Those who know me well know I’m a matchmaker/puppet master at heart. Well, one of my longest-running matchmaking projects has been between Joel RL Phelps (a member of Silkworm through the original release of their recently reissued Libertine and currently of The Downer Trio) and G. Stuart Dahlquist (of Burning Witch, sunn O))), and currently Asva). Now, after nearly 25 years of friendship and will they/won’t they waffling surpassed only by the likes of Mulder/Scully, Pam/Jim, and Oprah/Gayle, it looks like Phelps and Dahlquist are just about ready to settle down with each other in a new musical collaboration called Thine, which was recently signed to Northern Spy Records. They’re planning a debut LP entitled Claw for release this August.
Sure sure, I’ve met neither Phelps nor Dahlquist, but I can assure you I’ve been pulling the strings all along. You see, according to the press release, Phelps finally made his move on Dahlquist after hearing Asva’s 2012 collaboration with Philippe Petit, Empires Should Burn…. Well, reader, who do you think put that collaboration together in the first place? It was me. I am the puppet master. And who do you think helped Al Gore invent the internet so Phelps and Dahlquist could exchange recordings over an 18-month period while putting Claw together in their respective home cities of Vancouver and Seattle? Bingo, me again, leaning over the stage, string in hand, breathing heavily through my nose the whole time. Northern Spy says “the results are a profound representation of their individual yet somehow synchronous growth and maturity as artists.” I’ll be honest, it’s always nice to hear praise like that for my puppet mastering. It feels good. You can hear their version of “One World” on last year’s Songs: Molina compilation, or check out the video below for the track “Been to the Water.”
• Thine: http://thinemusic.wordpress.com
• Northern Spy: http://northernspyrecords.com