The Coleman Center for the Arts and Culture

Stuart Hyatt

Stuart Hyatt, artists-in-residence of the Coleman Center and the municipalWORKSHOP, came to York in September of 2003. Upon his arrival, Stuart was struck by the popularity of original gospel music and the ways it was integrated into daily life. With his makeshift recording studio packed into the front seat of his truck, Hyatt set out down the dusty back roads of Sumter County looking for collaborators. Four weeks later, The Clouds emerged!

Hyatt reflects: "I did not want to simply document (as in Alan Lomax) or remix (as in Moby's Play), I wanted to write new songs about living and dying and going to heaven and confronting your mortality!" He knew he would have no problem finding inspiration the moment he stepped inside nearby Mt. Zion Baptist church to hear the voices of "The Strugglin' Travelers", the congregation's female chorus. "When someone, who is already a gifted singer, suddenly becomes filled with the spirit, it is an awesome thing to witness," Hyatt says of his first meeting with the women.

The Clouds, though, is not your everyday gospel recording. Hyatt says: "If you listen to the lyrics they often have dual meanings…Obviously, the great message in gospel music is salvation, redemption, eternal life, etc. But at the same time, the words can be about the here and now, love and loss, victory and defeat." In this secular aspect of the project, Hyatt took his compositions to Kinterbish elementary school, where he co-wrote two tracks with students in the fourth through eighth grades. By introducing the concept of multi-track recording in the classroom, he enabled the students to layer their own voices into the songs. For instance, in a lyrical brainstorm, Hyatt asked each student in the sixth grade class what they would take with them to a deserted island. The resulting list of items became the inspiration for "No you can't take them", track #3 on the CD.

For more information and to purchase The Clouds CD please visit Team Records.

Coleman Center Gallery Exhibitions | Community and Public Art in York, AL | Visit the Coleman Center | Apply > Inda Hightower Artist-in-Residence Program | Schedule