'Threads Bound In Lapis' serves as the first single from the band’s forthcoming new full-length, Vas, slated for release early spring 2021. The track (here edited into two parts to accommodate the sides of the 7" lathe) is the second movement of 'Book I of Vas’, part of a journey of transformation, through the unconscious dimension, a psychological plane of existence becoming corporeal.
Watch the video by Costin Chioreanu here:
treblezine.com/watch-gates-animated-video-for-epic-new-track-threads-bound-in-lapis/
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The long-running ensemble project of guitarist and composer Bryan W. Bray has been growing and developing for many years across more than a dozen releases, wielding abstractions harvested from the idioms of drone, doom and black metal to create a musical passageway into the realms of the unconscious. Bray’s most recent compositions cultivate a wide range of inspirations from the outer worlds of prog, jazz and neo-classical music, embedding them within an amalgamation of avant-garde approaches to texture, noise and ambience, while still embracing its roots of slow, heavy metal. The result is the cinematic, psychedelic and highly experimental musical journey known as GATES.
In order to bring to life the inspirations for Gates' upcoming album 'Vas', the newest iteration of the GATES ensemble enlists an expanded lineup of players each with their own diverse backgrounds. The foundational electric guitar and electronics of Bryan W. Bray (Uxvae, Cetacea, Jugurtha) are this time joined by the drums and synths of Joel David Beauchamp (Deep Shift, Jugurtha), bass and double bass by Lucas Gadke (Blood Ceremony, Völur), violin and viola performed by Laura C. Bates (Völur), cello by Raphael Weinroth-Browne (Leprous, The Visit, Musk Ox), synths and electronics by James Beardmore (Cares), Karen Ng (Badge Époque Ensemble, L CON) on clarinet and saxophone, and trumpet by Nicolas Buligan (NicBul). The rich and layered instrumentation, along with the insights and instincts of their players, offer an exciting and distinct aesthetic and sound.
‘Vas’ (meaning ‘vessel’) features the nine-piece band on record fleshing out many of these inspirations using a creative practice that melds compositional themes and structures with strict improvisational movements, reflecting the Jungian process of individuation, an integration of unseen unconscious processes of the shadow self with ego-conscious awareness. The album was constructed in various layers, each with its own process of reaction and interpretation. A core four piece band first recorded live off the floor to create the foundations of each piece. The subsequent players then added their parts, whether composed or spontaneous, to these foundational tracks in such a way that each player is able to illustrate their own ideas through an amplification of their intuitive interactions with the music. ‘Vas’ deals with the theme of a psychological plane of existence becoming corporeal and the structures of the music itself convey a direct expression of this. The sounds produced are as abstract, unexpected, and emotionally compelling as such an experiment might predict.
released December 8, 2020
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Sean Pearson at Boxcar Sound
Music composed by Bryan W. Bray with Gates
Production by Sean Pearson & B.W. Bray
Art by Costin Chioreanu
Gates ensemble:
Bryan W. Bray - guitars, baritone guitar, synth
Joel David Beauchamp - drums, synth & percussion
Lucas Gadke - bass
Laura C. Bates - violin
James Beardmore - synths & electronics
Raphael Weinroth-Browne - cello
Karen Ng - clarinet
Nicolas Buligan - trumpet
Sean Pearson - additional synth