Esperanza Spalding is a multiple Grammy Award-winning musician with five studio albums under her belt. The singer-songwriter, bassist, and composer has always been an innovative figure in the jazz world, with her live performances gaining frequent praise for their freedom and spontaneity. Currently, Spalding is back in the studio for a new album, though she has designed a special project around its creation. Dubbed Exposure, Spalding will write, record, and produce a brand-new album in only three days, and she’s live streaming the entire process straight for 77 hours on her Facebook.
On the Facebook live stream, the artists notes, “Over just three days, we’re attempting to concept, write, record, and produce an album of ten songs. Entering the studio with nothing prepared. Testing the theory that creations are at their most powerful the moment they’re released. This feed will run uninterrupted for 77 hours. So if there isn’t much going on while you’re here, chances are it’s nap time. Please check back again later.”
The feed itself is a fascinating look both at the recording and artistic process. Frequently, when checking in, the stream is fairly mundane, with Spalding humming a tune to herself with a pen in her hand in relative quiet. Other times, you’ll see the singer laying down vocals or Spalder and the other collaborators on the album—singer Lalah Hathaway, the keyboardist Robert Glasper, and the violinist and singer-songwriter Andrew Bird—workshopping songs or drinking coffee and chatting.
You can check out the live stream of Esperanza Spalding’s recording of Exposure for yourself below. As noted on the same Facebook post, once the album is recorded, “Only 7,777 records will ever be released, each signed, each package including a piece of the note paper on which we’re writing lyrics, chords and creation-related notes. To reserve a copy, visit found.ee/EspWeb-j.”