Ensemble Sacrés Garçons
“DEMONIZATION: THE WORLDY
POWERS” LP out now !
Ensemble Sacrés Garçons
is a post-industrial band that was formed in 1994, by Paolo L. Bandera (Sshe
Retina Stimulants, Sigillum S, The Sodality, Iugula-Thor, etc.), Andrea Chiaravalli
(Iugula-Thor), both from Milan, and Mark Solotroff (Anatomy of Habit,
BLOODYMINDED, The Fortieth Day, Intrinsic Action, etc.), from Chicago.
“Demonization: These
Worldly Powers” is the band’s second album. It contains seven songs that are
characterized by dense foundations of magnetic tape processing, spectral analog
synth, and layers of opposing vocals
The album is pressed on 160 gram black vinyl. It’s housed in plain, glossy
black LP jackets, with wrap-around 12”x24” poster sleeves, printed on both
sides, in metallic silver ink on heavyweight black stock. There are
individually numbered, double-sided 8.5”x11” cardstock inserts included, with
credits and lyrics, as well as separate download codes.
Track Listing:
Side A:
I'm Your Nightmare (3:34)
Death Inflates (3:28)
Velocity (5:32)
Devil's Still On That Seat (4:25)
Side B:
Voice Stealing (4:47)
Dead Band (7:50)
Suffers (3:44)
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ORDER THE LP VIA BANDCAMP:
https://ensemblesacresgarcons.bandcamp.com/album/demonization-these-worldly-powers
Please
note that the price of $30.00 includes postage in the US, EU,
and UK.
Additional postage of $15.00 will be added for all other countries/regions.
EU/UK orders will ship from Milan each Saturday.
All other orders will ship from Chicago each weekday.
Tracking numbers will be provided.
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Andrea,
Paolo, and I are very pleased to finally release the new album by our group,
Ensemble Sacrés Garçons. We’ve been anticipating it for a long time… for over
25 years, in fact. We recorded our debut in 1994, in Brooklyn, at Bass Mind
Studio. Andrea and I got to work utilizing recordings that Paolo had prepared
in Milan, in advance. Megan Emish from Intrinsic Action/BLOODYMINDED produced
those studio sessions for us. It was released on CD by the Italian label Old
Europa Café in 1995.
We decided to start on our follow up, right away. To begin, Paolo again
prepared material on analog tape, which he brought to Brooklyn, in 1995. I then
manipulated these recordings in the manner of the SCTL (Source Control) style
that I used on multiple Intrinsic Action releases. Roughly eight months later,
after I completed my mix, Megan mastered the album for CD, at Acme Soundworks,
NYC.
As 1996 continued on, Andrea, Paolo, and I considered and discussed the
results. I think we all new that there was great material on the DAT master,
but across the 12 songs and 70+ minute running time, it began to feel somewhat
impenetrable. Amidst its thick walls of synth noise, tape distortion, and
destroyed vocals, it was lacking in the appealing immediacy of its raw and
primitive sounding predecessor. Time passed, and every so often, the three of
us would discuss resurrecting the recordings, doing some judicious editing, and
preparing to release it.
Finally, in 2018, a solid plan was put together. Paolo would focus on adding
some minimal yet dynamic synth, I would write new lyrics, and Andrea and I
would take a new and more direct approach to our vocals. In April of 2019,
studio time was booked at Soundcheck Studio in Milan, and I flew there to
record and to perform at our debut live show. I believe that our concert was
particularly important, because it further solidified Ensemble Sacrés Garçons
as more than a collaboration and more than a many-years-long series of
face-to-face visits, video chats, emails, and faded out faxes. It felt like we
really functioned as a band. During the recording sessions, Andrea and I were
focused on our vocals, while Paolo was working his magic in the control room
with the engineer, Matteo Pace. By the time I returned to Chicago, we knew that
the tremendous chemistry of that week, grounded in our long friendship, had
given us just what we needed to complete the album.
Paolo then got to work on his final synth tracks, as well as the challenging
process of mixing the album. After just a couple of rounds of mixes, we knew
that we were ready. But the album still seemed too long, especially if we were
going to move forward with releasing it on vinyl. Our next step was to consider
whether we had two solid albums, and if so, how we might divide the twelve
songs between them. This actually turned out to be easier than we thought it
would be, and two discrete albums materialized with very little effort.
We then sent the songs for the first LP to Collin Jordan at The Boiler Room, in
Chicago, and we were thrilled with the results of his mastering work. As we
were putting our plan together for the LP, the global pandemic hit and things
slowed down again. We decided to use a relatively new pressing plant in
Chicago, Smashed Plastic, which was doing some great work on albums that I’d
heard. Once they were able to reopen their facilities our album went into the
queue. After a few months, we had our vinyl in-hand. Staying local, we also
decided to have a Chicago printer and friend – Erin Page/Kill Hatsumomo –
screen print the sleeves that we designed. The three of us simply couldn’t be
happier with the final outcome, especially after all of these years that have
passed. As for the future, we’re already discussing plans for our third album,
“Sanctification: Seeing the Singularity”...
(Mark Solotroff, February 2021)
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