field recordings of mind in morning

Holland Hopson: banjos
Hank Lazer: poetry, voice

A companion to Hank Lazer’s book of the same title published by BlazeVOX [books] wp.blazevox.org/product/field-recordings-of-mind-in-morning/

“Holland Hopson and I began exploring how these poems might function as prompts or scores for musical improvisation. We began working on these possibilities even before the pandemic enforced our isolation from one another. It wasn’t until March 2021 when our vaccinations were completed and our antibodies had built up sufficiently that we were able once again to work in person for two recording sessions which produced this album.

Though Holland’s contribution came after the poems were written, I am certain that his music has changed the way I read, think about, and hear the poems and their many possibilities for performance. The music has given the poems new life.”
–Hank Lazer

grab 1005
Release date: 3 September 2021

Reviews

“Hopson’s improvised playing is as quiet and lovely as the poems they accompany.”
–“A Long Loving Look at the Real: Hank Lazer’s field recordings of mind in morning” Norman Fischer, Golden Handcuffs Review, No. 31

“Lazer’s amiable voice is accompanied by the music of sound artist, composer, and musician Holland Hopson. To hear the poet speak these poems is to hear them breathe. Hopson’s music ranges from intimations of Asian strings to American bluegrass and provides a grounded accompaniment to Lazer’s intimate themes…an extraordinary collection to read and to listen to.”
—“field recordings of mind in morning” Edward Journey, Alabama Writers Forum, 10 January 2022