By Zoe Mendelson, 25, reporting from Mexico City, on the magical music of Zubin Hensler
Zubin Hensler is an all around lovely human being and musician who is—full disclosure—totally my BFF. But I promise I’m writing this because the music he makes also happens to be amazing.
Here’s the obligatory list of bragging rights until you’re ready to just take my word for it: Zubin’s previous projects include The Westerlies, an experimental jazz band that recently joined Radiolab on stage at Cast Party and gleaned rave reviews on NPR’s Fresh Air and WYNC’s Soundcheck. He has played and recorded with My Brightest Diamond, Julliard Dance, Bill Frisell, Daniel Rossen and Son Lux. He is currently producing for Vieux Farka Toure and Julia Easterlin, who he headlined Celebrate Brooklyn with this summer. I’d say he’s worked with just about every great band currently making music in Brooklyn.
But now, for the first time, Zubin is releasing his own stuff: a solo project called Twigtwig, an EP called Normal Feelings. The music is influenced by as varied a musical background as you’d expect from his past collaborations—jazz, North African, hip hop, electronic. You can hear it all in there.
And it’s constructed from sounds and instruments Zubin found around his house: cardboard boxes, coins dropping, branches snapping, egg beaters, water flowing, chairs creaking, ice cracking. Door chimes, wind chimes, gongs, vocal samples.
From there, using the computer in his bedroom, Zubin managed to wrangle all of these sources into something singular. What makes it so cohesive is the feeling it gives you.
The first time Zubin played this for me I involuntarily started crying and couldn’t stop. It’s not sad music, but it gave me this overwhelming and totally recognizable, and well, normal feeling. It’s the one where you’re really clear about something that’s sad, and even though you’re sad about it, you know that your clarity will carry you through and that everything will be OK, more than OK. Think solemn trumpet over triumphant beats and delicate bells of glory. This music is salty-sweet addictive like kettle corn but way more nutritious.
As his lucky BFF, I’ve had a pre-release of the new EP for a few months (and have been playing it on repeat, for everyone I know). Mammas and aunts and cousins and friends and everyone has been begging me to send them this music.
I keep smiling smugly and saying, “It’s not out yet, I can’t,” like a little brat. But now I’m making up for that by spreading the word. Listen, and download for free!