Frequent Current 93 collaborator Michael Cashmore has released a new album The Doctrine Of Transformation Through Love I. The label’s website states:
“Michael Cashmore is an English composer and musician currently living in Berlin. He has created music under the name of Nature And Organisation since the early ‘80s, and more recently (2006) under his own name. He is widely known as being the composer of some of the most seminal albums of the legendary group Current 93 during a 25 year period, he has also worked with, and wrote music for, Nick Cave, Marc Almond, Anohni (Antony and the Johnsons), Tony Visconti, and Bill Fay, amongst many others. During the last 2 years Cashmore has been undergoing a process of personal Transformation which has also caused a Transformation of his work, Michael has also been using his music itself as a tool of Transformation in return. His new album “The Doctrine Of Transformation Through Love I” is the first part of a series of works that will document Cashmore’s personal Transformation from 2017 onwards. His music is now very experimental, electronic, and melodic, and could be seen to have a dark connection to techno. The album features vocals and texts by Cashmore’s current collaborator, Lithuanian-born occultist and enigma Shaltmira and, as a strong contrast to the rest of the album, the last track features a simple melodic song with vocals by the legendary English singer-songwriter Bill Fay. This album is a an eternal journey through darkness, space, and loneliness: through Love into Light. The album comes with a 4-page booklet with all-new artwork from Cashmore and consists of 13 tracks.
“Each of these pieces channels an aspect of his journey from darkness into light, and a careful listen will indeed reveal the nature of the path he’s taken. Also the track titles themselves are a clue to the landmarks visited along the way. Much of the first half of the album is coloured with shades of darkness, heavy on the bass rhythms and beats, wherein we’re all cocooned in a self-realised state of ignorance, blissfully unaware of our potential. Gradually, however, the light emerges a crack at a time, and melody piles upon melody, signalling the transformation itself and its accumulative effects. Make no mistake – all the compositions on this album are carefully crafted, as is only to be expected from this particular musician. Above all, in spite of this being a highly intimate chapter in Cashmore’s autobiography (with vocal contributions from Shaltmira and Bill Fay), the music transcends any personal relevance meaning it can be experienced by any one of us. Furthermore, by the end of the album, one can feel the joy of the transformation. This curmudgeon even found himself subconsciously moving to several tracks and smiling. A recommendation indeed.
(1208 Fuller Ave, July 2019)
(1208 Fuller Ave, July 2019)
“The radical shift in Cashmores musical output is evident instantly, as the opening track, The Gateway To All Understanding, enters with the accented spoken voice of Shaltmira speaking of darkness being the gateway to all understanding. There is a sense of elevation as it lifts off into glinting electronics and techno beats dovetailing into passages of melancholic piano chime and rising once again with gliding prog electro sequences. You will be surprised with how the album evolves but before it fully opens ups into the light a run of quietly effective tracks reside in darker realms. Perception Should Not Influence Perspectives is the first of a number of experimental soundtrack styled pieces, couching a tender piano score of the type he does so beautifully amidst an experimental piece of sidereal electronics. A sense of majesty is inherent within Before The Crown There Lies Thorns casting solemn synths against wavering, flickering electronics, passing through hammering beats, stuttering synths and electro sequences. Its almost a battle between beauty and turmoil where melody competes with musical disarray. The sequences at times recall the Pagan techno of Mother Destruction, but even amidst this ravaged score Cashmore finds space for gentle, tumbling piano notes. (…) The big revelation in his musical evolution really occurs midway through the album. From a series of piano notes, We Are All Responsible lurches into beating, pulsating electronics. Its as if we have passed from the dark into the light, with life affirming movements captured in rhythm heavy shuffling tones and chiming keys. (Compulsion July 2019)”
Order your copy: http://klanggalerie.com/gg284.
