Composed

multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer jherek bischoff is the missing link between the sombre undertones of ennio morricone and the unpredictability of john cale. in his 30-odd years, seattle-based jherek bischoff has performed in numerous musical configurations, including parenthetical girls, xiu xiu ,the degenerate art ensemble, the dead science, amanda palmer and the wordless music orchestra. described as a 'pop polymath' by the new york times, he's an instinctive collaborator, trusting himself to be his own best teacher. indeed, all this music-making has largely been self-taught. this last may be the most remarkable, especially in the context of his new album composed. a meticulously arranged, multi-tracked orchestral pop album, it features a host of guests, many of whom appeared at the sold-out ecstatic music festival performance in new york that launched the project in february. david byrne collaborates on 'eyes', as sumptuous a slice of meta-pop as anything he's produced in years, while parenthetical girls' zac pennington and french singer / actor soko duet on the brilliant 'young and lovely'. brazilian tropicalismo legend caetano veloso guests on 'the secret of the machines' singing lyrics adapted from a rudyard kipling poem. other vocalists include carla bozulich (evangelista, the geraldine fibbers), craig wedren (shudder to think), mirah and dawn mccarthy (faun fables). deerhoof's greg saunier and wilco's nels cline sprinkle some additional instrumental magic over two of the album's nine songs. working in such esteemed company, an even more pleasant surprise is that jherek manages to make the album his own, without ever falling into the trap of self-indulgence that often besets multi-vocalist projects of this kind. that the album proves to be a consistently rewarding and uplifting body of work is testament to the clarity of his vision.