The National's Bryce Dessner to Release 'Music for Wood and Strings'

BY Sarah MurphyPublished Apr 8, 2015

Although he's best known for his guitar work in the National, Bryce Dessner is no stranger to collaborative side-projects. He recently teamed up and went classical with Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood, and back in 2013, he released Aheym with accompaniment from Kronos Quartet.
 
Now the masterful musician has announced plans for his next release, Music for Wood and Strings. Composed by Dessner, the 35-minute piece was performed by Brooklyn-based quartet So Percussion and features an original instrument called the Chordstick. Crafted by Buke and Gase's Aron Sanchez, the instrument is a cross between a hammer dulcimer and electric guitar.
 
The recording runs 70 minutes, featuring the piece in its entirety as a full-length concert piece, as well as broken down into nine separate segments. A press release describes the new music as "pointillist then hazy, distorted then crisp, shifting at will between a hum and a roar and always hypnotic, melodic and engrossing."
 
Music for Wood and Strings will arrive digitally and on CD May 19 via Brassland, with a vinyl release to follow.
 
Just last week, the National released a new track called "Sunshine on My Back," which you can hear below.
 

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