Celebrity four-time Eisner Award-winning comedian e-book artist, J.H. Williams III, greatest recognized for his work on Promethea, Batwoman (each in Detective Comics and in her solo collection), Sandman: Overture and his creator-owned collection, Echolands, is now launching a brand new music and artwork challenge with Hip Hop DJ and Producer, Jay Zotos, referred to as The Sound and Paint Males.
The primary The Sound and Ache Males launch, Resonant Voyage, is an EP combining Zotos’ music with Williams’ putting covers for every of the songs on the album, with every bit of artwork particularly tying to the artistic course of of every tune (Williams and Zotos would go alongside musical and artwork drafts to one another to make the method as collaborative as doable). The album is about to be launched digitally on September twenty sixth.
The Digital Album is available for pre-sale now at Bandcamp. As soon as the album is on the market, you’ll obtain the songs from the album in addition to top quality picture information of every of Williams’ drawings for the album, in addition to stream the album everytime you need on the Bandcamp web site. A bodily launch of the album sooner or later can also be doable.
How an Echolands piece of artwork impressed the challenge
In case you are unfamiliar with Echolands (which Williams co-created together with his Batwoman collaborator, W. Haden Blackman, with colours by Dave Stewart and letters by Todd Klein), the collection was completed “panorama” type, so that each web page was primarily a full-page unfold. Properly, if you do a DOUBLE-page unfold in that format, you are speaking a couple of HUGE picture, and there was a kind of double-page photographs in Echolands #6 (see above).
Williams advised CBR about how that Echolands picture kick-started this entire challenge, “I used to be first contacted by Jay after posting a ramification I painted from Echolands problem 6, a cosmic kinda trippy huge picture. He mentioned that he was moved sufficient by it that it made him take into consideration music. He requested if I might thoughts if he had been to put in writing a tune impressed by the picture. In fact I didn’t thoughts… Form of humbled by it, really. I couldn’t assist however be lifted by his enthusiasm. As Jay labored on the music concepts he’d need my take and ideas on what it’d profit from by including or tweaking various things within the tune. That monitor grew to become ‘Ethereal Drift.’ It was very natural, and the method was enjoyable and intriguing. The music course is exclusive, and that impressed additional dialogue. And from there, we determined to collaborate deeper on further tracks in an identical course of.”
Zotos advised CBR, “Pages on Batwoman modified my life. The storytelling similarities between Jim’s paintings and music are one thing I take into consideration. And he’s a cool dude.”
The challenge was put collectively between January 2021 and January 2022, whereas each Williams and Zotos had been engaged on a variety of different initiatives.
The distinctive setup of Resonant Voyage
Williams, in fact, has an extended historical past of working with musicians, as he has designed albums for bands like The Sword (Apocryphon)…
and Blondie (Ghosts of Obtain)…
Amongst a variety of different collaborations (he is additionally labored with Homicide By Loss of life, and Jerry Different).
Zotos’ musical work contains collaborations with musicians corresponding to Doc Evening, Peter Fraize, Thievery Company and Tuff Crew. Zotos additionally has written unique music for New York Style Week. His has deejayed at CBGB’s, The Met, The Chelsea Lodge and Public Information.
An fascinating facet about Resonant Voyage is that the album is designed to have “Aspect A” that includes the songs on the album, however “Aspect B” will function the “Skratch Suite,” 4 instrumentals with a capella intros, made for DJs to chop and scratch. It is a kind of initiatives that goes past simply multimedia, and is an interesting enlargement by bringing the listeners themselves into the artistic course of.
Resonant Voyage is due out on September 26.
Supply: J.H. Williams III and Jay Zotos
