Eleven student musicians from School of Rock Montclair performed backup vocals on a track called “Math Rock” by the influential indie rock band Guided by Voices. The song, which was written by the band’s founder and lead vocalist Robert Pollard, is featured on the new album Mirrored Aztec. It will be the 31st album release by Guided by Voices.
“As soon as the students got into the studio and their microphones went on, they were ready to rock,” says Kevin March, who’s the General Manager of School of Rock Montclair as well as the drummer for Guided by Voices. “They were focused, had no fear, and knocked out their parts in less than two hours. They sound great in the mix, and Robert loved their performance.”
The 11 School of Rock Montclair students who sang on “Math Rock” were Sayan Goodrich (11 years old), Sway Bhatia (12), Sam Selikoff (14), Eleanor Hughes (12), Kate March (13), Leah Conroy (12), Kaylie O’Connell (11), Hannah Meyer-Najmi (13), Cole Carter (10), and Angelo Lago-Martinez (11).
The song was recorded in December 2019 at Magic Door Studios in Montclair. March produced the session, and the engineer was Ray Ketchem.
Early response to “Math Rock” has been positive: London-based Shindig! Magazine awarded the track with four out of four stars. The review said that “Math Rock” is “genre-bending insanity”, and also asked “Did you ever imagine yourself headbanging to a children’s choir?”
Formed in 1983 in Dayton, Ohio, Guided by Voices is regarded as one of the most important indie rock bands of all time. Artists who were inspired by Guided by Voices include Sonic Youth, R.E.M., and The Breeders. March has been the band’s drummer for over 10 years.
Mirrored Aztec will be commercially available on Friday, August 21 as both a CD and LP.
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