As we move into 2021 Spirit of Gravity presents – in place of a monthly show – a new release by McCloud, aka the collective’s very own Geoff Cheesemaster. The album is The Stars Unfixed. This is a long form piece lasting just over an hour, originally created for the Amass Radiant Heretics broadcast that went out on 20 December – a streaming event for the winter solstice curated by collective member Caleb Madden.
The long, pseudo-narrative structure was conceived to fit the format, but the slowly evolving, atmospheric, sounds very much demand repeat listens. Minimal rising notes gain weight, and rise almost imperceptibly to a crescendo, evoking a sense of growth and renewal. McCloud made extensive use of his old Casio CZ101 as a sound source, interspersed with flute parts ably provided by his long-term collaborator Chris ‘Noteherder’ Parfitt.
The album is available for streaming or download here: spiritofgravity.bandcamp.com/album/the-stars-unfixed
Also available:
A tribute to one of Spirit of Gravity’s founding fathers, the omnipresent, omniscient, dronemaster extraordinaire minimal impact. Steve recently moved to North Wales where no doubt he will continue to terrify the locals, just as he did in Brighton with his immense supernova-exploding-meets-reverb-uptown vibes.
Steve was for many years the curator of the electrocreche and a man who was never seen in anything but black. His minimal impact sets amply belied his moniker. Vast billows of rumbling noise, the sounds of tectonic plates shearing and tearing – volume used as punishment.
The tracks presented on minimal effort are the responses of members of the Spirit of Gravity collective to minimal impact’s musical universe.
Stream or download at: spiritofgravity.bandcamp.com/album/minimal-effort
Three Parade Reductions by Hardworking Families is a triptych based on a live recording from the Newhaven-Dieppe festival five years ago, using tape recorder and feedback delay to record / document a parade of festival participants from the port of Newhaven up to the hill to the Fort. It’s an impressionistic take on what was a multi-faceted event.
Hardworking Families (Tom Bench) has previously released material on Glistening Examples, Beartown, Eminent Observer and Don’t Drone Alone, as well as various self-releases. ‘It’s all about the textures’, says Tom.
Stream or download at: spiritofgravity.bandcamp.com/album/three-parade-reductions
Spirit of Gravity also presents two new tracks from Cookie written and recorded to sound like early electronic music emulating sounds of an imagined future. The pieces portray opposing visions of a future from the past: one dystopian, one utopian.
The first track Futures from the Past features predictions from the children of 1966 of a time 50 years in the future.
The second track London Transit presents a rose-tinted view of the technology used to keep London moving in the early 70s
PLUS, 2 new bonus tracks have been added to this release, Futures from the Brass, and Futures from the Brass (instrumental) – so check back in to download these new additions.
Stream or download at: spiritofgravity.bandcamp.com/album/futures-from-the-past-ep
Any money donated for these releases will go to help our venues, the Rossi Bar and the Green Door Store: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/save-the-greendoor-store-and-rossi-bar
Don’t forget the previous lockdown releases available on BandCamp:
Noteherder & McCloud – Clarity of Vision: spiritofgravity.bandcamp.com/album/clarity-of-vision
TRA 2 – TRA 2: spiritofgravity.bandcamp.com/album/tra-2
Cookie – Man-tra EP: spiritofgravity.bandcamp.com/album/man-tra-ep
Various artists – Distant Sounds: spiritofgravity.bandcamp.com/album/distant-sounds
Various artists – Behind the shutters: https://spiritofgravity.bandcamp.com/album/behind-the-shutters
