Arts & Culture

UK, EKU, Transy Professors Come Together Remotely to Release Pandemic Music in Support of Central Music Academy

photo of 6 individual members of Archipelago in camera film setup
Three faculty members from UK, EKU and Transy have teamed up through their Archipelago project to release pandemic music to benefit Central Music Academy.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 23, 2020) University of Kentucky School of Music’s Kevin Holm Hudson has teamed up with two other local musicians and academics to release a pair of original instrumental albums reflecting the challenges of life in the pandemic. Consistent with that theme, they also announced the donation of all proceeds to Central Music Academy.

“Songs from Quarantine I” will be released digitally in November, with “Songs II” to follow in early December. The project is the work of Archipelago, whose members are Holm-Hudson, Transylvania University’s Scott Whiddon and Eastern Kentucky University’s Jim Gleason.

The trio’s 17 original compositions were recorded and assembled remotely from May to September. The albums draw influence from artists ranging from Brian Eno to Mogwai to Can and Neu.

The project began as texts among three occasional musical colleagues trying to make sense of the pandemic and wanting to help promote the work of an important local nonprofit, Central Music Academy. CMA teachers have given over 40,000 free lessons to more than 1,000 Lexington students since 2004.

Holm-Hudson performs both as a solo artist and with the Twiggenburys and is a recent artist-in-residence at the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame. A music theory professor in the UK College of Fine Arts, his “Music Theory Remixed” (Oxford UP) is a widely adopted college text.

Whiddon performs with Letters of Acceptance, the Binders, Sister Ray and other projects, along with solo work (including an upcoming series of new singles). For six years, he served as music director for the Harry Dean Stanton Festival.

Gleason has released four solo albums, plays guitar for the Johnson Brothers (among others), and also served as engineer and producer for the “Songs from Quarantine” recordings.

“Songs from Quarantine Volume I” will be available on bandcamp.com on Nov. 1 and then on Spotify, Apple Music and other streaming platforms on Nov. 15. To purchase this music benefiting Central Music Academy, visit the project online at https://archipelagosongs.bandcamp.com/.

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