Andrew McIntosh: Little Jimmy

In 2019, the Los Angeles-based composer Andrew McIntosh began to experiment with field recording. An avid climber, he recorded the wind and the trees in the forests and mountain ranges where he climbed, focusing at first on oak trees and then contemplating the possibility of recording all eighteen species of pine trees native to California. McIntosh incorporated some of these sounds into new compositions. This album presents studio recordings of three recent works by McIntosh, two of which incorporate field recordings. This album also documents a process of collaboration between McIntosh and the musicians of Yarn/Wire, much of which took place in 2020, a year of canceled concerts and virtual connections. While each of the works on the album was conceived for live performance in a concert space, these studio recordings offer alternative opportunities to listen closely and deeply, and raise intriguing questions about the different types of places and spaces in which we listen to music and to our surroundings.