Slow Machines brings together veteran Stephen Vitiello and 12k newcomer Michael Grigoni, whose debut Mount Carmel (12k1090, 2019) made an impression for its merging of the pedal and lap steel guitars with a hushed, ambient sound. With both calling the southern mid-Atlantic region of the United States home, the two met up and discussed a collaboration in which Grigoni would provide the guitars and Stephen the electronics and processing with a goal of combining each of their artistic languages into a new form.

Vitiello, whose work is steeped heavily in the installation and art world, utilized both his trademark field recordings as well as recordings from the oddly whimsical kinetic sculptures of artist Arthur Ganson. The clicking and rattling sounds of these sculptures were the inspiration for the album title as the metal forms whirl and whir in repetitive motion like slow machines. A feather on one of Ganson’s pieces softly touches the string of a violin and recordings from Vitiello’s fieldwork in Sheridan, Wyoming provide a tactile sense of place as the duo creates a series of new sonic machines that morph and evolve over the bending, lulling tones of the steel guitars.

Album Credits

Michael Grigoni: dobro, lap steel guitar, pedal steel guitar, and voice
Stephen Vitiello: digital and analog sampling, field recordings, Ebow guitar

Additional instrumentation on track 5 by Taylor Deupree: Moog bass, Hohner Pianet-T

Recorded and mixed at the homes of Michael Grigoni in Durham, North Carolina and Stephen Vitiello in Richmond, Virginia in 2018

Final mix and mastering by Taylor Deupree at 12k

Published by EMSI Music (ASCAP) and Stephen Vitiello (BMI)

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Artists

Michael Grigoni

Michael Grigoni is a multi-instrumentalist who specializes in dobro, lap steel guitar, and pedal steel guitar. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, he now lives in Durham, North Carolina. He has released several instrumental albums on Other Songs, and more recently, two albums on 12k, Mount Carmel and Slow Machines (with Stephen Vitiello). His latest album, Earth Awhile, is a collaboration with Chihei Hatakeyama and Stephen Vitiello on White Paddy Mountain. His music combines electric and…

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Stephen Vitiello

“Electronic musician and sound artist Stephen Vitiello transforms incidental atmospheric noises into mesmerizing soundscapes that alter our perception of the surrounding environment. He has composed music for independent films, experimental video projects and art installations, collaborating with such artists as Nam June Paik, Tony Oursler and Dara Birnbaum. In 1999 he was awarded a studio for six months on the 91st floor of the World Trade Center�s Tower One, where he recorded the cracking noises…

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