Brian Lavelle

There’s a very nice little review of ‘Avalonian’ in the latest issue (number 23) of Rock-a-Rolla magazine, by the ever-diligent Scott McKeating:

Thank you Scott!

I still have a handful of copies of the album left (the label has sold out of them), so get in touch if you’d like one.

I’m really delighted to announce that Matt Shaw of the superb UK label Apollolaan Recordings has released my new album Avalonian today.

Recorded over the summer months of this year, and completed (in Avalon) in September, it comprises two long tracks which I hope capture the feel of that astonishing, inspiring place: its atmospheres; its idiosyncracies; its mysteries. The album is a little different in focus from what’s gone before; but I hope those who hear it will enjoy something of the contents.

The disc – limited to only 60 copies – comes packaged in a white digipak, with beautiful vinyl-cut, handprinted front and back covers, and with an insert. Each one is slightly different. More details of this edition are on the Apollolaan site.

Matt’s label is easily one of the most unique and diverse projects of the last two years. It’s hard to believe that in only 18 months or so, he’s been able to produce 22 individual releases which cross the boundaries of experimental, folk, rock, electronic and improvised musics, often mixing all those genres seamlessly. The aesthetic of the label is well captured in this quotation from Dion Fortune:

There is a spiritual quality in the hand-made thing that is lacking to the machine made, however good may be the design, for the man who makes with his hands the thing which he has himself planned, weaving into it his dreams and the many sacrifices for the sake of his art, giving to it of his best, cannot help loving it by the time he has finished it; and the well-loved thing, warmed and worn by human hands, becomes ensouled with a life of its own.

I couldn’t agree with those sentiments more. It’s perhaps fitting that, as I stood close to the house where Fortune once lived, by the red mineral spring at the foot of the Tor, I thought that Matt would be the ideal person to consider sending what was, at that stage, an unfinished and untitled Avalonian. Suffice to say that Apollolaan is one my favourite labels; and Matt is one of the loveliest people you’ll encounter. I’d encourage you to get a copy of the disc from him while they’re still around!

Today brings a superb review of the debut Space Weather album by Scott McKeating, on the ever-great Foxy Digitalis site:

With Space Weather’s music you can either choose to descend into the gentle flicker patterns of Lakia’s cabin or float above the nightscapes of Scotland’s glittering and smoky towns. Alistair Crosbie, Brian Lavelle and Andrew Paine, a trio of Glasgow/Edinburgh experimentalists, have created a disc of synth/bass/guitar works that summon up (the best parts of) mid 70s Eno back with an affecting centre. The most striking element here is undoubtedly the synth work, and even with Lavelle credited solely on synthesizer, it’d still be presumptuous to place that instruments melodies as his sole creation. “Space Weather” has the feel of a truly collaborative effort, neither of the players overwhelming the project’s music with ego or easily identifiable contributions. With much synth lead stuff that’s doing the rounds nowadays, it’s possible to become inured to predictable passages of sound; this isn’t an issue here. The title track brings to fulfilment a sea-shanty ambience, synths shifting from true string instruments and back again – even the track’s drum machine can’t settle the virtual roll of the waves/sounds. There’s more observable guitar drone work on “Ardrahan Battalions”, but it owes more to the blissful end of progressive than pretension. They also make way for motornik fuzzed-out-pop on “They Turned Left”, Andrew Paine doing a gentle bass line that positions the piece and its momentum. “Another Green World” might well be a comparatively distant relative, but there’s little anyone/thing can do to pull the stars from this album’s trails. 10/10

Thanks Scott!

A nice little review of the first Space Weather disc, courtesy of Daniel Spicer, is featured in the new issue of The Wire (Issue 308, October 2009):

Space Weather is a different kind of collaboration entirely, the debut from an improvising trio with [Alistair] Crosbie playing guitar alongside Brian Lavelle’s synthesizer and Andrew Paine’s bass, making weightless space-Prog reminiscent of Ash Ra Tempel’s more dreamy excursions, such as “Traummaschine”.

Daniel also kindly featured Space Weather in his radio show, The Mystery Lesson (part 38), on 11 September 2009. The track he played was Copper Mountain.

Thanks Daniel!

I’m delighted to announce that the debut Space Weather album is now available on the group’s own label, Space Weather Recordings. The group, which consists of Alistair Crosbie (electric guitar), Andrew Paine (bass guitar) and me (synthesizer), play a kind of improvised experimental krautrock/space rock. You might enjoy it…

There are a number of excerpts from the album on our MySpace page and you can buy the album from me on the Shop page.

Further recordings are in the works. More on those soon.

Ian Holloway’s wonderful online experimental music review Wonderful Wooden Reasons has a new review of Ustrina in its latest online edition:

At almost 70 minutes in length Ustrina from Scots dronist Lavelle is a significant investment of time and focus on both the part of the composer and the listener. Lavelle operates predominantly in the realms of warm and slightly fuzzy drone music. Narcotic tones and washes that gently shroud the audience with a vaguely clammy sense of unease. You’ve got to admit that’s an enticing prospect especially as Lavelle is very, and I do mean very, accomplished at this sort of thing. Like a darker version of Chalk & Heeman’s Mirror project, Ustrina is one of the best things I’ve heard from this side of Lavelle (the other side specialises in superbly forceful psychedelic cosmic-drone) and should be sought out without delay.

Thanks Ian!

Here’s an interesting review that appeared this month on the Heathen Harvest website:

Brian Lavelle is a project that is easily said to be hard to define. Desperation inevitably leads one to coin the experimental / avant-garde electronics tag but what I hear is something more deep and sensual than a simple frolic around the world of strange sounds and experimentation. Brian’s music isn’t a simple recording of jabbed buttons and crossed wires. There’s an apparent, intriguing skill and masterful art put into this release. The production follows a distinct flowing nature and does more to emphasize the fact that a great deal of time was spent on this recording than just about anything. It’s not dull and drab, overly compressed, or flat in any way. Supernaturalist sings to you in fragrant Earthly tongues without ever having or needing the presence of a vocalist. It breathes the tonal intricacy of our planet and has as much to do with the world through its field recordings as it does through its experimentation through manipulation and electronics. Strange and wonderful it is.

EE Tapes has seen quite a transformation over the years. From a modest tape label that saw its beginnings far back in the late 80′s, it grew towards the acceptance of at least the CD-R medium in the late 90′s, only to finally accept CD’s as a whole in in 2002-2003 (as well as changing its catalogue numbers from “ET##” to “EE##”. This release is an actual CD without the presence of a jewel case or typical CD artwork. Instead, the band / label opted for a white paper/plastic sleeve inside a folded 7”-styled artwork encasing. The paper is high-quality (recycled?) and has a natural graininess to it that suits the eerie artwork that was meant for a title such as Supernaturalist (though a pun on words may be intended here.) Brian Lavelle himself has done all of the photography and layout for this release so there is indeed a further artistic experience meant for the listener here simply beyond the music.

There’s a nice review of ‘Ustrina’ on the Chain D.L.K. site, written by Andrea Ferraris:

I think many of you out there have already Brian Lavelle for this or that release, but in case you’re absolutely new to his works you’ve to know between 1996 and today Lavelle has recorded for labels such as Bake, Diophantine, Freek, Staalplaat, Elsie and Jack etc. This drone based long track shows the incredible strength of proportions and the importance of balance, infact this sixty eighty minutes circa suite could be dead boring but ends being absorbing and fascinating instead. While being a little bit darker than many of the Lavelle’s output I’ve heard so far, it has nothing to do with dark ambient, it’s lulling and someway narcoleptic and summed up with a couple of other characteristics it brings to my mind DJ Olive’s “sleep” work on Room40, I’m tented to say the two releases are similar and equally as catchy. From what I’ve read inside the press sheet this english artist has reshaped some old sounds that probably has been collecting dust inside some rough recording and inside a black corner of Lavelle’s mind, but he managed to give it all such a good new definition I’d say this blast from the past has been damn successful. I can exactly say which were the exact sound sources/instruments for this recording, waves and the layers would suggest some keyboard/old synth sources twisted and renewed for good but with today’s technology it’s really hard for me to be one hundred percent sure. The pictures and the whole layout are great and I think from the front cover to the last page they give the impression of this environment Lavelle wanted to re-create. So the question is if we have to cross or not the bridge we see on the front cover?…by the way from the dead leaves it’s easy to imagine an autumnal landscape if you add the melancholic atmosphere of this work it’s hard to deny that’s not a joyful marriage.

Thanks to Andrea for looking to the whole release, at every aspect of it, as I’d hoped people would.

Excellent online experimental music review Wonderful Wooden Reasons has a great little review of The Petrified Forest in its latest online edition:

There are two Brian Lavelles. There’s the Brian Lavelle that creates mature and mannered ambient compositions that slowly reveal themselves like a flower unfolding to greet the sun. Then there’s the Brian Lavelle that creates head mangling, massively psychedelic, cosmic drones. I like the first Lavelle but his music has a tendency to become just a little too nice for my palette. I love the second Lavelle! When he fires that tone at you there’s no escape. You’re along for the ride and the ride is always good.
Well, I’m happy to report that this 2 track, 20 minute set is definitely from the latter and it’s cracking stuff. The amorphous bloops and swoops mean it’s just sci-fi sounding enough to make my inner geek giggle with delight and it’s soaring fluid composition is ‘out there’ enough to make my outer space-cadet groan with psychedelic ecstasy.
A fine recording from an artist working at the top of his game.

Thank you Ian!

My latest album, Ustrina, has just been released by Andrea Marutti of Afe Records in Italy. It’s a limited edition of 100 copies in a beautiful full colour photographic sleeve. My thanks to Andrea for the release and for doing such a fantastic job with the sleeve.

I also have copies available myself for anyone who is interested. Get in touch if you’d like one.

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Press release:

Ustrina consists of a single long-form work entitled ‘Pyre Nullity’, which is a set of dense, shifting cloudscapes, perhaps a little darker in focus than Lavelle’s last few releases and certainly his longest single composition to date. Its layers of ghostly, distant voices, subterranean drones and processed field recordings evoke forgotten realms, but this is not dark ambient music. Its compositional approach, subject matter and photographic imagery all point to hidden places, memories from a Golden Age cast on the fire, but not necessarily the darker side of existence. Indeed the cover suggests a possible modus operandi: cross the bridge, open the gate, move within.

The album utilises compositional ideas which date back to the mid 1990s, but which were not realised until very recently. Within the layers of ‘Pyre Nullity’ are electronic passages from certain recordings over a decade old, previously unreleased and now reworked, rejuvenated and redefined.