In the summer of 2020 I made some very specific piano recordings in the riotous woods of north Georgia - - the result was CICADA WAVES, a long album of sustained chords and encountered sound that came out at the end of April, 2021. Wanted to celebrate one year of these bug wings and ringing strings with some live recordings :)

There were not many opportunities to present this work in a concert setting in the year since, but the few occasions I did have to try and simulate the sound of that specific piano in that specific room were very special. Here I've put together two recordings from two very different concerts, both trying to recreate that calm, attentive, buzzing energy.

The first recording comes from the official but quite late release show celebration at IRL in Brooklyn last October - lacking access to an acoustic piano and vast swarms of actual insects, I used an electric piano and a lap steel over a bed of nature noises provided by various cassette tapes - loons, field recordings of cicadas in Greece, hyperreal recreations of ocean shore sounds. And to begin, I asked every member in the audience to dial the My Life's Work hotline and asynchronously play it from their speakerphones, creating the eerie, tinny wash at the beginning of the set (dial 561.926.9741 for the hotline).

OHYUNG also played that night:
ohyung.bandcamp.com/album/imagine-naked-2

and my buddy Max Mellman selected some records before and after:
soundcloud.com/turnoffthedark69

The second recording comes from a serendipitous night in Amsterdam that took place in a building we didn't technically have permission to hold a performance inside of. No electronics or simulations here, simply a beautiful grand piano, windows thrown open onto a European garden courtyard, and after hours guerrilla access to the parlor. I sang some songs during the first set but during this second set I let the crickets do the talking.

Thank you for one year of chords and bugs :)

Listen to the original Cicada Waves here:
benseretan.bandcamp.com/album/cicada-waves

We're totally sold out of tape copies and sweaters but you can get a bumper sticker here:
benseretan.bandcamp.com/merch/id-rather-cicada-waves-bumper-sticker