Bryan And The Aardvarks at NuBlu Classic

Bryan and the Aardvarks Look to the Stars for Inspiration on Songs From the Deep Field, via Biophilia Records.

Bassist/composer Bryan Copeland, finding inspiration rather than insanity in taking a wide view of the infinity surrounding us, composed ten vivid new compositions for his long-running, whimsically-named band Bryan and the Aardvarks, each reflecting a sense of awe as well as heady dose of cosmic mystery.

More than half of Sounds From the Deep Field, was written in a sudden burst of inspiration, something of a musical Big Bang that set the album in motion. The long-awaited second release by the imaginatively lyrical, eccentrically inventive Bryan and the Aardvarks expands the original quartet – Copeland, vibraphonist Chris Dingman, pianist Fabian Almazan, and drummer Joe Nero – into an even more evocative ensemble with the addition of Chilean vocalist Camila Meza, guitarist Jesse Lewis, and saxophonist Dayna Stephens employing the interstellar sounds of the EWI (Electric Wind Instrument)....

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Bryan and the Aardvarks Look to the Stars for Inspiration on Songs From the Deep Field, via Biophilia Records.

Bassist/composer Bryan Copeland, finding inspiration rather than insanity in taking a wide view of the infinity surrounding us, composed ten vivid new compositions for his long-running, whimsically-named band Bryan and the Aardvarks, each reflecting a sense of awe as well as heady dose of cosmic mystery.

More than half of Sounds From the Deep Field, was written in a sudden burst of inspiration, something of a musical Big Bang that set the album in motion. The long-awaited second release by the imaginatively lyrical, eccentrically inventive Bryan and the Aardvarks expands the original quartet – Copeland, vibraphonist Chris Dingman, pianist Fabian Almazan, and drummer Joe Nero – into an even more evocative ensemble with the addition of Chilean vocalist Camila Meza, guitarist Jesse Lewis, and saxophonist Dayna Stephens employing the interstellar sounds of the EWI (Electric Wind Instrument).

The result is an album that is in equal parts an epic-scale modern jazz adventure, a stargazing sonic dreamscape, and a soundtrack for a non-existent science fiction film. A self-professed “film junkie,” Copeland drew inspiration from the film scores of composers like Jerry Goldsmith (Alien) and Vangelis (Blade Runner), which swirl together with his forward-looking jazz instincts and captivating influences from sophisticated rock songwriters like David Bowie, Nick Drake, and Elliott Smith. Those were among Copeland’s earliest influences while he was growing up, mingling with literary icons like Kurt Vonnegut and Philip K. Dick and Carl Sagan’s original Cosmos.

Those disparate models collide in intriguing and unconventional ways throughout Songs From the Deep Field, suggesting rich lyrics in the metaphorical concepts behind even the album’s instrumental pieces, which make subtle and elegant use of Meza’s wordless vocals.

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