Experimental dark noise/drone/ambient sound architects A Story of Rats began as the the solo musical project ofvisual and sound artist Garek J. Druss, who also plays in Seattle-based duo Dull Knife and Portland-based TECUMSEH and ATRIARCH, as well as multimedia ensemble Saint Genet. Garek’s investigative work blurs the lines between sound and gesture, tangibility and time. The current lineup of ASOR also includes Andrew Crawshaw (Terminal Fuzz Terror, Broken Press) and D. Salo (Joy Wants Eternity, Saint Genet).
Check it out:
The double LP edition of Druss’ second full-length, Vastness and the Inverse, will be entombed on 33RPM vinyl (limited to 300 copies) and offered up for consumption by Translinguistic Other in February 2013. Ethereal, ghostly sound compositions, buried vocals, howling winds, glittering blackness, ritualistic war drums, enveloped in fog…this is A Story of Rats’ most complex and illuminating work yet.
Its haunting artwork was created by Druss and hand printed by Broken Press, and the record itself was recorded & mixed by Wolvserpent’s Blake Green in Seattle, WA, and mastered for vinyl by the inimitable James Plotkin.
Cvlt Nation has already heaped praise upon ASOR’s entrancing live rituals, describing “A blend of droning synth, hammering drums, and creeping lap steel…their ambient magic provides the perfect soundscape to our darker, colder autumn evenings. Druss’ eerie vocals and complex layering will make the hairs of your neck stand tall,” whileHammer Smashed Sound complimented their sound thusly: “It is heavy (not in a metal sense, but in almost atangible, weighted sense), it is vibrant, and it is unrelenting.”
A European tour alongside Ural Umbo (Steven Hess of Locrian’s project) including a handful of special festival appearances looms on the horizon, and the American West Coast will soon be granted a visit, as well. Stay tuned in to the darkness to come.
