Decompose, by Spheruleus

album name: Decompose
band name: by Spheruleus

	00:00 / 00:00

Digital Album

Hopefully over the last couple of months, you've all been enjoying your teabreaks courtesy of the Audio Gourmet netlabel catalog. Each 15 minute EP is produced by top quality ambient and/or experimental artists from around the globe and then given away at www.audiogourmet.co.uk, ideally for 'teabreak' listening.

A new venture for the label is in the form of a more 'lunchbreak' based excursion, I.E a full artist album.
The release rate for this will be very slow in comparison to the free EPs, to allow you to digest the material after indulging in a rich aural feast.
The full albums will not be given away for free because of ... more

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1.	Coroding 10:06		download
2.	Deform 10:33		download
3.	Decay 06:50	info	download
4.	Disintegrate 08:39		download
5.	Rots To Nothing? 02:41		download
6.	Recycling 09:10		download
7.	Reshaping Fragments 07:30		download
8.	Respawn As Another Entity 07:52		download

about: 'Decompose' was originally conceived as an album project when I got thinking the about method in which I create ambient music. Typically, I would perform or 'compose' a melody on an instrument and record this take when I was happy with it. Then, the next step is to record another harmonically compatible layer with a different instrument. This will continue with up to four or so compositions and then I would begin to 'decompose' them into an abstract ambient/drone soundscape.

As I began to gather the tracks for 'Decompose' my attention turned to the track titles and that's when the concept of the album began to branch out to reference and portray the seemingly endless cycle of the world around us. When an organism ceases, it decomposes and becomes part of something else - it will rot into the soil and the disintegrating fragments will eventually take form as something else. This is not just the case with living organisms; it is also the case with everyday house hold objects, buildings and seemingly everything. The world will naturally recycle - very little disappears completely.

With the album concept in mind, throughout the recording process I would constantly refer to the album cover image, kindly provided by French artist Eric Lacombe (Monstror) for inspiration. I'd like to thank Eric for allowing me to use his work for this album and also, for the artwork on my albums 'Frozen Quarters' and 'Tales From The Labyrinth".
If you'd like to find out more about Monstror's work or simply look at his other stunning pieces of art then visit monstror.blogspot.com

REVIEWS:

FLUID RADIO
When dealing with a release structured solely around the concept of physical disintegration, it would be a fair assumption that the material would be foreboding and gloomy – but not so on the album ‘Decompose’ by Spheruleus, recently released on Audio Gourmet. Based around the idea of organisms of all types breaking down into another form over time, the eight tracks are thematically constructed from what appear to have been carefully built loops and layers of field noise. These are in turn deconstructed in a process of “decomposition” forming new pieces in their own right Proceedings open with “Corroding”, which sets the stage for the hour to follow. Both cavernous and aquatic, it introduces the mood and tone of the layers used in all tracks. The texture sounds are gritty without being abrasive and are used to good effect in creating an environment best appreciated through headphones late at night. What appear to be guitar notes chime in a circular motif throughout, creating a subtle melody blending with well placed ayers that rise and fall in both sides of the speakers. As the process of disintegration is a long and slow one, most pieces are aptly lengthy, most being the best part of ten minutes each – the size of each track really captures the listener, and the album as a whole represents a real journey that envelops and commands attention. It wasn’t until the third or fourth listen that I even registered the absence of a defined bottom end – which is an entirely appropriate decision by the artist, given the subject matter. An exploration of graceful degradation rightly should not carry too much weight? A few of the standout tracks are “Decay” – an even and percussive pulse which hints at a crescendo never quite arriving, swaying with well placed guitar flares, micro noise and almost perceptible layers. “Disintegrate” conjures an image of time lapse film of fallen birds becoming one with the earth, and “Recycling” alternates between an image of time lapse film of fallen birds becoming one with the earth, and “Recycling” alternates between metallic and organic tones – you can hear the fingerprints on the empty drink cans as they’re sorted to be melted down, moving towards the furnace. metallic and organic tones – you can hear the fingerprints on the empty drink cans as they’re sorted to be melted metallic and organic tones – you can hear the fingerprints on the empty drink cans as they’re sorted to be melted down, moving towards the furnace Harry Towell and his brother Stuart have developed between them a statement on the ephemeral and transitory nature of the world we move in today Audio Gourmet’s recent releases have been based around the concept of “teabreak” length listens, slices of music that can be digested in 15 minutes or less – this represents a move towards “lunchbreak” length portions of music of an hour or more. The teabreak EP’s have been free downloads, however the “Decompose” project is a paid download due to the seemingly considerable time and effort that has gone into producing it. It’s as good a 5 pound download as one could hope to find as well, with striking cover art by French artist Eric Lacombe(Monstror). It’s available in the multiple file types (lossless included) that you’d expect from Bandcamp. It come up well in the 320k MP3 files I grabbed, but would doubtless shine even brighter as FLAC“Decompose” sat well in most environments – it was the first thing I listened to in the morning, and steadied my nerves before a demanding day at work – it wiped it away once I was done, and was also worthy of the complete nerves before a demanding day at work – it wiped it away once I was done, and was also worthy of the complete attention hgiven to it late at night. I’m uncertain as to how it was mastered, but it plays well both in headphones and hitting the air. It also displays one of the traits that good records possess – it changes form with every listen and by concentrating on one particular part of the spectrum, another part displays itself in a way that it hadn’t previously As the tracks have been developed out of musical parts that have been treated and broken down, they retain a hint of their former shape. There’s a lot of implied melody, where after you’ve finished listening you’re left with a phrase that wasn’t actually there, but was a combination of parts operating in tandem to create the part in between your ears.
Can’t wait for the next one Review by Alex Gibson for Fluid Radio
credits: released 10 July 2010
Special thanks to my brother Stuart, who performed the guitar samples that helped form 'Decay' and 'Rots To Nothing?'

Artwork by Eric 'Monstror' Lacombe. Visit monstror.blogspot.com to view more of his superb artwork.

With extra special thanks to friends, labels and fellow artists that have helped support both the Spheruleus project and the Audio Gourmet label.
tags: tags: ambient avant garde drone electro acoustic field recordings guitar piano sound design soundscape soundscapes ambient drone electroacoustic electronic organic Peterborough
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