Elaine Bradley, Robbie Connolly, Eric Robertson, Scott Shepard Join Forces

_{By Zach Collier}

The 24-Hour album concept is making waves in Provo. The idea of a group of musicians locking themselves in a room together to create brand new music by a set deadline is an intriguing one. Because not all musicians have schedules that allow for a 24-hour marathon writing and recording session, variations on the concept are starting to appear.

Last week, Provo City uploaded a video to their official YouTube channel. Produced by Channel 17, it documents the three day writing and recording session that took place at Pleasant Pictures Studios in Provo, Utah. A super group composed of Elaine Bradley (Neon Trees, Kissed Out), Robbie Connolly (Fictionist), Scott Shepard (Book on Tape Worm) and Eric Robertson (New Shack, Kissed Out) got together to create three brand new songs in three days.

By the end of the session, the group emerged with three wonderfully catchy tracks that each contain trace elements of other musical groups. “Hello Or Goodbye” sounds like it walked right off a Fictionist album; “Can’t Leave It Alone” sounds a lot like what we’ve heard from Bradley’s new project, Kissed Out, so far; and the choice to putt Shepard on the more subdued “Where Did You Stay Last Night” was a great one, given his work with Book on Tape Worm. Hearing Connolly, Shepard, and Bradley’s voices together on a track is extraordinary. It’s refreshing to see established musical acts taking chances like this.

The three song EP was engineered by Chris Burton. A 10-minute documentary about the experience was directed, filmed on location, and edited by Matthew Haight and Jared Gay – one of the first people in Provo to create a marathon album (you can read our interview with him about his experience here). Audio for the video was edited by Andrew Klay.

“Just due to the nature of trying to keep the quality high but get it done in three days is a good reminder of how in art you do need to put your heart into it, but at the same time let things go,” says Connolly. “Let the humanness stay there, too.”

“I would absolutely do it again,” says Shepard.

All three songs are available for free download on Pleasant Pictures Studios’ official website. Make sure to like Pleasant Pictures on Facebook and watch the documentary below.