We’re excited to welcome back Glåsbird after having released the debut album Grønland back in February. This sold out in no time at all so we imagine that copies of the follow-up record Svalbarð will be similarly sought-after. As the title suggests, this one’s another geographic expedition and this time, in the isles of Svalbard. Glåsbird continues the themes of icy modern classical music but this time the sound is less polished as the artist turns to tape saturation effects. Artwork is in the form of location photography on Svalbard, by travelling photographer Aldona Pivoriene. This will be available in 2019’s signature gatefold-LP style CD, in a run of 100 copies and we’ll release this officially on or around the 10th of August 2019. This one might appeal to artists such as Ben Lukas Boysen, Ian Hawgood or Anthene.
Svalbarð was released to subscribers of our mailing list last weekend and we’re afraid that all CD copies have sold out before the official release date! You can still stream the album on Bandcamp and of course, grab a digital copy in a range of formats by clicking the link below or image above. To avoid missing out on future releases, you can join our mailing list HERE
https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/album/svalbar
press release
“In February 2019 we released the debut album by an anonymous artist named Glåsbird, in the form of Grønland, a sonic expedition of Greenland. The album received much critical acclaim despite being from an anonymous artist and was even featured on Bandcamp Daily under their ‘best Ambient’ feature. CD copies of this record have long since sold out, but the Glåsbird continues its flight to a new destination: Svalbard.
Svalbard lies 78 degrees north, is inside the Arctic Circle and had a population of around 2600 people and an estimated 3000 polar bears! Its calendar year divides between the midnight sun and the polar nights. The former is a period of constant daylight and the latter is the opposite. However, the dark season is broken from time to time by spectacular Northern Lights.
In Svalbarð, Glåsbird became immersed once more in this next excursion, through means of Google Earth, 360° photos, blogger accounts of the isles, maps and also, videos by Efterklang who were an obvious reference point with the band having visited.
This time, we are treated to a greater number of tracks, as ten movements weave Modern Classical influenced Ambient soundscapes. The pristine, polished reverb of Grønland is replaced with a slightly muddier, more lo-fi approach to the sound as the artist strived to present a tape-eroded aesthetic to their work. The recordings deal with dramatic landscapes, glaciers, an abandoned coal community, a seed vault, the Island’s capital city Longyearbyen and of course, polar bears. Each piece feels icy cold, yet the warmth and hiss provided by the decaying tape effects provide a comfort blanket for the listener as perhaps you take in these scenes from a lonely cabin, at one with isolation and natural beauty.
The packaging for the album includes photography from Svalbard itself, courtesy of Aldona Pivoriene who is a professional photographer based in Norway. We are also set to release the next Glåsbird album next year. Where will the destination be? For now, we hope you enjoy immersing yourself in this new set of works exploring Svalbard.”
credits
Written and produced by Glåsbird
Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Photography by Aldona Pivoriene (http://www.aldonapivoriene.com)
Packaging design by Harry Towell
whitelabrecs.com 