The DiS-adored duo (Dustin O'Halloran & Adam Bryanbaum Wiltzie) are melancholy masters. We loved their debut album, and it featured in our top 20 albums of 2011. This new EP is a dark, beautifully cold, fantastical record, which you can stream for free ahead of its release on April 28th via the fantastic Erased Tapes and Kranky labels.
ATOMOS VII is the first taste of the band's second album ATOMOS, but it started life as a score for choreographer Wayne McGregor's (who choreographed the Radiohead video 'Lotus Flower' and 'Ingenue' by Atoms for Peace) long form dance piece. They recorded more than sixty minutes of music over a four month period during the summer of 2013 in Brussels, Berlin and Reykjavik with the help of their longtime collaborative sound engineer Francesco Donadello. This EP also sees the involvement of Ben Frost, who composed the music for McGregor's previous work 'Far'.
McGregor was heavily influenced by the duo's 2011 self-titled debut, playing it repeatedly during practices with his core group of dancers. After noticing the group's reaction with the music, he contacted Adam & Dustin to see if they could write the score for his new oeuvre.
Before you hit play on the EP below, here's what they have to say about the release:
"While we were re-amping guitars at Greenhouse studios, Ben [Frost] expressed interest and admiration in the sounds we had created. We were planning for the B-side to be a metamorphosis of part VII, and Ben seemed the obvious choice. With the multi-tracks transformed, it follows a trajectory that we had not felt comfortable with before. But with Ben's involvement and influence, it was a painless entrance to this crooked, distorted world." - Adam Bryanbaum Wiltzie
"We never imagined 2013 would be such an explosively creative year. The first record took us 2 years from start to finish, but in the micro span of time over last summer we were able to change the formula for the way we write, record, and let go. It was incredibly liberating." - Dustin O'Halloran
Pre-order your copy from Erased Tapes.
Tour Dates 2014
24th May BE, Kortrijk – Festival van Vlaanderen Kortrijk
29th May ES, Barcelona - Primavera Sound
20th Oct UK, London - Milton Court (Barbican)
25th Oct BE, Antwerp – De Roma
If you love this sort of music, check out the Thread For Ambient/Modern Composition/Drone In 2014, which features lots of links to streams and recommendations.