''It's Understood'' is the first studio album by the
experimental rock
Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, wit ...
band
Estradasphere. It was released on Mimicry Records on June 26, 2000.
The first track on the album, "Hunger Strike", sets the tone of Estradasphere's repertoire by covering a wide range of musical genres including
klezmer
Klezmer ( or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for listening; these wou ...
,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
,
bluegrass and
heavy metal. At nineteen minutes and thirty seconds in length it is the longest song in the band's discography.
Tracks 6 through 9 are songs that form a four part composition titled "The Princes of Xibalba". Tracks 2 and 11 are not performed as such, but electronically sequenced by
Tim Smolens and parody the music from popular video games such as ''
Super Mario Bros
is a 1985 Platformer, platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It is the successor to the 1983 arcade game ''Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series. It was origi ...
''. Track 12 was recorded at a violin recital for member
Timb Harris. All other tracks were recorded at ROHYPONOL_Studios911 in 1999.
Track listing
Album credits
The band
*
David Murray – drums,
didgeridoo
The didgeridoo (;()), also spelt didjeridu, among other variants, is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous Drone (music), drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgerido ...
, flute, jaminator, vocals
*
Tim Smolens – bass, throat, vocals, keyboard
*
Jason Schimmel – guitars, banjo, piano, vocals
*
John Whooley – saxophones, vocals, percussion
*
Timb Harris – violin, trumpet, mandolin, vocals
Additional musicians
*Aaron Seeman – accordion on tracks 1, 4, 5
*MonoMan (TM) – positive feedback on track 12
*Joel Robinow – lead vocals on track 3
*Luke Kirley – trombone on track 3
*George – mystery rap on track 3
Estradasphere circus
*Atrocity & the Death Metal Cheerleaders
*Gren Enyan – Yoga & Spiritual Advisor
*David Poznanter – Balloons, Unicycle & Juggling
*MonoMan (TM) – Disease Transmission
*Soren – Gorilla Suit Guy
*Kim – Chair Massage
*Erin Wood – Pentagram & Sword
*James Vergon – Fan That Wouldn't Go Away
*Iris – Belly Dancing
*George – Book
*Isaac & Jessica – Fire Dancers
Other contributions
Audio
*Produced and Engineered by Tim Smolens
*Mixed by Tim Smolens and
Trey Spruance
Preston Lea "Trey" Spruance III (born August 14, 1969) is an American composer, producer, and musician who co-founded the experimental rock band Mr. Bungle. He is also leader of the multi-genre outfit Secret Chiefs 3. Originally a guitarist an ...
*Mastered by George Horn, February 2000
Various
*Art Direction – David Murray
*Cover Design – Arena Reed
*Design Assist – Margaret Murray
*Cover Photo – Joey Ryken
*Burning Man Stage – James Vergen
*Group Photos – Greg Enyart & Janette Jancovicova
*MonoMan (TM) – David Murray
*Death Metal Cheerleaders – Naiya C.
*Spreading the Disease – David Murray
References
{{Authority control
2000 debut albums
Estradasphere albums
Web of Mimicry albums