30 miles west of El Paso, surrounded by 3,000 acres of pecan orchards and only a stone’s throw from the Mexican border, the band Big Thief (a.k.a. Adrianne Lenker, Buck Meek, Max Oleartchik, and James Krivchenia) set up their instruments as close together as possible to capture their most important collection of songs yet. The band had only just finished work on their 3rd album, U.F.O.F. -“the celestial twin”- days before in a cabin studio in the woods of Washington State. Now it was time to birth U.F.O.F.’s sister album -“the earth twin”- Two Hands. 

In sharp contrast to the wet environment of the U.F.O.F. session, the southwestern Sonic Ranch studio was chosen for its vast desert location. The 105-degree weather boiled away any clinging memories of the green trees and wet air of the previous session. Two Hands had to be completely different— an album about the Earth and the bones beneath it. The songs were recorded live with almost no overdubs. All but two songs feature entirely live vocal takes, leaving Adrianne’s voice suspended above the mix in dry air, raw and vulnerable as ever. Where U.F.O.F. layered mysterious sounds and effects for levitation, Two Hands grounds itself on dried-out, cracked desert dirt. 

Anybody who has borne witness to Big Thief in the wild will find songs they recognize here. Much of the album’s tracks (“The Toy”, “Those Girls”, “Shoulders”, “Not”, “Cut My Hair”) have been live staples for years. “Two Hands has the songs that I’m the most proud of; I can imagine myself singing them when I’m old,” says Adrianne. “Musically and lyrically, you can’t break it down much further than this. It’s already bare-bones.” 

Lyrically this can be felt in the poetic blur of the internal and external. These are political songs without political language. They explore the collective wounds of our Earth. Abstractions of the personal hint at war, environmental destruction, and the traumas that fuel it. Lyrics like “And the blood of the man who killed my mother with his hands is in me/ it’s in me/ in my veins” are genuine attempts to point the listener towards the very real dangers that face our mother planet. When Adrianne sings “Please wake up,” she’s talking directly to the audience. “Attention is power,” she says. “I believe you can manifest something on the other side of the world just by using your power well.” 

Engineer Dom Monks and producer Andrew Sarlo, who were both behind U.F.O.F., capture the live energy as instinctually and honestly as possible. Sarlo teamed up with James Krivchenia to mix the album, where they sought to emphasize raw power and direct energy inherent in the takes. The journey of a song from the stage to the record is often a difficult one. Big Thief’s advantage is their bond and loving center as a chosen family. They spend almost 100% of their lives together working towards a sound that they all agree upon. A band with this level of togetherness is increasingly uncommon. If you ask drummer James Krivchenia, bassist Max Oleartchik or guitarist Buck Meek how they write their parts, they will describe—passionately—the experience of hearing Adrianne present a new song, listening intently for hints of parts that already exist in the ether and the undertones to draw out with their respective instruments. It is an honor to give life to these intricacies. 

With raw power and intimacy, Two Hands folds itself gracefully into Big Thief’s impressive discography. This body of work grows deeper and more inspiring with each new album. While you listen, let your own two hands rest in front of your body with palms facing inward and see what power grows between them.

Subb-an is an electronic music artist from Birmingham, UK, known for his dynamic DJ sets that fluidly traverse the spectrum between house and techno, seamlessly blending deep, groove-driven basslines with hypnotic rhythms. His sound is immersive and refined, creating captivating experiences on dancefloors worldwide.

A seasoned performer, Subb-an has left a lasting mark at iconic venues and festivals including Block9 at Glastonbury, Houghton, Sunwaves, and DC10. Recent standout sets at Panorama Bar and Fabric underscore his enduring influence and versatility as an artist. 

In addition to his DJ work, Subb-an has recently unveiled a brand-new live show, an exciting evolution featuring an updated hardware-focused setup, offering a deeper, more immersive extension of his studio sound. This new performance format reflects his forward-thinking approach and commitment to pushing creative boundaries on stage.

With releases on respected labels such as One Records, Spectral Sound, and Phonica Records, Subb-an has firmly established himself as a producer of exceptional talent and creative vision. He has collaborated with celebrated artists including Mathew Jonson, Max Cooper, Seth Troxler, Enzo Siragusa, and Tom Trago.

His productions have earned widespread support from a diverse roster of tastemakers across the global electronic scene, including Ricardo Villalobos, Sonja Moonear, Midland, Peach, tINI, Saoirse, Job Jobse, Sedef Adasi, Chris Stussy, Priku, Laurent Garnier, Shanti Celeste, Peggy Gou, and Anotr.

Looking ahead, Subb-an is set to release new music on forward-thinking labels including Peach Discs, X-Kalay, Yoyaku, and his own imprint, Sub Series, continuing his evolution as a boundary-pushing force in contemporary electronic music.

management: team@crzylvrs.com
booking - europe: koenig@undercover.de

http://www.facebook.com/wearecathedrals

join our mailing list for a free download of the Blush Remix EP: www.wearecathedrals.com

Debut EP out now on Neon Gold—

iTunes: smarturl.it/CathedralsEP

Vinyl: http://neon-gold-shop.myshopify.com/products/cathedrals-ep

‡

FLOORPAN "THE MASTER'S PLAN" (CLASSIC MUSIC):
https://cmc.lnk.to/cmcd141d

Before I got into this music I wanted to be an originator ; I wanted to be original".
Founding member of the legendary group Underground Resistance as a 'Minister Of Information' with ‘Mad’ Mike Banks & Jeff Mills, his seminal works on Jeff Mill's Axis and his very own M-Plant imprint paved the way for a wave of stripped-down dancefloor minimalism that directed much of techno's path throughout the late Nineties.
Robert Hood makes minimal Detroit techno with an emphasis on soul and experimentation over flash and popularity. 

"Growing up in Detroit, I grew up with Motown in the house - a lot of Motown and Philadelphia soul, artists like Marvin Gaye of course and Curtis Mayfield. I remember Isaac Hayes, the soundtrack from ‘Shaft’ had come out. My father was a jazz musician; he played piano, trumpet and drums. My mother was in an R’n’B group.
We listened to a lot of Motown - in fact, my grandfather’s first cousin is Berry Gordy.
"I was influenced by my father - I wanted to play trumpet like he did."
Robert's father tragically died when he was just 6. The photo of Robert siting down holding a trumpet is his fathers.
"I had to beg my grandmother to let me borrow the trumpet to take a picture with it"

In the early 90's he began to concentrate on his own production 'Vision EP', the 'Riot EP' and X-102 were big stepping-stones for him as they were the first releases he worked 100% on his own. The X-101 to X-102, were Waveform Transmission projects with Mills for Tresor. He slowly progressed to work more and more on his own, but collaberated on some of the first Axis releases with label owner Jeff Mills as H&M (Hood & Mills) with ‘Tranquilizer EP’ and ‘Drama’.

He soon decided it was time for him to start his own label to focus on what was in his soul musically. M-Plant started in ’94. I had developed this “grey area” sound - what I mean by that is that in Detroit, even when the sun is out, there’s something in the atmosphere. I don’t know if its pollution or whatever, but the sky has that grey haze over it. It’s got to be something from the industrial factories there. I’d never really heard a sound like that before and it came from a Roland Juno - it was a chord sound that really went along with my depiction of what Detroit was at that time. A lot of buildings were abandoned and there was a lot of lifelessness in the city, especially downtown. The M-Plant, in minimalism, kind of reflected that. I remember thinking of Detroit like a museum. You know, like a work of art standing still, suspended in time. There wasn’t a whole lot of activity going on.

Releasing singles such as "Internal Empire,", “The Protein Valve” "Music Data," and "Moveable Parts", "The Pace", more recently "Range", "Alpha" and that isn't even touching his other monikers Floorplan, Monobox, The Vision, etc.
"M-Plant is what I've always wanted to hear: the basic stripped down, raw sound. Just drums, basslines and funky grooves and only what's essential. Only what is essential to make people move. I started to look at it as a science, the art of making people move their butts, speaking to their heart, mind and soul. “It's a heart-felt rhythmic techno sound. M-Plant is just M. minimal. “

Although his desire to remain underground has been replaced by an urge to reach a wider audience, mainly via his housier, disco, gospel moniker Floorplan with his daughter Lyric Hood,   Hood remains fiercely critical of artistic and economic movements destructive to inner-city communities and has combined his musical enterprises with outreach and social activist ends.

Stream my latest songs “Slow Down” and “Falling”!

BOOKING

Americas:
ryan@liaisonartists.com
Aus/NZ: 
vic@astralpeople.com
Europe /ROW: 
john@higher-ground.de


MANAGEMENT / REMIXES / PRESS 
Luke Williams: 
luke@thisismusicltd.com
Simon Gold: 
simon@thisismusicltd.com

lara david aka chekov

she/her

@tablejellydishes

bookings/music/etc - chekovmusik[at]gmx.de

ta xox

SOMNUM OUT NOW - https://smarturl.it/somnum_ep

haelos@haelos.com

Cathedrals ‡ is following