Local musicians create music in the Studio

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When you visit the library’s Studio you can get creative with video, music, graphic design and more – the possibilities are endless, and local musicians Charlie Crane and Julie Jurgens recently took advantage of the library’s equipment to create and produce a song cycle called Appointed Tasks.

Jurgens is a singer and songwriter who has been “making audiences across the Midwest weep into their beverages with her fearless songs and plaintive voice for over 20 years.” 

In early 2020, after her gig schedule was cleared by Illinois’ stay-at-home order, she began recording many of her previously unreleased compositions in her basement studio. The result was Appointed Tasks, an autobiographical song cycle that “approaches love, loss, trauma, neglect, abuse and perseverance with a profound sense of empathy.”

Over the course of several months, Jurgens and Crane used the library’s Studio to help bring Jurgens’ music to life.

“The piano on the song ‘A Whole’ was recorded in Studio Production, and the trumpet part on the song ‘Open Door’ was notated in Studio B, both using the MIDI keyboard and Logic Pro,” Crane said.

Appointed Tasks ended up as a collaborative effort. Crane works at the library as a Digital Services Advisor and worked as the producer for Jurgens’ music. The song cycle features appearances from many local musicians who recorded their parts separately and remotely, and the artwork on the album cover was created by Sam Wróbel of Sparrow Papercraft.

To listen to Appointed Tasks, you can learn more at juliejurgens.com.