Will Shore
Will Shore is a composer, producer, and vibraphonist based in Brooklyn. Shore has played vibraphone for Nels Cline’s LOVERS, Arto Lindsay’s Noise Quartet, The Dave Harrington Group, and the Nublu Orchestra conducted by Butch Morris. He also contributed his characteristic layered vibraphone parts to Francis Harris’ albums Trivial Occupations and Thresholds.
He often plays solo vibraphone with electronics for the Planetarium series at Nowadays, and as a solo performer, he’s opened for Laraaji as well as The Comet is Coming (Shabaka Hutchings). He is one half of the electronic pop duo TMBOY, and a member of Užupis— a percussion ensemble with Kenny Wollesen (Bill Frisell, John Zorn, Tom Waits) and Dalius Naujo. His music has been covered by Resident Advisor, XlR8R, Stereogum, Buzzfeed, Interview Magazine, Brooklyn Vegan, and more.
As a large-ensemble bandleader, Shore has conducted various groups in NYC at venues such as The Stone, Nublu, and H0L0. As well, he recently traveled to conduct at Silent Green Kulturquartier in Berlin, and The Peronas Jazz Festival in Lithuania. As a composer, he’s written and produced music for shows on NBC, History Channel, Netflix, and more. He has won 4 ASCAP Awards for the music he has written for television.
Releases
Pique-nique Recordings is proud to present People’s Dream, the latest solo release from NYC-based vibraphonist and electronic producer Will Shore.
Inspired by Francis Bebey and Don Cherry’s electronic music from the 70s and 80s, People’s Dream draws heavily from modal jazz, minimalism, and dance music. It blends tightly composed percussive phrases with freely moving melodic improvisations that feel as much at home in a DIY loft space as they do on a custom-built sound system at Nowadays.
Shore says: “The vibraphone is the thing that I know best, but I’ve always found the instrument quite limited. Its pure bell-like tone can seem too pretty to evoke a wide range of feelings. I normally find ways to obscure that pure sound: I distort it, pitch it down, or layer rougher textures over it. But for People’s Dream and Lucid, instead of obscuring the sound quality, I decided to embrace it.
I used the vibraphone for not only melodic parts but also as a driving rhythmic element. I let the entrances and exits of melodies appear and disappear in a dream-like way, and added electronics and percussion as texture, to create a more cinematic atmosphere.”
On the B-side, UK producer and label-head Tom Blip (Blip Discs) flips Lucid into a driving, bass-oriented club track, fit for all dancefloors this summer. On the back of successful collaborations with East African artists Swordman Kitala and Mubashira Mataali Group, Blip unleashes a trademark peak-time drum track designed to elude any dream-like state.
People’s Dream is the seventh release on NYC/Sydney label Pique-nique Recordings, which worked with Shore in 2019 on their signature event, Take Two. Shore led a nine-piece band through a reinterpretation of Albert Ayler’s Spiritual Unity for the occasion, utilizing his mentor Butch Morris’ conduction technique to rapturous effect.
Buy on Bandcamp
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A1 • Will Shore - People’s Dream
A2 • Will Shore - Lucid
B • Will Shore - Lucid (Tom Blip’s Remix)
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Mixed by Will Shore (A1/A2) & Pete Buckenham (B)
Mastered & cut by Frank Merritt at The Carvery, London
Artwork by Meera Dugal