After a show at Atwood's Tavern, producer & studio owner Dan Cardinal approached me and asked if he could record my vibraphone sometime in the coming months. He said it's one of his favorite instruments and he had never had a chance to record it yet. This was in summer 2019. It wasn't until February 2020 just before Covid-19 that we were able to have a day in the studio experimenting with mic'ing and recording the vibraphone. It was a blast.

As Covid hit and everything got cancelled, I realized I wanted to collaborate with Dan and support his local studio that I use to live around the corner from off Centre St. I asked him to take a couple tracks and manipulate them. He created this version of Sphere and another to be released this fall that I'm very excited about. I've released classical music, instrumental music, but never something with such edge and electronic elements. Dan completely reimagined these pieces and I love it.

Bio:
Called a “thought provoker” by Boston Voyager, Julian Loida is a Boston-based percussionist, composer, and producer. Loida’s musical curiosity and open-mindedness has propelled him towards a wide-range of sounds, genres, and artistic endeavors. He’s performed jazz, folk, and classical, collaborating with dancers, visual artists, songwriters/composers, and musicians of all stripes. The thirst to participate in and experience this range of sounds is partly a product of Loida’s synesthesia. Music is a full- body experience for him, with sounds often invoking involuntary sensations of color, texture, or even taste.

Loida often writes and arranges for his projects and ensembles (the Cuban/Brazilian band INÃ, jazz quintet Mojubá, chamber-folk band Night Tree), and his music has been featured in film. His interdisciplinary projects aim at breaking down artistic barriers. The evening-length solo-project Recital of Dedications incorporates speech, visual media, and music into a series of dedications to individuals, historical moments, and more. In 2018, he released the album Bach LIVE!, featuring J.S. Bach’s music arranged for percussion. Loida’s upcoming 2019 release, Wallflower, marks his solo-album debut, and also provides the clearest distillation of his voice as a composer to date.

Loida has toured internationally as a featured artist at Korrö, Sweden’s largest folk music festival, and played some of the most prestigious music festivals in the U.S. such as Spoleto, New World Festival, the Exit Zero jazz festival, Caramoor American Roots Festival, and Round Top Music Festival. He has performed with groups such as Alarm Will Sound, the Callithumpian Consort, and the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra.

As an educator, Loida shares his scores and deep rhythmic knowledge with students of all ages. In 2017, he received his Master’s Degree in Classical Percussion from New England Conservatory.