Sean Renner

Sean Renner's "Flora" is a four-part musical ode to Colorado, each named for plant life in the Centennial State. Despite the wealth of electronic sounds on compositions like "Aspen B," Renner's music reflects a natural beauty that should resonate with any Coloradan. - Colorado Public Radio

Denver musician Sean Renner recently released a new collection of music that commemorates the years he’s spent in Colorado. Though it’d be fine to call it an “album,” it’s actually a collection of four double-sided singles, each representing a period of time in the Centennial State and named after a native Colorado plant.

It’s telling that he chose to name these singles after foliage. While looped samples may not immediately sound like the music of nature, Renner’s music has a certain organic, natural quality to it. Nature has its rhythms, and it’s as if Renner is trying to mimic the organized, dynamic heartbeat of the natural world. But more than just “nature,” as in the great outdoors, Renner’s soulful vocals and R&B sense impart the music with a human quality not often found in looped, electronic-sounding music.

For now, Renner has given up Colorado to study music composition in Los Angeles. But we’re grateful he left this musical impression of the state for us to remember him by.

Download “Plume B” below. - The Denver Post

In 1989’s Field of Dreams, James Earl Jones’ epiphany of a “people will come” monologue is given wind by James Horner’s academy award winning film score. As piano rises from the orchestration’s ethereal mist, a journey is lifted into purpose, a vision arises to be fulfilled.
Though his protagonist would more likely be found in a Sahara panorama than an Iowa corn field, Sean Renner begins his forthcoming Sekhmet with a similar awakening. From “Prelude” forward, fifty minutes of sound bring to light a pilgrimage from west to east and back again. The hollow bass drum of war builds into the album’s most successfully transcendent track, “Messenger.” The echoes of loss reflect in banjo pangs through “The Western Oak Doors.” The only guests on the album (Renner provides all other instrumentals and takes on production masterfully), Nathanial Markman and Tyler Moore dance with violins that become Sekhmet’s most romantic presence.
At times, the lyrics become obvious, overstating what the music communicates powerfully without words. Still, the depth of intention that emerges from the talent and heart poured into this album set it apart in today’s music scene. Sekhmet is a triumph, waiting for a film to pair visuals with this stunning story of sound.

-Nelda Kerr, Eleven Magazine - Eleven Magazine

Happy Monday, banditos. This week we’ve got electro-pop with a twist from Sean Renner at a five-finger discount.

For most musicians, writing, performing, engineering and producing their own album would be accomplishment enough, but Sean Renner decided to make things more difficult.

Over the course of a month in 2012, Renner solicited sound bites from friends, family and fans, promising to incorporate each of them in his next album. He received over 30 clips, ranging from power tools to children to protest rallies. Again, slicing, dicing and julienning these clips into songs should be challenge enough, but no.

Renner also announced that he would write and record the sound-clip album in one week. The result is the aptly named “Seven Days.” One might rightly think that the novel feats making up the premise of this album would make the record a mere gimmick. The sound bites would be forced into tracks hastily written and recorded, but surprisingly this is not the case at all.

“Seven Days” has fourteen tracks (you do the math) that blend the electronic and the organic into a seamlessly lush sound at times reminiscent of Radiohead or trip-hop like Portishead. Perhaps by virtue of writing and recording it in one fit-like burst, there is a remarkable balance between consistency and diversity of sound throughout. To be sure, this is a cohesive album, but like albums used to be, each song is different yet clearly belongs in the collection.

Here, we leave you “Chicago” to steal, a track that builds a grove with handclapping and electric piano. Check out the rest of “Seven Days” on Renner’s Bandcamp page. Sean Renner will be performing on Feb. 27 at the Hi-Dive. He says he will be releasing a two-song EP soon, which he likely wrote and recorded over his lunch break using only vending machine sounds.

-Josh Johnson, Denver Post Reverb - The Denver Post

Not every musician out there has the fortitude to set goals and make sure they’re achieved. Denver’s Sean Renner is not every musician. Renner recently set out to write and record an album with one not-so-simple goal — do the whole thing in one week. That’s everything from song concepts to mixing in 7 days — and no re-dos. And to make things even more interesting he invited friends and family to record and send him sounds that he would include in the album. All in all a really cool idea. But could it work?

The answer is simple…YES! Renner cleverly and skillfully used loops and subtle electronic samples to create an atmospheric sound exponentially bigger than the one musician who created it all. More impressive still is the fact that in the short time he had, he actually managed to write lyrically rich content as well to make this whole project truly complete. Fans of The Postal Service and Portishead will find an instant attraction to Renner’s music. You all know we are extremely passionate about the music coming out of Denver — Renner is just another strong example of why that is.

- Nick Hoppe, Oratory of Sound - Oratory of Sound

I’m starting today’s posts with an artist a bit different from my usual material but regardless of genre I think he’s well deserving of being heard. His name is Sean Renner and he’s signed to a independent folk/ pop label based in Denver that goes by Morning Bird Records. I’d never heard of Sean until about last week but ever since I’ve listened to his latest LP Seven Days countless times. At first listen it may seem to just be a nice blend of soft acoustics, pianos, and electronics but each time I played it through I found that what made it really stick out was the amount of unique sounds that went into every track. With that being said, at it’s core Seven Days is a work of experimentation and imaginative beauty that’s also a small window into the mind of Renner. The album is available on bandcamp for $7 and while you’re there you can also check out Sean’s two prior LPs Sekhmet and The Blossoms of Armageddon.

-Cassette Rewind - Cassette Rewind

No words can reach to the bottom depths of Sekhmet, and no simple rating can truly signify how monumental it really is. This collection of music feels ancient, as though you are listening to something undiscovered for thousands of years. It feels secret, or sacred, as if written for the ears of ethereal gods. Sean's peaceful voice is like a blowing wind whispering across the sand and above pyramids.

The arrangement of mood, sound, story and imagery is nothing short of perfect. Throughout Sekhmet, images of desert nights fill my eyes. Deep emotion and stories and love lost in time float gently through the sky. Imagery is ubiquitous in most music. Never has it been so divine. Sean Renner has created an unquestionable masterpiece.

-Jonah Harper, House of Locals - House of Locals

Sean Renner is a musician. Honestly, that's the best way to describe him. Playing almost every instrument on the record, Renner brings memories of an early Sufjan Stevens, from Sufjan's customary delivery and vocal style, to the cinematic instrumentation used in the songs. Sekhmet is based off Egyptian folklore, a sophisticated concept at the level of Sufjan's state-based masterpieces. The arrangements in "Messenger" is reminiscent of the journey throughout a boiling desert's sands, while other tracks have a Middle Eastern or African feel to them. Sekhmet is extremely ambitious, especially for an artist that has not established himself. But Sean Renner doesn't care about the popularity. He cares about making the absolute most beautiful music his mind can imagine. With Sekhmet, he accomplishes this.

-Casey Whitman, Muzik Dizcovery - Muzic Dizcovery

Tough decisions were made Friday night. The Black Keys were playing Chaifetz Arena, Off Broadway had a jam-packed REM tribute show, and Oberhofer played The Luminary. Plus there was probably some sporting event. I don’t know. But I made up my mind about what I was going to do two weeks ago, after my third spin of Sean Renner’s latest release, Seven Days (Morning Bird Records).
Renner came to St. Louis as part of his tour in support of this record. The liner notes, and the artist himself, tell the story about how he recorded the entire album, in solitude, in seven days last February, as an answer to a challenge from label-mate Abi Robins, who was trying to help him stop sabotaging his work with self-imposed perfectionism. The songs are remarkably complex for such a quick turnaround. But the album retains the immediacy and intensity of spirit that further tinkering might well have destroyed.

Watching him recreate that immediacy at Jefferson Warehouse was a delight. As with most looping artists (of which I am a collector: Kishi Bashi, Owen Pallett, Syna So Pro, D.M. Stith and Andrew Bird), you can’t really tell they’re looping artists from their recordings. I love loopers because they get on stage with their wits, a couple of instruments and some microphones, then leave themselves completely at the mercy of their recording technology and their own physical coordination.

In addition to live percussion looping, Renner pulled in synthesizer beats and distorted versions of his own voice, plus sound samples gifted to him by his friends and family during weeks before he started recording. As part of the introduction of each song, he revealed what extra sounds we’d hear: a broken hammer dulcimer, a cork pop, rare Moog synthesizer samples, a table saw, a leaf sucker. Some of the sounds are discernible, some are slowed down, sped up, pitched and chopped into unrecognizable bits. This was how the artist built in the spirit of collaboration and community that he liked, while respecting his rapid-fire recording schedule.

Highlight of the night, for me, was Renner’s performance of his song, “Guthrie, OK.” The haze on the vocals and the tribal electronic percussion channeled the gravity and intensity of the 80's classic, “Life in a Northern Town” by The Dream Academy. Sean Renner has roots here in St. Louis (both his parents were in the audience), so I’m hoping he’ll make it back here soon and we can offer him a proper audience then.

-Julie Dill, I Went to a Show - I Went To A Show

From the first few moments of Sean Renner's latest full-length, the specter of Radiohead's Thom Yorke waits in the wings. Opening track "Rite of Passage" settles, however uneasily, into a miasma of spartan keyboard chords and metronomic beats – and like St. Thom, Renner nails the intimate but detached vocal style that is both intriguing and disquieting. Of course, these days it's nearly impossible to find an indie outfit not inspired by the avant-rock superpower, and Renner cherrypicks a few of the band's key traits. In particular, the creative stutter-step rhythm tracks and airy electric piano strains meld nicely with his singer-songwriter sensibilities. Icy, intricate production helps these simple guy-with-guitar tunes flourish.

Renner wrote and recorded The Blossoms of Armageddon during a stay in London, but aside from the superfluous "u" in the title of "Seven Colours," there is little to suggest any overt Britishisms (aforementioned Radiohead fixation aside). Instead, Blossoms sounds like it gestated in the warm caul of a bedroom, with alternating lush and minimal textures supporting Renner's breathy vocals. "Stay Back!" echoes the Rhodes-and-drum-machine formula of the Album Leaf's finest moments, though the song takes a left turn into more aggressive territory near the end. The Arctic beats continue on the slinky "Golgotha," which edges toward trip-hop with industrial clangs and double-tracked vocals. Blossoms' best bits reveal a songwriter interested in (and capable of) deconstructing the strictures of a rock song without going too far off the deep end. At times, though, the landscape can feel a bit bleak – befitting, I suppose, an album with "Armageddon" in its title.

-Riverfront Times - Riverfront Times

St. Louis' Sean Renner, is proof that one is enough. Renner is a solo artist that combines loops, ambiance, electronic sampling and more to develop and master beautiful pieces that are musically in-depth and lyrically satisfying. I kept finding myself saying throughout my several listens, "this is beautiful!"

Renner's newest album, The Blossoms of Armageddon is just what I needed to hear when I heard it. Songs like The Plain of Two Mists, sets incredible visual scenes through the complex layers Renner puts forth. The Deccan Traps continues the scene with a pulsing undertone of synthetic percussive loops and swirling vocals.

You'll quickly conclude that Renner is quite a mature writer that fans of Sigur Ros, Explosions in the Sky, and Radiohead will adore.

RATING: 5 of 5 stars

-Awaken Music - Awaken Music Blog

About 80% of you just went, “Who?” It is no secret that I see a lot of shows and fully support the local music scene in St. Louis. While we are all looking for that break, we rely on each other to continue to develop and grow as musicians and writers. I met Sean a couple of years ago while I was hosting the Open Mic at the St. Charles Coffee House. He immediately blew me away. He was unapologetically sincere. His voice was gifted from God, and I could immediately tell what a thoughtful musician he was. Sekhmet is a true work of art, recorded in the house he was living in in South St. Louis and created entirely using live instrumentation and physical effects. When listening to the CD, you cannot help but be captivated by the lush landscape of sound Sean and company create. I cannot pick a highlight because this CD is needs to be experienced using the gestalt principles. The whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts.

-Eric Ketzer, Ketzermusic - ketzermusic.blogspot.com

I didn’t know what to think about this one when I first listened. The sounds and instrumentation are unconventional to say the least. But that is what gives Seven Days its complete charm. It got its name from the fact that he had only that much time to write and record the whole thing. And a lot of the sounds came from friends and family who submitted them to him before undertaking the recording! Sean’s voice is very accessible, and his approach to songwriting makes me imagine Radiohead is somewhere in his periphery. The sounds are complex, but the music simple, which means you can steer your attention in a million directions while staying grounded in a bed of sonic warmth. In a world of single song downloads, albums like these are still worth listening to in their entirety. Kudos!

-Stephan Hume, Colorado Music Buzz - Colorado Music Buzz

I never know what to expect when someone describes their music as electronic and experimental. Will I wish I had a joint and a low lit room to chill out in while listening to an array of well blended sounds or will I cover my ears in horror because the experimentation has become such a focal point that the human element has been removed? Hmm…such a quandary.

So, when I started listening to Sean Renner’s music I didn’t even realize that for the four minutes of his song Golgotha, I was literally sitting on the edge of my seat. Part of me was entranced by his soothing voice and part of me was anxiously waiting for the next sound. Even with all the biblical connotations behind the title, Sean managed to maintain a universal theme without losing the depth of the song. I think I may have had a spiritual experience just listening to his music. Sean Renner has mysteriously found the delicate balance between experimentation and maintaining tangible feeling to his music. Other high lights include The Deccan Traps and a brilliant rendition of Little Drummer Boy featuring Abi Robins. - "If You Seek Music" Blog

We can usually determine rather quickly where an artist is coming from after hearing a handful of songs. After spinning Sekhmet several times we're still having difficulty trying to find the right words to describe these songs. Renner writes compositions that don't fit squarely into any one specific genre. His songs combine elements from pop, progressive, classical, folk, and atmospheric music...and you never know exactly where he's heading from one song to the next. One thing is certain...this man is inspired. These songs were obviously created out of a pure passion for music. The arrangements are specific and rather spectacular and Sean has a voice that is unique in the world of music. In some ways his songs remind us of a modern American orchestrated version of Robert Wyatt...but only slightly. This one could take months to absorb completely...and that is probably part of the beauty of these cuts. Twelve inspired creations here including "Prelude," "Iron Age," "Facts & Figures," "Spell 17," and "Weight." Top pick.

-BabySue - BabySue