Wrekmeister Harmonies - Night of Your Ascension

Night of Your Ascension is the third full-length composition by J.R. Robinson under the Wrekmeister Harmonies banner. For this release he’s enlisted the talents of members of Indian, Yakuza, The Body, and Bloodiest as well as Sanford Parker, vocalist Marissa Nadler, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and harpist Mary Lattimore among others. (Extended list below)

Inside are two compositions, “Night of Your Ascension” based on events in the life of Don Carlo Gesauldo and his madrigal “Ahi Dispietata e Cruda” and “Run Priest Run” inspired by the brutal in-prison murder of convicted child molester Father John Geoghan. Both are harrowing explorations of justified violence - at least in the eyes of those carrying it out - putting together sorrowful beauty and doomed ugliness.

The title track ushers in a beautiful quiet with female vocals casting a haunting yet serene melancholy. It delves into solemn and repetitive contemplation with delicate melodies dancing like butterflies. String and harp speak with ancient and downcast voices, giving way to a deep cello groan and rising, tension-filled noise. Guitars and drums come in with a crash that’s still emotionally draining but is swollen with doom.

That inescapably oppressive doom is shaded by voices and a madness of overstimulated nerves. Violence is unleashed, cymbals abused and lamenting voices join the angelic and an unbroken rush of corruscating guitar fills the space. A brief respite ensues then returns to the sinister pall. Melody and doom tremble with energy. Noise filters through a determined chord progression with ghastly howls curdling the blood and deeper chants suffering under spine-tingling noise until its abrupt end.

“Run Priest Run” starts out ominous with a quiet tension as if a foul smell is carried on the whispering breeze moving the wind chimes, triggering events about to be set in motion. Choral voices call into being thunderous and malevolent doom. Doom for the unrighteous. A violent and cruel justice.

An angelic voice casts a darkness that gains intensity until Chip King unleashes his most unholy howls of terrifying and maniacal violence. Methodic yet uncontrolled madness flails through the plodding chords and crashing percussion bringing a swift end to the victim. When all's said and done peace and justice is restored by pristine melody.

Over 32 and 17 minutes respectively “Night of Your Ascension” and “Run Priest Run” explore the human condition. Solitude, violence, peace and murder play out through a draining display of composed art. Sonic extremes meet and mingle in both cooperation and conflict. Any Wrekmeister Harmonies release is an emotionally taxing journey and this is no exception. It fills both the soul and the mind with a spectrum of pain that can deeply affect the listener.

Wonderful work again, Mr. Robinson.

Incomplete list of contributors:

J.R. Robinson, Chip King and Lee Buford (The Body), Alexander Hacke (Einsturzende Neubauten), Eric Chaleff (Bloodiest), Bruce Lamont (Yakuza), Sanford Parker (Buried at Sea), Dylan O’Toole and Ron DeFries (Indian), Solomon Lee Walker (Morrissey), Cooper Crain (Cave), Marissa Nadler, Mary Lattimore, Olivia Block, Mark Solotroff (Anatomy of Habit), Chris Brokaw (Come), Jaime Fennelly (Mind Over Mirrors), Fred Lonberg-Holm



Released November 13, 2015 on Thrill Jockey Records

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Wrekmeister Harmonies - Then It All Came Down

Cover design by Simon Fowler

Then It All Came Down is the second work from the Wrekmeister Harmonies project spearheaded by J.R. Robinson. For this 34 minute track he's brought together the talents of a number of artists including Bruce Lamont (Yakuza), Sanford Parker, Chris Brokaw (Codeine), Ryley Walker and members of Bloodiest, Disappears, Indian and Leviathan to name a few.

The concept of the track revolves around the process of natural decay and accepting that all that is brought into the light must eventually return to the darkness.

Unfolding over such a period of time means that patience is rewarded. Containing a number of movements, TIACD begins beautifully with a droning organ and chimes ushering in female choral vocals. Acoustic guitar (Walker) seeps in from the middle distance completing the scene of serenity.

The peace is broken though as Wrest's coarse growls penetrate an ominous darkness that falls over the whole. A deep drone and various noises move the listener into an unsettling and foreboding realm. It's a short period of unnerving though as mournful strings come into play.

Sorrow and ache now dominate as all feelings of hope are now lost. The calm has been restored but it is a more desperate one. Lamont's pastoral chants deepen those feelings as the strings swell with emotion accompanied by more instrumentation, filling the sonic space to a breaking point.

At that time an ear-shattering tone explodes into powerful doom feeding back magnitude and crushing atmosphere. The tipping point has been reached and the decay goes from deterioration to crumbling collapse. It's absolutely massive and haunted by spectral vocals. The destruction intensifies as percussion enters, crashing as pieces fall away.

As the decay nears completion it softens, and a melody return amid the drone. Vocals both possessed and pastoral continue to afflict the listener as the serenity of completion comes full circle and the light fades into darkness.

Then It All Came Down is a powerful, thought-provoking and existential piece of music. Robinson's vision is executed with care and understanding. Bringing so many elements (and people) together could not have been easy but the results speak for themselves.

Although enjoyable (as much as something this morose can be) under any circumstances, the full impact of the work requires an ideal listening environment. Solitude, subdued lighting and the absence of distraction allow for the full breadth of human emotions displayed here to encapsulate the listener, penetrate the soul and thus allow the full scope of the composition to be realized.

One can only imagine how moving this was when it was debuted at the Bohemian National Cemetery in Chicago under a full moon in July 2013. What an experience that would have been.

Released October 21, 2014 on Thrill Jockey Records

Get Then It All Came Down from Thrill Jockey

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