Sarah Ruth & Monte Espina - Cuatro Estaciones | CD

With autumn at the door, Full Spectrum Records is excited to share an expansive new collaboration from Texas-based improvisers Sarah Ruth Alexander and Monte Espina – ‘Cuatro Estaciones.’

These recordings date back to the fall of 2020, when the pandemic was still in full swing. Desperately wanting to make music with people again, Alexander reached out to Monte Espina’s Ernesto Montiel and Miguel Espinel to see if they could potentially devise a way for the three of them to safely work together. Realizing that she had access to several acres of wooded property through her work at Joe Snow’s Aquatic Plants in Argyle, Texas – replete with man-made ponds, trails, and free flowing creeks – they hatched a plan to improvise and record en plein air, taking advantage of the environment’s natural acoustic features in the process.

That first session in October 2020 was meant to be a one-off; but realizing the potentiality presented by seasonal shifts in the landscape, the trio decided to return to the property for a fresh session during each following season, selecting a new location for each performance, as well as inviting a small circle of friends to serve as a functional audience of sorts. The resulting material was documented by Stephen Lucas and ultimately refined...  more

credits

released October 7, 2022

by Sarah Ruth Alexander, Miguel Espinel, and Ernesto Montiel

Recorded by Stephen Lucas in 2020 and 2021 at Joe Snow Aquatic Plants, Argyle, TX

edited and mastered by Andrew Weathers

cover painting by Sarah Ruth Alexander, Miguel Espinel, Ernesto Montiel and Gretchen Korsmo
video stills by Stephen Lucas
Layout by Gretchen Korsmo