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Cortége Premiere “Chasing Daylight (Part 1)” from Chasing Daylight

Posted in audiObelisk on January 29th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

cortege

Austin-based duo Cortége are set to release their new EP, Chasing Daylight, through Desert Records on Feb. 26. Comprised just of its two-part title-track, it’s their first offering through the label and the follow-up to 2019’s Capricorn (discussed here), which, like several of the band’s outings, skimmed the line between EP and full-length. Chasing Daylight, running 16-plus minutes, makes it somewhat easier.

It feels cliché almost to the point of rudeness to call Cortége‘s style “cinematic.” But there it is. Sorry. On a level of observational depth, you might as well call it “sound.” Cinematic is the point. I don’t think you break out the tubular bells unless you’re going for a particular kind of atmosphere, and Chasing Daylight indeed nails that atmosphere, with the first of its two parts shorter at 7:22, but reaching voluminous heights and almost minimalist lows in a sprawl that’s vaguely Western with the ringing guitars, but nonetheless carries an undercurrent of l0w-end synth that gives the central procession of the rhythm — CORTEGE CHASING DAYLIGHTslow, slow, slow in patient form from a band who’s done this before — a particularly foreboding feel that’s also vaguely futuristic.

The Morricone of Tomorrow, Today? Maybe, but there’s more going on than just that as “Chasing Daylight (Part 1)” surges to its finish and the opening melody of “Chasing Daylight (Part 2)” nearly veers into “Silent Night” as it unfurls. The synth, initially more forward, recedes behind the guitar line that in another context would recall Bell Witch, and Cortége make their way into an even more barren stretch, barely keeping time with bells and drums likeminded in their funereal vibe. The payoff is ambient, more drift than burst, and that’s just fine as the hypnotic aspect of all that lurch would feel cheap if they swapped in a big finish for its own sake. As it is, “Chasing Daylight,” the whole work, almost seems to ask for a third part, the brevity of the two pieces included here leaving room to be expanded upon.

Whether or not that’s something Cortége have in mind, of course I’ve no idea. You can stream “Chasing Daylight (Part 1)” below, and for being (roughly) half of the total outing, it gives a sense of what the two-piece are up to with the EP, and where they might head from here.

Please enjoy:

PRE-ORDER: https://cortege.bandcamp.com/album/chasing-daylight

Post-Western, heavy ambient doom duo Cortége has signed to New Mexico’s Desert Records. The label will release the band’s new EP Chasing Daylight February 26, 2021 on CD and digital formats.

Recorded, mixed and mastered in the fall of 2020 with Jeff Henson (DUEL) at Red Nova Ranch in Austin, Texas, Chasing Daylight is a cinematic, chrome tinged portrait du temps for the end of the world as well as a musical foreshadowing of things to come. Lush arrangements wind through the familiar Cortége territories of drone, prog, doom, western and ambient soundscapes with a few surprises therein, including a guest appearance from Michael St. Claire on brass.

Album cover art comes courtesy of Steven Yoyada.

Cortége are:
Mike Swarbrick: Bass VI, Moog, Mellotron, Tubular Bells
Adrian Voorhies: Drums

Cortége on Thee Facebooks

Cortége on Instagram

Cortége on Bandcamp

Desert Records on Thee Facebooks

Desert Records on Instagram

Desert Records on Bandcamp

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Cortége Sign to Desert Records for Chasing Daylight EP

Posted in Whathaveyou on December 14th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

cortege

Austin, Texas, heavy Americana soundscapers Cortége have signed to Desert Records to release their recently-recorded Chasing Daylight EP. As hinted below, the band will also appear on the label’s split series Legends of the Desert, the first volume of which boasted Lord Buffalo and Palehorse/Palerider; part of the label’s ongoing effort to expand the definition of “desert” aesthetic to something beyond simple geography.

In that, the duo are nothing if not a fit, their 2019 Capricorn LP (discussed here) finding ground between heavy atmospheric rock and purposefully cast expanse, a progressive sense of arrangement doing little to take away from the ability to convey something big and seemingly empty while teeming with life close to the ground. You can hear that record below and see the art for Chasing Daylight here, along with the label’s announcement.

The bottom line is yeah, this one makes sense. So let it make sense:

CORTEGE CHASING DAYLIGHT

Cortége, the Austin based post-western, heavy ambient Doom duo will be releasing their new EP “Chasing Daylight” via Desert Records on Feb. 26th.

The band is self-described as “If Earth and Pink Floyd teamed up and did a soundtrack to a David Lynch film”.

From Desert Records: “This collaboration has been under wraps for over a year now. I saw these guys open for Mdou Moctar at Sister Bar in Albuquerque and instantly knew they were perfect for the label. This is just the beginning…The Raven whispered in my ear that Cortege will be on a future volume of some compilation that has to do with Legends or Deserts or something…”

FROM THE DUO: “We couldn’t possibly be more pleased to announce our formal partnership with Albuquerque, New Mexico-based Desert Records, for both the release of the forthcoming Chasing Daylight EP and yet to be revealed future endeavors. In procuring an impressively diverse and uniquely curated armada of heavy, droning talent across the country, Brad and his team have carved a deep etching in the independent label sphere and we’re proud to say many of our new label mates we already count among friends. And so, from an otherwise dismal year, hope springs eternal. Mark your calendars for the release of our first collaboration together; a cascading, hypnotic post western epic taken to the edge of the sunrise. Chasing Daylight out 2/26/2021”.

According to the band: “we’re very excited and even with preemptively dry mixes, this little release is truly dramatic and we can’t wait for you to hear it. It’s part of a larger concept but it towers on its own two legs, our portrait du temps to the end of the world.”

Cortége is:
Mike Swarbrick – Bass Guitar, Synthesizers, Percussion & Tape Delay
Adrian Voorhies (ex Canyon of the Skull, ex Humut Tabal) – Drums

cortege.bandcamp.com/
facebook.com/cortegeatx/
instagram.com/cortegeatx/
https://www.facebook.com/desertrecordslabel/
https://desertrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://desertrecords.bigcartel.com/

Cortége, Capricorn (2019)

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