Presenting ... "New Dub Manifesto (waag_rel109)" by Cousin Silas & the Glove of Bones

Dub is not a genre of music I have explored to any great degree. I am familiar with the work of Osbourne "King Tubby" Ruddock, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Mad Professor, and Adrian Sherwood; but not really gone further than that. However, the work of Cousin Silas and the Glove of Bones has really whetted my whistle for more!

I thoroughly enjoyed their previous output - "Ornithology" and "Mabinogi" - but "New Dub Manifesto (waag_rel109)" feels so much more ... it is the realised potential that the first two releases pointed to, a glorious coming-together of two very talented chaps.

"New Dub Manifesto (waag_rel109)" is a powerfully dense and wondrous musical tsunami that knocks you off your feet and leaves you on your back with a smile affixed to your face. It is a wondrous testament to sound that will test the very best headphones and hi-fis and yet still sounds fantastic in my puny little EarPods.

There's not much more I can say about this release other than that it needs to be felt as much as it is heard. There is, at times, so much going on that it can be disconcerting but I would urge you to go with it ... give it time ... and you will be rewarded. I certainly was.

As before, my thanks goes to Cousin Silas ... Warren Daly … Kevin Lyons ... Adrian Nicholls ... Drew Miller ... and the wonderful waag community ... for their generous support.
A 320kbps version of this release will be available, for free, over on Archive with a lossless version available on Bandcamp for ‘pay what you want’.

- Thomas

https://archive.org/details/waag_rel109

Presenting ... "Ornithology (waag_rrl007)" by Cousin Silas and The Glove Of Bones

Originally released on the now defunct digitalDIZZY netlabel ... Ornithology is a delightfully dubby collaboration between Cousin Silas and Adrian Nicholls aka The Glove Of Bones. It is an album that is simply too good to languish in obscurity and one I am proud to re-release on weareallghosts.

Ornithology isn't your usual release for waag: the emphasis on field recordings and found sounds is atypical ... and the drifting dubby, electronic sounds are new to us. 

But, and it is a big but, this is Cousin Silas at his best ... wonderfully experimental and prepared to push boundaries along with his collaborator, graphic artist and card-carrying "twitcher", Adrian Nicholls aka The Glove Of Bones. As such, this is very much a waag release ... one that engages the listener and provides a wonderfully deep sonic experience. 

I don't like to see netlabels go under and I don't like to see good music lost ... I am proud to be able to give "Ornithology" a new home.

Thanks to the generous support of folks like Cousin Silas ... Warren Daly … Kevin Lyons ... and the wonderful waag community ... I’m proud to be able to offer a 320kbps version of this release for free over on Archive with a lossless version available on Bandcamp for ‘pay what you want’ ... you can also stream it on Soundcloud.

I really hope you enjoy "Ornithology" as much as I have.

-- Thomas

https://archive.org/details/waag_rrl007

Presenting ... Mabinogi (waag_rel096) by Cousin Silas & The Glove Of Bones

Mabinogi

Taking it's title from the Medieval text, The Mabinogion (a loose translation of this being Juvenile Distractions), this work takes on non-narrative considerations about passing time, the joy of travel & landscape. 

Based round film and field recordings made on location in Pembroke, South Wales, this adds three new "branches" to the original stories. Each bears a Welsh language name and are broadly linked to Earth, Water & Air. 

In translation: 

1- Taith Hir (Long Road) 

2- Tonnau Araf (Slow Wave) 

3- Breuddwydion mewn carreg y Pentre Ifan (Stone Dreams at Pentre Ifan) 

The filmed materials provided the flow for the base audio, this then embellished by Cousin Silas, using light touch pads & atmospherics and further on, euphoric guitar parts. More information and the film can be found HERE.

- Adrian Nicholls aka The Glove of Bones

--

Mabinogi, the utterly engaging collaboration between Cousin Silas & The Glove of Bones, was created to soundtrack a film by Adrian Nicholls; it features three longform ambient pieces that draw heavily on field recordings and found-sounds. 

This is headphone music, the kind that engrosses me and reminds me of the material Shaun Blezard used to issue on his seminal "Earth Monkey Productions" netlabel back in the day. Don't get me wrong, this isn't easy music ... this is dark, atmospheric and challenging, and not Cousin Silas' usual sound ... but it is also really rewarding.

Thanks to the support of Cousin Silas and Warren Daly … and the wonderful waag community ... I’m proud to be able to offer a 320kbps version of this release for free over on Archive with a lossless version available on Bandcamp for ‘pay what you want’. 

I really hope you will enjoy Mabinogi as much as I do. 

- Thomas

https://archive.org/details/waag_rel096