Demian Castellanos – Ether
Following 2015’s highly successful Kyvu Tapes Vol.1 (1990-1998) archival release, Demian Castellanos of London psych-rockers The Oscillation has once again dug deep into his historic bedroom recordings for Ether, an aptly titled and single 30-minute capture that originally hails from 1995, a 4-track Tascam recording back from when Castellanos lived in deepest Cornwall, and now transferred and mixed at the same time as the Kyvu Tapes into today’s crystalline version.
Conceived as a stream-of-conscious experiment in which “the physical world is also inside [the body] … inside/outside being the same thing … cells, atoms, planets”, Ether is both suitably meditative and paranoid, lonely sci-fi sound-tracking that tunes into the brain’s most zen frequencies whilst at the same time channelling broadcasts of subtle menace. High-altitude prop-engine drones and synapse-frying synths fade away into kaleidoscopic, chattering ambience – an astronaut cut adrift in the cosmos.
Dreamy, undulating washes begin to cloud darkly as if with blood, dripping with tangible dread about the half-way point. A deep, repetitive pulse re-establishes momentum, electric guitar dressed in delayed pedal effects ratcheting up the cabin’s pressure gauges. Synths are then latterly set to stereo-panning scan, zoning in out and out of focus over free-form tuning and nebulous drones, needling oscillations eventually paving the way for a gilded staircase to the stars. If the Kyvu Tapes were formative steps that most would call a career highlight, Ether is a hitherto undiscovered stepping stone on that same journey, one that reveals itself like a hidden level on some vintage platform game.
~Ether is released February 13th 2017 via the collaborative efforts of Cardinal Fuzz and Out Of Phase Frequencies. Hear an extract below. The album is released on black vinyl in an edition of 250 and comes in a metallic gold screen-printed sleeve with full colour insert.~