vital role in human well-being. The same forces that can threaten hasty death are often also viewed with wonder and awe. The human relationship to nature is hardly a novel topic for musicians, whether Vivaldi\u2019s vivid imagery of the seasons or John Denver\u2019s ode to mountains. But, often, these statements simplify the matter by emphasizing one facet of the relationship over another. Enter Nate Wooley and Columbia Icefield (Mary Halvorson, Susan Alcorn, and Ryan Sawyer). With Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes <\/em>(Pyroclastic, 2022), the quartet dives deeper, climbs higher, and voyages further to expose man\u2019s relationship to nature in a more accurate and personal light. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noticeably, over half the tracks on the album forego proper titles in favor of dots eclipsed with parentheses. Often these interludes are built around the sounds of nature: the chirping of birds, a ferocious wind, or water crashing on rocks. The absence of proper titles underscores that these phenomena occur despite human input. And yet, careful listening reveals more. Sometimes the recordings pick up the sounds of people or man-made machines in nature. At other moments, even the purely natural is altered and modified by artificial human means. The message left seems to be that while humanity does not create environmental processes, it certainly can impact them. This is perhaps most apparent on the final piece, where the band subsides into a dialogue between water and trumpet before lonesome – though sometimes altered- waves disappear into remarkable silence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ancient Songs <\/em>also presents the narrative of humanity\u2019s struggles with and against the natural world. Perhaps more than traditional melodies and harmonies, the group paints a sonic environment over which humanity – represented by the leader\u2019s horn- can explore the surrounding world. Often the ensemble presents a sound reminiscent of a Morricone score, albeit moved out of an arid Southwestern desert and into the desolate and frozen waters of the North. Wooley\u2019s tone across the voyage sounds equal parts mournful of those lost on the trek and triumphant for the survivors. But even when nature subsumes all, there is an inherent humanity to Ancient Songs<\/em>. Much of this ineffable human nature comes from the cues of folk music, specifically the reliance on pure emotion more than technical prowess. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the first part of our conversation with Nate Wooley, we discuss the album\u2019s unique approach to folk traditions and nature. In the second, we address the necessity of an artist to present their own voice, lessons learned from Ron Miles and Anthony Braxton, and the breaking down of barriers around experimental music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PostGenre: Often, with a band\u2019s follow-up album, the question becomes what sets the release apart from its predecessor. But Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes <\/em>sounds very different from Columbia Icefield <\/em>(Northern Spy, 2019). Perhaps the better question is, do you see the two as connected in some way beyond being mostly the same group of musicians?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nate Wooley: In a certain sense, I do see the two as connected. I think, philosophically, the band is still the same to me. With both albums, I wanted to approach music differently than I have in my other projects. I wanted to do something outside of the music I had been making, whether you call that \u201cjazz\u201d, \u201cexperimental\u201d, or something else entirely. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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