Whether you can pronounce his name or not, it is almost certain you have heard of Sufjan Stevens. The Brooklyn-based Michigan native has been abuzz in the underground ever since his genre-bending ode to his home state, Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lake State, hit the indie underworld in 2003. Released on Asthmatic Kitty Records (incarnated by Stevens himself along with a cast of other musicians that includes his stepfather, Lowell Brams), Stevens has garnered both critical acclaim and potent album sales alike as a one-man, multi-talented brigade of prominent voice and genuine creativity.

Often noted for his folk-inflections - from banjo to his lyrical adoration of the common man’s way of life - his music, in fact, is as much about folk as it is not. By using significant overdubs, this multi-instrumentalist takes the listener beyond the experience of any traditional folk song, up and over to strange lands, toward sites of alien abductions and deep into the psyche of America’s heartland via a collage of overtly personal reflections. As Stevens freely admits, “It is required of me to render myself into the songs, a complete fabrication. I’m projecting a lot of myself into the material.” This is an atypical class of folk, indeed.

Nonetheless, it is with this rare breed of all-embracing yet individualized folk that Stevens has decided to take on what may be the ultimate parade of Americana to ever hit the Billboard charts; an undertaking so lofty only a visionary could have the capacity, ardor and foresight to complete it. It is what he calls “The Fifty States Project.”

“It’s a proposition,” Stevens says, speaking of this tall proposal that if completed, would require Stevens to craft a separate full-length record for each of the fifty states. This claim has been received with great skepticism from fans and critics alike. As a matter of fact, for a time, it seemed his own record label had little faith in the venture, posting the online statement, “Sufjan Stevens is not going to write a record for each of the 50 states after all.” Nonetheless, the man is steadfast in his convictions. Now, 2 albums deep into the game, it appears this “proposition” is likely to bear fruit for some time to come: “As of now” comments Stevens, “I have every intention to continue embarking on this project.”

You may wonder why someone would consider such a undertaking. According to Stevens, it is about “human beings and being human. It’s a journey toward finding meaning. I’m trying to uncover what it means to be an American,” he says. And so, in 2005, following the Michigan album, Stevens continued his domestic exploration, shifting focus from his native home to the Prairie state in a record perceptibly titled, Illinois.

Both epic and groundbreaking, Stevens describes Illinois as an “experimental enterprise” that “required a lot of reading.” As a native of Michigan and steeped in 20 years of personal history, the land of the Great Lakes was an effortless place to begin, while the figurative leap into Illinois was a new thing entirely. He needed to do significant fieldwork, including burying his nose in atlas and tour books and writing letters to Illinois-based friend and colleagues. He made frequent trips to collect relevant, even miniscule bits of information on legends and history to build his opus; in the end, it was clear that he had done his homework. Throughout the record, Stevens recognizes many key Illinois figures, from John Wayne Gacy, Jr. to Abraham Lincoln and even Carl Sandburg. He describes the return of the Sac and Fox Indians to Illinois, consecrating them in “Black Hawk War,” and explores and celebrates a unique Illinois-state holiday on “Casimir Pulaski Day.” The centerpiece is “Chicago,” which commemorates and honors the greatness of the windy city; a song that Stevens describes as “a pop song, lending itself to multiple interpretations.” Throughout the record, he captured historical figures and history, but also the sentiments and memories deeply rooted in the people of the state.

Evidently, the grandiose nature of this project provided a plethora of material, and inspired Stevens to write a slew of songs in bouts of prolificacy. Thoughts of a double album were toyed with but, in the end, many songs were not cohesive to “the undercurrent of emotional trauma,” according to Stevens. “It’s unusual,” he recalls “I don’t usually write so much about one thing. I knew I needed to simplify on a few particular themes,” he continues. “I wanted every song to balance that emotional state.” Therefore, a plethora of music was piled under the rug or stashed away on eight-tracks as the Illinois record went on to sweeping accolades and prosperity.

Marked by guilt and a curiosity to develop some unfinished material, Stevens went back to work. He had decided to “clean up the 8-track” and post these songs online. But as he spent more time with the music, he felt that he “needed to honor them.” Thus The Avalanche - a description for an album that according to Stevens is “the musical debris of the Illinois record,” - is slated for release on July 25th. Like the fragments that fall off a mountain, these songs fall into our laps as a compilation of wondrous scrap heaps. We again see Carl Sandburg, encounter Saul Bellow and Clyde Tombaugh and somberly celebrate Casimir Pulaski Day once more. There are also three new versions of “Chicago,” each exceptionally unique (and fitted with witty and even ironic subtitles) and the title track “The Avalanche,” which kicks off this 21-track piece. Overall, The Avalanche stands as a compilation of songs, however loosely connected, but nonetheless classic Sufjan Stevens. As timeless as the rest of his catalogue, it stands as something much more profound than a collection of b-sides and rarities.

Music such as this is rare in mainstream or in the underground as Stevens continues to write music with the assertion that “there are no boundaries.” He recognizes that there is a “cross-pollenization of styles in music creating new forms,” and he is running wild with such a notion. Even before Michigan and “The Fifty States Project,” from albums such as A Sun Came and Enjoy Your Rabbit to the faith-inspired Seven Swans, Sufjan Stevens has kept it fresh and unyieldingly original with his personal style of folk music.

What may the future bring? He asserts that collaborations are possible, opening up a “healthy kind of dialogue” with other musicians and moving away from his typical solo song-writing course. Whatever the results may be, it will surely be sought after, anticipated and coveted for years to come.