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LP
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BALMAT 022LP
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This is not a Ben Vida, Booker Stardrum, and Will Epstein record; it's a Play Time record. That's a subtle but important distinction, for a couple reasons. One, the sound of Magic Object -- a polymetric blend of improv and pulse minimalism for saxophone, drums, and Moog -- doesn't really sound anything like any of their many other ensembles or respective solo projects. And two, it was only while making Magic Object, their debut album, that Play Time realized they were a band at all. The roots of the trio date to 2020-21, when Will and then Booker moved to the Hudson Valley, where Ben was already living. The three got into the habit of playing together at Ben's house, and they soon realized that their hang sessions felt fundamentally different from making music in some falling-down studio in Bushwick. Where those experiences were rushed and cramped, a new sense of time and space now suggested itself. Early gigs yielded similar revelations. A booking at Tubby's, the beloved Kingston venue, evolved into a kind of residency. Gradually, they discovered a newfound "elasticity" that reshaped the music from inside. They were jamming, but it wasn't just a free-for-all; they found themselves listening to each other in new ways. Play Time is all about being in the moment. That spontaneity was key to the process of recording the album. They booked two days in their friend Joey's studio, a converted wooden barn. For two days, they just jammed, for seven or eight hours each day. When it was over, they went through, edited down the portions they liked, and added very judicious overdubs designed to enhance the original recordings without fundamentally altering them, staying true to the spirit of the sessions. The result is something like a snapshot and a mission statement all rolled into one.
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