Denison Witmer performs at WXPN, discusses Sufjan Stevens-produced album
Denison Witmer’s new album Anything at All starts with a question about kindness, the type we offer others, and the type we often forget to give ourselves. Playing songs from the record at WXPN, Witmer told Mike Vasilikos that the opening track “Focus Ring” is about his realization that we’re quick to tell someone who’s struggling that we’re there for them, “anything at all” they need. “I started to really realize that I needed to tell that to myself as well,” he said.
The record came together through a collaboration with Sufjan Stevens, who’s been a friend and occasional musical partner of Witmer’s for years. Stevens sensed that Witmer wanted to make another album, but was having trouble finding time with his family responsibilities. Stevens suggested they get together and record a few songs, just to see how it felt. They ended up tracking nine songs in three days.
Witmer then took those songs to Seattle to work with Andy Park, who had produced his previous album. But when he came home and listened to everything with Stevens, it became clear Stevens wanted to finish the project together. “I honestly didn’t know,” Witmer said. “I just didn’t take it for granted, ’cause I was thinking like, well, Sufjan’s kind of sought after, so I had made no expectations that he would even wanna make a whole record with me.”
At one point in the interview, Mike Vasilikos focused in on the album’s use of space. “In talking about your collaboration with Sufjan Stevens, it’s almost like when you give a little space, he fills in,” Mike noted. Witmer said he keeps an open mind in the studio, tries every idea, and is quick to ditch whatever doesn’t serve the song. Witmer added that even though Stevens is “obviously a very heavy handed producer in the sense that he has a particular sound,” he knew when to let Witmer lead. “If he sensed that I was feeling off about something or that I didn’t think something was working, he was very quick to just pull it back,” Witmer said.
In a detail that fits the spirit of the album, Witmer bartered his carpentry skills for the studio work. He runs a custom carpentry business in Lancaster, building cabinets and specialty millwork. When Stevens mentioned he was building a house and needed a kitchen table, they worked out a trade. “I thought he was gonna pay me for it, you know, this was before we were making the record,” Witmer explained. “And then I was like, well, what do you want me to pay you for this record? And he was like, uh, just make me something… It’s gonna take me a while. I’ve gotta make him probably the nicest thing I’ve ever made.”