Soon we all will be learning The New Sound of Numbers.

Hannah Jones is a percussionist for Circulatory System and The Instruments, as well as an artist (she provided the "circuits" logo on the Cloud Recordings homepage) who sells her work at Orange Twin. In the past Cloud has distributed two self-released CD-Rs from Hannah's project Lorkakar, an experimental work recorded on four-track and utilizing, as the website says, "layer upon layer of lyricless voices, bells, and electronics." This year Hannah is set to release the debut album from another solo project, The New Sound of Numbers, on Cloud Records. The band has a MySpace page and an official homepage, and although the latter is bare for the moment, Hannah has just uploaded some rough mixes of new songs at the MySpace site.

"The New Sound of Numbers is a project that has been in progress for a couple of years," Hannah writes. "It's my first album of 'songs' rather than soundscapes. I had dabbled in writing songs before, but hadn't really gotten into it until I got my 12-string electric guitar. Something about the way the strings felt when I played them felt right to me in a way that a 6-string guitar hadn't. I think it felt more substantial, and also there is a certain ring to it that appeals to me. So after that purchase, things really got underway."

When hearing the new songs she's placed on the MySpace page, I can sense an affinity with Lorkakar; certainly they're layered in the complex, experimental fashion that calls to mind Lorkakar's "lost signals" CD-Rs and Circulatory System. "There are similarities to Lorkakar in the kinds of sounds that are used in this record, but The New Sound of Numbers is definitely much less abstract, with more straightforward songs--it's what most people would consider to be a band. Lorkakar has more of a solitary feel--this new project has more of a 'get up,' danceable feel to it. It expresses a sense of urgency, and some tension, but ultimately a feeling of hope and a feeling that 'good things are coming.' There is a big focus on the lyrics."

In a sense, you can tell the songs were written by a drummer; they have a pounding, driving beat that dominates the vocals. "I wrote all of the songs on either drumset or guitar," Hannah says. "Some of the songs were inspired by drum tracks I recorded, while others were written while sitting and playing guitar."

One would expect, given Hannah's circle of friends, that some familiar names will turn up on the band's upcoming album, Liberty Seeds. "The whole core of the album I recorded on my own (meaning drums, guitar, percussion, vocals), and this was mainly because i was too shy to invite other people in to the project at that time. Within the past year, Heather McIntosh [The Instruments] has added bass and vocals, John Fernandes [Circulatory System, Elf Power] has added violin and clarinet, Kathryn Refi and Will Hart [Circulatory System] have added vocals, and Bill Doss [Sunshine Fix] added bass on a track. The album was recorded on 4-track cassette, 8-track digital, and through the computer program Nuendo. The only microphone used was a shure sm57. The current live line-up is Kathryn Refi on drums, Heather McIntosh on bass, John Fernandes on violin and clarinet, Will Hart on guitar and percussion, me on 12-string electric."

This should be really interesting. Head on over to the band's MySpace page to listen to the new songs, and if you like what you hear, you can anticpate Liberty Seeds appearing in late August/early September 2006 from Cloud Recordings. Hannah writes that the album is being mastered next week and pressed shortly thereafter.

Thanks to Chris for bringing TNSON to my attention, and to Hannah for participating.