Tyondai Braxton: Telekinesis — Metropolis Ensemble
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2023 Opus Klassik Nominee

“A joy… the next big statement… Tyondai Braxton in full command of his art.”

(New York Times)

 
 
 

Telekinesis Nominated for Prestigious Prize

We are thrilled to share that Opus Klassik, Germany’s juried classical music prize, announced nominees for the 2023 awards, with two nominations for our 2022 studio album, Tyondai Braxton’s Telekinesis.

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About the Album

Released November 11, 2022 on New Amsterdam and Nonesuch Records

Tyondai Braxton releases Telekinesis — the first studio recording of an eighty-seven-piece work for electric guitars, orchestra, choir and electronics — via New Amsterdam and Nonesuch Records. Featuring Metropolis (conducted by Andrew Cyr), the Brooklyn Youth Chorus (conducted by Dianne Berkun Menaker), and chamber choir The Crossing (conducted by Donald Nally).

Seth Colter Walls from The New York Times hails: “Fans of this electronic and orchestral specialist have been waiting for the next big statement. And here it is... Tyondai Braxton in full command of his art.”

Throughout the recording and production process, Braxton sought to “create an environment where electronic instruments and acoustic instruments coexist in a place that feels balanced and organic.” To achieve that, the orchestra, choir, and electronics were tracked section by section at Oktaven Audio in Mt Vernon, New York from August 2021 to March 2022 by engineer Ryan Streber. This allowed for a hyper-detailed mix session with Seth Manchester at Machines with Magnets in Pawtucket, RI.

As a studio recording, the mix recreates how an orchestra would be placed (with some exceptions), but is exaggerated in its width and in the closeness and depth of certain instruments, surrounding the listener.

This recording has been made possible in part through generous funding provided by Metropolis Ensemble and The Aaron Copland Fund for Music Recording Program.

 
 

Recent Reviews

 
 
 
 

“I wanted to create an environment where electronic instruments and acoustic instruments coexist in a place that feels balanced and organic.”

Tyondai Braxton, Composer

Brooklyn-based composer, guitarist, keyboardist, singer, and former math rock band Battles' front man, Tyondai Braxton, collaborated with Metropolis on Telekinesis since 2021.

 
 
 

WATCH AND LISTEN: Preview audio from the studio recording of “Telekinesis” and unboxing of the vinyl edition.

Behind the scenes at Oktaven Audio (Mt Vernon NY) and Machines with Magnets (Pawtucket RI) in 2021–2022.

Project In-Depth

Telekinesis is the result of a co-commission by the Southbank Centre London and Musica Nova, Helsinki Festival, praised by The Guardian as "a superpower-themed symphony and a titanic composition.” The world premiere took place on April 18, 2018 at Queen Elizabeth Hall with the BBC Concert Orchestra and BBC Singers, followed by a performance at Helsinki Festival by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Andre de Ridder conducted both performances.

    • TK1_Overshare

    • TK2_Wavefolder

    • TK3_FloatingLake

    • TK4_Overgrowth

  • Composer, Electronics, Celeste
     Tyondai Braxton

    Metropolis Ensemble
    Andrew Cyr, artistic director/conductor

    Piccolo / Flutes
    Yoobin Son

    Clarinets / Bass Clarinet
    Anton Rist

    Oboes
    Stuart Breczinski

    Bassoons / Contrabass Bassoon
    Brad Balliett

    French Horns
    Leelanee Sterrett

    Trumpets
    Christopher Coletti

    Trombones
    Burt Mason

    Bass Trombone
    George Curran

    Tuba / Contra Tuba
    Deandre Desir

    Percussion (Sandbox Percussion)
    Victor Caccese
    Terry Sweeney

    Electric Guitars
    Taylor Levine

    Harp
    Ashley Jackson

    Violins
    Julia Danitz
    Brian Hong
    Ling Ling Huang
    Jennifer Liu
    Sami Merdinian
    Arthur Moeller
    Jeffrey Myers (Concertmaster)
    Doori Na
    Adelya Nartadjieva
    Max Tan
    Suliman Tekalli
    Henry Wang

    Violas
    Jeremy Berry
    Emily Brandenburg
    Junah Chung
    Ramón Carrero
    Matthew Cohen
    Halam Kim
    Chieh-Fan Yiu
    Cong Wu

    Cellos
    Laura Andrade
    Audrey Chen
    Estelle Choi
    Samuel DeCaprio
    Madeline Fayette
    Michael Katz
    Jia Kim
    Aaron Wolff

    Double Bases
    Gregg August
    Robert Black
    Dara Bloom
    Austin Lewellen
    Ross Wightman
    Randall Zigler

    Brooklyn Youth Chorus
    Dianne Berkun Menaker
    Artistic Director and Conductor

    Vocals
    Maya Baijal
    Siena Bird
    Maya Chatterjee
    Sadie Gesser
    Stevie Kim-Rubell
    Raquel Acevedo Klein
    Pilar Lu-Heda
    Joanna McCabe
    Faith Monroe
    Sicile Naddeo-Gjergji
    Sylvie Oates
    Jadesola Pedro
    Ellie Powell
    Maya Renaud-Levine
    Renee Ricevuto
    Tatyana Sgaraglino
    Josie Shehadi
    Scarlett Staiano
    Clementine Vonnegut
    Mariana Weaver

    The Crossing
    Donald Nally, Conductor
    Kevin Vondrak, Assistant Conductor
    Jonathan Bradley, Executive Director

    Vocals
    Nathaniel Barnett
    Graham Bier
    Steven Bradshaw
    Matt Cramer
    Micah Dingler
    Andrew Fuchs
    Dimitri German
    Dominic German
    Josh Hartman
    Steven Hyder
    Daniel O'Dea
    Ben Perri
    Daniel Schwartz
    Daniel Spratlan
    Jason Weisinger

    • Produced by Tyondai Braxton and Andrew Cyr

    • Engineered by Ryan Streber

    • Edited by Tyondai Braxton

    • Recorded at Oktaven Audio, Mount Vernon, New York, USA, from August 15, 2021 to March 22, 2022

    • Mixed at Machines with Magnets by Seth Manchester

    • Mastered at Metropolis Mastering by Matt Colton

    • Co-commissioned by Southbank Centre, London and Musica nova, Helsinki Festival

    • Premiered April 18, 2018 at Queen Elizabeth Hall with the BBC Concert Orchestra and BBC Singers

    • Executive Producers David Bither & Robert Hurwitz at Nonesuch

    • Cover Art: “Sanctuary CIty” by Grace Villamil

    • Album Design by John Gall

  • Grace Villamil, Ripley Braxton, Andrew Cyr, Brian Hultgren / Sleepwalk Artist Management, Regina Greene / Frontporch Productions, André DeRidder, Karina Beznicki, David Bither, Kris Chen, Dan Cohen, Melissa Cusick, Chad DePasquale, David Holmes, Robert Hurwitz, Arthur Moorhead, Natalie Newsome, Matthew Rankin.

    Gregg Schaufeld / Nonesuch Records, William Brittelle, Judd Greenstein, Sarah Kirkland Snider / New Amsterdam Records, Ben Larpent, Gillian Moore / Southbank Centre, Andrew Connolly / BBC Concert Orchestra, Topi Lehtipuu / Music Nova Helsinki, Tuula Sarotie / Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ryan Streber / Oktaven Audio, Seth Manchester / Machines with Magnets, Matt Colton / Metropolis Mastering.

    John Gall, Kyle Tieman-Strauss, Henry Wang, Evan Runyon, David Sheppard, Mira Calix, Nickie Braxton, Donari Braxton, Keayr Braxton During, Austin Braxton During, Austin During Jr., Ben Vida, Kieran Hebden, David Longstreth, Qasim Navqi, Damon Whittemore, Leilehua Lanzilotti, Make Noise, Ableton, Sandbox Percussion, and everyone who played on and worked on the recording.

  • Notes by Tyondai Braxton:

    As a science fiction and horror fan, the initial idea was to write an opera based on the Japanese manga masterpiece Akira, although over time, I realized I was more interested in the story as an invisible thematic guide rather than something more literal. Among a number of storylines in Akira is the idea that a young boy comes upon the ability to move objects and generate energy with his mind.

    Entirely enthralled with his own power and apparent limitless potential, and despite his inability to physically and mentally control this force, he launches unrestrained into its use. Ultimately, his hubris overtakes and destroys him. The power of the mind has been a compelling consideration for me and is an underlying theme in this piece.

 
 

Tyondai Braxton

Composer

Tyondai Braxton, who Vice says “reminds us that the roots of today's experimental music can be located in part in the wrenching reaction to the 20th century classical canon,” has been writing and performing music under his own name and collaboratively, under various group titles, since the mid-1990s. He is the former front man of experimental rock band Battles. Braxton has composed commissioned pieces for ensembles such as the Bang on a Can All Stars, Alarm Will Sound, Brooklyn Rider, and Third Coast Percussion. In 2012, he collaborated with Philip Glass during the ATP I'll Be Your Mirror festival. His 2015 Nonesuch debut, HIVE1, was praised by NPR Music for its “playfulness—the feeling that experimenting with sound is a joyful game.” Braxton was appointed to Princeton University’s Music Composition faculty as an Assistant Professor of Music, starting in the fall 2022 semester. More info »

 

Brooklyn Youth Chorus

Brooklyn Youth Chorus is a Grammy Award-winning ensemble that has collaborated with a range of artists including the New York Philharmonic and International Contemporary Ensemble and has served over 10,000 students in its after-school and public-school programs. Founded in 1992, Brooklyn Youth Chorus is currently involving more than 700 students in its core after-school and public-school outreach programs. It has performed on a number of Nonesuch recordings, including Cecile McLorin Salvant’s Ghost Song (2022) and John Adams’ On the Transmigration of Souls (2004), and the New Amsterdam / Nonesuch release of William Brittelle’s Spiritual America (2019). Dianne Berkun Menaker, the chorus’ founder and artistic director, is an educator, choral clinician, and creator of the Cross-Choral Training program, a holistic and experiential approach to voice and musicianship pedagogy in group settings. Most recently, she was the Associate Music Director for Euphoria by Julian Rosefeldt, commissioned by Park Avenue Armory. More info »

 

The Crossing

The Crossing is a professional chamber choir conducted by Donald Nally and dedicated to new music. It is committed to working with creative teams to make and record new, substantial works for choir that explore and expand ways of writing for choir, singing in choir, and listening to music for choir. Many of its nearly 140 commissioned premieres address social, environmental, and political issues. With a commitment to recording its commissions, The Crossing has issued twenty-five releases, receiving two Grammy Awards for Best Choral Performance (2018, 2019) and seven Grammy nominations. Nally has commissioned over 160 works for choir, many addressing social justice. He has served as chorus master at major opera companies of the USA, UK, and Italy, and his collaborations have taken him to Stockholm, London, Osaka, Córdoba, Helsinki, Haarlem, Riga, and many US cities. Nally’s seventy-two-chapter series Rising w/ The Crossing is archived as a cultural artifact by The Library of Congress. More info »

 
 

Meet the Artists