CRAIG WEDREN (Shudder to Think) Announces Latest Project

Craig Wedren announces the latest installment of his Sabbath Sessions series of live, improvised vocal-looping performances. SABBATH SESSIONS F/W 2022-23 will be available digitally on February 23, 2023 and today, he shares a clip from the album's lead track, "Trixie's Fifty."

The Sabbath Sessions series is intended to help facilitate connection to self and imagination, born out of the introspection of his longtime mindfulness and wellness practices and uniting many different strands of his varied musical aptitudes.

These musical meditations represent his first explorations of ambient choral music, where Wedren's technique of sampling and looping his famously elastic voice results in a unique kind of sound bath.

Of the new album, Wedren notes:

Sabbath Sessions are live, improvised vocal-looping performances that I like to do, usually in conjunction with yoga, meditation, and/or plant-medicine practices. They're unique beasts that offer an alternative to your typical "sound bath" or meditation playlist, which can be lovely but often feel interchangeable and a little lite/polite to me.

On the other hand, Sabbath Sessions like to overwhelm the senses a bit, and can have similar effects to psychedelic plant medicine, leaving the listener (and performer, me) feeling altered and scrubbed whistle-clean when they leave the listening space.

SABBATH SESSIONS F/W 2022-23 documents a few recent sessions that I'm excited -and a little scared- to share. I hope you enjoy!

Wedren first gained notice as the dynamic, multi-octave-wielding frontman of Shudder to Think. With its eccentric song structures and complex time signatures, the band would prove a significant influence on math rock, post-hardcore, and emo.

As Shudder to Think wound down, Wedren began to pursue new, vital sonic avenues of his own including several solo albums, related collaborative projects and his music has become an essential part of some of film and television's most popular and lauded shows.

Craig's composing resume includes extensively working with director Lisa Cholodenko (Laurel Canyon, High Art) and David Wain (Role Models, Wet Hot American Summer); and create evocative, decidedly contemporary scores for cultural-touchstone films and television series including The School of Rock, Laurel Canyon, Reno 911!, The State, GLOW, Fresh Off the Boat and Shrill.

In 2022, Lakeshore Records released Blood Hive, the original score from the SHOWTIME series YELLOWJACKETS featuring music composed by Craig and his frequent collaborator Anna Waronker (that dog.). The strikingly sinister score harkens back to the punk, grunge and garage scenes of the '90 s and provides a darkly ominous backdrop to the horror series.

The album is available digitally and contains an extended version of the main title song "No Return." Look for Season 2 of the show to premiere this March featuring Wedren and Waronker's compositions.