Daniel Bittleston
Amazing musicianship!
Unbelievably musical singing!
So uniquely original, will probably not be fully appreciated for a hundred years or so; it took Bach two hundred!
BAROCK is four Baroque arias arranged for a five piece rock ensemble with modernized lyrics. Recorded live on March 27, 2015.
credits
released July 28, 2015
Red Love
"Regne, Amour" - Aria from Pigmalion Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)
Dad
"Schafe Können Sicher Weiden" - Aria from BWV 208 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Lift Her
"Waft Her, Angels, Through the Skies" - Aria from Jeptha, HWV 70 George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Where You Walk
"Where'er You Walk" - Aria from Semele, HWV 58 George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Recorded live on March 27 2015 in Brooklyn
Misha Bittleston: Vocals
Rafaël Leloup: Accordion
Adam Benham: Drums
Jacob Owen: Guitar
Aiden Moore: Bass
Todd Carder: Recording Engineer, The Bunker Studio, Brooklyn
Mark Wilder: Mastering Engineer, Battery Studios, New York
Concept, Lyrics, Production and Artwork by Misha Bittleston
Arrangement and Music Direction by Rafaël Leloup
Project Coordination and Design by Aja Marsh
Very special thanks to Tommy Wazelle for vocal support and Chris Mirto for being there.
After all the years it took to make the last record, I wanted to try an experiment in expediency. Could Eight Two put out a short unpolished record in a matter of weeks or just a few months?
I had felt embarrassed about my love for baroque music, but somehow Jimi helped me make the leap.
I asked my friend Rafaël Leloup to arrange four Baroque arias for rock ensemble, I rewrote the words so I could feel natural singing them as myself. We had two rehearsals in Brooklyn and then we showed up at 10am and recorded, all playing and me singing together, no overdubs.
Playing together was stressful, but emotional and each take was a messy performance. We played music, and in between takes there was some fun and magical improvisation, the energy was that what each of us put in, would be there. I wanted to make the mix as unproduced as possible. No tricks. But not being able to rely on post production to fix and improve things made it a high pressure experience.
Here I was taking a huge leap. Who was I to record these timeless arias? But with Rafaël's arrangements they quickly took shape and we each played the songs in a way that was natural to us as contemporary musicians, the musicality of these compositions on the one side and our rock music sensibility on the other, we walk a fine line.
Why do this project? It is a challenge-- everyone who worked on it felt that.
From the vibrant streets of Brooklyn to the sun-soaked landscapes of Santa Fe, Eight Two (they/them) is a nonbinary genre
fluid artist on a sonic journey. Catch their latest demo tracks on Soundcloud for a glimpse into their eclectic sound and creative exploration. soundcloud.com/eighttwo/...more
The latest EP from U.K. experimentalist Charlotte Valentine is disconcerting and fascinating, pop broken down and warped. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 9, 2019
William Ryan Fritch's enthralling, doomy new CD comes housed in a gorgeous, panoramic gatefold sleeve with bewitching original artwork. Bandcamp New & Notable May 16, 2016