PRE-ORDER - EXPECTED END OF MARCH
Amish Records is excited to announce a new recording from guitarists Lee Ranaldo and Michael Vallera, 'Early New York Silver', coming out on March 21, 2025. Ranaldo has long been a celebrated member of the New York music scene, known for co-founding Sonic Youth and his numerous collaborative and solo works. Based in Chicago, Vallera is a guitarist, composer, and visual artist whose music explores new territories for electric guitar. 'Early New York Silver' marks the duo’s debut album.
Over two days in July 2022, Michael Vallera and Lee Ranaldo improvised at 411 Kent in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a cozy place that felt more like a living room than a concert hall or recording studio. The sweltering July heat cloaked the place in a layer of sweat and humidity. Nevertheless, they took it over to record material and to perform one evening, their fuzzy guitars slicing through the thick air with both the precision of a razor blade and the gentleness of a cloud.
Early New York Silver recaptures the renegade spirit and excitement of those days. The album presents material culled from those improvisation sessions, which were made possible by New York-based musician David Watson, who at the time was curating the Shift series at 411 Kent. “Shift was dedicated to pushing boundaries and blessed with a miraculous empty space. A large open space, not made for music but with one of those great serendipitous room sounds,” Watson said over email.
To record the music, Ranaldo and Vallera spread out throughout the area, taking over its every crevice. “I was able to give Lee and Michael day and night access, and they hunkered down using different rooms as chambers, cords and mics running to the far end of the building, taking advantage of the relaxed vibe
Their contrasting, yet similar, approaches to music offered ample space for exploration. “I really appreciate the way Lee approaches improvising because he really dives in immediately,” Vallera said. “I tend to be very measured when composing solo or in collaborations, so I enjoy following and reacting to the vocabulary Lee is exploring in real time.”
Early New York Silver highlights that effortless flow. At 411 Kent, the two guitarists were in sync, lost in the world they had created together out of shared curiosity on their instruments. Their melodies tumbled and intertwined into masses that seemed to shapeshift and morph with every strum. There was no inertia — only motion, forward. That was the beauty of the Shift series, and that is ultimately the beauty of Ranaldo and Vallera’s practice: It is always traveling, always open, always changing.
- Vanessa Ague, 2025
