DEBUT SOLO ALBUM BY KATHRYN SHUMAN featuring large music ensembles and Angeles National forest canyons and critters
A project in collaboration with human musicians and outdoor environments. This project aims to allow voices of canyons and its inhabitants and elements to take a central role alongside listening and sounding musicians. Listen or purchase the record here.
Released on SADFAM Records October 26, 2025.
Written & Produced by Kathryn Shuman
Musicians:
Patrick Shiroishi - Saxophone (1)
Marta Tiesenga - Saxophone (1-9)
Steve Blum - Synthesizers & Electronics (2-9)
Noah Klein - Flute (2-9)
Anna Schubert - Vocals (1, 10)
Sharon Chohi Kim - Vocals (1)
Kathryn Shuman - Vocals (1-11)
Tracks 1 & 10 recorded by Samur Kouja
Tracks 2-9 recorded by Pieter Kaufman
Track 11 recorded by Kathryn Shuman
Mixed by Kathryn Shuman
Mastered by Jack Doutt
Artwork & Layout by Richard Thompson III
Session Photography by Mikaela Elson & Pieter Kaufman
Recorded in Angeles National Forest
INTERESTING WORDS ABOUT ECHO MOUNTAIN:
If you can imagine an undiscovered country where they play Messiaen and Meredith Monk in the shopping malls and Terry Riley and Lou Harrison in the airport, well, Kathryn Shuman probably lives there and her new LP called Echo Mountain, in addition to having a title that exactly represents the sounds inside, is what the local music sounds like.
Yes, there are bird songs, and ululations and microtonal loops of simple trance melodies, but somehow it’s all also incredibly pop and would not drive the crowds away at Coachella. Well, not after 1 am anyway.
Shuman is a bit of an opera star here in Los Angeles where she commutes from the invisible island, and she has even appeared in a lead role an opera by the actual Monk, with Monk in attendance. But having many lives, she also shares this strange music with us at SADFAM and with you as well, starting next Sunday, October 26.
And If you want to download an emphasis track for radio play here is Altadena Rubato
WRITTEN BY MUSIC CRITIC STEVE GREGOPOLIS OF SADFAM RECORDS