Jewelled Antler is a loose affiliation of musical artists centred around the releases made or affiliated with two people, Glenn Donaldson and Loren Chasse of the Bay Area, San Francisco, USA. Originally it was a small label formed to release music by their band Blithe Sons but it evolved to become something more.

The artists combine an interest in recording spontaneously in natural settings that helps bring about an inherent connection between the music and the surroundings. Their musical inspirations are varied and range beyond folk music to music from India, experimental punk, 60s pop and much more.  It started as a CDr releasing label for their Thuja band and developed over time.

In style the music moves in a range between folk acoustic and processed field recordings/collected sounds. Although it is perhaps over simplistic to say so, Glenn seems to bring the more folky element to the music with Loren bringing an interest in exploration and capture of natural sounds. The artists that are directly associated with the Jewelled Antler name have often evolved spontaneously around Glenn and Loren as they travel, meeting friends and fellow musicians.

Music is often recorded live, out doors and direct to tape using instruments that can be carried or powered by batteries, from stringed instruments, mobile keyboards to hand percussion. The structure will often appear improvisational although there is a song writing craft at its heart. Afterwards the music will be processed, edited, overlaid and interwoven with found sounds, fragments of speech, weather, gongs, digital noise, glitches and the like into a cohesive tapestry.

This combination brings together a new sound palette that is unpredictable, evolving and in its simplicity and directness, seems to continue and revitalise the original folk tradition. Acoustic music is often processed to be sound part of the tapestry alongside the other elements. Field recordings are an important element alongside new sounds gained by rubbing and manipulating such as leaves, stones and other natural components.

Although tagged ‘The Jewelled Antler Collective’ this is merely a useful name for artists working in a similar field who are connected with or sympathetic to the intentions which sit behind the music. At it’s heart it derives from the music of Glenn and Loren but extends through their musical friends in such countries as Finland and New Zealand working in similar areas.

Through their web site they prepared a groundbreaking and evolving, almost secret, series of 3" CDrs which captured short sections of this emerging new music either by the core duo or by the related artists. As the amount of music produced grew to albums these have now started to be released on a variety of labels.

This means that the Jewelled Antler team can grow and evolve without having to maintain an organisational centre that drains their time and creativity. They are important in bringing forward a new style of music and over time this will evolve, perhaps the ‘Jewelled Antler’ name will even become wearisome to them and it will splinter into different paths. However to date the team has produced wealth of excellent music, quickly and mysteriously with evocative imagery and names.  

Glenn has now also launched Pink Skulls, a label / distribution for an outlet of their noisier, experimental rock/punk side at the web site  http://www.jewelledantler.com/pinkskullspage.htm allowing artists like Jason Honea and Glenn's 'Teenage Panzerkorps' (with Bunker Wolf and Catholic Pat on drums) and Dead Raven Choir's heavier side release.

During late 2004 and early 2005, Jewelled Antler have been playing live on the east coast of the US using the Skygreen Leopards, Thuja, Blithe Sons and collective names moving the music from the studio to the audience.

It is a music that could not exist until now, a natural reaction to over produced music, the effective use of technology to support creativity without giving an over rigidity to the sound, the combination of song forms with experimental music and the bringing together of like minded artists.

This is music that defies categorisation or over analysis, it is at its best being heard rather than written about. We will though now try to give an overview of the key artists and releases.

In the following we have not listed the early 3" CDr releases as these are mostly unavailable (though if you see one, buy immediately). We have listed recent commercially available albums.

Blithe Sons is the established acoustic band name for Glen and Loren and predates the evolution of the name Jewelled Antler. Latest album and their sixth ‘Arms of the Starfish’ was released on Family Vineyard in late 2004.

Loren Chasse is one of the core members of the collective and the music made under their own name is directly experimental sound tapestries with elements of melody weaving through on album 'Fantasy Apparition' and working in natural sound exploration project Coelacanth.

Thuja is Steve Smith, Rob Reger, Loren Chasse & Glen. Steve is also the main artist in Hana Strana.  They produce dense environments of sound and melody releasing three albums to date of which 'Suns' is the best.

The Ivytree and The Birdtree are both Glenn playing solo acoustic with some effects processing. The Ivytree album ‘Winged Leaves’ and The Birdtree 'Orchards and Caravans' (Last Visible Dog) were both released in 2004.

The Skygreen Leopards is Glen and Donovan Quinn and is centred around writing and recording on an 8 track machine. Their sound is slightly more commercial, the songs accessible and direct and seen as one of the leading parts of the collective. The album ‘1000 Bird Ceremony’ was released in 2004 on Soft Abuse with the new album ‘Love and Life In Sparrow's Meadow‘ was released in February 2005 on JagJaguwar along with a limited edition vinyl companion but separate LP.

The Child Readers is Loren with the song writing and performing of Jason Honea. Their third album and first properly released is ‘Memory and Fantasy’ on Mallard Lake recordings.. This is a stunning release that really does evoke childhood with speech, sound effects, nature, deep resonant drones and songs interwoven.

Once & Future Herds is Glenn, Loren and Donovan Quinn of various Jewelled Antler artists. Their 3" mini CDr ‘Lion Coloured Hills’ was released in late 2004 on pseudo/Arcana. 

The Muons is Glen Bianchini who play live and have released one commercially available album in addition to a mini CDr on Jewelled Antler.  A CDr was available on Jewelled Antler, they play live and are on some of the other Jewelled Antler releases.

Franciscan Hobbies is Glenn and Loren in addition to five others shown above, in addition to the mini CDrs have released the excellent ‘Masks & Meaning’s on Soft Abuse in 2004 and release their fourth album ‘Walls Are Stuck’ early in 2005 on Music Fellowship.

Hana Strana is Steven R Smith, also a member of Thuja who has released three albums of mid-European influenced acoustic/folk music and atmosphere,. most recently "These Villages" on Soft Abuse.  Also recently reissued is the stunning extended 'Fielding' 2CD.

Dead Raven Choir is D. Smolken (aka The Digger Smolken) assisted on one album by Glenn and explore a far darker, gothic, sinister side of the music with a prevailing obsession with the terrifying power of silence and wolves.  Their recent album 'Death To Dead Wolves' was released on Jewelled Antler as were earlier 3" mini CDr releases.  Two forthcoming albums near completion.

The Knit Separates is Glenn working with Jason Honea (also above of The Child Readers and various solo projects).  This is a more structured music similar to Skygreen Leopards and released two albums, a split album and two singles on the 3rd Acre Floor label. 

The Buried Civilizations is one of the more obscure release names and is similar to Franciscan Hobbies brining together Glenn with Kerry McLaughlin and Christine Boepple on a CDr release 'Tunnels to other chambers' which is a great arcane atmosphere piece.

Horticultural Compass is a new live name for Glenn working with some of Franciscan Hobbies and other musicians (shown above) from which we have seen in early 2005 a new CD 'The Apparition of Bees' which carries on the sound of Franciscan Hobbies in a live setting.