High Two is pleased to announce its first new artist in over ten years.
Special What is an instrumental music duo consisting of tenor saxophone (played by Bryan Rogers) and percussion (played by Pete Angevine). Borrowing traits from such musical traditions as American minimalism, global folk, and free jazz, Special What uses a little to make a lot. They play partially composed, partially improvised music that might stick around in a Listening Ear longer than expected.
The band’s debut album — Pleasure in Return — is to be released in January 2024. It is currently available to stream on hightwo.com and is available on Special What’s Bandcamp page.
The album was developed from a handful of freely improvised sessions, where the essence of the most resonant bits of musical content and vocabulary were documented, distilled, and refined. The material was then bound together into a larger form, repeatable as a gestural composition while retaining its improvisational spirit. Recording was done live in the sanctuary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Atonement in Philadelphia, PA on December 5, 2022.
