One of 2023’s most interesting projects, and one that I have returned to regularly, is Sonic Mud’s Above Ground. The ensemble features ceramic instruments made by Julia Elsas, a multi-media artist and educator in New York, and an ensemble featuring Elsas, Kirk Knuffke, Kenny Wollesen, Mike Irwin, Madeleine Ventrice, and Doug Weiselman. Together, the sextet creates rich, earthy soundscapes filled with joyful melodies and expressive atmospheres. Rhythms dance like flames from a flickering fire as flutes and trumpets sing in the distance. There’s a sense of exploration and adventure throughout Above Ground that keeps me coming back, and pulls listeners down a new, delightful path.
As soon as I heard this record, I wanted to learn more about Elsas’s process and where this idea came from. Further, she passed a short series of questions on to some of the members of Sonic Mud, and their responses and impressions are at the end of this interview.
Above Ground is out now. Sonic Mud will play a release show for the album on December 12 at The Center for New Jewish Culture in New York City. Tickets are available here.
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Can you first tell me a little bit about how you started making ceramics and about some of your first memories of working with clay?
I took a lot of art classes growing up, but I didn’t gravitate towards working with clay as my primary medium until much later. My formative art training was in printmaking and book arts and I taught printmaking for 10 years in NY and NJ. In 2013 I signed up for some ceramic classes in NYC. I was in a creative rut at that time and wanted to try out something new, and that is really when I started making ceramics.
And with music – has it always been an important part of your life? What were some of your most formative memories related to music and sound?
I grew up in the 80’s and we always had music playing in my house. I’m pretty sure The Talking Heads’ “Little Creatures” was the only album we could all agree on during family road trips. We also listened to a lot of Laurie Anderson, Toots and the Maytals, Babatunde Olatunji, Kronos Quartet, Blind Willie Johnson, Nina Simone, blues, gospel, jazz, etc. The Beach Boys was the first concert I remember going to as a kid, and I almost can’t believe I saw Nirvana play when I was in 9th or 10th grade, shortly before Kurt Cobain died. I had a radio show during my freshman year in college with a friend. Our show started at 3:30 am on Wednesday mornings. I didn’t stick it out as a radio DJ, but I’ve always been surrounded by music and musical people.
How did your exploration of the sonic potential of clay lead to the creation of ceramic instruments, and what inspired you to focus on this medium?
Around the time I started taking ceramic classes in NYC, I met Kenny Wollesen. He told me he’s always wanted an udu drum, and I decided to make one for him. It was a great project to work on while I was honing my hand-building skills. We still use that drum in performances and recordings.
After I made Kenny’s drum, I spent time making and experimenting with a range of udu-like forms and other percussion instruments (marimba bars, shakers, etc). I picked up a book called “From Mud to Music” which is a wonderful survey of contemporary artists making ceramic instruments. The book includes instrument building tutorials and a CD of music played on ceramic instruments.
Some of my early instruments sounded great and some did not, but before I had a better handle on instrument building, the only way I could figure out how a ceramic percussion instrument sounded was if I built it and fired it in a kiln. Time-wise this process can take a few weeks or a few months. When the instruments were out of the kiln, Kenny would play them, and then I would figure out what I needed to do next time. I have a much better sense of construction now, but part of the excitement and challenge of making anything is figuring out what and how I can remake it better. Working with clay as a medium is a beautiful long multi-step process of creating, layering, and patiently waiting. It feels very similar to printmaking in that way, which is perhaps why I am drawn to it.
Fast forward to 2018 – In the fall of that year I helped organize our first officially named SONIC MUD event at BKLYN CLAY for the Brooklyn Ceramic Arts Tour. I invited a few different ceramic artists to participate, some who had made instruments before and some who had not. Michelle Quan brought a large set of gorgeous handmade ceramic bells, Clare Burson made a few ceramic kalimbas just for the event, and Britt Mosley brought his Synthesizer Teapot, which is a fully functional teapot and analog synthesizer that he performed. I brought about a dozen of my ceramic percussion instruments and I invited Cyro Baptista, Doug Wieselman, and Rich Stein to perform. Cyro and Doug brought ceramic instruments from their personal collections and Rich brought a ceramic drum he made in partnership with ceramicist Walter Heath. It’s a modular percussion instrument called the Hydra, which can create a wide array of sounds and accommodate many styles of drumming techniques, depending on how you configure it.
That night was incredible. It was thrilling to hear the sound of the ceramic instruments played together, many played for the very first time, by some of the best musicians in NYC. We had a crowd of almost 100 people and the audience was captivated. Although Kenny and I had performed together with my ceramic instruments a few times prior, the buzz and energy I felt after that evening really inspired me and opened my world to the limitless potential of this project.
Can you share more about the traditional udu drums from Nigeria and the ancient indigenous ceramic instruments from Mexico and South America that influenced your initial research? How did these influences shape the development of your sonic sculptures?
Throughout history, humans have been making music and sound from natural materials (rocks, grass, clay, shells, etc). Thanks to my wonderful parents, I spent a lot of time going to art museums growing up, so I was exposed to African, pre-Columbian, and other non-Western indigenous art forms at an early age. When I started working in clay and making instruments, it was a natural reflex for me to look to non-Western cultures who have made instruments for centuries. The word for udu means vessel in the Nigerian Igbo language. In addition to being percussion instruments used in rituals, celebrations, and for communication, udu drums were also used to carry water and food. Traditional udu drums are beautiful gourd-like forms with two openings. Seeing and understanding the basic structure of the traditional udu and other simple instruments is where I began when I started hand building.
Another instrument I had seen iterations of at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and other anthropology museums is a double chamber water whistle. They are traditionally from Central and South America and the basic principle is that water pushes air from one chamber to another and the second chamber has a whistle at the top. When played, the vessel makes a gorgeous haunting whistling sound. I tried to make them a few times but could never quite get the mechanics right. In 2022 I took a water whistle building workshop with sculptor Hernan Vargas in Oaxaca City. He makes a wide range of ceramic hydraulic sound sculptures, and I feel very lucky to learn from him. We played one of his instruments and another made by his partner Nat Scromov on our album.
When do you consider your sculptures to be fully realized? How does the act of playing the instruments contribute to their completeness?
When the instruments are being performed, a new possibility is realized, but I don’t think they are ever complete. As static objects displayed in a home, studio, or gallery, they are beautiful sculptures, but when they are played by the incredible musicians I work with, a magical thing happens. The instruments become something else – a second thing, an intermediary between the musician and the sound. It’s been thrilling listening to the range of sounds that emerge from each piece and, like any instrument, the sound varies by who plays them. Each time they become something new, always morphing and changing.
Could you describe the range of ceramic instruments featured in SONIC MUD? What challenges or unique characteristics did you encounter while hand-building these instruments?
We had a wide range of ceramic instruments on the album including several ceramic marimbas (or clayrimbas as I like to call them) flutes, udu drums with and without skins, natural horns, shakers, whistles, and more, all of which I made. We also recorded a water whistle, a death whistle, and a double barrel ocarina from Oaxaca.
Ceramic wind instruments, like whistles and flutes, can be tested and played during the building process before they are dry. If you are interested in being precise notation-wise, you are able to figure out the embouchure, tuning, etc, before firing. Most ceramic percussion instruments would break if they were played before firing, so there is a lot of labor that happens before you know how a ceramic percussion instrument sounds. There are challenges every step of the way. Clay can crack, break, warp, stick to the kiln shelf, etc. Sometimes the cracking and warping won’t affect the sound, but sometimes it does. It’s all a big experiment.
The mention of improvisational music in SONIC MUD suggests a dynamic and spontaneous performance. How do you approach improvisation in your musical compositions, and what role does it play in bringing out the richly resonant and earthy sounds of clay?
I don’t have a studio set up that allows for rehearsals, so a lot of times I am literally showing up to a venue with suitcases of ceramic instruments. We set up and started playing. There are no written compositions. We might talk about a loose flow, structure, or sonic build beforehand, but that’s about it. If timing allows, I might drop off a few instruments to musicians a week or so before a performance so they have time to play around and figure out how to play them, but there is no textbook on how to play what I make. The only way to figure out how to make a sound is to do it by improvisation. Of course, I am working with some of the best musicians in NYC, so the reason why the music sounds so beautiful is because of them. I am blown away every time.
What is the significance of incorporating rain machines, water whistles, and other unconventional ceramic instruments into the SONIC MUD performances? How do these elements contribute to the overall sonic experience?
Each instrument is unique and has its own sound and range. They all have the common element of clay which unites them sonically, but I made the rain machines, water whistles, and skin drums specifically to add a new sound and texture to expand the sonic landscape.
Can you elaborate on the concept of clayrimbas and how they fit into the sonic landscape of SONIC MUD? What challenges or innovations did you encounter in creating and integrating this particular instrument?
The concept is based on a very basic instrument that has existed throughout centuries. It’s basically a rock. You hit the rock and it makes a sound. This concept developed into instruments like metal or wood bar marimbas from Asia and South and Central America and balaphones from Africa. The clayrimba is based on an ancient form that has been around since prehistoric times.
The challenges with making the clayrimba is the same as making my other ceramic percussion instruments. If you try to play a clayrimba before it goes into the kiln, it will break. You can’t find the sound until the instrument is fully made. Fully made in this case means building the instrument and firing it one or two times in a kiln. If you fire it one time, the pitch will be a bit higher than if you fire it two times. The second firing, usually used when you are adding a glaze to the clay, is a hotter firing and the clay shrinks and becomes vitrified. I don’t glaze the clayrimba bars with a gloss/glass glaze because the glass glaze will deaden the sound. I do often fire the bars a second time because the clay is stronger after the second firing and I want the bars to be used and played. Another challenge that you are dealing with when working with clay is that it shrinks by 10-14%, depending on the clay body you use, so you always have to take that into consideration.
As a multi-media artist, how does your background in three-dimensional work influence your approach to creating musical instruments? Are there specific aspects of sculpture that you find particularly influential in the sonic realm?
I make instruments based on how I want them to look. I don’t make them according to scientific rules of pitch and tuning, and I don’t try to match a Western 12-note scale.
I might make a very rough sketch of an idea before I begin working, but I usually just start building something with a goal in mind. Sometimes that goal is “make that twisty double bell horn that Kirk wants to try out” and sometimes it’s much less specific.
I think a lot about positive and negative space and what a form looks like from 360 degrees. I also consider the ergonomics of the pieces, which is something I didn’t think about when I first started making instruments. I try to pay attention and make sure mouthpieces are smooth and drum heads, if there is more than one drum head on an instrument, are in a sensible proximity to each other.
How do you see the future of SONIC MUD evolving, and are there any new directions or experiments you are excited to explore with your ceramic instruments in upcoming performances?
SONIC MUD is continually evolving. New musicians are always performing with us, and I’m always making new things. This year has been particularly creative and active for me and SONIC MUD.
Right now I’m working on a few new drums. One is the biggest one I’ve ever made. It fills up my entire kiln, and it will have three different goat skin heads. I’m working on a slide trumpet and playing around with a few different double belled horns. I’m also making some bigger marimba bars that will have a resonating chamber full of air as opposed to a tube. I’m having a lot of fun playing around and brainstorming with Kenny and the other musicians. A few of the new instruments will be finished for our album release party and performance in Brooklyn on December 12th!
COLLABORATORS FEEDBACK
KENNY WOLLESEN:
How did you first hear about SONIC MUD and get involved with the project?
KW: Well, I knew Julia had made a bunch of beautiful clay instruments (mostly udu drums) and when she asked me to be a part of a concert she was organizing with only clay instruments it was a no brainer. It would have been foolish to say no.
What were your initial impressions when you were approached about it or heard about it?
KW: I was thrilled! I thought I was so lucky to be asked to be a part of such a cool unique band!
What were some of the challenges in working with these instruments and playing together in an ensemble with them?
KW: The most challenging part was just trying to figure out how to play the instruments because they are instruments that never existed before. There was no manual or guide. Each instrument is absolutely unique and personal so you need find out how to bring it to life. One has to crack the code to get them to speak. One has to go beyond what you already know in order to find the sound.
What surprised you the most about the project?
KW: The instruments themselves are a surprise! But one thing became clear as I played in the band. I came to realize that even though the instruments are magical and beautiful on their own, it was the musician who brought them to greater heights. In other words, a million-dollar Stradivarius sounds awful in the hands of someone who doesn’t know how to play a violin but a gifted musician can make an awful violin sound beautiful.
KIRK KNUFFKE:
How did you first hear about SONIC MUD and get involved with the project? What were your initial impressions when you were approached about it or heard about it?
KK: Julia approached me about some mutes she had made, I went and tried them, all very cool and interesting! Kenny Wollesen is also one of the first friends I made in New York in 2005. Not long after there was a horn to try and we made a video. This is all before the first concert which sadly I couldn’t make because I was on another tour. I gave Julia a trumpet mouthpiece to work with while making her own for her horns, she figured out very fast how to make them. It’s been amazing to watch the horns from the beginning. My initial impressions are the same as my feelings now. It’s very exciting to be involved with brand new and unique instruments that truly are also works of visual art.
What were some of the challenges in working with these instruments and playing together in an ensemble with them?
KK: Since they are unique it helps to practice them but that is true of all instruments of course. Having more and more experience with each makes it easier to play exactly what you imagine first, but I don’t see them as a challenge in any way, I also like when an instrument is brand new to me and I get to discover the possibilities in real time with the listener. I think many of the instruments can be played and enjoyed by beginners and professionals alike.
What surprised you the most about the project?
KK: The beauty and sound of the instruments! I play in a lot of different environments and always get excited about this band because the sound is so unique and we always get into something new each performance!
It is very inspiring that what might be described as “unpitched” instruments can play very easily together. It really is a very natural way to make music.
How do you see the future of SONIC MUD evolving, and are there any new directions or experiments you are excited to explore with your ceramic instruments in upcoming performances?
KK: I love that performances are getting more regular and that we are traveling more, I see that as the future. I think “Above Ground” is awesome and I already can’t wait to see what the next one will sound like down the road, I think it’s important to document how diverse the compositions can be. I also look forward to more fun concert footage becoming available for all to see, like our gig at Pasaquan.
MIKE IRWIN:
How did you first hear about SONIC MUD and get involved with the project? What were your initial impressions when you were approached about it or heard about it?
MI: Kenny told me Julia was going to make some instruments. I loved the idea as soon as I heard it.
What were some of the challenges in working with these instruments and playing together in an ensemble with them?
MI: The great thing about all of Julia’s natural horns is that each one has a few specific points of resonance. There are a few notes on each one that really sing, kind of like a bugle or conch shell. The other, perhaps less resonant notes that I might want to play on a given instrument each have their own character too, but they’re harder to access. It’s really cool to hear how each player has their own way of coaxing the less resonant notes from each of the natural horns.
What surprised you the most about the project?
MI: Just how beautiful and unique each performance is. The nature of the instruments gives us some guidelines, but there’s never been a Sonic Mud performance that’s been a repeat of a previous one. Something new is happening every time we play.
MADELEINE VENTRICE:
How did you first hear about SONIC MUD and get involved with the project? What were your initial impressions when you were approached about it or heard about it?
MV: I went to see the first Sonic Mud performance, in Spring 2019 at the Brooklyn Conservatory, with a few friends. The combination of art and music was quite amazing and so engaging, we had the best time as an audience.
There is so much to hear and look at the same time, as all the performers are switching in between instruments and every instrument is a piece of art on its own. Julia asked me to join Sonic Mud for the recording session in January 2023 and, since then, I’ve been performing with the band.
What were some of the challenges in working with these instruments and playing together in an ensemble with them?
MV: I would say that the main challenge is also the reason why I love to play these wonderful instruments. As they are truly original art pieces, nobody has the instructions to play them, you just have to go for it and try what works best for you.
There isn’t a specific and “correct” expectation of sound, intonation, and volume, so any interpretation can work. To play with other people, I personally just listen to what the rest of the band is doing and try to be part of the same conversation, exactly like I would do if I were in a group of people who are talking about a subject. Listening is the most important thing for me, I listen carefully and I “tune in” with the other musicians.
What surprised you the most about the project?
MV: I am not a professional musician and I didn’t expect to feel completely at ease while working directly with many amazing and experienced musicians and, in fact, the opposite happened.
There is so much freedom without scores or directions that, when we all pay attention to each other, music would flow in the space and it kind of leads the way, independently from what you knew or not before starting to play.
The energy that we activate in these moments is a powerful surprise and a true joy for the heart for us players but also for the listeners. And I think that is the reason why the response from the audience has always been extremely positive and very rewarding. People are truly engaged during the performance, they get to experience the beauty of every art piece and the vibrations that come out of it.
How do you see the future of SONIC MUD evolving, and are there any new directions or experiments you are excited to explore with your ceramic instruments in upcoming performances?
MV: I believe Sonic Mud has a long future of endless possibilities in both art and musical exploration. It just feels like the more you get involved, the more you get inspired to play more and try different things. So, definitely, exploring new types of instruments, different types of ensembles and new concert locations would be absolutely exciting.
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