PENELOPE JOY & JASPER TX
Waverly
Cemetery (Sydney)
A. Waverly Cemetery (Sydney) (15:02)
format:
CS
edition:
100
packaging:
black & clear norelco cases
with
recycled card
sleeves
&c:
On our first ever
cassette,
Sweden's Jasper TX has crafted
a
delicate 15-minute piece inspired by
the austere, haunting words
of
poet Penelope Joy.
listen:
press:
Australian label Sound & Fury releases this as its first ever cassette venture.
It features a fifteen minute composition from Swedish ambient auteur Jasper TX
inspired by the words of poet Penelope Joy. The poem is titled Waverly Cemetery (Sydney)
and opens with the line: "The land here is bone".
From this point onwards Joy seems to merge the imagery of landscape with that of the body and anatomy,
with talk of "a collar of rock" and "the gut of ocean".
This very earthy picture of death is the starting point for Dag Rosenqvist's composition,
which draws itself quite tentatively into earshot over the opening couple of minutes.
Here, gentle drones convey sustaining minor chords unhurriedly, building up an atmosphere and layering sounds
through the early stages, before ebbing away into an assemblage of field recordings, bowed strings and
loose piano phrases. Quite unexpectedly, thudding kick drums and
full-blooded bass emerge, adding up to a wispy post-rock soundscape that's
not too far removed from Sigur Ros' more haunting moments.
This makes for a beautiful climax to the piece, latching onto a fittingly lamentful tone.
As ever with this man's work, quality and detail are at the highest levels,
and you could justifiably place Waverly Cemetery (Sydney)
towards the very top end of his output to date. Limited to just 100 copies.
-Boomkat
Also on Sound and Fury is a wee tapey by Penelope Joy and the popular hitmaker Jasper TX.
Musically it's pure Jasper TX, mind, the fifteen minute piece being inspired by
the Penelope Joy poem printed on the inlay and entitled 'Waverly Cemetery (Sydney)'.
As you might expect from the textural physicality of the source material (all bones, stones and body bits)
it doesn't begin as the cheeriest listen in the world, but the slow-building funereal drone gradually gives way to
piano which offers welcome traces of hope and redemption.
A fine complement to the words and I can imagine getting well into it all in the right mood.
-Brett, Norman Records
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