Periphery

About a week after September 11, 2001 (ever to be known as 9/11) I flew into New York City to be a grant panelist for the Rockefeller Foundation’s arts program. Flying into New York the aftermath of the destruction of the Twin Towers could still be seen as an eerie cloud and haze that embraced the site of the attacks. Walking through the streets there were flyers posted everywhere that detailed the names and descriptions of the missing and dead. I sat in a room for the arts panel that gave me a birds eye view of the destruction. This experience of sights, smells, and art in NYC began my European tour of 2001!

The third album from Detroit post-punk outfit Protomartyr ups the ante considerably from the first two. Their grim but compelling songs highlight a place where violence hovers constantly at the periphery, where peace and hope gradually curdle and turn ugly, and the desperate people who once clung to them eventually fall prey to their worst impulses.

Equilibrium is a band that epitomizes the term ‘hard-working’. While folk metal has been burgeoning for the past decade with many bands seeing great success, Equilibrium has diligently labored hard in the background, slowly plying their trade in their native region, but never really sharing in the monumental international success that some of the genre forebears have experienced. The band’s latest album Renegades looks to rectify this as they aim to stamp a lasting mark on the genre by bringing their music to new audiences globally…

Ondine is proud to release its 17th album together with the award-winning Latvian Radio Choir and conductor Sigvards Kļava dedicated to a cappella words by Anton Brucker. Anton Bruckner (1824–1896) is known as one of the greatest of 19th century symphonists. Yet, also choral music formed an integral part of the composer’s output. This album includes a selection of smaller choral works written between the years 1848 and 1892. Many of these works were long forgotten. Yet after a long stretch on the periphery of the choral world, Bruckner’s motets have now finally returned to a broader consciousness. Anton Bruckner (1824–1896) is known as one of the greatest of 19th century symphonists.

After more than 30 years of existence, Gothenburg's finest metal masters Evergrey are far away from slowing things down. The five-piece, led by founder, singer and guitarist Tom S. Englund, will release its fourteenth studio album, Theories Of Emptiness, on June 7, 2024 via Napalm Records. Without any doubt, the new album marks one of the most dynamic records the band has ever crafted throughout their impressive career. Theories Of Emptiness was produced by Tom S. Englund and Jonas Ekdahl, and was mixed by Adam "Nolly" Getgood (ex-Periphery), who worked closely with the band from the start - bringing out the vividness of the album’s overall sonic profile. Rounding out the album’s production, mastering was helmed by Thomas “Plec” Johansson (Soilwork, The Night Flight Orchestra, Onslaught, The Gems, Eleine and many more).

David Grubbs & Jim O'Rourke’s long-dormant Gastr Del Sol returns with a first “new” release in 25 years, an epic 3LP/2CD box set collecting previously unreleased recordings and rarities influenced by Derek Bailey’s free improv as much as hallowed jazz staples and musique concrète, like some irresistible force ploughing through the increasingly approachable, you might even say polite, output of their post rock contemporaries back in the late 90’s. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it sounds better now than ever, too.