Acclaimed songwriter, singer, film & television composer and Shudder To Think frontman Craig Wedren has just released Episodes 4 & 5 of his Sabbath Sessions podcast. Each episode runs approximately twenty minutes, providing an aural correlative for meditation practice. Episode 4 was recorded during the podcast launch event and sound bath at Los Angeles' Wanderlust Hollywood in February, and Episode 5 is Part 1 of a 2 episode celebration of his pal Phil Hay AND the year 2020, who happen to share a birthday. Listen to episodes 1 - 5 of Sabbath Sessions here: https://anchor.fm/craig-wedren.
Wedren is also hosting live Sabbath Sessions daily Monday - Friday at 5pm PT / 8pm ET via Facebook Live where he'll be performing improvised vocal soundbaths for your meditative pleasure. Tune in and check out past sessions here: https://www.facebook.com/craigwedren.
Wedren launched his Sabbath Sessions podcast earlier this year. Each episode is a collection of musical meditations representing his first explorations of ambient choral music where Wedren developed his technique of sampling and looping his famously elastic voice resulting in a unique kind of sound bath.
Sabbath Sessions was born out of the introspection of Wedren's longtime mindfulness and wellness practices, embracing everything from Transcendental Meditation to yoga. He sees the experimental, inclusive bent of Sabbath Sessions as uniting many different strands of his varied musical aptitudes. Sabbath Sessions also reflect Wedren's own journey to wellness: Wedren was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease during Shudder to Think's ascent in the mid 90's - triumphantly surviving it, he remains in remission. Last year, however, Wedren experienced a heart attack - powerfully renewing his focus on health and greater spiritual concerns, which culminated in the Sabbath Sessions podcast series.
Throughout his illustrious career, Wedren's music has become an essential part of some of film and television's most popular and lauded shows. Beginning with the soundtracks for the late-'90s films High Art and First Love, Last Rites along with his bandmates in Shudder to Think, Craig's composing resume has gone on to include numerous collaborations with childhood friend David Wain including the Wet Hot American Summer movie and television series, Role Models, Reno 911!, The State; the films The School of Rock and Laurel Canyon; and much more. Along with his Pink Ape ensemble, Wedren's most recent television projects also include scoring GLOW (Netflix), Mrs. Fletcher (HBO), New Amsterdam (NBC) and Fresh Off The Boat (ABC), among others.
The 2020 release of Sabbath Sessions follows a prolific prior year for Wedren. He released Adult Desire Expanded-a reimagined version of his 2017 album Adult Desire, supported his longtime friends in that dog. and The Messthetics (featuring his former Dischord labelmates in Fugazi) on tour, and released My '90s--a limited edition hard-bound book featuring photos he took on his Polaroid Spectra in the 1990s and early 2000's. The photos documented his late nights and early mornings on the road with Shudder to Think and time with friends including Fugazi, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, members of The State and more. Read more on My '90s and see photos via Vanity Fair HERE. He closed out 2019 by sharing a new song, "Sanctuary," on Randall Poster's compilation Hanukkah+.
'SABBATH SESSIONS' EPISODES 1 - 5 AVAILABLE NOW Episodes 1 - 3: Idlewild, CA Episode 4: Launch Party Pt. 1 Episode 5: Phil's 50th-NYE 2020 Pt. 1
Listen HERE: https://anchor.fm/craig-wedren
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