projects and media

big dog little dog

big dog little dog is the mind-melding duo project of violinist/composer Jessie Montgomery and bassist/composer Eleonore Oppenheim. Their music has been described many ways, but perhaps the most apt so far has been "post-minimalist groove americana." The pair use an improvisational composition technique that draws on many genres and their experience as native New Yorkers to create lush, cinematic soundscapes that are by turns sweeping and achingly intimate. This album is both a deep dive into the meditative space of the interior and an exploration of our place as humans in the natural world.

Out now from New Amsterdam Records. Available here and/or your favorite streaming and downloading platform.

The Hands Free

The Hands Free is an acoustic band featuring composer/performers James Moore (guitar/banjo), Caroline Shaw (violin), Nathan Koci (accordion) and Eleonore Oppenheim (bass).

NEW, critically acclaimed ALBUM “Upturned Cup” out now from New Amsterdam Records. Available here and/or your favorite streaming and downloading platform.

HOME (2016)

Home, the debut solo album from bassist Eleonore Oppenheim, is a musical core sample in which each track represents a different approach to the double bass as a modern solo instrument, and to the ways in which it can interact with electronic media. By turns glitchy and pure, gritty and shimmering, Home releases the bass from its traditional obligations and takes the listener on a surprising, unfettered journey through several strata of sound which explore the breadth of the instrument’s emotional and physical range. This album is part of a years-long collaborative commissioning project that Oppenheim embarked on in 2006, that includes works by some of today’s most innovative and original early- to mid-career composers. Not beholden to any one style, all of the pieces draw from a variety of influences, from noise rock to jazz and synth pop. Several of the pieces also incorporate Oppenheim’s unadorned, folky voice, which blends and dialogues with the bass, acting both as another texture and as an offshoot of the instrument.

Out now from Innova Recordings on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, Google Play, and anywhere else weird music is sold. Purchase links here

GALLERY