ListN Up is a weekly series of artist-curated playlists that offer an intimate sonic portrait of contemporary artists by showcasing the diverse and stylistically varied music that influences their creative practice.
Cassie Wieland (pronounced ˈkæ-si ˈwee-lənd) is an Illinois-born and Brooklyn-based composer. Praised by The New York Times as “sweetly shimmering,” Wieland masterfully experiments with timbre and texture by exploring intimate and fragile sounds to achieve the “hand-made” sound she is often looking for: imperfect, but intentional. Her music has been featured on New Sounds, NPR, The New York Times, Financial Times, Musical America, I Care if You Listen, AnEarful, and The Road to Sound.
Hi! I’m Cassie Wieland, and I’m really excited to share with you this playlist that I’ve curated for I CARE IF YOU LISTEN. This is just a sample of all of the albums I’ve been listening to this season. What they have in common is that they’re all very texture-based — which I love — and they’ve all in some way inspired my own creative process for my upcoming residency at Roulette next year. So I hope you enjoy!
Unclean mind by Grouper
I listen to Grouper religiously during this time of year, and this winter is no different. Her newest album Shade is beautifully raw and intimate — the warm production makes you feel like you’re really entering her sound world.
For Scott Kelly, Returned to Earth by Mary Lattimore
I recently saw Mary Lattimore perform this work in Brooklyn, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. She talked about how when she wrote this piece, the astronaut Scott Kelly was returning from a year in space at the same time that she was getting her jaw un-wired after not being able to speak for months; two simultaneous returns from solitude.
Slime Tree by Phong Tran
My good friend Phong Tran recently released a gorgeous solo album based on his early experiences making friends on the internet. He plays with texture in such a unique way throughout the album — very beautiful nostalgic vibes throughout.
Find It by L’Rain
I’ve been loving L’Rain’s new album Fatigue, especially this track Find It. She has an incredible way of creating landscapes that hold intimacy and movement in the same space. The mantra she repeats here is simplistic and powerful: “Make a way out of no way.”
Constellations by Emma O’Halloran, performed by National Sawdust Ensemble
This is the first work that I heard by my good friend Emma O’Halloran, and I have listened to it frequently ever since. She has a remarkable ear for both the human voice and electronic production — the work also samples the Spice Girls, which makes in an automatic must-listen.
Latter Days by Big Red Machine (feat. Anaïs Mitchell)
This recent album on the incredibly collaborative 37d03d label is one of my favorites to walk around to — it’s got all the folky and melancholic energy you could ask for. On the opening track, you can hear clear collaborative energy between the artists on the record.
Rare Symmetry by American Football
As somebody who grew up on Midwest emo, it always feels like a treat when American Football drops something new. Their use of minimalist textures has greatly inspired my own creative process over the years. (Shout out to Cory Bracken killing it on the vibraphone here!)
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