Pitchfork

As resident artist at Omaha's Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Coyote Bones member David Matysiak has spearheaded a project that builds on the Postal Service method of collaboration. Like Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello sending files back and forth, Matysiak's project consists of multiple musicians playing a game of "Telephone" (or "Whisper Down the Lane" where I come from-- Ed.). Matysiak would send an audio file to another musician, who would then send it to another musician, each artist adding his or her touch before passing a song on to the next contributor. Appropriately enough, the project is called Telephono.

Telephono's lengthy list of contributors includes Jason Lowenstein (Sebadoh), Tim Kasher (Cursive), Bob Nanna (Braid, Hey Mercedes), Mike Kinsella (Owen), Ludvig Rylander (The Concretes), Dapose and Clark Baechle (The Faint), Kianna Alarid and Nick White (Tilly and the Wall), Damon Tutunjian, Deborah Warfield, and Andrew Bernick (the Swirlies), and Jonas Bjerre (Mew). That list will continue to grow thanks to a website Matysiak launched to allow the public to participate in the project.

Matysiak has chosen to share Telephono with the public in another way as well: with the release of a vinyl box set. The self-titled set features excerpts from 10 of the 40+ pieces Matysiak gathered on five 7" discs (plus a CD of the songs and some bonus tracks), and it is limited to an edition of 250 copies.

Local Omaha label CoCo Art is selling the boxes online, and there is a release party at the Bemis Center taking place tonight, July 17. All proceeds from sales of the set will go toward releasing a second volume of Telephono tracks made by folks at the publicly accessible telephono.ning.com site.

Telephono Vol. 1 (all songs featuring David Matysiak):

01 No Souls [ft. Dayve Hawk, Tim Kasher, Mason Brown]
02 Janitor's Keys [ft. Jason Lowenstein]
03 The Eyes of Truth Will Never Betray the Souls of the Loyal [ft. Dereck Higgins]
04 Atreyu's Quest [ft. Nik Fackler, Jonas Bjerre, Damon Tutunjian, Deborah Warfield]
05 Mazzy Star Married Our Hearts That Night in 7th Grade When We First French Kissed [ft. Eli Mardock]
06 Ain't We Superhuman? [ft. Bob Nanna, Mike Kinsella, Enrico Molteni]
07 Losing Toes [ft. Jack and Julie Hines, Zopi Kristjanson, Nick White]
08 Ferret Escapes the Wheel [ft. Alessi, Adrienne Beatty, Darin Coelho]
09 Banning Gold in Suits [ft. Clark Baechle, Teal Gardner, Anderson Reinkordt]
10 This Is What It Sounds Like When Staring at a Nashville Pussy Poster [ft. Jordan Noel, Lawson Grice]