Jewelled Antler
Encyclopedia
Jewelled Antler is a musical collective
created in 1999 by Loren Chasse
and Glenn Donaldson
as an extension of their work in the organic drone folk-noise group Thuja. The idea was to release handmade CD-R
's of various solo
and collaborative projects and one-off bands, encompassing drones
, song
s, electroacoustic sound manipulation, and field recording
s. Jewelled Antler is perhaps best known for its "Nature Psych
" or "Outdoor Folk
", in which whole album
s are recorded "in the field" and/or incorporate field recordings and the sounds of nature
. Indeed besides a wide range of traditional and exotic stringed things
and low-tech electronic equipment, some of the "instrument
s" on their albums include pine cones, creeks
, branches and crude harp
s built from fallen trees.
The Jewelled Antler Collective is a term that has been applied to a larger group of musicians working with Chasse and Donaldson or on their own in similar areas: Steven R. Smith
, Rob Reger, Donovan Quinn, Christine Boepple, Greg Bianchini, Keith Evans, Eleanor Harwood and Kerry McLaughlin.
Projects such as the Blithe Sons, OF, the Ivytree, The Franciscan Hobbies, Floating Birthday Children, The Buried Civilizations, Tomes, the Famous Boating Party, Hala Strana
, The Skygreen Leopards, Glassine, Child Readers, Dead Raven Choir and more have released albums under the Jewelled Antler banner. Many of these groups have moved on to slightly more high profile releases on label
s such as Catsup Plate, Strange Attractors Audio House, FAT CAT, Jagjaguwar
, Soft Abuse, Family Vineyard and Music Fellowship.
Collective
A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together on a specific project to achieve a common objective...
created in 1999 by Loren Chasse
Loren Chasse
Loren Chasse is an American musician, sound artist, field recordist and teacher, most notable for his association with Jewelled Antler and his work with Thuja, The Blithe Sons, The Child Readers, Of and many others...
and Glenn Donaldson
Glenn Donaldson
Glenn Donaldson is an American musician most notable for his association with Jewelled Antler and his collaborations with Loren Chasse, Steven R. Smith and others in such projects as Thuja, The Skygreen Leopards, The Blithe Sons & Flying Canyon as well as his solo projects The Birdtree and The...
as an extension of their work in the organic drone folk-noise group Thuja. The idea was to release handmade CD-R
CD-R
A CD-R is a variation of the Compact Disc invented by Philips and Sony. CD-R is a Write Once Read Many optical medium, though the whole disk does not have to be entirely written in the same session....
's of various solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
and collaborative projects and one-off bands, encompassing drones
Drone (music)
In music, a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout most or all of a piece. The word drone is also used to refer to any part of a musical instrument that is just used to produce such an effect.-A musical effect:A drone...
, song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s, electroacoustic sound manipulation, and field recording
Field recording
Field recording is the term used for an audio recording produced outside of a recording studio. The recording is typically recorded in the same channel format as the desired result, for instance, stereo recording equipment will yield a stereo product...
s. Jewelled Antler is perhaps best known for its "Nature Psych
Psychedelic music
Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...
" or "Outdoor Folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
", in which whole album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s are recorded "in the field" and/or incorporate field recordings and the sounds of nature
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
. Indeed besides a wide range of traditional and exotic stringed things
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
and low-tech electronic equipment, some of the "instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
s" on their albums include pine cones, creeks
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
, branches and crude harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
s built from fallen trees.
The Jewelled Antler Collective is a term that has been applied to a larger group of musicians working with Chasse and Donaldson or on their own in similar areas: Steven R. Smith
Steven R. Smith
Steven R. Smith is an American musician, instrument-builder, and printmaker often associated with the Jewelled Antler collective. Born in Fullerton, California and based in San Francisco and, more recently, Los Angeles, his musical output began in the mid-1990s and continues on at the present...
, Rob Reger, Donovan Quinn, Christine Boepple, Greg Bianchini, Keith Evans, Eleanor Harwood and Kerry McLaughlin.
Projects such as the Blithe Sons, OF, the Ivytree, The Franciscan Hobbies, Floating Birthday Children, The Buried Civilizations, Tomes, the Famous Boating Party, Hala Strana
Hala Strana
Hala Strana is the name of a recording project of American musician Steven R. Smith. Smith began recording under the name in 2002 as an outlet which allowed him to explore the traditional music of Eastern Europe more fully than possible with his solo work...
, The Skygreen Leopards, Glassine, Child Readers, Dead Raven Choir and more have released albums under the Jewelled Antler banner. Many of these groups have moved on to slightly more high profile releases on label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s such as Catsup Plate, Strange Attractors Audio House, FAT CAT, Jagjaguwar
Jagjaguwar
Jagjaguwar is an indie rock record label based in Bloomington, Indiana.-History:In 1996, in Charlottesville, Virginia, friends of Darius Van Arman who performed in a band under the moniker The Curious Digit had just recorded a new album, but they were signed to no label...
, Soft Abuse, Family Vineyard and Music Fellowship.