Hi My Name Is Ryan

Live From the MTC, the debut release on Phoenix-based DIY label onewordlong, isn't exactly music because the conceptual art piece doesn't abide by any familiar formula. Project founder JRC, co-owner of the Trunk Space art gallery and performance venue, recruited four local artists/musicians (Archbishop Jason Polland, The Coitus, Zach Burba, and Djentrification) to interpret a cassette tape mailed to JRC by artist extraordinaire Ryan Avery, who is currently serving on a two-year Mormon mission. The result of each sound artist layering live sounds and effects over Avery's vocal performance — ranging from the recitation of his taxing schedule to his missionary-in-training singing while urinating — is an essential recorded document that places an integral time stamp on the downtown arts scene. Standouts from the 15-track effort include Burba's endearing atmospheric textures and studies in noise, as well as the 26-minute soundscape sculpted by Djentrification, who samples action-show themes, techno-type beats, sports commentaries, and a bizarre playing card trick tutorial. The creative sound constructions are successful because, in the spirit of Avery's religious undertaking, the artists tastefully shape the raw tape into a transformative listening experience.