Newest collaboration between U.K. bassist Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree) and U.S. guitarist Jon Durant out December 21st
Alchemy Records will mark the end of days, December 21, 2012, with the release of Burnt Belief, a progressive instrumental collaboration between bass player Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree, Metallic Taste of Blood, Ex-Wise Heads) and guitarist/composer Jon Durant. The album will be released through Alchemy Records in the U.S. and will be available on iTunes, CDBaby, Burning Shed and Amazon.
Burnt Belief marks the second time that the two musicians have worked together since Edwin contributed bass to Durant’s 2011 release, Dance of the Shadow Planets. It was recorded at three studios, two in the U.S. and one in the U.K., with Edwin and Durant exchanging digital files over the Internet. Additional musicians were later brought in, with Jerry Leake (“Cubist,” Natraj, Club d’Elf) on percussion and Geoff Leigh (Ex-Wise Heads, Henry Cow, Hatfield and the North) on flute.
Perhaps best described as a post-rock concept album, Burnt Belief draws from ethnic, ambient and electronic elements to create a cohesive and emotional album, inspired by a fundamental, universal question.
Timed to coincide with the end of the Mayan calendar (and the end of the world, as many have since prophesied), the album considers the polarization between religion and science, while highlighting the dissonance between belief and reality. Burnt Belief deals with issues of intellect, fundamentalism and fanaticism, set to an ambient and progressive aural landscape.
Blending electronic rhythms and acoustic elements, the musicians wove soundscapes from unique sources – synth, 12-string and cloud guitar textures, melodic fretless bass, prepared piano and Middle Eastern hand percussion – along with searing lead guitars, to tell a series of instrumental stories. Burnt Belief takes the listener on an immersive journey, with repeated listens revealing new layers and tones to the depth of the subject. While the album is intended to be a complete experience, the centerpiece comes with the dual attack of “Balthazar’s Key” and “Uncoiled,” just over 20 minutes of compelling sounds that, according to Durant, “kick enough booty to make anyone sit up and take notice.”
The title of the album was inspired by Edwin’s reading of social psychologist Leon Festinger’s When Prophecy Fails, an account of a doomsday UFO cult in the 1950s. According to Edwin, “It got me thinking, what are all beliefs really about and where do they come from?” – a question that Durant had also been interested in for some time.
Follow Burnt Belief on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/BurntBelief and Twitter @BurntBelief3 for details.
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About Jon Durant
Jon Durant’s distinctive “cloud guitar” soundscapes and engaging lead work have graced numerous CD recordings and film soundtracks. As executive producer of Alchemy Records, he produces recordings for internationally acclaimed artists in his small Massachusetts studio. Along with longtime collaborators Tony Levin (bassist with King Crimson and Peter Gabriel), percussionist Vinny Sabatino, pianist Michael Whalen, and guitar/synth master Randy Roos, Jon has recorded with electric violinist Caryn Lyn, percussionist Jerry Leake, singer/songwriter Porter Smith and soul singer Ray Greene.
About Colin Edwin
Colin Edwin is best known as the bass player of Porcupine Tree, a Grammy Award-nominated progressive rock band with extensive international headline tours, ten studio albums and two live DVDs. A founding member, he plays both fretted and fretless bass with the group. In addition, he has a long running collaboration (and six albums) under the name Ex-Wise Heads with Geoff Leigh (Henry Cow/Hatfield and the North). Colin is also a member of Metallic Taste of Blood, a genre-defying group whose intense and cinematic music draws from dub, metal, progressive, free jazz and ambient music.
Sources:
www.facebook.com/burntbelief
www.alchemyrecords.com
www.colinedwin.blogspot.com
