Sound artists Meghan Mulhearn of DIVINE CIRCLES and Elisa Faires are composing a collaborative album inspired by the geography and sonic landscape of the West Coast. Having journeyed the country all Spring and Summer, the pair will take their music to stage beginning this Sunday in Atlanta. From there they will traverse California, Oregon and Washington, playing shows, recording, collaborating with other artists and ultimately composing an album.
“We have even commissioned a hydrophone from electronics engineer Charles Brandon Howes to make underwater recordings,” said Mulhearn.
DIVINE CIRCLES released their debut full-length, Oblivion Songs, late last year via UK-based Paradigms Recordings. Called “absorbing and subtle,” by The Onion’s AV Club, on Oblivion Songs Mulhearn manifests a wholly engrossing collection of intimate and experimental songcraft filtered through the Appalachian dusk. Notorious for pushing the limits of traditional string-playing in an effort to investigate the violin’s potential as an instrument far beyond customary composition, Mulhearn often exercises effects and electronics, novel plucking/strumming techniques and uses the violin as an actual vocal resonator. Her eccentric approach, compared to Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Warren Ellis of Dirty Three/Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and more investigational artists like Aidan Baker and Steve Reich, invokes evocative, visceral and textural elements, often unrecognizable as originating from a violin at all.
DIVINE CIRCLES
w/ Elisa Faires
8/03/2014 Yolkspace – Atlanta, GA
8/05/2014 Artist Residency – San Francisco, CA
8/06/2014 Artist Residency – San Francisco, CA
8/07/2014 The Luggage Store Gallery New Music Series – San Francisco, CA
8/07/2014 Like on KALX 12:00pm – Berkeley, CA
8/08/2014 El Rio – San Francisco, CA
8/09/2014 House Show – Oakland, CA
8/10/2014 Artist Residency – Sonoma County, CA
8/11/2014 Artist Residency – Sonoma County, CA
8/12/2014 Waypost – Portland, OR w/ Aerial Ruin
8/14/2014 House Show – Portland, OR
8/15/2014 Rainbow In The Dark Festival – Olympia, WA
8/16/2014 Live on KPSU – Portland, OR
8/16/2014 Vagrant Eye Projection Museum – Portland, OR
8/18/2014 Wandering Goat – Eugene, OR w/ Disemballerina
8/19/2014 Artist Residency – Oregon and Washington coast
8/20/2014 Artist Residency – Oregon and Washington coast
8/21/2014 Artist Residency – Oregon and Washington coast
8/22/2014 Louie G’s – Tacoma, WA w/ Province Of Thay
8/23/2014 Theatro De La Psychomachia – Seattle, WA
8/24/2014 Highline – Seattle, WA w/ Province Of Thay
“Mulhearn’s voice is pure and gentle, hinting of Appalachia. It radiates warmth, inviting the listener to lean in closer to catch every breathy syllable and heartfelt lyric while the song itself rumbles softly beneath like oncoming thunder.” – Pitchfork
“Oblivion Songs is dark without being gloomy, its dissonance suggesting a willingness to embrace an ever-present tension rather than seeking catharsis or resolution.” – Exclaim!
“…a disquieting work. Though Mulhearn’s music is capable of comfort, her focus is more on exploration, of not settling in on one concise style or sound… This is, ultimately, a taut and tense record, jarring when it needs to be, and never offering more comfort than it has to. Given how easily music like this can descend into sentimentality, it’s a wise choice.” — Dusted
“The entire album sounds like a warm apocalypse. Think of it like this: you’re sitting on a cliff above the sea as the sun sets, and you hear a large boom, look up, and see a meteor heading straight for you. But, it’s so beautiful outside, the weather is perfect, it’s a perfect day, and you’re okay with it. As the meteor edges closer, you’re overcome with peace and tranquility, and acceptance of your fate. That is essentially this album in a nutshell. The five songs here provide an excellent soundtrack to the peaceful apocalypse, and you’ll understand once you hear it.” HeavyBlogIsHeavy
Oblivion Songs is currently available in limited edition vinyl via Paradigms Recordings. Order your copy today HERE.
http://divinecircles.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/DivineCircles
http://www.paradigms-recordings.com