Close-Up On The Outside, a solo album by drummer and composer Booker Stardrum, will be released on February 27, 2026, by We Jazz Records. All compositions were written by Stardrum in collaboration with the performing artists, featuring contributions from Anna Butterss, Jeremiah Chiu, Chris Williams, Lester St. Louis, Logan Hone, and Michael Coleman.
Booker Stardrum
Close-up On The Outside
(We Jazz Records)
Booker Stardrum operates here more like a sound architect than a traditional bandleader. Even if Close-Up On The Outside is presented as a solo album, the collaborators clearly function as extensions of the compositional process rather than as guests orbiting a central figure. As Stardrum himself puts it, “This music represents my pure vision… but that vision also involves playing with other people.” That duality sits at the heart of the record: singular in direction, collective in its realization.
Throughout the album, Stardrum seems just as concerned with where sound comes from as with the sound itself. Electronics provide structure, yet physical materials remain essential, reinforcing the ecological “third nature” thread that runs beneath the music. There is a tangible awareness of matter here, a sense that every vibration has weight and origin, grounding the electroacoustic language in something deeply human.
The result leans toward texture rather than soloistic display, process as much as outcome, with a striking attention paid to timbre at every turn. It may not be an ensemble in the traditional sense, but it ultimately feels like a beautiful ensemble of sounds.
Allow yourself some time with Close-Up On The Outside. Its measured pace and attention to texture allow the music to expand gradually, calmly, yet beautifully, claiming the listener’s attention.
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Close-up On The Outside
- Close-up On The Outside (01:24)
- Telluric (08:36)
- Reset (0:56)
- Third Nature (05:43)
- Dusk (02:48)
- Hover (10.14)
- Minturn (0:31)
- Inside Sounds (03:25)
Booker Stardrum: drums, percussion, synthesizer, electronics | Guests: Anna Butterss: bass; Jeremiah Chiu: synthesizer; Lester St. Louis: cello; Michael Coleman: piano; Logan Hone: flute; Chris Williams: trumpet
Close-up On The Outside was released on February 27, 2026 // We Jazz Records WJLP80