Asleep in the Downlights (2011)
This album may also be listened to in its entirety on SoundCloud.
Legends Steve Kilbey and timEbandit Powles of The Church collaborate with Hammock on vocal/lyric versions of two instrumentals from the "Chasing... Outtakes" EP alongside two new Hammock songs.
"...staggering lyrics...looming sense of surrealism...a vast amount of ground covered over 20 minutes of music..." -Paste Magazine
"...first of all i was knocked off my chair by the brilliance of the hammock track i sang on its called “no agenda”...timothy [powles] is a true master of the studio...i am totally over the moon with the song very nice work to all involved." -Steve Kilbey, "The Time Being" Blog.
"Name one band whose every release has been an absolute must-listen, who has never stagnated or become formulaic or predictable, and whose music is always beautiful and resonates within one’s being for a long time to come...the post-ambient duo Hammock further proves that it is one such band." -The Silent Ballet
For more on this release, including an interview with timEbandit Powles of The Church and Marc and Andrew of Hammock, go here.
Release Date: October 25, 2011
Hammock/Steve Kilbey/timEbandit Powles
Asleep in the Downlights
www.hammockmusic.com, www.thechurchband.net
Record Label: Hammock Music
Distribution: Redeye (US and worldwide)
Formats: 180-gram Black vinyl, vinyl in Reddish Brown, Blue, Violet with Black, Fire Orange with Black, Clear with Black Swirl, CD, digital download.
Track Listing:
1. No Agenda (Hammock featuring Steve Kilbey of The Church)*
2. Sinking Inside Yourself (Hammock)
3. Verse for Forgiveness (Hammock featuring timEbandit Powles of The Church)*
4. Parkers Chapel (Hammock)
* these vocal versions of the "Chasing..." outtakes have also been remixed, or in the words of timEbandit, "demixed, deduced, massaged, reduced and enlarged".
In 2010, Hammock released a digital-only EP of outtakes from its fourth LP, Chasing After Shadows...Living with the Ghosts, containing four songs, two of which were tagged with "instrumental" in the titles even though no other versions existed. That is, until now.
"Sometimes life seems random; sometimes it seems to have a purpose," says Marc Byrd of Hammock. "We've been longtime fans and listeners of The Church. Tim "timEbandit" Powles mixed the Chasing... album, and as a result, we've had the opportunity to extend our collaboration with Tim and to work with Steve Kilbey. 'No Agenda' now features words and a vocal performance from Kilbey, one of our all-time favorite singers and lyricists, and 'Verse for Forgiveness' features words and vocals from Powles, who is one of the most multi-talented artists we've ever met. We're ecstatic about this release."
"What made me decide that I wanted to extend my involvement was that I was really digging the music, and I had a strong sense that as a band, Hammock has its own authority and place in the field of atmospheric music," says Tim Powles. "At some point during mixing Steve [Kilbey], who was visiting for something else, overheard an early version of a song with the working title 'Cabin' and he loved it. The song just fell into place quickly from there and became 'No Agenda'. On 'Verse for Forgiveness', the lyrical idea had been in my head for about six months - I kept falling inside the imagery of forgiveness - and from the first time I heard this Hammock outtake called '6/8', it seemed totally fitting. There was a sense of melancholy in the track that drew me to it. I couldn't resist the things that were happening - they were just there in the music."
Asleep in the Downlights also includes two new Hammock songs, "Sinking Inside Yourself", a driving, towering piece featuring the first-ever vocal from Andrew Thompson, and the gorgeous "Parkers Chapel", sung by Marc Byrd. Four songs, four voices. This is essential listening for fans of either The Church or Hammock and is a work of beauty, openness and wonder - something our world needs right now.
