Philadelphia's Tulipomania present landmark 'Absolution' album & video for 'I've Been Told'

New album released in lock-step with best-selling author Jeff VanderMeer

'Absolution' album order  https://tulipomania.bandcamp.com/album/absolution
Apple Music  https://music.apple.com/us/album/absolution/1773310984
Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/artist/1lRSIJ67ZB5WrW6wX43hFR
'I've Been Told - Absolution' video  https://youtu.be/yQ1xw4Wu2lg
Bandcamp  https://tulipomania.bandcamp.com/track/ive-been-told-absolution
Jeff VanderMeer 'Absolution' book  www.jeffvandermeer.com/book/absolution 


“Really thrilled that, in November, Tulipomania is going to release an Absolution mix of their really amazing album 'Dreaming of Sleep', with four new Absolution-inspired tracks. The single will drop on October 31 and I’ve contributed liner notes to the remix album” ~ Jeff VanderMeer


Philadelphia-based art-rock duo Tulipomania present their sixth album 'Absolution', inspired by an invitation from acclaimed author Jeff VanderMeer to contribute music as part of the publication of his latest novel 'Absolution', the surprise fourth volume in his award-winning 'Southern Reach' series.

This soundscape resonates with the complex energies enveloping this novel by VanderMeer, who invited the duo to create music inspired by 'Absolution' while still a work in progress. As VanderMeer took inspiration for the 'Absolution' novel from their 'Dreaming of Sleep' album, the duo enthusiastically accepted the challenge.

The duo has also shared the animated video for 'I've Been Told - Absolution', which was shot frame-by-frame utilizing multiple processes, including thermal printing, to create layered textures, the video features stop-motion animated objects (some frames vibrantly hand-tinted) and glimpses of the duo singing the lyrics. This exploration of various states of disintegration, painstakingly assembling thousands of individual images, evokes Absolution’s themes of dissolution and disorientation. VanderMeer himself praises this as "gorgeous and evocative".

Alternately categorized as cult synth punks, glam-leaning, post-punk, art-rock and muscular chamber pop, Tulipomania is Tom Murray (lead vocals, synthesizer, electronic percussion) and Cheryl Gelover (synthesizer, background vocals). The 'Absolution' album includes four new tracks inspired by VanderMeer's new novel, plus ten alternate versions of the songs that originally sparked VanderMeer’s interest, reimagined as a cohesive sonic experience.

An exciting development for the duo, 'Absolution' is the brilliant and terrifying final word on one of the most provocative and popular speculative fiction series of our time. An instant sensation, each volume climbed the bestsellers list and ultimately adapted in a movie - now a cult classic. The trilogy has now sold more than a million copies, securing its place in the pantheon of 21st century literature.

In the album's liner notes, VanderMeer shares, "I remember being in the middle of the ecstatic visions that formed my novel 'Absolution' and discovering Tulipomania's music for the first time, around August of 2023 - this very album's doppelganger, in fact. The original mix of 'Dreaming of Sleep'. It felt like a revelation - hypnotic, pulsing music that got deep hooks into my brain, so I couldn't stop listening to the songs. Like a lighthouse's roving light, the songs felt like a beacon, and the recursive nature of the composition, the sense of a beating heart, a thick muscle at the core of them, combined with the surreal lyrics got deep into the novel's DNA".

A sign of serendipity, the cover for this album was created by acclaimed artist Pablo Delcan, who also produced the artwork for the 10th anniversary editions of the Southern Reach Trilogy.

“It is a thrill to know that our music and lyrics were an inspiration for Jeff VanderMeer while he was working on his latest novel Absolution," says Tom Murray.

Cheryl Gelover adds, "We’re so glad we emerged from the journey with alternate versions of the ten tracks that originally inspired him, as well as four entirely new songs directly inspired by our immersion in the Southern Reach series and the latest novel in the series - Absolution.  It is quite an honor to share a title on our new album with Jeff's latest.”

Tulipomania's innovative animated music regularly feature in film festivals worldwide, including the Leeds International Film Festival (UK), StopTrik (Croatia, Poland), AniFilm (Czech Republic) and Tallgrass International Film Festival (USA).

On ‘Absolution', Tulipomania uses only electronic means of creation, involving Executive Producer Howard Thompson, renowned as a record industry executive (Elektra, Island, Almo Sounds), credited for having discovered and / or worked with Adam and the Ants, Billy Bragg, MC5, Mötorhead, PiL, Psychedelic Furs, Robyn Hitchcock, The Sugarcubes and Suicide, among others.

The ‘Absolution' album is out now, available on CD and vinyl via Sursumcorda Records and digitally, including via Bandcamp, Spotify and Apple Music.

CREDITS
Cheryl Gelover - keyboards and vocals
Tom Murray - bass, drums, keyboards and lead vocals
with additional keyboards by Richard Hartline
Produced and recorded by Tulipomania & Richard Hartline
Mixed and Mastered by Richard Hartline
Liner notes – Jeff VanderMeer
Executive Producer -  Howard Thompson
Album artwork/design – Pablo Delcan
Written by Cheryl Gelover & Tom Murray. Copyright Tulipomania
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR

TRACK LIST
01. You Had to Be There (Absolution Mix)
02. And Then (Absolution Mix)
03. Strange
04. From DC to Daylight (Absolution Mix)
05. Something Else
06. Fades Away (Absolution Mix)
07. Never Knew
08. I've Been Told (Absolution)
09.  Shines On (Absolution Mix)
10. Time Will Tell (Absolution Mix)
11. Then and Only Then (Absolution Mix)
12. Blank - Gone It's Gone (Absolution Mix)
13. It's About Time (Absolution Mix)
14. Do You Remember (Absolution Mix)


Keep up with Tulipomania
Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | Twitter | Vimeo | YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music


SELECT PRESS
"All the hallmarks of fine Cold War electronica: a brain-searing synth line, and an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia and bubbling anxiety" ~ Electronic Sound

"Tulipomania’s unique take on post-punk boasts gritty guitars underpinned by a brooding rhythm section to provide a backdrop for compelling and atmospheric vocals" ~ Louder Than War

"Sends you in a spiral of pure nirvana" ~ Magnet Magazine

"Between post-punk influenced synth pop and lush chamber pop with visually distinctive videos" ~ The WIRE Magazine

"Reverberating, rippling riffs are more soothing and spacious, replicating deep-sea sonar devices and lulling lap steels... mystery-laced lyrics" ~ Big Takeover Magazine