Archive for April, 2011


Dear friends,

I’m pleased to announce that this summer I will begin a self-released 12″ vinyl series, of all original and unpublished music. The vinyl is fully pressed, not lathe cuts. So far the first 4 LPs have been completed (8 tracks total), and will be released one at a time, in editions of 100 copies only. Each edition will be black-label vinyl, in a matte black outer sleeve. Credits will be handwritten, and each copy will be numbered.

I hope that this new series will be positive, and a return to personalization of hand-assembled music. The music will be comprised original recordings made in the last few months of reel-to-reel tape loops, all created using an entirely analog process, without the use of computers.

No samples will be posted, but downloads will be available once each edition sells out.

The first edition of the series will be released on July 5, 2011, and is titled ‘Ever, Irreplaceable Beauty

Each copy will be $20. Shipping will be $5 in the US and Japan, and $15 worldwide. If you are interested in pre-ordering a copy, please email me at celer.adr@gmail.com

I appreciate your support!
Sincerely,
Will

All sales go towards the funding of physical releases of out of print, and unreleased Celer and Chubby Wolf albums.

Thank you!

One of the painful aspects about listening to the music of Chubby Wolf is knowing that each song is a snapshot of an artist who can no longer compose. That Dani Long died young is tragic; that she left behind ample evidence that she could have been an important talent is even more tragic. Her widower Will Long told Big Takeover that he has a large archive, and this brief seven-inch single is the first offering from his vaults. Comprised of two sides of gentle, haunting drone, the inevitable truths about her fate cast a pallor. After all, a song titled “Free Time Spent Dreading the Inevitables, Soaring in Availables, Wording the Operatives” does make you wonder what Long was thinking about. The soft, funereal sounds found within its six minutes recalls Stars of the Lid’s best moments, or the quieter sides of Windy & Carl or AMP. The B-side, “If You Love Me…” follows a similar path, but there’s an inexplicably upbeat, sunny vibe to the darkness—as if the sun is peeking through the clouds and gloom and pain. Each Dani Long composition is a rare treat, a delicate jewel that should not be taken for granted, and The Darker Sex is no exception.

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Dani Baquet-Long’s crucial works continue to appear after her tragic death, and her own Chubby Wolf project is proving to be even more alluring then her considerable work as part of Celer. ‘The Darker Sex’ is the latest archival exploration – and the title explains more than you might guess about the music itself. This is far from simple, easy-going ambient drone – Dani approaches things from a more unexpected, disturbing angle, and the noisy, tape-dubbed shuffle we’d usually expect from her serves only as the backdrop for something far more woozy. Harmonies emerge from the distant drones, and eventually give way to disarmingly beautiful sounds. Fans of Celer, or even the darker ambient material more readily associated with Erik Skodvin’s Miasmah label should dip into this without delay. Proper.

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Под названием «Chubby Wolf» выходили и выходят сольные произведения безвременно покинувшей этот мир половинки американского дуэта «Celer» Дениэль Лонг – отходя на время от плодотворного сотрудничества со своим супругом в рамках основного проекта, она находила немного свободного времени, которую заполняла личными переживаниями, мыслями и мечтами, выливавшимися в очень интимную музыку. Тем страннее было увидеть на новом виниле «Chubby Wolf» название «The Darker Sex», подразумевающее (впрочем, тут кому что на ум придет) нечто темное, немного опасное и явно порочное.

Ничего подобного, однако, при прослушивании этой «семерки» выявлено не было. Это по-прежнему неторопливый, свитый из проносящихся мимо звуковых спиралей, голосов и условного ритма эмбиент, к которому так и тянет дописать слово «мерцающий». Гармоничная музыка, не лишенная эмоционального заряда, в непрерывном потоке которой то и дело возникают и пропадают неуловимые образы, извлекаемые из каких-до глубоких залежей памяти, в которых хранятся полузабытые чувства и эмоции. Все, что здесь звучит, так же неуловимо все время что-то напоминает – эхо голосов кажется одновременно отголосками и церковных хоралов, и мистериальных напевов в духе «Dead Can Dance», и страстных поп-песенок, исполняемых с томным придыханием; перевернутые акустические партии, вплетенные в вибрирующий гул,  заставляют прокручиваться в голове сразу несколько до боли знакомых мелодий, которыми они в итоге так и не оказываются.

Вспоминая о продолжительных звуковых монолитах, обитавших на альбомах американского дуэта, «The Darker Sex» легко поначалу пропустить и не заметить – вроде бы только начал слушать, а уже игла упирается в «яблоко». На самом деле быстро выясняется, что этих коротких минут «Chubby Wolf» вполне хватает, чтобы выстроить композицию, затянуть в нее слушателя привычными методами и волшебных образом расширить незначительные (в рамках жанра) временные промежутки практически до бесконечности. Ожидаемо интересная работа от неординарного творца, которого мы, увы, больше не услышим.

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Making an EP of meditative electronic music feel like a complete listening experience is a difficult task. Making a 7” that feels like a full listening experience is near impossible. Somehow, Chubby Wolf (aka the greatly missed Danielle Baquet-Long of Celer) pulls it off with this lovely little 7” for Low Point.

With Side A, titled “Free Time Spent Dreading the Inevitables, Soaring in Availables, Wording the Operatives”, we get 6 minutes of spectral hum. All the source sounds and layers are indiscernible. It’s as if standing at the outskirts of an industrial cityscape and hearing the low hum of mechanical and human activity delicately feeding off of one another; there is a harmony to it all that’s only apparent when you stand outside of it. There’s a harnessed beauty, a quiet optimism even, to the song. Even as the title of the song suggests, it’s about vague ideas, intangibles. But it’s also about possibility in the most positive sense of the word.

If Side A felt like the beauty was being harnessed, even the title of Side B, “If You Love Me”, feels more direct. Side B lets it all out. Part of what makes ‘The Darker Sex’ work and feel complete is the sense that there is a narrative to it. The move forward between Side A and Side B makes it feel like, from a narrative standpoint at least, there was a whole middle section to the story that Dani left out; a wise choice too, because it works. Side B feels as if all the layers of source sounds are much more intertwined. Sure, there are still those ghostly sounds that sneak up on the periphery to fill out the sound, but somehow the song seems more at peace, less restless than the opener. And the control suggests that this ebb and flow, this sense of narrative that exists between the two songs, was as deliberate as can be.

Even though only eleven some odd minutes, ‘The Darker Sex’ is a wonderful and full listening experience. This is one we’re lucky to have, don’t miss it.

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Here’s a breathtaking and newly released 7″ single from Chubby Wolf, the impossibly gorgeous ambient project starring the late, great Dani “Chubbs” Baquet-Long of Celer. Chubby Wolf releases have always carried a huge amount of emotional impact with them, and this one in particular ranks with last year’s flawless Ornitheology tape. It’s a dark and mysterious listen – rising and falling effortlessly in swirling movements that seem to envelope your entire brain. But The Darker Sex is also infinitely warm and embracing, with a highly textural and organic atmosphere running throughout both sides. This is ambient music at its most captivating and welcoming, just as Dani always delivered. Absolutely gorgeous and hugely recommended.

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If I was to have a decent nickname instead of the lumpen & idiotic Dangerous Brian, it would have to be Chubby Wolf. Alas I cannot adopt that moniker because it belongs to the late Danielle Baquet-Long of Celer. This is the first time i’ve actually heard her solo work. This sure is one scintillating dreamscape is this 7″. I was unsure how her solo stuff would pan out within the medium of a 7″ but oh, it totally does the job. There’s a gentle industrial undercurrent to side A of this captivating record. It flows in & out of focus with fluctuating waves of sound that sound like echoes of ghostly machines quietly drawing to a close. But there’s so, so much more happening! It sounds great on 33 but even better on 45 where it starts to emit crystalline shoegaze style elements. The way she layers her ideas into these zen-like evocative gliding tapestries is quite mesmerising. The flip-side (titled ‘If You Love Me….) recalls the caress-like guitar kiss of Slowdive, but even more tactile & richly detailed. The range of instruments Dani stockpiles to blend & manipulate at her whim proves that she was a true visionary musician rather than some cheeky laptop brandishing chancer (you all know who you are!) You can strongly sense that in the tranquil depth & spectral beauty of her sounds. Also for fans of Grouper I reckon!!

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