ABOUT mJANE
Molly Jane Sturges | conduction/composition/vocals/harmonium
CK Barlow | sampling/live sampling
DJ Ultraviolet | (Shawn O'Neal) turntables
Mustafa Stefan Dill | oud
Joel Fadness | drums/percussion
Founded in New Mexico
in 2003 by conductor/composer/performer Molly
Sturges, mJane is a project which brings together a wide range
of improvisational and compositional ideas through live conduction systems
(comprised of hand and eye signals) to create an ever-changing sonic environment belonging
uniquely to each performance. Consisting of both electronic and acoustic
instrumentation, mJane works between intimate and ambient, body and
space. mJane relies on highly sophisticated forms of musical communication
between ensemble members to reach into subtle and expected musical
realms.
As the primary vocalist
in the project, Sturges approaches voice as instrument, expressing
herself through vocables with limited use of lyrics. Drawing from vocal
resonance in the body, she seeks to get beneath traditional constructs
of emotion into less interpretable areas of expression and communication.
Prayers from the Underbelly, mJane’s first project, was performed
at The Second Annual High Mayhem Festival in New Mexico and was recently
released on Pax Recordings to critical acclaim. Prayers From The Underbelly
is one long performance broken by conducted pauses. It is a piece that
abstractly addresses the concept of duality and was inspired by Sturges'
near death experience during the birth of her daughter. Joining mJane
for the performance was guest vocalist Julie West.
mJane’s second
project, Samea, was performed at The Third
Annual High Mayhem Festival, October 2004, with guest bassist Matt
Deason, and was dedicated to children who have been killed during the
US occupation of Iraq. In 2005, mJane was featured at the Soundspace
Music Festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico. MJane will be recording a
new album in early 2008.
mJane booking and contact information | eMail:
molly@littleglobe.org
To purchase “Prayers from
the Underbelly” | www.paxrecordings.com
Selected Press
Quotes about “Prayers From the Underbelly”
“(mJane) seems to appeal to buried memories of the long-time ago and the far away country..
Sturges is like a multi-personality shaman, into which the spirit drove Diamanda Galas, Fatima
Miranda, and Bulgarian choirs.“ --Bad Alchemy 45
“There are many beguiling moments in this exquisite act of remembrance.” --Touching Extremes
“This quintet is almost impossible to categorize… comprising avant-world music, electronica, and jazz improvisation. The overall muse
transmitted boasts various angles and mood-evoking sentiment.” --Jazz Review
"…astonishing vocal capacities…" --LiabilityWebzine
“Despite the fact that mJane is a melting pot of all kinds of influences, the music is very personal and emotional and has great impact.” --Vital
Weekly 451
“An environment
both abstract and intimate, of great aesthetic sophistication. Great
spaces dyed in dark tonalities, spectral energy, and inspired landscapes
of mystery.” --Jazzearredore
“The members
of mJane like to take risks and to venture on tortuous paths.” --Liability
Webzine
Critic's Review | 4.0
out of 5 stars François Couture, All Music Guide
"Recorded live at the 2003 High Mayhem Festival in Sante Fe (New Mexico),
Prayers From the Underbelly captures a young creative band in a state of surprising
maturity, delivering a deeply moving and quietly beautiful set. The performance
(and album) consists solely of the title piece, conducted by leader Molly Sturges.
To what extent the piece is improvised or written-down remains unclear, but
the liner notes present the performance as a conducted improvisation with conducted
pauses accounting for the eight-part structure. The music begins with trickles
of piano, chopped up and recycled courtesy of turntablist DJ Ultraviolet and
live samplist CK Barlow. Singers Sturges and Julie West (the latter credited
as guest vocalist) soon join in, along with oud player Moustapha Stefan Dill
and drummer Jefferson Voorhees. The approach is coherent, with good listening
quality, and a touch of world music to add a distinctive flavor. The true nature
of MJane kicks in with "Summon," a quietly moving call in an invented,
personal language that takes hold of the listener's heart and soul, and won't
let go until the last note of "She" fades out.
The oud plays a
key part in "Pilgrim," "(dis)solve" and "Edie," often
paired with Sturges' harmonium to produce a soothing Arab-tinged accompaniment
that perfectly matches the singers' extended techniques. Some sections, including "Edie" (reminiscent
of Peter Gabriel's "Passion") and "She" (featuring a rare
set of English lyrics) are more songs than improvisations, balancing out the
more abstract moments of the suite. There is virtuosity at play here, but mostly
feeling, a lot of feeling conveyed through the vocal performances and the controlled
delicateness of the improvisations. And that is why Prayers From the Underbelly
is such a ravishing album, the kind you sincerely wish could draw a wider audience.
For this music seems to have the power to change lives, or at least to bring
some peace and understanding. Despite its creative, experimental ways, it speaks
directly to the soul, like the most immediate of songs. Highly recommended.
Critic's Review
| PASATIEMPO, June 17,
2005, Rob De Walt
If ever an album dared
to avoid being pigeonholded by recordstore genre labels, Prayers
is a leader in the pack. The nine songs create a haunting and
OK spectrally energetic mood that is only surpassed in my music
collection by Dead Can Dance’s live DVD release “Toward
the Within”……Take a little jazz, add some world
music, electronica, ambient house and then throw in some goose
bumps for good measure. If you have an appointment with your crystal
healer, cancel it; the 80s are over, the harmonic convergence
is a bust, and you past lives can wait another week. ..you can
take a spiritual journey without making follow-up appointments
or mortgaging your house. See mJane. Your soul..and wallet will
thank you."
Critic's Review
| CD BABY, featured
on front page, May 2005
Since one of the themes in experimental/avant garde music is to
defy the trends and the catchy, spoon-feed music, you would think
it would be an oxymoron to find such an album that gets under
the skin in a comparable way. However, this album injects itself
with bizarre but entrancing needle pricks rather than with subversive,
predictable catchiness. You might say it's been heavily influenced
by contemporary classical compositional exploration during the
60s in academic circles as well as 12-tone masters like Berg and
Schoenberg-or you might sense the familiar, improvisational directions
of free and acid jazz, but when music is stripped of its rhythmic
pulsing and its symmetrical harmony to this degree, genres don't
really apply anymore. That's not to say that "Prayers From
the Underbelly" is random and chaotic. There is a distinct
and commendable organization to these pieces and while they hover
most often around the qualities of "haunting," "ghostly,"
"pained," and "supernatural," there is still
a lyrical beauty, an intentional shaping and carving of concentrated
aural intensity that results in a perfect straddling of the musical
and the amusical which I would dare to call ingenius.
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