VOL. 1-I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS SINGING

The Sursiks specialize in turning non-musical material into music. Their debut cd I didn't know i was singing, vol. 1 consists of 16 songs constructed from the rhythms and pitches of human speech as found on answering machine messages. The notes and rhythms of the messages are painstakingly figured out, and songs are built around the resultant melodies. The Sursiks are a REAL band of REAL people, playing REAL instruments. ??The Sursiks, the masters of musical reverse-engineering, have taken 16 phone messages from the answering machines of family members and friends and set them to music, largely unaltered. The messages are not simply slapped on top of pre-existing music for the sake of novelty, but they ARE the melodic material from which the rest of the music is born. The result is a truly brilliant, hilarious and mind-altering concept album that will change the way that you listen to the human voice out in the real world.??Because the lyrics were all improvised when the messages were recorded, they contain a type of honesty and life that pre-meditated singing often lacks. Emotions from the whole rage of human experience, (joy, anger, loneliness, drunkenness, deceit, humor, contrition, alienation, envy and desire) are matched and amplified by excellent musicians playing real instruments. ??The musicians include 3 members of the legendary American ska band Gangster Fun, and the playing is all top-notch. The musical style and instrumentation varies from song to song, which makes it an interesting listen all the way through. The arrangements are deep and colorful enough to still be interesting after listening many times.