Aesthetic Evidence — Words and Voices
Recorded by Halsey Burgund at home
Additional recording and mixing by Rafi Sofer
Mastered by Jeff Lipton at Peerless Mastering





Aesthetic Evidence’s debut album, Words and Voices, makes use of conversations, phrases and other vocal fragments while incorporating an array of electronic, ambient, pop, jazzy, and progressive musical compositions. It’s all merely a background for the collage that Halsey Burgund, Aesthetic Evidence’s only member, creates with loops.

In “The Truth is Out,” Burgund begins with the recording of a woman who is checking the microphone by saying, “Halsey, you’re the hottest man I’ve ever seen” against a single and almost creepy string. Burgund pauses, gasps and says, “You don’t know how excited I am to have that on tape!” The song continues with three loops of “Halsey, you’re the hottest man” and then one “I’ve ever seen” repeated throughout the song, with a simple foot-tapping, hip-hop beat that eventually leads into a powerful combination of drums, bass and keyboard.

Words and Voices’ style might seem very similar to that of the Books, but Burgund makes a point of sticking only to samples of the human voice and using them to create a true collage that connects seamlessly and deeply with the music.

This collage of words against original music with a great beat, makes Words and Voices a genuine musical work of art by Aesthetic Evidence. It is music dedicated to something other than the band’s girlfriends and personal hardships; it is dedicated to this thing that humans often take for granted: speaking.

Recently, Burgund worked on a project called “Bring Your Own Voice,” where people could enter a mobile plywood recording booth he built, and record their random ruminations. Eventually, the samples would be layered over Burgund’s musical compositions. On the project’s website, www.bringyourownvoice.com, Burgund explains his fascination with people’s voices by saying, “Your voice is unique. Your voice is a fingerprint of yourself. The way you intone words, the speed you speak, the inflections you use are all part of a unique aural fingerprint that identifies you as an individual.” (self-released)

-Afsheen Leonardo Amiri

Contact: www.aevidence.com