Sufjan Stevens is something of a musical genius. He has made some very nice music, and some rather crazy music too. Falling into the latter category is his mostly electronic 2001 instrumental album Enjoy Your Rabbit where each track is dedicated to a year from the Chinese Zodiac. Bizarrely, this entire album was then arranged and recorded by the Osso chamber orchestra. I’ve just bought the pair to listen to this month, and it promises to be interesting. From the emusic review…

Osso is a New York-based string quartet here playing contemporary classical approximations of Stevens’ electronics. This means what you get is a violin imitating a synthesizer mimicking an animal meant to represent people born in particular years. Yes, that’s an utterly ridiculous conceit, one that’s quintessentially Stevens and makes for esoteric, yet entertaining results.

…you’re sure of a big surprise. Well, not tonight actually – a few weeks ago. But Chris has just uploaded a nice looking video he made of Jane Packman’s latest project:

The Woods from Jane Packman on Vimeo.