For those of you unfamiliar with the topography of England, the Pennines is an upland range of hills, deeply indented by valleys that form the geological spine of the country. They straddle several counties, including Yorkshire and Lancashire and contain numerous towns and cities spawned as a result of the industrial revolution which marked the landscape with chimneys, mills and railway viaducts.
Xqui lives in Lancashire, Spybey in Yorkshire. This collaboration is a meeting of northern minds born out of a desire to document in some way and to hopefully celebrate the quiet, austere beauty of the Pennines, the people who live in the area and the impact that they have had on the landscape itself.
It does not take long to travel from east to west, through Yorkshire and into Lancashire. The landscape does not change dramatically when crossing the county lines. Things change slowly, almost imperceptibly. The traditional industries have all but gone, the mills afford homes for salubrious suburban dwellers. It rains a great deal, the grass is always green, the hills are adorned with echoes of the past: iconic structures, memorials, ingenious inventions, poets, navvies and the ghosts of the people who lived and worked on the hills, in the fields and in the factories. Building a better future.
Released by eMERGENGY heARTS and Re:Mission: Entertainment, July 2023.
Xqui:
Since emerging onto the 'no underground' scene in April 2018, Xqui has quickly established himself as an innovative and highly productive force and was quickly compared to Eno, Basinski and Mansell. In the true sense of the D.I.Y. artist, Xqui uses a mobile phone to capture field recordings which are then manipulated via apps and combined with found sound clips to assemble his tracks. From ambient and drone to his more commercial releases, Xqui has attracted the attention of many of his contemporaries and worked with the likes of Vince Clarke, Neil Arthur and Mark Stewart.
Dead Voices on Air:
For over 30 years, Mark Spybey has continued the work that he started in Zoviet-France in the 1980’s and later developed as a member of Download, assembling over 90 releases and collaborating with people such as Graham Lewis of Wire, Michael Karoli of Can, Faust, Robert Hampson, Simon Fisher Turner and a host of others. After living in Vancouver he has now returned to his home town in the north of England. A self confessed non-musician, in recent years has found a loving home with the Austin Texas based label Emergency Hearts, releasing a number of albums and remixes featuring artists such as Lee Scratch Perry, Mark Stewart, Coil, Corporate Uncle and Muzlimgauze.
credits
released July 25, 2023
Xqui and Dead Voices On Air - Pennine.
All Sounds by Xqui and Mark Spybey. Produced March and
April 2023. Lancashire and North Yorkshire.
Mastered by Mark Pistel. Thanks to eMERGENGY heARTS
So happy I bought the vinyl, fantastic collection of Cevin's early music. Recommended if you're into Skinny Puppy or if you're a fan of early EBM, industrial or noisey beats! :) jeff