How a rock band, a children's chorus & a chamber orchestra created William Brittelle's Spiritual America

plus a Q&A with Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner

In the latest Sound Off I sat down with William Brittelle, a composer who enlisted a rock band, a chamber symphony and a children's chorus to create Spiritual America, an elaborate album that delves deep into his roots of growing up in what he describes as a pretty typical North Carolina home. Raised as a Christian and wanting to date the cheerleader, Brittelle secretly created his own worlds, composing songs and poems in his bedroom studio. In this episode I talk to Bill about how he formed what he describes as his genre-fluid compositional style, what it was like to work with rockers Wye Oak and being drawn equally to the Late Romantic stylings of Chopin piano ballads and over-the-top 1980s hair metal. I’m guessing not many podcast hosts have an opportunity to program these two disparate sounds in one show.

Here’s the video for “Forbidden Colors” from the album.

I’ve also created a YouTube playlist with all the sounds featured on Sound Off.

An interview with Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner

I’ve long loved the rock band Wye Oak. I’ve chatted with Jenn Wasner before about a ’90s R&B informed project she did called Dungeonesse back when I was the music editor for The Rumpus. It was a thrill to catch up with Wasner via email to talk about her collaboration with Brittelle, about Wye Oak’s new EP No Horizon and how she’s coping in our current landscape.

Photo: Jenn Wasner by Graham Tolbert

Talk about the experience of working with William Brittelle on his album Spiritual America. What was that like?

Bill is such an incredible person, a truly unique composer and a thoughtful, compassionate friend. He’s also an excellent collaborator, in that he always has considered every angle of his compositions at great length, but he’s not so attached to them that he’s resistant to outside input. He gives me a lot of leeway in personalizing his melodies and making them fit and feel natural in my voice. It’s so much more satisfying to work with someone when you feel as though they respect and trust your instincts and allow for that kind of input, rather than clinging too tightly to their own ideas.

2) You recently released an EP in collaboration with Brooklyn Youth Chorus, a group also featured on Spiritual America. I'm wondering what you love about this chorus and what their sounds bring to the table for you?

I never imagined that Andy and I would have the opportunity to write for such an ensemble; it just wasn’t really on our radar as a possibility at all. We first worked with Brooklyn Youth Chorus on Spiritual America. We enjoyed working together so much that we were excited to write some collaborative pieces featuring the group. As a singer, I have a pretty natural sense for harmony and vocal arranging, but technically I’m completely untrained, so in many ways the process was extremely intimidating. There were many times that I simply couldn’t believe that anyone thought I would be qualified for such a thing. Fortunately, Andy went to music school, so he was an utterly indispensable part of making these arrangements work on paper and in reality. As an ensemble, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus is pretty staggering—the kids are SO wildly talented. They handled everything we threw at them with ease.

3) What's keeping you sane as we continue to weather this pandemic that's aligning with the craziness that is the 2020 U.S. presidential election?

And you’re assuming I’m sane because…?

I kid. You know, this year has obviously been an extremely painful and difficult one, for so many people, myself included (although I consider myself extremely fortunate and privileged in so many ways). It’s also been wildly illuminating, in that it has provided a truly unprecedented opportunity to observe myself and reflect on my life. It’s not surprising to me—when I think about the pace at which I was operating for so many years—that blind spots and coping mechanisms developed. Behavioral patterns emerged that I now understand to be out of step with what I imagine my best intentions to be. There are so many things and places and people I miss, but I’m grateful for the opportunity to slow down and observe myself, with the hope of gradually reintroducing these things into my life in a more reasoned, intentional, less self-focused way.

4) Do you remember when you first really engaged with music? I'd love to hear about that experience.

Honestly, I don’t know if my memory goes back that far! I do know that—thanks to my mom and her passion for music—it’s been a big part of my life basically since birth. I had the kind of family that wasn’t shy about singing together. I think those formative experiences cemented a certain way of thinking about music—as entertainment, as a means of connection with others, and as a healing force—into my brain permanently. And I’m very grateful for that.

Well said, Jenn. We could all use a lot of connection and healing in this tumultuous moment. That’s one of the reasons I became a music journalist, became a radio host and now bring you healing sounds via Sound Off. I’m working on a subscriber only playlist. If you’d like to receive it, it’s easy to sign up today. Your support means everything. For the price of a beer or latte a month you’ll get exclusive essays, playlists and reviews from this culture obsessed gal!

There’s still so many sounds to come in Season One of Sound Off. Episodes to come include guests Anthony McGill, Oracle Hysterical, Nathalie Joachim & Caroline Shaw. I can’t wait to share these conversations & some of their music with you! Keep up with all things Sound Off by smashing that subscribe button wherever you get your podcasts.

xoxo,

Katy