Johnny Butler - Meet Me In The Wayback Field

The new album by Brooklyn saxophonist and composer Johnny Butler builds on the music and dance  methodologies used by him on his previous critically acclaimed albums ‘Thirteen Dances’ (recorded 2020) and ‘The Sunbather’ (recorded 2021). Both were recorded for and with choreographers and dancers; and ‘Meet me in the WayBack Field’ forms a triumphant and mesmerising third leg to this triptych.

The big difference with this new album is that the music was recorded with the dancers and choreographers working in real time in the studio with Johnny and producers Franky Gonzales and Julian Picado, with the movement and exertion evident across the musical soundscape and sound design.

All of the music has been composed by Johnny, who plays acoustic and treated tenor saxophone, electronics, flute and synthesiser, as well as also taking part in the physical dancing and movement himself (as demonstrated uniquely in many live concert situations over the past few years). He is joined in the studio by dancers Alex Oliva, Annie White and Caleb Patterson.

The music is presented as a suite, though the pieces were actually composed for three different shows, namely ‘Meet me in the WayBack Field’, ‘Annabel Lee’ and ‘The Lighthouse’ in collaboration with choreograhers Alex Oliva, AnnMarie White and Michelle Thompson Ulerich/Caleb Patterson respectively.

The compositions and performances are in most instances solo, with complex myriad lines and subtleties being produced via Johnny’s unique electronics set up.
Producers Gonzales and Picado also mixed and mastered the music, picking out echoes and overtones with stunning clarity. Both also worked on The Sunbather too, and their ears are vital to this music!

‘Deep emotional resonance with high technique’ from Andy Cowans’ review of ‘Thirteen Dances’ in The Wire 

‘An electronic maelstrom that morphs through enigmatic melodies, animalistic growls, carpet-bombing drones, pointilistic electronica and passages of unvarnished stripped back beauty’ from Sid Smith’s review of ‘The Sunbather’ in Prog Magazine.

‘…like a cross between Stravinsky, Britten and the Pet Shop Boys…on acid!’ – from an audience member at a UK festival appearance in 2023.