Spheruleus - Debris (Audio Gourmet, 2011)

1 Debris #1 06:27
2 Debris #2 06:03
3 Debris #3 07:29
4 Debris #4 03:51

For the first Spheruleus outing of 2011, Audio Gourmet label curator Harry Towell has scoured his hard-drive to put together a collection of tracks that are born out of unfinished samples and discarded parts of previous projects. They have been presented as a four track EP which is aptly titled 'Debris'.

The source material was drawn from the usual collection of instrument samples that Towell's work typically comprises of, although heavily processed with 'vintage' style ambient production techniques. The resulting soundtrack is loose and drifting with moments of hiss and static - a production style that you might not always associate with the work of Spheruleus.
The aim was to draw out the near 24 minute duration as long as possible, giving the impression of time standing still and allowing these otherwise unused sounds a chance to have their 'day'.

2011 is to be a big year for Spheruleus, with CD album 'Voyage' scheduled for release on Hibernate this summer and another short album coming out on Resting Bell at the end of February. Not to mention the debut Paper Relics album recorded with brother Stuart due out in March/April...
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Spheruleus – Forgotten Outland (Resting Bell, 2011)

1 Wilting Bounds
2 Grey Haze
3 Grass Stands Green

The sound-art of Spheruleus is produced by British artist Harry Towell with a previous discography including releases on the likes of Under The Spire, Earth Mantra and Test Tube as well as his own label Audio Gourmet. Intrigued by all things old and rustic, his music is often inspired by the rural Lincolnshire surroundings in which he lives and his first outing of 2011, here on Resting Bell, is intended to really captured this.

A short collection of deliberately loose and degraded instrument samples and field recordings, ‘Forgotten Outland’ is presented as if it were an old record found discarded inside a derelict farm building on disused land.
It comprises of blurred melodic passages and offers a faded insight into times gone by when the farmland thrived. Just like the physical state of the farm itself, the record sounds timeworn, warped and a shadow of its former self.

The instrument leads and various sounds climb over one another as if fighting for a voice. Nothing seems structured or in order, although amidst the deluge of disjointed melody, subtle detail can be focused upon to reveal parts of this purposefully concealed soundtrack.
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Spheruleus - Decompose (Audio Gourmet, 2010)

1 Coroding 10:06
2 Deform 10:33
3 Decay 06:50
4 Disintegrate 08:39
5 Rots To Nothing? 02:41
6 Recycling 09:10
7 Reshaping Fragments 07:30
8 Respawn As Another Entity 07:52

'Decompose' was originally conceived as an album project when I got thinking the about method in which I create ambient music. Typically, I would perform or 'compose' a melody on an instrument and record this take when I was happy with it. Then, the next step is to record another harmonically compatible layer with a different instrument. This will continue with up to four or so compositions and then I would begin to 'decompose' them into an abstract ambient/drone soundscape.

As I began to gather the tracks for 'Decompose' my attention turned to the track titles and that's when the concept of the album began to branch out to reference and portray the seemingly endless cycle of the world around us. When an organism ceases, it decomposes and becomes part of something else - it will rot into the soil and the disintegrating fragments will eventually take form as something else. This is not just the case with living organisms; it is also the case with everyday house hold objects, buildings and seemingly everything. The world will naturally recycle - very little disappears completely.

With the album concept in mind, throughout the recording process I would constantly refer to the album cover image, kindly provided by French artist Eric Lacombe (Monstror) for inspiration. I'd like to thank Eric for allowing me to use his work for this album and also, for the artwork on my albums 'Frozen Quarters' and 'Tales From The Labyrinth".
If you'd like to find out more about Monstror's work or simply look at his other stunning pieces of art then visit monstror.blogspot.com
Audio Gourmet

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Spheruleus - Driftwood / Seafoam (Audio Gourmet, 2010)

For his second EP on his own Audio Gourmet netlabel, Harry Towell has put together this stormy and atmospheric two tracker under his Spheruleus guise.

'Driftwood/Seafoam' features the usual treatment of instrument recordings and accenting field noise:

'Driftwood' starts the EP off in a serene fashion, fusing sounds of a now broken zither, an old wind-chime instrument, hiss, drones and an oboe sample.
'Seafoam' explores stormier territory, with its array of guitar sounds warped and re-arranged into a wash of murky feedback.

Hope you all enjoy this EP from Spheruleus.
With thanks for the photography by Jonathan Lees:
www.hibernate-recs.co.uk
www.ruralcolours.co.uk
www.craggvalephotography.co.uk
Audio Gourmet


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Spheruleus - Rust (Audio Gourmet, 2010)

1 Rusting (6:08)
2 Stalling (3:54)
3 Brittle (4:56)

"The first release on the Audio Gourmet netlabel is from label owner Harry Towell under his Spheruleus guise. As Spheruleus, Harry has recently had a limited-run CD album released on Under The Spire (http://www.underthespire.co.uk/) and has another forthcoming on Hibernate (http://www.hibernate-recs.co.uk) fifteen minute E.P showcases his typical production approach and sits somewhere in between the different styles of sound design to be heard on these two CD label releases. For the Rust E.P, Harry has fused treated instrument takes of zither, vibraphone, guitar, trumpet and harmonica with drones and field recordings. The mood of the E.P is light and mellow; designed as an audio representation of the rust process. It would have been all too easy to portray this with a much darker approach to sound art, but instead the pieces sound as if content to 'rust' away slowly as time elapses. The process of rusting is a slow and subtle degradation of a building, vehicle or object as it gradually head towards uselessness. This ageing process sits in line with the ephemoral existence of the physical human being and in many ways, our metallic creations reflect our own temporary lifespan. The very nature of ephemorality can be a saddening and daunting fact but when accepted, the mere simplicity of existence can be truly savoured for what it is.Don't be bogged down with the unnecessary clutter that we humans weigh ourselves down with and enjoy one of life's most basic yet vital requirements - to draw breath and exist."
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