Small Medium Large, by SML

Small Medium Large

by SML

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Ex-Friendly The shadow of Can is strong here but there is also the heavy odours of jazz and electronica inside these repetitions and melodies. Excellent release! Favorite track: Search Bar Hi Hat.

Charlie Moonbeam Otherworldly space jazz trances from this outfit of legends

mohaski SML's music sometimes makes me cry with joy. It is so singular in it's beauty and wit - otherworldly and futuristic, and yet, so familiar and perfect for today.. The most unique, and therefore the best LP I've heard in 2-7 years. Artfully constructed and engineered as well. Fantastic jazz for this new century/millennium. Favorite track: Switchboard Operations.

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	Rubber Tree Dance 00:00 / 04:31

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IARC0085 Limited Edition "Sedimentary Orange" Color vinyl
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Limited Edition 140g "Sedimentary Orange" Color Vinyl inside a heavyweight jacket, with IARC OBI strip and poly-lined dome patterned innersleeve. Pressed at Pallas in Germany with lacquers cut by Daniel K at SST.

**SOLD OUT but STILL AVAIL as part of our SUMMER MINI MONDO**

Includes unlimited streaming of Small Medium Large via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 24-bit/48kHz.

Sold Out
IARC0085 Test Pressing
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Original Test Pressing from Pallas. First pressing.

*Ships from Chicago. All Sales Final*

Includes unlimited streaming of Small Medium Large via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 24-bit/48kHz.

Sold Out
IARC0085 Classic Black vinyl LP
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
140g Classic Black Vinyl inside a heavyweight reverse-board jacket, with IARC OBI strip and poly-lined dome patterned innersleeve. Pressed at Pallas in Germany with lacquers cut by Daniel K at SST.

**Orders ship from UK. Sold out in US & EU*

Includes unlimited streaming of Small Medium Large via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 24-bit/48kHz.

Sold Out

1.	Rubber Tree Dance 04:31	buy track
2.	Industry 04:27	buy track
3.	Herbie for Commercials 01:11	buy track
4.	Search Bar Hi Hat 04:04	buy track
5.	Window Sill Song 02:03	buy track
6.	Switchboard Operations 02:05	buy track
7.	Soft Sand 02:35	buy track
8.	Three Over Steel 05:42 video	buy track
9.	Chasing Brain 01:07	buy track
10.	History of Communication 02:58	buy track
11.	Feed The Birds 06:08	buy track
12.	Greg's Melody 02:21	buy track
13.	Dolphin Language 03:20	buy track

about

SML is the quintet of bassist Anna Butterss, synthesist Jeremiah Chiu, saxophonist Josh Johnson, percussionist Booker Stardrum, and guitarist Gregory Uhlmann.

Their debut album 'Small Medium Large' began as a collection of long form improvisations recorded during two separate two-night stands at beloved Highland Park, Los Angeles venue ETA. Unfortunately, this major development site for the burgeoning new West Coast jazz & improvised music sound closed its doors permanently at the end of 2023.

The venue, perhaps best known outside of LA for Jeff Parker's 2022 album 'Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy', was the perfect location for the start of SML, especially given that both bassist Anna Butterss and saxophonist Josh Johnson are part of Parker's quartet that held down a regular gig at ETA since the venue's early days (and hence thoroughly documented, heard on Parker's album). 'Small Medium Large' was engineered and recorded in stereo direct to Nagra by Bryce Gonzales and compiled, arranged, and edited with additional production, recording, and studio composition by SML across their various home studios.

While editing, chopping, and rearranging stereo mixed improvisations is hardly a new idea (for a modern and relevant example we can look to Makaya McCraven's output on IARC) these results are a stunning expansion of the Teo Macero / Miles Davis editing concept explored on classics like 'In a Silent Way', 'On The Corner', and 'Get Up With It'. Stylistically though, these recordings have more in common with the proto-trance repetitions of Harmonia, and with Holgar Czukay's re-assembly technique used in his work with Can. Throw in a supremely intuitive utilization of polyrhythmic floating patterns (a la Susumu Yokota), and the result is a truly innovative take on time-clocked electronic rhythms augmented with live instrumentation that never loses that elusive human sway.

'Small Medium Large' is a sublime assemblage of circulatory grooves and textural anomalies, at different moments recalling the synth-laced improvisations of Herbie Hancock's Sextant, the jagged dance punk of Essential Logic, the rhythmic revelry of Fela Kuti, the low-end elasticity of Parliament/Funkadelic, or the glitchy dub techno of Pole. Taken in totality, the album captures a euphoric creative synchronicity between some of today's most exciting musicians.

credits

released June 28, 2024

All music composed by Anna Butterss, Jeremiah Chiu, Josh Johnson, Booker Stardrum, Gregory Uhlmann. Performed live by SML.

Anna Butterss - Electric Bass
Jeremiah Chiu - Synthesizers, Live-sampling, Aux Percussion
Josh Johnson - Saxophone, Electronics
Booker Stardrum - Drums, Percussion
Gregory Uhlmann - Guitar, Effects

Engineered and recorded in stereo direct to Nagra by Bryce Gonzales at ETA, Los Angeles (October 12–13 2022 & April 8–9 2023). Overdubs by SML (2024).

Produced by Jeremiah Chiu & SML.
Mixed by Dave Vettraino & SML.
Sequenced by Scott McNiece & SML.
Mastered by David Allen.

Cover art by Miranda Javid.
Insert photos by Brian Guido.
Layout by Jeremiah Chiu.

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International Anthem Chicago, Illinois

International Anthem is a Chicago-born recording company that produces and promotes progressive media.

Founded in 2014, the IARC label has grown to embody a global community of like-minded artists, musicians, and cultural workers dedicated to craft as a means of discovering truth and celebrating humanity. ... more

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