The Way Is Read The Staves & yMusic

• 1 Hopeless 01:44
• 2 Take Me Home 04:47
• 3 Trouble on My Mind 03:11
• 4 Bladed Stance 01:25
• 5 All My Life 04:31
• 6 Silent Side 02:27
• 7 Year of the Dog 03:15
• 8 Courting Is a Pleasure 04:43
• 9 All the Times You Prayed 04:45
• 10 Appetite 02:44
• 11 Sprig of Thyme 02:26
• 12 The Way Is Read 02:55
• Total Runtime 38:53

Info for The Way Is Read

"The Way Is Read", a twelve-song album by the English trio The Staves – Emily, Jessica, and Camilla Staveley-Taylor (all vocals) – and New York City–based ensemble yMusic. After being commissioned in 2016 by Justin Vernon’s Eaux Claires Festival to collaborate on a live performance piece, The Staves delved deep into yMusic’s catalogue of contemporary classical compositions to find pieces suited to their lyrics and vocals. While the Festival is known for bringing musicians together for one-off performances, this is the first time one of those partnerships has made the leap into a studio album.

After being commissioned in 2016 by Justin Vernon’s Eaux Claires Festival to collaborate on a live performance piece, The Staves delved deep into yMusic’s catalogue of contemporary classical compositions to find pieces suited to their lyrics and vocals.

The album was produced by Rob Moose (Jon Legend, Bon Iver, Arcade Fire) and Jessica Staveley-Taylor and mixed and engineered by Brian Joseph (Bon Iver, The Fray) at his studio in Wisconsin.

Emily Staveley-Taylor says of the collaboration, "Our aim from the outset was to truly collaborate with yMusic. We wanted to feel like instruments and join in with some of yMusic’s existing work, using our voices in ways we hadn’t previously explored. The idea of forming an orchestra with these incredible musicians was fascinating. What we have ended up with is everything we’d hoped, more than we dreamed, and hopefully the tip of the iceberg."

Rob Moose of yMusic adds, "When Justin raised the possibility of our groups collaborating, we immediately upped the stakes by focusing on a combination of new Staves songs and transformations of yMusic's composed works. It was as much a thrill to hear songs emerge organically over sections of intricate chamber music as it was satisfying to strip songs of the instrument that created them, whether guitar or piano, in order to craft new connective tissue."

Emily Staveley-Taylor, vocals, keyboards
Jessica Staveley-Taylor, vocals, guitar
Camilla Staveley-Taylor, vocals, ukulele, guitar
yMusic Ensemble

The Staves
Emily (vocals, synths), Jessica (vocals, guitar, keyboards), and Camilla (vocals, guitar, ukulele) Staveley-Taylor have been making music together since they were children, growing up in Watford, England. Brought up in a house that echoed to the sounds of Simon & Garfunkel, Crosby, Stills & Nash and The Beatles, singing in perfect 3-part harmony came naturally to these three sisters. Having started gigging in local pubs and cafes, The Staves are now captivating audiences on much bigger stages.

The Staves released their first full-length album Dead & Born & Grown, produced by Glyn and Ethan Johns, in 2012. The Sunday Times called it “a debut of stellar beauty and hidden depths.” The band spent much of the next three years touring the world, including opening spots with Florence + The Machine, The Civil Wars, Ben Howard and Bon Iver.

During the Bon Iver run, the sisters formed a bond with Justin Vernon, who invited them to visit his April Base studio, where he ultimately produced their critically acclaimed second album, 2015's If I Was.

After a relocation to Minneapolis in 2016 and the release of the 3-track Sleeping In A Car EP, the band toured North America extensively, selling out venues in major markets across the continent. To coincide with the start of their 2017 tour, The Staves released the double A Side Tired As Fuck / Train Tracks. Now safely back on British soil, the band plan to start work on their third studio album.

Booklet for The Way Is Read