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Artic house impressionist Ukkonen - he of the sublime ‘Detroit (Alternative Reality)’ mix - has conjured an equally superlative reconstruction of Halls’ ‘Roses For The Dead’ single, the sound of Samuel Howard’s voice blown sideways through the interstellar.
Aching live studio version of ‘White Chalk’, taken during the recording of Ark.
Halls remixes from “soft-touch” techno producer Max Cooper and Australia’s long-term NPIP affiliate Dro Carey surfaced this week. Ark centrepiece ‘Roses For The Dead’, in both cases, is the track under the surgeon’s knife.
‘Roses For The Dead’ - the second single from Halls’ debut album Ark, out this week- gets the Sebastian Nevols heart-on-screen treatment.
Halls’ crystalline debut Ark is now available to stream in full ahead of digital release on 15th Oct and full physical release on the 22nd. Pre-orderdirect from the label on CD/DL/LP here.
Early reviews :
“One realises that Howard probably doesn’t need to write another song, ever again, as perfection can be a troublesome target to nail twice.” BBC Music
“What is clear is that this is a fantastic debut and surely a contender for album of the year. 9/10” The Line Of Best Fit
The second single from Halls’ debut album Ark surfaced on Pitchfork today. Download the “understated anthem” below ahead of the album release through No Pain In Pop on Oct 15th, and some newly announced tour dates, including an album launch show in London.
30th October - Ark Album Launch @ Birthdays, London
2nd November - REWIRE Festival, Den Haag, Netherlands
9th November - The Green Door Store, Brighton
10th November - Fear of Fiction Festival @ Lakota, Bristol
12th November - Soup Kitchen, Manchester
Video for Halls’ ‘White Chalk’, the first single from debut album Ark. Directed by Sebastian Nevols and Robin Ockleford, bathed in white light.
‘White Chalk’ is the first track released from Halls’ crystalline debut album Ark, due October 15th. Taking inspiration from Mozart’s famed ‘Ave Varum Corpus’ hymn, the choral track is Samuel Howard’s depth-charge kick and snare, reinterpretation of a gothic sonic tradition. Pre-order Ark here.
We’re proud to announce Halls - the solo project of 21 year old South London musician Sam Howard - will release Ark through No Pain In Pop on 15th October 2012.
Ark - his brooding debut album - draws from a palette of crystalline melodies, intense production and panoramic instrumentation to create a deeply personal, constructivist work of art. Evocative in sound and yet isolationist in sentiment, the album is a dramatic and emotive study of loss and anxiety set to a strained electronic soundtrack; a statuesque introspection on an unfathomable modern world.
Howard’s centrepiece tenor voice and his glitchy, scattered rhythms present Thom Yorke’s The Eraser as an easy reference point, alongside other exponents of recent mutations in London’s unique urban sound narrative such as The XX, Burial or Mount Kimbie.
Ark, however, also hints at another world beyond this. One of loop innovator Jan Jelinek’s cut-and-paste percussion; the abstracted, intricate instrumentation of Efterklang; the deep choral swells of Justin Vernon’s Bon Iver; haunting ambient composers Tim Hecker or Thomas Köner; and cerebral, minimal modern classicist Nils Frahm.
The release will be available on CD/LP/DL and is available for preorder (here). Listen to the album preview trailer below.
TM
