Brian Lavelle is a Scottish musician who has been active for more than fifteen years creating
music with a variety of electronic devices. His compositions showcase resonant and textural
layers of digital material, drones and processed field recordings. His most famous works are
probably the 'Radios' series, composed along with Richard Youngs, but we can't help
mentioning his wonderful "How To Construct a Time Machine" guitar suite released by
Staalplaat's subsidiary Bake Records and 'fault/r', released on Microwave Records back in
2000. Brian was a member of Inversion along with Alistair Crosbie and together with him and
Murray Johnston he was also involved in No Input, a one-off improvising trio. Between 2000
and 2003 he curated the techNOH online mp3 label. AFE released Brian Lavelle's A Stuffed
Crocodile way back in 2001 and is now extremely proud to present his new work entitled
Ustrina.
"Ustrina follows a surge of increased activity over the last two years with highly regarded
releases such as Just a Song at Twilight (Dust, Unsettled, 2006), Fallen Are the Domes of
Green Amber (Diophantine Discs, 2007) and Supernaturalist (EE Tapes, 2008).
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." (AFE)
music with a variety of electronic devices. His compositions showcase resonant and textural
layers of digital material, drones and processed field recordings. His most famous works are
probably the 'Radios' series, composed along with Richard Youngs, but we can't help
mentioning his wonderful "How To Construct a Time Machine" guitar suite released by
Staalplaat's subsidiary Bake Records and 'fault/r', released on Microwave Records back in
2000. Brian was a member of Inversion along with Alistair Crosbie and together with him and
Murray Johnston he was also involved in No Input, a one-off improvising trio. Between 2000
and 2003 he curated the techNOH online mp3 label. AFE released Brian Lavelle's A Stuffed
Crocodile way back in 2001 and is now extremely proud to present his new work entitled
Ustrina.
"Ustrina follows a surge of increased activity over the last two years with highly regarded
releases such as Just a Song at Twilight (Dust, Unsettled, 2006), Fallen Are the Domes of
Green Amber (Diophantine Discs, 2007) and Supernaturalist (EE Tapes, 2008).
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." (AFE)
artist: BRIAN LAVELLE
title: Ustrina
label: AFE
country: Italy
format: CDR
title: Ustrina
label: AFE
country: Italy
format: CDR
