It’s probably safe to bet you’ve never heard anything like Syrinx Effect before.
Syrinx Effect is soprano saxophone and trombone, the sounds looped and modified and improvised in each song. It’s unique and downright inventive, and it really works.
Getting their start in Seattle, saxophonist Kate Olson and trombonist Naomi Siegel came together to host composition and improvisation sessions. Soon after, they began playing together and easily found their own sound. It’s a blend of folk, punk, and jazz influences unlike anything else. It can’t really be labeled solely as jazz or solely as folk; it’s truly a curated mix of genres that come together seamlessly.
Syrinx Effect to Soon Release First Full-Length LP
After extensive performances around the United States, Syrinx Effect has turned to recording. They set their sights on a full-length album and have created the adventurous and bold album A Sky You Could Strike a Match On, out February 9.
Syrinx Effect says they aim to create “music with expansive possibilities” in their signature combination of improvisation and use of electronics.
But the wandering and free improvisatory nature you can find in Syrinx Effect’s previous EPs isn’t as common in their upcoming album.
“We wanted to use the studio as an instrument,” they explain.
As a result, the songs you’ll find on A Sky You Could Strike a Match On are more structured, with recurring melodies and ideas that layer and develop throughout. Instead of more ambient sounds, here you find musical lines you can follow. Syrinx Effect proves themselves to be fully capable of creating both more structured and more free improvisations.
The nature of these compositions allows Syrinx Effect to take a more focused approach to crafting their sound, and it pays off well for them. But moments of ambient improvisations still pay homage to where they came from.
A Sky You Could Strike a Match On opens with “Cameronathon.” The soprano sax takes the melodic lead, weaving lyrical lines that sound like folk tunes. Siegel and Olson both take this foundational melody and build on it, and electronic loops allow them to layer on top of themselves.
“Cameronathon” is the perfect example of Syrinx Effect’s current sound, with folk melodies you can latch onto and jazz influences that encourage a groove.
Another highlight from the album is “Super Soaker,” which was created in collaboration with Jacques Willis, a prolific drummer.
The beat he created for the song creates a foundation that really elevates the musical conversations between Siegel’s trombone and Olson’s soprano sax. The song has a pretty strong influence of jazz, and the production manipulates the sound in moments to make it atmospheric and dreamy.
Syrinx Effect creates an interstellar blend of folk, punk, and jazz that you really can’t hear anywhere else. A Sky You Could Strike a Match On is out February 9.
