Over the course of recent time, an aching, growing void has developed where our normal way of life has resided. Uncertainty abounds, and Steve Von Till's "No Wilderness Deep Enough" provides a voice of existential wisdom and experience to offer comfort and perspective in an era of uncharted territory. These six pieces of music shape a hallucinatory landscape of sound that plumbs the depths of the natural world's mysteries and uncertainties—questions that have vexed humanity since the dawn of time asked anew amidst a backdrop that's as haunting as it is holistic.
Von Till’s fifth solo album is a swirling and iridescent blend of ambient, neo-classical, and gothic Americana that swan-dives into the darkness of modern life, with the resulting emergence a sonic document of rural psychedelia that transcends the physical world—towards a greater spiritual acceptance that connects naturalism, spiritualism, and the corporeal form.
Von Till has charted an extraordinary musical path over the last several decades, from his main duties as singer and guitarist of the boundary-breaking NEUROSIS to the psychedelic music of his HARVESTMAN project and the unique folks songs he's released under his own name.
But "No Wilderness Deep Enough" is truly like nothing you've ever heard from him before—an album that's devastatingly beautiful and overwhelming in its scope, reminiscent of the tragic ecstasy of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' recent work as well as the borderless ambient music pioneered by Brian Eno, late composer Jóhann Jóhannsson's glacial compositions, and the electronic mutations of Coil.
With a foundation of simple melancholy piano chord progressions embellished with mellotron, cello, french horn and electronic treatments Von Till's scorched ache spreads across the terrain of No Wilderness Deep Enough like a brushfire, adding a tactile level to his sonic creation as well as an inviting level of friction to the burning beauty painted across the album's framework.
"No Wilderness Deep Enough" was recorded and mixed by Randall Dunn at Flora Recording and Playback.
Mastered by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service. The album was released August 7, 2020.
Today's tune "Indifferent Eyes" is taken from "No Wilderness Deep Enough", enjoy!
On September 14th, 2018 was "On Dark Horses" released, the fourth solo studio album by Emma Ruth Rundle, the prolific singer/songwriter, you may recognize from THE NOCTURNES, RED SPAROWES, MARRIAGES, and now latest the collaborative affair with THOU.
Emma Ruth Rundle explores her gothic fantasies through well balanced and electrified creations where the darkess corners are reviled. The tunes are very powerful and beautiful, just like free horses can be.
She said about the tune:
“‘Darkhorse’ was one of the first songs that sprung forth in writing the album and became a focal point, as well as an emotional reference, for the rest of the record, hence the album title. It is written from the perspective of one sibling singing to another. The lyrics describe not just the younger sister, but both sisters struggling to overcome their shared traumatic past, with the chorus exclaiming a sense of pride in having the chance and ability to override the unlucky odds.”
Today's tune with Emma Ruth Rundle where she is performing "Darkhorse" live at Avast! Recording Co.. Recorded December 14, 2018. Enjoy!
Monday, new week and it's time for another "Record Of The Week".
"May Our Chambers Be Full" is a collaboration between the Kentucky folk singer-songwriter Emma Ruth Rundle & Louisiana sludge/doom rockers THOU. Emma Ruth Rundle is know for her dark lyrics and melancholic solo works and has been releasing big bunch of fantastic albums since starting her solo career. In the other hand we have the sludge/doomers THOU that is one of the most acclaimed and consistent DIY metal bands. A mix between these two oddly couple could be an very intressting machup. But somehow it sounds and feels natural. The slightly blackened smooth voice gives the lead heavy, dark and anxious a completely magical angle that as first I didn't was possible.
"May Our Chambers Be Full" is a seven track album, with a spinning time of thirty six minutes. The album opens up with half pace piece "Killing Floor", which from the begining showcase a great fusion between two respectful parties, where Emma Ruth Rundle's lyrics intertwined with the heavier artillery of THOU musical craftmanship. THOU's vocalist Bryan Funck adds some contrast with screamings and deep growling sounds. The heavy doomy grunge rocker "Monolith" give the album a twist where the mind plays back still images of SMASHING PUMKINS that gets hunted by hormone stint Ozzy. "Out Of Existence" is an epic and atomspheric tune, where Funck’s vocal range is marvelous along with Rundle's softiness. "Ancestral Recall" follows the same line as the previous track but with more darkness. "Magickal Cost" is a real beauty in that opens up as a ballad in the best Chelsea Wolfe way until it blows up similar to a violent oil leak when THOU takes over and when Rundle comes back it returns to the more natural state. The album closes up with the nearly nine minutes "The Valley", a gloomy and powerful piece, atmospheric violin (by Louis Michot) caresses Rundle's silky voice, slips forward slowly on safe feet and just before the end of the song simply take the wrong turn and where the collision is a fact when THOU rides in with brutal guitars. "May Our Chambers Be Full" is a remarkable collaboration between musicians from diffrent gengres that knows how to work together and build on each other's skills.
"May Our Chambers Be Full" was released on October 30, 2020 through Sacred Bones Records as a part of the label's 'Alliance Series'. Recording sessions took place in August 2019 at Hightower Studios in New Orleans.
Sum: If there was ever a album made for these worried times, then "May Our Chambers Be Full" is the one.
"The Helm Of Sorrow" is the companion EP to Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou's 2020 collaborative LP, "May Our Chambers Be Full". It was recorded during the same 2019 sessions that yielded the album, and it includes the project's cover of THE CRANBERRIES' "Hollywood." This EP is included in the DIE HARD version of "May Our Chambers Be Full".
Today's tune "Magickal Cost" is taken from "May Our Chambers Be Full", enjoy!
"I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free" is a jazz song written by Billy Taylor and Dick Dallas. Taylor's original version (as "I Wish I Knew") was recorded on November 12, 1963, and released on his Right Here, Right Now! album (Capitol ST-2039) the following year. His 1967 instrumental take was later used as the theme music for the Film... review programme series on BBC Television.
Taylor said: "I wrote this song, perhaps my best-known composition, for my daughter Kim. This is one of the best renditions I’ve done because it is very spiritual."
Enjoy today's tune with Nina Simone performs “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free” live at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 1976. This version can be found on the DVD and Album "Nina Simone Live at Montreux 1976". A widely played version was recorded by Nina Simone in 1967 on her "Silk & Soul" album.
Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone, was an American singer, songwriter, musician, arranger, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned a broad range of musical styles including classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop.
