Though the musical universe of guitarist Ben Monder is vast, the paths to his aural galaxies are rather solitary and arduous. It takes considerable time for Monder to create his unique, mind-bending recordings, as the practice, sculpting, and arranging can take years. His latest recording, Planetarium, is a prodigious piece of art that showcases the widest breadth of his vision as a composer and craftsman.
Monder is well known for his tremendous guitar contributions to a wide range of artists, including David Bowie, Maria Schneider, Guillermo Klein, and, most recently, as a member of The Bad Plus. Though he may be most celebrated for these contributions, his own projects deserve equal attention, as they are personal, large-scale works utilizing a select coterie of trusted associates.
Planetarium’s inception began in 2014 when Monder was awarded a grant from The Shifting Foundation to write and record an album. While that project ultimately took a different direction, work on this one would continue for the next ten years. The effort was thrust into high gear when the pandemic hit, as there were few distractions to composing and practicing. During this time, Monder also received a commission to compose what would become the ambitious piece, “Ataraxia.”
A most helpful association for Monder has been with engineer and producer Joseph Branciforte, whose Greyfade Studio in Mount Vernon, New York became a sort of second home for him during the recording process. Beginning in December of 2020, the two began to meet frequently at the studio, setting down ideas and inviting collaborators to add their unique contributions. These integral guests included drummers Ted Poor and Satoshi Takeishi, bassist Chris Tordini, and vocalists Theo Bleckmann, Charlotte Mundy, and Emily Hurst.
After three years of recording, Monder produced his grandest statement yet as a composer and conceptualist. This three-disc set features vast, highly wrought sound poems as well as spontaneous moments of improvisational brilliance.
The program begins with “Ouroboros II,” a composition that utilizes a repeating rhythmic cycle of 16th note triplets divided in different ways over bars of 13/8. Washes of vocalist Charlotte Mundy’s layered voices provide harmonic tension and release. The guitarist’s maximalist “The Mentaculus” takes its name from the concept of a “probability map of the universe” introduced in the Coen Brothers’ film, A Serious Man. Weaving and overdriven guitar tones build and decay along with the fluid rhythm section of Tordini and Poor.
Theo Bleckmann’s haunting voice highlights the nostalgia inducing melody of Monder’s “1973,” while the vocalist finds a unique manner to render the ancient Chinese poem “Zazen on Ching-t’ing Mountain” over an intense, dark cloud of distortion drenched guitar. The piece is named for the poet, Li Po. The quietly ruminating title track, which ends disc one, was one of the first pieces Monder wrote for the project.
“Globestructures: Option II,” a complex work for solo guitar, takes its name from Kazuo Ishiguro’s anxiety inducing novel, The Unconsoled. It is the title of one of the pieces the main character is considering performing at his all-important recital. “Ataraxia,” meaning a sense of serenity or equanimity, is an energetic and driving suite featuring Bleckmann’s soaring vocals over continually morphing acoustic guitar patterns. “Onsulian Spring” provides an aural illustration of the spring on an imaginary planet. The hazy ambiance, created by layers of guitars and voices, suggest an alien environment. A rhapsodic rendition of Rogers and Hart’s “Where or When” closes out the second disc.
The program continues with “3PSC,” a fascinating solo guitar work that takes its inspiration from concepts found within the late guitarist/educator Mick Goodrick’s groundbreaking book Almanac of Guitar Voice-leading. Mundy’s discordant vocals on “Urobo” lead into “Ouroboros I,” a guitar and drum piece with a different take on the same rhythmic pattern that introduced the album.
The lovely “Noctivagant” captures the feel of nocturnal wandering, while “Collinsport” (named for the fictional town in the gothic soap, Dark Shadows) provides darkness in its non-tonal pitch class sets. Bleckmann and Hurst add their vocals to complete the eerie landscape. Utilizing an old recording of his mother singing the traditional song, “Wayfaring Stranger,” Monder wrote a brief but beautiful arrangement for baritone guitar for one of her regularly sung bedtime lullabies.
On his most personal and far-reaching project to date, Ben Monder exhibits a panoply of emotions, fascinations, and technical marvels on his new recording, Planetarium.