Earn - Performance II | Album Feature

This is not a new direction for Matthew Sullivan's Earn. His droning, shimmering, and often cinematic compositions are at the forefront of some new breed of underground ambient music. This is ambient music for the generation that has come after hardcore and noise music have been assimilated rather deeply into musical culture. Sullivan has built a back catalogue of music that is knee deep since adopting the Earn moniker in 2008.

Yet has no been since  Performance II and its predecessor putting him into a prestigious tier of experimental composers by the shear fact through a focus on live recordings. I had the fortunate experience of seeing him perform, a rare treat for the east coast, and was blown away. This process showcases his mastery of live mixing away from the tools of studio control. The ability to control and subtly shift the ambient / noise environment requires attention to minute rhythms and builds of momentum and is what Sullivan excels at. This is some deep listening.

Earn's cassette Performance II is available now via Ekhein.

Matthew Sullivan & Sean McCann - Vanity Fair | Video

On their brand new LP Vanity Fair Matthew Sullivan & Sean McCann step beyond any specific notions of genre. Well perhaps their working genre is labeled as experimental or avant garde but in the end aren't those labels meant to be completely genre free & ambiguous in it's final outcome, & often times in it's process of creation & display. However you would like to look at it the pair forge ahead leaving a new path of sonic terrain in their wake.

Perhaps it is the wild & uninhibited ideals of the "West" that leads to the unique visual & sonic voice the duo have. Similarly minded cult figures such as Smegma come to mind, yet Sullivan & McCann seem to be pretty much void of the absurd & comedic aesthetic that collective tend to display. Maybe I'm wrong & it has nothing to do with coastal relationships, maybe one of these dudes is from Maine or Mississippi. Regardless these guys are on to something here since they have been able to get me to video visually made up of two near static images and thoroughly enjoy myself.

Matthew Sullivan & Sean McCann's Vanity Fair is available now via McCann's Recital imprint.

Sean McCann & Matthew Sullivan - "Vanity Fair"

Sean McCann & Matthew Sullivan - "Vanity Fair" by Recital

Sean McCann & Matthew Sullivan are two busy men in the post-noise underground right these days. Sullivan's project Earn was recently discussed on this site and while he was on tour from Los Angeles made a stop in Brooklyn to play at a Last Nights show blowing myself and I believe the rest of the audience away with slowly unfolding compositions filled to the brim with white-noise and meditative structures. While Sean McCann has been at it on the west coast for a while now and has been slowly building a reputation as meticulous composer working in a world filled with many unmemorable improv bands trying to make a name for themselves.
It's not surprising to see these two west coast drone heavy weights coming together for a collaboration. Sullivan has released McCann's music via his Ekhein imprint more than once over the years and the two seem to have a natural affinity for similar sonic aesthetics. The track "Vanity Fair" taken from their upcoming album on McCann's Recital label incorporates varied elements found in each's work while also extending beyond the reach of either individuals solo work.
The Sean McCann & Matthew Sullivan LP will be released via McCann's new imprint Recital

Last Night Presents: Beer Damage / Earn / Mirror To Mirror / Civilian Device

Flier by Aviram Cohen

Beer Damage

(Pete Swanson [ex Yellow Swans] + Brian Sullivan [ Mouthus ] )

Earn

Mirror To Mirror

Civilian Device

Sunday November 20th

Shea Stadium

20 Meadow Street

9pm | $7 | All Ages

RSVP on Facebook here

Earn - A Following Shadow LP, Tour, & Last Nights show

Earn-Stray and Skyscraper Excerpts by EKHEIN

It's a pleasure seeing the metamorphosis some musicians have undergone in recent years from harsh noise into new calmer terrain. Luminaries that readily spring to mind are group's such as Animal Collective or Black Dice, each arriving at their own respective sound. Matthew Sullivan aka Earn has taken the same journey arriving at something totally different than said mentioned artists and what may be the extreme opposite of his previous work as Privy Seals. What results is one of the highlights of modern day ambient music.

Ambient may be a poor word/genre choice though because as the press release for his new record A Following Shadow makes clear there is a definite emotional bent underscoring the compositions, and yes the work feels like a composition not an obvious electronic improv. Possibly looking towards works William Basinki's Disintegration Loops or Eno's classic ambient albums. Which isn't a comparison to be ashamed of.

Earn is undertaking a national tour for the release, via PPM records. The tour is not only for the release of A Following Shadow. It is also for the release of two other albums the first by tour-mate Mirror To Mirror's Here You Leave Today, via Jugular Forest, & a collaborative album between the two. The collaborative effort enlists some possible postmodernist black-humor in the group title as 1958-2009, an homage of sorts to the late Michael Jackson.

The outing includes a Last Nights organized show at Shea Stadium this Sunday November 20th along with Pete Swanson (ex-Yellow Swans) + Brian Sullivan (Mouthus, United Waters) & Civilian Device. As I've mentioned before I'm looking forward to witnessing Swanson & Sullivan's meeting as it isn't to be missed along with the special talents of each musician.

Earn's A Following Shadow is available Nov. 15th., while Mirror To Mirror's Here You Leave Today is available now.