~ Supporting the upcoming release of ‘Living Waters’ LP, experimental band E will play eleven shows in the US, in addition to twenty-two European shows ~
E’s fifth full length record, “Living Waters,” was recorded in late December 2023 at Rare Signals in Cambridge, MA by longtime engineer (and Tape Op Magazine columnist) Andy Hong, and mixed and mastered in Prague by Ondřej Ježek at jáMOR Studio.
“Living Waters” is the culmination of a year’s worth of remote and in-person collaboration between Thalia Zedek and Ernie Kim in Boston, MA, and Jason Sanford in Boulder, CO. “Living Waters” is the first record written with our new drummer Ernie Kim” – explains Thalia. “And as a collaborative[force], a new member means changes.”
Incorporating new approaches in her search for sounds Thalia Zedek came up with “A combination of frequencies that I call guitar-bass and I’m excited to be touring with my new set-up and incorporating both past and present sounds and songs into our performances.”
New approaches and instrumentations are the guiding ethos here. For “Living Waters” Zedek adds an extra pickup to her guitar, running it through an octave pedal so that she can play both guitar and bass simultaneously. Sanford’s feverishly-built new pedals and “instruments” bulk up his arsenal of sounds, and Kim’s multi-instrumental talent gets deployed: he’s both the saxophonist and the drummer on the title track and the lead vocalist on two others. At heart, the changes in equipment and approach represent a recommitment to the democratic and collective ideals of shared labor on which the band was founded; all members take on shifting responsibilities within a kaleidoscope of sounds, and none are relegated to a fixed or unalterable role.
“’Living Waters’ represents and evolution in sound for E. It is a fuller, and more fully interwoven sound than previous albums, and as such, declares a movement toward the democratic and collective ideals on which the band was founded. We have never had a band leader, and we have always taken decisions together.” elaborates Jason Sanford. Mutual support of their artistic endeavors pushed he evolution of the songwriting process. According to Jason: “Each of the three supports the others’ personal visions, but none of the three are confined to expressively limiting roles. That is to say, there is no bass player; we all share and take responsibility for different parts of the sonic spectrum at different times”.
In these nine explosive new songs, Zedek and Sanford continue to develop the dense warp and weft of guitar interplay that has characterized their work to date, while the dynamics of their songwriting continues to evolve. With the addition of newest member Kim’s aggressive and musical drumming, what E delivers here is both taut and driven, creating shimmering new constellations of sound.
Pre-order ‘Living Waters’ coming out this April 23 here.
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