Craig Wedren Announces New Album of Improvised Meditative Music

Craig Wedren shares news of his latest release, Sabbath Sessions Summer 2022. Available on September 9th to celebrate the final full moon of Summer 2022 - the Harvest Moon - the album features two extended tracks of live improvised vocal-looping performances, "Affixed To Memory" and "You On The Couch."

The new album follows his Spring installment of the album series and his 2020 podcast, and you can hear a 3-minute excerpt from the album's "You On The Couch."

"To honor the waning days of summer and the full Harvest Moon on Sept. 9-10, I'm chuffed to share 'Sabbath Sessions Summer 2022'," notes Wedren. "This collection features two live, improvised vocal performances documented somewhere in/around L.A., some time within the last year or so... Close your eyes, listen, and see what comes up."

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.

To celebrate the release of Sabbath Session Summer 2022, Wedren will perform a live Sabbath Session sound bath along with light yoga lead by Lea Lion on Sunday, September 11 at Los Angeles' Heartbeat House (3191 Casitas Ave. #112, Los Angeles, CA 90039).

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 (The Kids are All Right) 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.

Most recently, 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."

Listen to an excerpt here: