Decibel Festival 2010 coincided with my first glimpse of the professional relationship between Australian composer/curator Lawrence English and the Portland, OR-based musical assuagement to my relationship problems, Liz Harris a.k.a. Grouper. As the principal figure behind the Room40 label, English performed and took on the role as MC for its dedicated showcase, which included him, Grouper, and the literally foundation-shaking Ben Frost. A brief introduction served as the only allusion, but little did we know that Harris and English ultimately shared a deeper bond — one that most of us find hard to empathize with: a craving for cerebrum. Intellectual fulfillment might be a reasonable conclusion, but I’m talking about a genuine desire for brain consumption, digestion, and releasing. They’ve so far chosen to keep it under wraps, but a new collaborative project serves as a clear disclosure…
Slow Walkers. Okay, so they aren’t actually zombies, but there’s no denying the inspiration. As the brief description of their self-titled release, due out August 20, points out, the album was “born from a mutual fascination with horrific depictions of the human present and future.” And if the phrase “horrific depictions” combined with their chosen moniker still doesn’t convince you, there’s the video for the track “Wake,” watchable below. There’s something drone-y, but not quite, about this music — analogous, perhaps, to being not quite human. Moooooreeee…
• Lawrence English: http://lawrenceenglish.com
• Liz Harris: https://sites.google.com/site/yellowelectric
• Peak Oil: http://www.thisispeakoil.com
More about: Grouper, Lawrence English, Slow Walkers
