The National’s Bryce Dessner Announces New Album On The Way

The National’s Bryce Dessner is again taking up the role of composer on a new forthcoming album, Music for Wood and Strings. It will be performed by NYC-based percussion quartet Sō Percussion, who uses special “chordsticks” that Dessner custom made. The album is out May 19th, 2015.

Sō Percussion has collaborated with the likes of Medeski Martin & Wood, Dan Deacon, Dirty Projectors and a huge roster of renowned composers. They first performed Music for Wood and Strings two years ago — check out the video at the bottom. You can see it performed in its entirety again at BRIC House in Brooklyn on April 27th.

Dessner has another original piece titled “Quilting” that will premiere on May 28th with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Walt Disney Concert Hall as part of the Next on Grand series. Dessner said in a statement,  “Every quilt has a story. I’m drawn to their symbolism, the communal aspect, the process by which they’re made.”