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LP
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IMPREC 542LP
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$36.00
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 5/29/2026
After All Hands Bury The Cliffs At Sea (IMPREC 503LP, 2023) and Black Clouds Above The Bows (IMPREC 507CD, 2022), Amsterdam-based collective Wanderwelle presents the final entry of their album trilogy for Important Records. Conceived as a sonic reflection on the climate crisis and its devastating impact on coastal ecosystems, Ghosts Beneath The Brine addresses the mass deaths of fish, seabirds, crustaceans and countless other creatures that call these seas home, now rapidly being overfished, warming and acidifying. Where antique cavalry trumpets played a central role on Black Clouds Above The Bows and a dying church organ shaped All Hands Bury The Cliffs At Sea, cymbals form the core of Ghosts Beneath The Brine. The instruments were submerged in seawater for extended periods of time and played with a bow at various stages of corrosion. As the bronze alloy gradually reacted with the saltwater, their sound transformed, becoming darker, more fragile and unstable. Over time, the metal began to sing in ghostly overtones, as if haunted by the waters that shaped it. Much like large groups of fish shimmering beneath the surface, the cymbals slowly lost their shine, both sonically and physically, as salt and time took hold. Alongside its environmental narrative, the album draws from maritime mythology. Echoes of the sea bishop, the kraken, devil whales and sea serpents emerge throughout its soundscape. Once feared and revered, these creatures now exist only in the liminal space between folklore and memory, haunting the collective imagination like omens from a forgotten age. Through immersive textures and submerged harmonies, Wanderwelle intertwines myth and mourning, inviting listeners to drift between the real and the spectral. If humanity continues on its current course, familiar species such as sharks, oysters and even gulls may soon share the same fate as their legendary predecessors, becoming ghosts beneath the brine. Cymbals (submerged, corroded, played with bow and mallet), cello, voice, bowed guitar, Osmose synthesizer, modular synthesizer, field recordings.
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LP
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IMPREC 503LP
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After Black Clouds Above The Bows (IMPREC 507CD), Amsterdam-based collective Wanderwelle presents the second entry of their trilogy for Important Records, which is dedicated to telling the story of the climate crisis and its effects on coastal areas around the globe. For this album the artists incorporated the sound of a dying organ, fatally wounded in a climate related event. All Hands Bury The Cliffs At Sea consists of electro-acoustic threnodies for an environment at risk due to the effects caused by receding coastlines around the globe. Wailing odes tell the story of the catastrophic activity of eroding waves and winds shaping the land that are enhanced by the climate crisis. Firsthand experiences and meetings with local maritime experts on the subject of these receding coastlines inspired Wanderwelle to compose these albums. During their travels, the artists stumbled upon a small church in a town on the east coast of Scotland. The building was quite damaged, the roof was being stabilized and the ancient walls showed great tears running vertically down the structure. The damage had been caused by a nearby cliff that collapsed in the sea, an event increasingly common in the region. The church organ was ruined in such a way that it was deemed unplayable, as most of the pipes were gravely damaged and in dire need of restoration. Despite the damage, the artists were allowed to record a few tones of the instrument with their equipment, which was actually meant to be used for field recordings later that day. In Black Clouds Above The Bows, antique cavalry trumpets were recorded and manipulated. Similar processing was used on the recordings of the dying organ, resulting in spectral, deconstructed tones beyond recognition. In addition to the damaged organ, the artists recorded piano, cello, and synthesizers in later stages of the composition process, manipulating these sounds to mimic the sea shaping the land. Furthermore, a great deal of inspiration was found in maritime superstition, lore, and mythology. As told in the legend of Aspidochelone, a legendary sea creature of enormous size, was once mistaken for an island. After sailors docked and lit a fire, the beast submerged resembling a land mass sliding into the sea. The album's title is derived from the saying "All Hands Bury The Dead", a maritime burial phrase, as the duo likes to think "All Hands" refers to all of mankind since we are all responsible for these impending catastrophes.
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CD
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IMPREC 507CD
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The Amsterdam-based collective Wanderwelle presents the first entry of their trilogy for Important Records, dedicated to telling the story of the climate crisis and its effects on coastal areas around the globe. Black Clouds Above The Bows consists of electro-acoustic threnodies for an environment at risk. Wailing odes express and examine the destructive activity of intensifying storm systems that are enhanced by the climate crisis. First-hand experiences with coastal damage and meetings with local maritime experts on the subject inspired the artists to compose this album. Antique cavalry trumpets play a central role in the album. The instruments, recorded and manipulated by Wanderwelle, sound an environmental alarm in the same manner as they were once used to warn men on the battlefield. After more than a century of silence, they are once again fulfilling their purpose. Starting out as menacing tones, the brass progresses into blaring noises and gets more aggressive as the album continues, resulting in a cacophony across a tumultuous sea. With digital alterations, the natural trumpets were used beyond the range of the harmonic series and their original pitch. Furthermore, their bright timbre is reminiscent of the songs of the sirens in Greek mythology, whose bewitching tones lured ancient mariners to their doom. A fitting analogy for our lack of modern leadership and march towards ecological catastrophes. A great deal of inspiration was found in maritime superstition and the vast number of bad omens. For ages, these ill signs are known to have preceded the demise of seamen. This theme felt equally suited to the current environmental disasters and the larger crises yet to come; the writing's on the wall. Samuel Taylor Coleridge's major poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", served as further inspiration for the bleak mood of the album. Transmuting the original characteristics of acoustic instruments is a recurring technique used in the making of the trilogy. The sounds generated by these processes are combined with recorded electronics and archival recordings. Later in 2022, All Hands Bury The Cliffs At Sea, the second part of their trilogy, will be released on vinyl. The concluding part is currently nearing completion.
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