Something new for fans of Thom Yorke's solo work, Ed Harcourt, James Blake and the lesser known Halls (check him out here if you're not already a fan), as well as his label mates.
Erased Tapes are the purveyors of modern classical, who over the past few years have released a series of awe-chestral wonders. They specialise in a particularly potent strand of pulsing pianos to heart heavying strings to shimmering synth records. They have helped introduce the world to the Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds and A Winged Victory for the Sullen, amongst others. And now they have a new tear duct-botherer in their midst.
Much like his label mates, Douglas Dare's forthcoming debut album Whelm (coming out on May 12th 2014) deals in a darkened heft that spirals into some silvery strand of hope. In many ways, it's a piano record, beefed up ever so slightly by modern technology, which uses glimmers of light to play with shadows.
This is how he describes himself:
"I wanted to make a record that would allow the listener to escape, something lush and immersive but when looked at closely, the grit and depth could be found. I didn’t write the record with a concept in mind but when thinking of titles I found this through-line; I realised the restless nature of humans and the erratic emotions I’d written about could be linked to water and more specifically the sea. I grew up in the coastal town of Bridport, Dorset; the sea was this constant thing in my life. And although I felt an affinity with it, I couldn’t swim until I was a teenager. This equal measure of joy and uncertainty I found in both people and water brought me to Whelm; it feels like a fitting title. To be engulfed. To be buried. To be whelmed."
Without further ado, here's the track 'Swim', which you can download for free, taken from his forthcoming album Whelm:
If you're keen to catch a show after hearing that, here's his upcoming date:
May 16th 2014 - Douglas Dare, Whelm Album Launch Concert at Birthdays in Dalston, London. Tickets.
He will also be performing at this year's Great Escape, and you can find more dates, as well as pre-order the album over on the Erased Tapes website.
And we'll leave you with his most recent music video: