Automatism Post “Neon Lights” From New Album Sörmland Out Aug. 22
Right now, in the chillest of timelines, you’re already listening to the new Automatism. Sörmland is the name of the outing, it’s being released through Tonzonen on Aug. 22 — coming up quickly — and it makes for a welcome follow-up to 2020’s Immersion (review here), mellow and pastoral in a way that says ‘Swede-folk’ buried somewhere in the swath of influences, but still exploratory. They just might be too busy taking the trip to congratulate themselves for taking it.
This stands among the most essential differences between the unpretentious and the unlistenable, so I’ll count the first single “Neon Lights” as boding well — and if you can cover Kraftwerk, ever, in any context and make it lack pretense, good luck — for the record to come and just be glad it’s not a super-long wait to find out how the rest will go.
Info came down the PR wire:
Swedish Instrumental Psychedelic Rock Band AUTOMATISM Reveals New Single Neon Lights from Upcoming Album.
Preorder: https://www.tonzonen.de/shop
From their upcoming new album Sörmland, Swedish instrumental psychedelic rock band Automatism shares the new single Neon Lights, a Kraftwerk cover version.
About the single bass player Mikael Tuominen tells us: “Another one of those occasions when the best stuff comes out when you stop trying. We had been working on a version of Neon Lights for a while, even played it live, that was much closer to the original in feel and tempo. We did a couple of recordings of that version and they were okay. Then, without deciding anything, we just fell into playing the theme really slowly and softly, and again, luckily enough I hit the red button. First it was almost as if we didn’t take it seriously, but soon we entered the zone, and listening to the versions back to back there was no question of which one to choose.”
Listen + share: https://cargorecordsde.ffm.to/automatism-neonlights
It’s been five years since the release of previous album Immersion. This hiatus was not altogether voluntary, so when the band got together again in September of 2023 to start playing and recording, it felt like a special occasion.
New album Sörmland was recorded over a few weekends in the countryside of Sörmland in a beautiful-sounding room that was once a chapel. The building has a very high ceiling and open atmosphere, which somehow helped set the tone for the music on this album. Outside the tall windows we could see the green landscapes of Sörmland; all of which is why, in the end, we decided to name the album after this part of Sweden.
About the other songs on new album Sörmland the band has to say:
Video
Gustav Nygren, guitar: “This song derives from a riff that I made up while sitting with my guitar in my wife’s small fishing cottage by the sea on Orust, an island on the Swedish west coast. I fell in love with the melody and recorded it – my unamplified electric guitar straight into my cell phone camera – so I wouldn’t forget it. When we collected song ideas and demos for the album, I simply uploaded the idea titled ”Video”. Hence, the title of the album’s opening track.”
Honey Trap
Mikael Tuominen, bass: “When we recorded this song we had just had a wonderful dinner courtesy of Jonas, and it was the first night of recording. All the microphones weren’t even rigged yet, we just started improvising. Luckily, I pressed the record button. What came out was one of those rare, completely elevated moments of musical bliss. Somehow it felt like we almost accidentally stepped into a new realm that very much set the tone for the album, a way of playing in synchronization with the room and ambience rather than just playing ”our music” the way we always do, regardless of the surroundings.”
Laura Palmer’s Theme
Hans Hjelm, guitar: “All band members are big fans of David Lynch, and of Twin Peaks in particular. I got caught up completely when the show first aired on Swedish television in 1990 and have rewatched it countless times. Music is such an important part of that show and each time I hear the music it takes me back to Twin Peaks, but of course also back to 1990. I had been planning to record Laura Palmer’s Theme for a long time, and when I talked to Mikael about it, he suggested we record it for this album. It is our tribute to the now late masters David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti.”
Sörmland
Hans Hjelm, guitar: “This being the title track, we feel it represents the essence of the album. It is based on an improvisation again, with bits of the melody added in later. In the old chapel where we recorded, there is a grand piano and we all agreed that would be the perfect sound for this melody. The last thing you hear in this song and on this album is Mikael releasing the foot pedal of the piano, after finishing the melody.”
Automatism Sörmland will be available on limited edition vinyl LP (special edition yolk, clear + gold) and digital formats. Pre-order the album here: https://www.tonzonen.de/shop/p/automatism-presale-060725-
Tracklist
1. Video
2. Honey Trap
3. Laura Palmer’s Theme
4. Neon Lights (Kraftwerk cover version)
5. Sörmland
All songs by Hjelm, Nygren, Tuominen, and Yrlid unless otherwise noted.
Recorded in Österåker, Sörmland, and Aspudden, 2023-2024
Recording: Mikael Tuominen
Mix: Mikael Tuominen
Mastering: John McBain
Art director: Jonas Yrlid
Automatism are:
Hans Hjelm: electric guitar, synthesizer, percussion
Gustav Nygren: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, tenor saxophone, percussion
Mikael Tuominen: bass, synthesizer, electric piano, grand piano, percussion
Jonas Yrlid: drums, percussion
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https://www.tonzonen.de
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