DANIEL THORNE - 'LINES OF SIGHT'

Formats

• ERATP119CD - CD

  4050486115558

• ERATP119LP - LP

  4050486115541

Details

On March 15th Erased Tapes presents the invigorating and powerful debut solo album Lines of Sight by Australian-born, Liverpool-based composer, saxophonist and founder of Immix Ensemble, Daniel Thorne. Deeply moving, full of otherworldly beauty and rapture, the album is alive, throbbing like a circulatory system, colourful and glowing. It literally dazzles – effectively capturing what the birth (or death) of a planet might sound like. In Daniel’s own words, “Thematically, this music was inspired by birds-eye aerial images and the idea of perspective - how something incredibly complex like a river or the surface of the ocean is reduced to a simple line or shape when viewed from the heavens. The line between natural and man-made becomes increasingly blurred.” Every strand is fresh, vital and purposeful. The description ‘seamless’ might suggest a smooth, bland fusion, but here elements overlap in intermittent, undulating layers of mesh. Avant-garde, noise, electronics, ecclesiastical, classical, a touch of jazz and traces of Wyatt-style contemporary folk come together, each occupying their own space while acquiescing with the whole. “Several compositions are derived from ratios and processes, and are highly calculated, while others evolved in a much more organic way. I wanted to create music that blurred lines between acoustic and electronic, organic and synthetic, composition and improvisation. I’ve long been a fan of studio-based composition, but have always found the infinite possibilities on offer daunting and, often, a stumbling block. To get around this I set myself a challenge of limiting myself to the physical instruments in my possession – a few different saxophones and a bass synth, with no more than four tracks to record them,” he adds. Lines of Sight follows Thorne’s work as artistic director of the acclaimed, collaboration-focussed group Immix Ensemble. Together with experimental electronic artist Vessel, he co-wrote Transition released on Erased Tapes in 2016, described by BBC Radio 6’s Mary Anne Hobbs as “a remarkable new piece of music”. More recently, he worked with acclaimed modular synth wizard Luke Abbott, to create a four-part suite, which was premiered live in June 2017. Immix Ensemble have also performed special live commissions with Kelly Lee Owens, Dialect, Jane Weaver and Bill Ryder-Jones, among others. Prior to leaving Australia, Daniel was fortunate to work with some of the country’s leading new music ensembles as both a composer and performer, receiving commissions from the TURA New Music Festival and the Australia Council, as well as being appointed as Composer in Residence at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. In the UK he was the recipient of the prestigious Dankworth Prize for Jazz Composition, and also undertook a residency at Metal Liverpool, which provided him with the time and space to create Immix. As the first track under Thorne’s own name, ‘Iroise’ was recorded for the Erased Tapes 10th anniversary release 1+1=X, alongside works by Nils Frahm, Penguin Cafe, A Winged Victory For The Sullen and Rival Consoles. He also recently remixed Manu Delago, known as the live percussionist for Björk and Ólafur Arnalds. After a first solo performance at Sea Change Festival 2018, the new year will see Daniel tour across Europe, promoting the forthcoming release of Lines of Sight.

Tracks

1. From Inside, Looking Out
2. From the Other Side of the World
3. From the Heavens
4. Pyriscence
5. Threnody for a Burning Building
6. Fear of Floating

Press

Audio & Video

BUS - 'NEVER DECIDE'

Formats

• EZRDR098 - LP

  603111731919

• EZRDR098CD - CD

  603111731926

Details

From the opening notes of Never Decide, the RidingEasy Records debut album by Athens, Greece quartet Bus The Unknown Secretary (aka B.U.S.), you’ll know it's going to be a wild funhouse ride. It doesn't sound like just four people, it sounds like a mob of wild-eyed lunatics on the expressway to your skull. And, you're not gonna know what the band's name means, don't worry about it. Never Decide is a multifaceted album in the vein of classic hitters like The Hellacopters, Alice Cooper Band, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Orange Goblin. "The story of the album expresses the psyche of a person in a dead end and his life is introduced into obsessive rhythms, more personal and random," explains vocalist/guitarist Bill Politis. "There is no happy end here, but the questions remain: Door A or Door B? Time to change or time to die, Never Decide!" The album opens as if we're in the studio with the band listening to playback for the first time. There's a chirping test tone and someone starts counting in, "one, two, three..." before it suddenly grinds to a halt. Then suddenly the swirling guitar riff of the pummeling anthem "You Better Come In, You Better Calm Down" launches everything into the stratosphere. The guitars march in lockstep as swinging drums keep it all rolling at furious pace as the vocal chant of the song's title grows into a massive group chant in harmony. Think Uriah Heep's "Easy Livin'" meets Kiss' "Rock and Roll All Night" -- here's another big, blazing anthem for the ages. "I Buried Paul" is the sort of fun, theatrical album track no one makes anymore, not since the days of the Alice Cooper Band. "Lucifer" takes things several shades darker, turning in a dramatic ballad launched by haunting piano chords and led by sinister, sneering vocals sounding something like Ozzy meets Johnny Rotten slowly building to its epic conclusion in double time with ringing harmony guitar leads. "Evil Eyes" and "Moonchild" return the proceedings to the anthemic, pop-laced vibe, replete with major-minor chord shifts and vocal/guitar harmonies galore. Never Decide was recorded in just 5 days in February 2018 with multitalented engineer and band's beloved friend John Vulgaris at Electric Highway Studios in Athens, Greece. The entire band -- drummer Aris Fasoulis, bassist Spiros Papadatos, and guitarists Fotis Kolokithas and Politis --recorded the instrumental tracks live in 3 days, reserving the last 2 for vocals. Over the 2 months that followed Vulgaris and the band fine-tuned the mix into the subtle and clever masterwork you have before you. BUS formed in Athens in 2011, releasing two EPs and a full length The Impious Tapes, followed by The Cross EP (2014), and The Unknown Secretary LP in 2016. During that time the band has toured extensively throughout Greece and in neighboring nations. The release of Never Decide will see them expanding that touring radius considerably.

Tracks

01. You Better Come In, You Better Calm Down
02. The Hunt
03. I Buried Paul
04. Lucifer
05. First Life Suicide
06. Moonchild
07. Into the Night
08. Evil Eyes
09. Dying
10. This King

Press

GET ON THE BUS BRO!

Audio & Video