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Stearica Stream “Halite” and Announce New Album Fertile

Posted in audiObelisk on February 12th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

stearica

Today, Italian trio Stearica announce the April 2015 arrival of their sophomore full-length, Fertile, on the UK’s Monotreme Records. For the progressive, mostly-instrumental three-piece, it’s a record based on unrest and the hope that uprising can bring. Francesco Carlucci (guitar, bass, synth, programming, etc.), Davide Compagnoni (drums, percussion, samples) and Luca Paiardi (bass) took inspiration from the Arab Spring in the Middle East and Spain’s political unrest in 2011, when the band was there to play Primavera Sound.

One might think that, as a result, there would be an element of chaos to Fertile, but that’s not really the case. Even the later “Siqlum,” which kind of devolves in its midsection only to reignite with insistent rhythm and starts and stops of heavy-riffed thrust, Stearica are never out of control. It’s not a riot, in other words. The nine tracks of Fertile have a full-breadth of sound, clear tonality and a forward drive. If they’re a political movement, then they’re organized. A brooding midsection groover like “Geber” is brash in its swing where a cut like “Tigris” winds up more in Russian Circles territory of heavy post-rock (or is it post-heavy rock?), but wherever they take their sound, Stearica remain consistently adventurous enough that the listener has no trouble moving with them, even when the first whispered vocals of the penultimate “Amreeka” kick in, barely there, then building in their momentum as the song heads for its apex, or when 11-minute closer “Shah Mat” rises from a ultra-quiet guitar line to a wash of heavy noise and back down to a minimalist drone to close out.

“Halite” is the second cut on Fertile after the opener “Delta” and packs enough heft that fans of Pelican should find something to grasp onto, but is ultimately steered somewhere else, a sweet guitar melody overlaid on top of dense rhythmic turns. Stearica are never far from this kind of ambience, and their tonal resonance speaks to the central political theme of progress, which clearly they see as a cause worth fighting for.

Please find “Halite” on the player below, followed by some comment from the band in the announcement of the album release, and enjoy:

“Upon arriving in Barcelona to perform at Primavera Sound during the 2011 Indignants protests was the spark that ignited the inspiration for this record, and the Arab Spring revolutions unfolding across the Middle East as we wrote the album further fuelled our inspiration,” issues the band’s Francesco Carlucci. Both the concept of “fertile” as “life-giving” and the revolutionary impulses of the Arab Spring and the Indignants protests in Barcelona provided inspiration for this latest work from STEARICA, who begin their creative process by freely improvising for several hours. The ensuing torrents of sound give birth to finished songs, just as a receding flood leaves behind fertility-bringing silt. Produced by the band’s Francesco Carlucci, Fertile captures the primordial nature of the sound that the trio creates in their dynamic live performances. At times brutal, chaotic, mysterious, tranquil; Fertile is music born of our time: instinctively revolutionary.

Fertile will be released in Europe on April 13th and in North America April 14th, on CD and digital download formats, as well as a deluxe 180-gram 2xLP double gatefold edition of 500 with a free poster and album CD included inside: 300 copies on red and black vinyl and 200 copies on black. The artwork, by Albanian artist Moisi Guga, beautifully reflects the symbolic imagery of the concept of Fertile. Physical product preorders from the Monotreme Records web shop will also receive free STEARICA pins and stickers while supplies last. Preorders can be placed HERE. More info on the album will be issued in the coming days.

Stearica’s website

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Monotreme Records

Monotreme Records on Thee Facebooks

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