In conjunction with the release of their new album Dark Folke, The Observatory will be performing at No Black Tie:
Date: 27 November 2009
Venue: No Black Tie
Admission: RM30
Time: 10.00pm
Dark Folke by The Observatory
www.myspace.com/theobservatoryband
OFFICIAL RELEASE
1 July 2009
TRACK LISTING
1. OMICRON
2. A SHUFFLER IN THE MUD
3. BLOOD RISING
4. EPHEMERON
5. INCASTRATE
6. INVISIBLE ROOM
7. LOWDOWN
8. THE BORING
9. DECARN
10. MIND ROOTS
Playing length: 56min
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In July 2009, The Observatory release their fourth album to date, Dark Folke, recorded and mixed in Bergen, Norway with their longtime collaborator, Jorgen Traeen, well known producer of bands such as Ultralyd, Motorpsycho and Jaga Jazzist.
The CD album is a hardbound book, designed and drawn by metal/hardcore/underground illustrator and designer, Justin Bartlett aka Vberkvlt, the artist behind the wicked art of SUNN O))), Moss, Aura Noir and more.
With a change in musical direction, the math prog rock of The Observatory’s third album A Far Cry From Here has morphed into a fluid mystical beast called Dark Folke.
Most songs have no drums on them. But there is rhythm. Only the type of rhythm associated with an invisible pulse. An implied rhythm.
5 folks sitting around a fire. A metaphorical fire. Chanting for the rain to come.
To shower one with HEXA, a gathering for all dark folke.
A Transposition of Melancholy. They have no voice for their mouths are covered. They cannot move for their bodies are stiff. But their minds are free. Their eyes are no longer prisons. When the hour of the owl comes, they will enter the tree through a triangle. The triangle is a doorway. The tree is a cave. The cave echoes their every thought, breath and step. And while there is no light, they remain hidden but never forgotten. DARK FOLKE.
The Mighty Pen of The Black Ink Warlock – Justin Bartlett www.vberkvlt.com
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A note from the band:
DARK FOLKE, our fourth album, is officially out. Recorded and mixed earlier this year in Bergen Norway, we worked once again with our friend and respected producer Jørgen Træen who has also worked with some of our personal favourites like Ultralyd, Motorpsycho and Jaga Jazzist.
Our time at Duper was filled with lots of ideas, plenty of jokin’ around, some tough moments, and many warm memories. Opposite to that but equally as intense was the Bergen weather, wet and freezin’. We think the album reflects this extremity.
What came next was unexpected. We hooked up with metal/hardcore/underground illustrator and designer Justin Bartlett aka Vberkvlt. Justin is a detail-obsessed, maniacally passionate artist, also a diehard Depeche Mode fan. He is the man behind the wicked art of SUNN O))), Moss, Aura Noir and more. Check out his work at www.vberkvlt.com
The DARK FOLKE album packaging is a hardbound black book, designed and drawn by Justin Bartlett. Printed on paper constituted from recovered waste and virgin pulp from good sustainable forestry, the album heralds a new shape in the band’s discography of albums. It is now not only oversized but also square. We have good reason. For vinyl lovers, a double gatefold LP is in the making and will be released on 1 Dec 2009.
Justin Bartlett designed a special collection of THREE tshirts which are almost all gone. These are a very limited run of only 100 pieces per design.
It’s hard to describe one’s own work. The math prog rock of our 3rd album ‘A far cry from here’ has morphed into a fluid mystical beast. Most songs have no drums. But there is rhythm. Only the type of rhythm associated with an invisible pulse. An implied rhythm. Five folks sitting around a fire. A metaphorical fire. Chanting for the rain to come.
We have just completed a superb run of 6 shows collectively called HEXA. More than just a number, the show venues were chosen deliberately with a small intimate and slightly strange setting in mind. The ones that worked beautifully was Blu Jaz Café, the packed and raucously attended Hexa II we shared with Concave Scream, the pagan-like outdoor Hexa IV at Hacienda and the beautifully austere Hexa V at Sculpture Square Chapel. We have just played a soldout show in Bangkok, also in a slightly peculiar space called Space of Liberty Gallery. It’s been a solid 3 months… and we don’t regret a minute of it.
Ask for DARK FOLKE at all good music stores. And catch us at Kuala Lumpur specially at No Black Tie on 27 November 2009. We will be serving a jumbo 2 sets covering new and new arrangements of old songs.
Evan Tan, our keyboardist/electronician, has himself taken up the pen and drawn some pretty strange things for our newish website. Refer to it for latest news, gig details and ticketing information. Also look for us on Facebook, we will be posting updates regularly to all subscribed fans.
Best,
The Observatory
