
My interest in exotic musical material speaks of a desire to be surprised and dazzled by what I hear.  It also follows that as an artist you make what you hope to hear made.   Once I began writing this record it became clear that, with the sound of Mahler's orchestra ringing in my ears, I would be building my own orchestra from the ground up.  The development of new sounds became a major priority.  Wineglasses played to tape were pitched (via altering the tape speed) to create the floating aura of violins.  Cowbells could suggest to the listener a summer's day on a high countryside, or even a bucolic swipe of sun on the face.  But they would also speak to the historical.   Beethoven, Bruckner, Schubert or Mahler would have understood this - the way a horn call would have been immediately understood, with great specificity, as a hunting call.   I'm fascinated that sounds themselves can carry that kind of information.   This album is an homage to such feelings, stirred by suggestion, through sound.

Musicians:
Michael Chambers: guitars, field samples, tunes, handbells, percussion, trumpets, cellos, et. al.
Marc Anderson, percussion 
Sara Budde, clarinets 
Owen Howard, drums
Claudia Mogel, violins
Loretta Kelley, hardingfeles

Please note that the track entitled 'In Memoriam' is dedicated to people who passed on during the six years' span of my work on Mirabella.  

Musicians:
Michael Chambers: guitars, percussion, handbells, field samples, harmonium, various brass & strings, tapes, edits, conception
Claudia Mogel: violins, voice samples
Sara Budde: clarinets
Loretta Kelley: hardangerfeles
Owen Howard: drums and percussion
Marc Anderson: hand percussion

Other Sonic Contributors:
Amy McNamara: "twins" voice on The Dark Grain 
Jen Durbin: claps and WOZ sculpture on Three Views of Mirabella
Medbh McNamara, Jordan Refol, Oliver Perry, Charlie Perry, Eli Lief and Karenna Lief: voices on Loretta
Conor Durbin: antique school bell on Three Views of Mirabella
Joey Parlett: pen scribbles on RVS

Field Recordings:
Vienna - Prague, Austria & Czech Republic, May 2007
St. Croix, Virgin Islands, August 2007
Washington, D.C., US, November 2008
Barcelona - Sitges - San Sebastien, Spain, August 2009
Paris, France 2009
Hudson River Valley, US, 2007-2009

Produced and Recorded by Michael Chambers at The Milk Factory, 2006-2007 and The 1896 Studios & Stages,  2007-2011 
*Additional Engineering by Marc Anderson at Lellofruck Studios, 2008

Mixed by Marc Urselli at EastSide Sound, NYC, Oct. - Nov. 2011
*except 2, 5, 7, 14, 15 (sections b, c) & 16 by Michael Chambers
Mastered by Scott Hull at Masterdisk, NYC, Mar. 2012

Graphic Design: Thimali Kodikara, www.oneloudbellow.com
Photos by Michael Chambers, Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, Apr. 2012

Contact and Inquiries: mirabelle.mc@gmail.com
Legal Rep: David Bondy, Brooklyn 

and, for more information regarding this project, check out: MirabellaMc.blogspot.com


Mirabella was designed to be experienced in one sitting; possibly with an intermission after 'The One Who Halloos the Hunt'.  Splitting it into individual tracks will not tell the full story.  Also, the titles are optional.  It is recommended that they be disregarded when listening to Mirabella.  The audio alone, again, tells the story.  Thank you.  

Mirabella is self-published and brought to you by Norwegian Hut.

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