Artists are bound to be influenced by their predecessors, but it requires a precise hand in order to create with acknowledgement while avoiding the cease-and-desist letters that would come with a liberal, albeit unintended, homage. With that in mind, Portland-based duo Visible Cloaks (Spencer Doran and Ryan Carlile) have announced a new album in which they explore “uninhabited realities” through a complex embrace of “worldly musical influences.” They’ve thanked Vietnamese filmmaker and theorist Trinh T. Minh-ha for the title of the new one, as well as for the idea central to their cultural appreciation.
“Speak nearby” rather than “speak about,” Minh-ha has said in response to questions about her filmmaking technique, and Reassemblage is the upcoming album, out February 17 on RVNG Intl., in which Visible Cloaks assume that attitude in earnest. The album will be accompanied by a Doran-crafted mixtape titled Translations (available on cassette only), and musically, there’s a certain continuance of the Japanese hints that show up in their earlier work. “Overt” wouldn’t be the adjective though, and more than anything, it sounds like a thoughtful ambient narrative.
Pre-order Reassemblage here. A sense of the Japanese part is below:
Reassemblage tracklisting:
01. Screen
02. Valve (Ft. Miyako Koda)
03. Bloodstream
04. Terrazzo (Ft. Motion Graphics)
05. Wintergreen
06. Circle
07. Mask
08. Mimesis
09. Skyscraper
10. Neume (Ft. Matt Carlson)
11. Place
12. Visible Cloaks & dip in the pool – Valve (Revisited)
13. Imprint (Bonus Track)
14. Moon (Bonus Track)
15. Cave (Bonus Track)
More about: Visible Cloaks
