DANIEL O'SULLIVAN - Eros - LP - Vinyl [MAY 23]

LP - Limited Edition of 500 Copies Worldwide, Pressed on Black Vinyl

An English composer and multi-instrumentalist, Daniel O'Sullivan’s career has been marked by versatility and innovation. In addition to his work with Sonoton, he has composed extensively for the legendary KPM music library, contributing to its storied legacy of production music. As a deep virtuoso and collaborator, O'Sullivan has also played in a number of influential projects, including Ulver, Sunn O))), This Is Not This Heat, Grumbling Fur, and Miracle (with Steve Moore), leaving an indelible mark on the contemporary experimental music landscape.

A stunning song cycle of hypnotic, experimental contemporary chamber music, Eros is composed for a 14-piece ensemble. Combining minimalism, complex syncopation, detailed acoustic textures, unusual intervals, and samurai precision, this record will elegantly blow your mind. When Daniel first sent it to us, he described it as “Liquid Swords meets Michael Nyman.” Trust us, he wasn't wrong. A "unique hybrid orchestral music," it presents a confluence of Daniel's longstanding fixations—there are elements of Nyman, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Magma, Aaron Copland, and RZA—but this is wholly O'Sullivan’s.

O’Sullivan’s first foray into classically informed chamber music, Eros is a culmination of his long-standing fixations and expansive musical influences. The album features arrangements that are as detailed as they are emotionally resonant, showcasing his unparalleled ear for intervals and mastery of counterpoint. The music brims with complex rhythmic syncopation and a sensitivity to texture and space, resulting in a soundscape that is both intoxicating and dauntingly precise.

Recorded between June 2023 and February 2024 in Brussels, London, and Carmarthenshire, Wales, Eros features members of Echo Collective (Neil Leiter and Margaret Hermant), Thighpaulsandra (from seminal post-industrial band Coil), and jazz pioneer Oren Marshall. Daniel’s sonic weapons of choice, in his own words, were "Big Bad Drum, Pee Anne Oh, Low End Brass, Willowy Winds & Samurai Strings." You get the picture. As a cyclical suite, this is a record that truly needs to be heard from start to finish to appreciate the genius at work.

A jaw-dropping statement of intent, the minimalist "Golden Verses" sets the tone with a complex cue that makes your neck snap just when it feels like it needs to. Listen, and you'll understand. A syncopated tangle of sharp strings, crunchy bass, drums, percussion, bright piano, and mallets vie for position with French horn and woodwind melodies in the most compelling and unexpected ways. Quite simply, it's one of the finest album openers I've ever heard.

It’s followed by the atmospheric, rippling minimalism of "Lyre Lyre," a gorgeous gem with shimmering chimes, bright melody, human percussion, and syncopated pizzicato strings. It kinda comes on like a less-abstract Boards Of Canada, bursting with typical wonderment. The piano- and string-drenched "Dolorous Stroke" effortlessly builds its warm, pastoral orchestration with flowing piano arpeggios, steadfast drums, expressive string quartet, rich low brass, woodwind, and lyrical flute—just sublime.

The insistent, frenetic propulsion of "Plain Paper" is utterly beguiling, featuring a determined string motif, urgent drums and percussion, driving low brass, and breathless, energetic flute. The haunting, interweaving string arpeggios of "Grapes Draped" present a claustrophobic minimalism full of chaos and darkness, with growling low woodwind and brass, spiky harpsichord, skittering flutes, and tight drums.

Next up, "Xanix Annum" is a stately minimalist waltz with expressive lyrical string quartet and delicate woodwind, anchored by drums and percussion. "Painting Rose" is a bouncy, stop-start track with angular syncopated strings and a piano pulse underneath bright harpsichord and flutes. "Rotunda Garden" presents ethereal, textural minimalism for landscapes and reflection, with flowing string arpeggios, warm low woodwind drones, floating choir, and cymbal swells.

Closing out this extraordinary side of music, the glowing, flowing minimalism of "Flowry Orb" features urgent organ, piano, and woodwind arpeggios, half-time drums with shimmering cymbals, a soaring, beautiful violin solo, and hypnotic vocal chant.

Side 2 opens with "Theia Mania", a determinedly off-kilter, angular track featuring low wind, brass, and drum stomps in dialogue with a lively string trio, woodwind, and solo horn. The light, airy minimalism of "Painting Percy" is built around an interplay of rhythmic motifs for piano, low brass, bassoon, fluttering flutes, urgent strings, drums, and percussion.

Meanwhile, "For Archetypes" is a delicate, gently syncopated chamber cue for nostalgia, nature, reflection, and moments of calm, with a steady piano motif, intimate woodwind and French horn, and warm, graceful strings. The urgent "Ars Memoriae" is a propulsive march for progress, processes, and industry, underpinned by driving tuba, with determined strings, resolute drums, and vivid, expressive flute, clarinet, and French horn.

The syncopated, energetic minimalism of "Mirrored Seven" presents layers of melodic and cyclical piano, drums, low brass, harp, flute, and strings. "Pure Ornament" follows, a slowly evolving chamber cue with flowing clarinet, string and harp arpeggios, plodding tuba, percussion, fluttering flute, and graceful, lyrical solos—stunning!

Up next, "Brave Boy" moves from its tender, warm, lullaby-like intro with lyrical flute, clarinet, and strings before opening into a playful backend driven by a bouncy tuba riff and syncopated piano, woodwind, string trio, and drums and percussion. Rounding out this astonishing piece, "Waxen Waned" is a warm, pastoral chamber cue with light lyrical woodwind, tender French horn, and subtly pulsing string trio.

Tracklist: 

A1. Golden Verses  
A2. Lyre Lyre  
A3. Dolorous Stroke  
A4. Plain Paper  
A5. Grapes Draped  
A6. Xanix Annum  
A7. Painting Rose  
A8. Rotunda Garden  
A9. Flowry Orb  

B1. Theia Mania  
B2. Painting Percy  
B3. For Archetypes  
B4. Ars Memoriae  
B5. Mirrored Seven  
B6. Pure Ornament  
B7. Brave Boy  
B8. Waxen Waned