Philadelpia's Tulipomania to release 'Absolution' album, previewed by 'I've Been Told' single
New album released in lock-step with best-selling author Jeff VanderMeer
'I've Been Told - Absolution' video https://youtu.be/yQ1xw4Wu2lg
Bandcamp https://tulipomania.bandcamp.com/track/ive-been-told-absolution
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/1lRSIJ67ZB5WrW6wX43hFR
'Absolution' album order https://tulipomania.bandcamp.com/album/absolution
Apple Music https://music.apple.com/us/album/absolution/1773310984
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 are back with 'I've Been Told - Absolution', the first offering from 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.
With a pressingly mournful urgency, this soundscape resonates with the complex energies enveloping VanderMeer’s novel, the author having invited the duo to create music inspired by 'Absolution' while still a work in progress. Hearing that VanderMeer took inspiration for the 'Absolution' novel from their 'Dreaming of Sleep' album, the duo enthusiastically accepted the challenge.
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) – they first began their collaboration through projects for experimental film and animation classes. Tulipomania evolved from those experiences. Their new '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.
It's an exciting development for the duo to be involved in this new chapter of the Southern Reach Trilogy with 'Absolution' being the brilliant, beautiful and terrifying final word on one of the most provocative and popular speculative fiction series of our time. An instant sensation, it has been celebrated by the New York Times, Stephen King and many others. With each volume climbing the bestsellers list, accruing awards, it was 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 liner notes to the album, VanderMeer lends insight into his creative process: "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. ... So I was really pleased that this opportunity for this wonderful contamination of (novel / album) to go the other way - the Absolution remix of 'Dreaming of Sleep', with four new Absolution tracks! I really love this band so much - to the point I've listened to and recommend their entire back catalogue - that it's an honor."
“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.
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.
“Having the author crowned the ‘weird Thoreau’ entrust us with early versions of his newest novel Absolution was enormously enticing – knowing that he believed we could return with him to the world of Area X for the purpose of a cross-pollination is very exciting," Cheryl Gelover.
"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.”
Jeff VanderMeer fondly describes the animated video for 'I've Been Told - Absolution': "The dreamlike immersion in imagery from the novel creates a hypnotic and perfect effect for both a beautiful dirge and surge of a song and the atmosphere for Absolution. Gorgeous and evocative". 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.
Described as ‘artistic and inventive’ and ‘gorgeous', Tulipomania's animated music videos have been featured 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 is immersed fully in electronic means of creation – the exception being a sole accent played on electric guitar on the last track. This record involves 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 single ‘I’ve Been Told - Absolution’ is out now via Bandcamp, where the ‘Absolution' album is available for pre-order on CD, vinyl and digitally via Sursumcorda Records. On November 29, the album will be released there and everywhere digitally, including 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
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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
