Insect Ark Announce Lineup Change, Move to Berlin & New Album
I’ve been fortunate enough to see Tim Wyskida play drums in Khanate and Blind Idiot God, and I feel relatively comfortable thinking he’s going to fit right in with Dana Schechter‘s sometimes-solo-sometimes-not-and-why-do-you-need-to-define-these-things-anyway-you-suburbanite project Insect Ark. Schechter has relocated herself and thus the band to Berlin, Germany, and a decade after starting Insect Ark, she’s got a new album in some level of progress to follow 2020’s The Vanishing (review here) — the archival Future Fossils EP (review here) also came out in 2021 through Consouling Sounds — and she’ll obviously look to focus on Europe from this point until who knows when. Fair enough, frankly.
Wyskida takes over for Andy Patterson (The Otolith, ex-SubRosa, ex-Iota, a ton of others and an accomplished engineer to boot), who’s certainly busy on the regular. I do not know how involved Wyskida or anyone else is in the writing of Insect Ark‘s next LP, or when a recording process might begin, but between shifting continents, changing drummers and announcing there’s a new record at all, I don’t feel like I’m leaving this post here with a dearth of related news. Lot going on.
From the PR wire:
INSECT ARK Welcomes The Addition Of Drummer Tim Wyskida (Khanate, Blind Idiot God, Azonic); Official Relocation To Berlin Announced + New Album In The Works
INSECT ARK, the long-running exploratory endeavor led by Dana Schechter, today announces a relocation, lineup changes, and an upcoming new full-length!
In the words of Schechter, “INSECT ARK is now officially based in Berlin! This complex and vibrant city is now our official HQ, making it easier to focus on work, collaborations, and travels/tours within Europe.
“INSECT ARK turned ten this year. This coincided with the crazy whirlwind of the last year-and-a-half, with forced separations everywhere we turned, and huge losses on so many levels in the music world and in life. With uncertain times still ahead, it’s been a time of big questions. Making music/art/whatever really feels more crucial than ever. I’ve had a deep desire — personally/musically — to sharpen focus and to simplify, while also becoming more expansive. I love ‘doing it all’ — writing, recording, looping, playing all the parts — and I welcome a good challenge. But I’m more interested in evolution. So, the changes:
“The ‘duo band’ format will now make room for occasional outside collaborators, but I’ll remain the band’s main member/writer. I’ll keep doing solo work too, alongside the band version. Welcoming this flexibility feels really good. Andy Patterson (drums) who played/toured for 2020’s The Vanishing will be taking leave. He’s focusing on The Otolith and on his recording studio in Salt Lake City. The 5000+ mile gap between us and a year of Covid-induced dislocation was a tough recipe for making progress as a band. Over the time apart we both had shifted priorities, so we made the mutual decision. I’m super proud of the music we did together and grateful for all Andy’s work, and for our continued friendship.
“I’m excited to announce that now joining me on drums is none other than Tim Wyskida (Khanate, Blind Idiot God, Azonic), who now also resides in Berlin as a fellow New York City expat. Tim’s dedication to sound, his creative vigor and work ethic, paired with his exceptional skills as a drummer/percussionist are very exciting developments for INSECT ARK, as I’ve been a huge fan of his work for years.
“The writing and demos for the upcoming full-length record are 75% done. There have been the obvious delays and obstacles, but I feel like the wait and these new developments will help make this the best INSECT ARK music ever. We’ve been working hard on planning the next steps for 2022 and beyond, so I hope you’ll stay tuned, there are a lot more exciting things to be announced soon.
Thank you for your time in reading, and wishing you all strength, courage, and good health in all you do.”
Stay tuned for additional INSECT ARK updates to be announced in the weeks to come.
http://www.insectark.com
http://www.insectark.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/InsectArk
http://www.instagram.com/insectark
