Wild Up - Julius Eastman, Vol. 5: Gay Guerrilla

Wild Up

Julius Eastman Vol. 5: Gay Guerrilla

Wild Up — the form-exploding new music ensemble deemed “a raucous, grungy, irresistibly exuberant…fun-loving, exceptionally virtuosic family” by The New York Times — releases Julius Eastman Vol. 5: Gay Guerrilla via New Amsterdam Records. It’s the latest entry in their decade-long, multiple-time GRAMMY-nominated compendium on the late American composer and polymath.

In their rendition, Wild Up reaffirms the point made by the musicologist and composer Luciano Chessa: “If all of Eastman’s music but this one were to disappear, Gay Guerrilla would still be enough to guarantee him a firm place in the history of twentieth-century music.”

In an oeuvre with no shortage of provocation, Gay Guerrilla stands among Eastman's most daring statements: An epochal work that sanctifies queerness and envisions a genuine revolution of gay liberation. As Eastman shared in remarks preceding Gay Guerrilla’s 1980 premiere: “If there is a cause — and if it is a great cause — those who belong to that cause will sacrifice their blood, because, without blood, there is no cause. So, therefore, that is the reason that I use gay guerrilla, in hopes that I might be one, if called upon to be one.”

In their imposing rendition, Wild Up reaffirms the point made by the musicologist and composer Luciano Chessa: “If all of Eastman’s music but this one were to disappear, Gay Guerrilla would still be enough to guarantee him a firm place in the history of twentieth-century music.”

“Gay Guerrilla is one of the best examples of Eastman’s proto-minimalist compositions..a hypnotic convergence of texture and timbre as he craftly modulates tempo and formal structure.” — Aquarium Drunkard

“Played expertly, Gay Guerrilla is exhilarating and hypnotic…takes the classical tradition’s decorum and mutilates it into something furious and alive.” — Avant Music News

“Captures Wild Up at its most relentless.” — Magnet Magazine

In an ouevre with no shortage of provocation, Gay Guerrilla stands among Eastman's most daring statements: An epochal work that sanctifies queerness and envisions a genuine revolution of gay liberation. As Eastman shared in remarks preceding Gay Guerrilla’s 1980 premiere: “If there is a cause — and if it is a great cause — those who belong to that cause will sacrifice their blood, because, without blood, there is no cause. So, therefore, that is the reason that I use gay guerrilla, in hopes that I might be one, if called upon to be one.”

Throughout Vol. 5, Wild Up draws out the compositional characteristics and urgent themes that mark Eastman as a singular figure in American Experimentalism: queered allusions to Lutheran hymnals, almost unbearably tense passages of frenzied repetition, and explosions of melodic ecstasy. It’s a testament to the ensemble’s carefully-honed ability to perform Eastman’s idiosyncratic scores in a spirit befitting its creator.
Julius Eastman Vol. 5: Gay Guerilla is just the latest thrilling chapter in Wild Up's ongoing Eastman compendium, a series that has garnered widespread acclaim across its various iterations:

2021’s Julius Eastman Vol. 1: Femenine was hailed as “a masterpiece” (The New York Times), “instantly recognizable” (Vogue), “absorbing” (Pitchfork, in its 8.1 review), and “singularly jubilant” (NPR Music).

2022’s Julius Eastman Vol. 2: Joy Boy was called “glorious” by NPR, and The Wall Street Journal said, “in its dramatic variation and reverence, Wild Up’s take on Eastman’s work seems particularly faithful to the versatile and cantankerous spirit of the man.” The album’s performance of “Stay On It” was nominated for a 2023 GRAMMY for Best Orchestral Performance.

2023’s Julius Eastman Vol. 3: If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich? was called “a deliriously great tribute” (The Guardian). The album was nominated for a 2024 GRAMMY for Best Classical Compendium.

2024's Julius Eastman Vol. 4: The Holy Presence presents works that represent a mystically charged and spiritually reflective vein of Eastman's dynamic catalog. The New York Times named it among their Best Classical Music Albums of 2024, calling it "a high point in Wild Up’s essential Eastman series." A Closer Listen wrote that the album "leaves the listener totally disoriented, sure only that Eastman was a genius."

Seth Parker Woods' "herculean" (Bandcamp Daily) rendition of Eastman's "The Holy Presence of Joan d'Arc" from Vol. 4 was nominated at the 2025 GRAMMYs for Best Classical Instrumental Solo.

Tracklist and Credits
1. No. 1, Silence
2. No. 2, All Together
3. No. 3, The Lessing Is Miracle
4. No. 4, Melt To and Back Again
5. No. 5, Dies Irae
6. No. 6, A Mighty Fortress
7. No. 7, C#mb7
8. No. 8, Always Making New Inversions
Andrew Tholl, violin
Mona Tian, violin
Darian Donovan Thomas, violin
Andrew McIntosh, viola
Carson Rick, viola
Derek Stein, cello
Seth Parker Woods, cello
Marlon Martinez, bass
Brian Cannady, percussion
Jodie Landau, percussion
richard valitutto, piano
Adam Tendler, piano
Rachel Beetz, flute, alto flute
Claire Brazeau, oboe, english horn
Brian Walsh, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, bari saxophone
Shelley Washington, alto saxophone, bari saxophone
Marta Tiesenga, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone
Archie Carey, bassoon
Allen Fogle, french horn
Ryan Darke, trumpet
Christopher Rountree, conductor / artistic director
Produced, recorded, and mixed by Lewis Pesacov with additional production by Christopher Rountree
Engineered by Lewis Pesacov and Clint Welander
Recorded at Fox Studio and Knobworld
Mixed at Ahata Sound
Mastered by Reuben Cohen at Lurssen Mastering, Los Angeles, CA
Executive Producer: Elizabeth Cline
Production Director: Brian Sea