team records
Team Records is the umbrella for Hyatt’s community-based music projects. Inspired by socially engaged and site specific art, Hyatt's idea was to situate pop-up recording studios in unlikely locales - a small town library in Alabama, a day center in Florida, a grain silo in Wisconsin, a prison in Minnesota, a car dealership in Nebraska - to create a new sort of micro-vernacular music. In each setting, Hyatt gave community members free access to record their music on high quality equipment, and in turn invited them to participate in the tracking of his own original songs. The resulting albums comprise a unique sonic catalog defined by earnestness, vulnerability, friendship, and creative risk-taking.
Hyatt with M.I.K.E. and youth musicians in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Courtesy of The John Michael Kohler Arts Center
the clouds
York, Alabama
Sponsored by the Coleman Center for the Arts and recorded on location in rural churches, living rooms, and the local library, The Clouds blend gospel and folk music to confront the inevitability of death and the love, fear, and beliefs that surround it. Written and produced by Stuart Hyatt, 88 people sang and played on the album. For the limited edition handmade design, Hyatt received a Grammy nomination for Best Recording Package. In 2023, DFA Records reissued the 20th Anniversary deluxe remastered vinyl LP.
Shrimp Attack
St. Petersburg, Florida
Shrimp Attack is an orchestral pop epic that tells the story of marginalized souls fighting for love and acceptance. Written and recorded by Stuart Hyatt at Creative Clay, an arts day center for adults with disabilities. The initial limited edition CDs, released by innova, were bundled in handmade packages featuring drawings and text by the member artists of Creative Clay, assembled with ninja tree seeds in a U.S. army canteen pouch used in the Vietnam War era.
M.I.K.E.
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
M.I.K.E. is an interactive public art project created in collaboration with M12 / municipalWORKSHOP. The first album recorded in the structure, M.I.K.E. Volume I, was written and produced by Stuart Hyatt and was performed by the community members of Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
The Prison Mixtapes
Moose Lake, Minnesota
The Prison Mixtapes were recorded inside the Minnesota state penitentiary system. Stuart Hyatt worked with over 40 incarcerated individuals to write, record, and share their music. The resulting tracks have been assembled into a 12-CD boxed set, which is now available in the state prison system's library collection. The individual CDs were mailed as gifts to the families of the inmates. Team Records also helped to establish a permanent music program at the prison. This project was made possible by a generous grant from the McKnight Foundation and the ongoing support of the American Composers Forum and the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Music and Lyrics by the workshop participants and Stuart Hyatt - arranged and mixed by Hyatt - beats by Hyatt and Nebula.
New Car Sound
Nebraska City, Nebraska
New Car Sound is a multi-channel audio installation designed specifically for the Larson Motor Group. By delivering the 60-minute original musical composition through the existing stereo systems of thirty new vehicles, the dealership lot becomes a densely layered sound environment for the listener to explore. Using a combination of separate FM transmitters and individual CDs, the music was rhythmically synchronized and thematically arranged throughout the field of automobiles. By wandering through the lot's inventory, the act of shopping for and selecting a new car is transformed into a humorous and entertaining audio tour. The music, which combines old television commercials and audio travelogues with electronic beats and new jingles sung by local choirs, was composed entirely by Stuart Hyatt during his residency at The Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, which sponsored the installation and performance of the piece.
Something special
Kingston, Jamaica
Recorded at legendary Tuff Gong Studios in Kingston, Something Special is a sunny tribute to the rock-steady love ballads of the 60's and 70's. Combining elements of American soul music with a heavy topping of early reggae, this single is the perfect cure for cold weather blues. Something Special was written and produced by Stuart Hyatt, featuring Doniki on lead vocals - recorded and mixed by Roland McDermott - remixes by Hyatt. This project was made possible by New Music USA's Global Connections program, which supports new collaborations between American composers and musicians from around the world. Available (maybe…sometime in the future) on limited edition 7" vinyl.