Vernal Scuzz is a free-form band from Alabama, USA.
Wild mixtures of improvisation, themes, songs and tape experiments
played by Jasper Lee, Mika Carpenter, James Elliot and others on bass,
zithers, euphonium, tapes, drums & words. Taking inspiration from groups
like This Heat, Sun City Girls and the films of Sergei Parajanov, they’re
playing is eclectic, site-specific, and evolves organically as they collaborate
with other artists including Turner Williams Jr. Joel Nelson, poet Johnny Coley,
and have played & toured in groups including Silica Gel and Worst Spills.
Somewhere between proto-punk and primeval ceremony, this music is a
vehicle for navigating the murk of media litter. Radio signals and diary-like
tape collage meld with deep euphonium tones and crackles of noise...
diegetic sounds that build an atmosphere and then burst suddenly into song.
Words emerge sometimes and sometimes the ineffable just takes hold.
The group's unique electro-acoustic blend of pastoral themes and electronic
signals serves to center the idea of transmission. Transmission of folk forms
across time and the dispersal of sound glyphs through media.
Jasper Lee's work as an artist in video, radio and collage informs the group’s
idiosyncratic arrangements. His work in film has included recording scores for
movies like You're Next, which led him to building one-of-a-kind instruments to
achieve unusual sounds, such as a 24-string vertical zither called the pyraharp.
This work segued into writing avant-folk arrangements in the group Silica Gel
using the pyraharp, percussion, recorders and voices that drew on research
into Medieval music.
Vernal Scuzz combines Lee's film music craft and avant-punk playing style
with Carpenter & Elliot’s visceral interplay to create a sound that is dynamic
and powerful. After developing this sound for a year and a half, their first album
will be released in September 2024 through Sweet Wreath.
Vernal Scuzz is touring the east coast in October 2024:
October 17 - Knoxville - Pilot Light
October 18 - Richmond - TBD
October 19 - Philly - TBD
October 20 - WFMU Session
October 20 - Flemington, NJ - Flemington DIY
October 22 - Baltimore - TBD
October 23 - DC - TBD
October 24 - Chapel Hill, NC - All Day Records
October 25 - Athens, GA - Athica
more to be added
Wild mixtures of improvisation, themes, songs and tape experiments
played by Jasper Lee, Mika Carpenter, James Elliot and others on bass,
zithers, euphonium, tapes, drums & words. Taking inspiration from groups
like This Heat, Sun City Girls and the films of Sergei Parajanov, they’re
playing is eclectic, site-specific, and evolves organically as they collaborate
with other artists including Turner Williams Jr. Joel Nelson, poet Johnny Coley,
and have played & toured in groups including Silica Gel and Worst Spills.
Somewhere between proto-punk and primeval ceremony, this music is a
vehicle for navigating the murk of media litter. Radio signals and diary-like
tape collage meld with deep euphonium tones and crackles of noise...
diegetic sounds that build an atmosphere and then burst suddenly into song.
Words emerge sometimes and sometimes the ineffable just takes hold.
The group's unique electro-acoustic blend of pastoral themes and electronic
signals serves to center the idea of transmission. Transmission of folk forms
across time and the dispersal of sound glyphs through media.
Jasper Lee's work as an artist in video, radio and collage informs the group’s
idiosyncratic arrangements. His work in film has included recording scores for
movies like You're Next, which led him to building one-of-a-kind instruments to
achieve unusual sounds, such as a 24-string vertical zither called the pyraharp.
This work segued into writing avant-folk arrangements in the group Silica Gel
using the pyraharp, percussion, recorders and voices that drew on research
into Medieval music.
Vernal Scuzz combines Lee's film music craft and avant-punk playing style
with Carpenter & Elliot’s visceral interplay to create a sound that is dynamic
and powerful. After developing this sound for a year and a half, their first album
will be released in September 2024 through Sweet Wreath.
Vernal Scuzz is touring the east coast in October 2024:
October 17 - Knoxville - Pilot Light
October 18 - Richmond - TBD
October 19 - Philly - TBD
October 20 - WFMU Session
October 20 - Flemington, NJ - Flemington DIY
October 22 - Baltimore - TBD
October 23 - DC - TBD
October 24 - Chapel Hill, NC - All Day Records
October 25 - Athens, GA - Athica
more to be added
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