{"product_id":"william-d-drake-moulded-by-industry","title":"William D Drake - Moulded By Industry","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMoulded By Industry\u003c\/em\u003e is \u003cstrong\u003eWilliam D Drake\u003c\/strong\u003e's sixth album, his first for ten years and a return to the richly layered sonic texture and epic production of his majestic \u003cem\u003eBriny Hooves\u003c\/em\u003e. He is joined by long-time collaborators \u003cstrong\u003eJames Larcombe\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eDean Gaisburgh-Watkyn\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eSteve Jackson\u003c\/strong\u003e, with the addition of a new crew member, singer \u003cstrong\u003eTreana Morris\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMoving on from his nine years of pianistic and compositional duties in \u003cstrong\u003eCardiacs\u003c\/strong\u003e, Drake's solo work has been known for its synthesis of Mellotron-driven grandeur with a surreal playfulness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut the deep heart of Drake's work is in its powerful evocation of the landscape of the countryside and its connection with love, longing and loss. To this end, his own enigmatic lyrics have rubbed shoulders with poetry drawn from across the centuries. From obscure sources such as Samuel Spree to the poetry of Thomas Hardy and Rupert Brooke, his settings make old words shimmer with human emotion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe texture of his music also reflects an inspirational lack of concern for distances of time. The earthy breath of his harmonium is interwoven with tones teased from archaic instruments by James Larcombe – hurdy-gurdy, dulcitone and melodeon. But Drake's sound-world is no museum. Here, ancient words and the timbres of ancient instruments become one with the rush of a moment's emotion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMoulded By Industry\u003c\/em\u003e brings this approach a new sonic depth, intoxicatingly shaded by Treana's lush vocal harmonies and underpinned by Steve's rhythm. Dean's evocative guitar textures give an oceanic sense, tinged with Americana, recalling his work with Drake in their alt-country band \u003cstrong\u003eNervous\u003c\/strong\u003e. These many layers of sound are drawn together into vivid soundscapes by the painterly mixing of producer \u003cstrong\u003eOtt\u003c\/strong\u003e. Renowned for his work in electronica and dub, Ott's two decades of experience working with artists such as \u003cstrong\u003eSinéad O'Connor\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eThe Orb\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eBrian Eno\u003c\/strong\u003e bring an organic touch here, more akin to the elemental forces of land and sky than grid electricity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore than any of Drake's previous albums, \u003cem\u003eMoulded By Industry\u003c\/em\u003e reignites the emotional urgency of old texts. The gorgeous single \u003cem\u003eThe Flickering Shade\u003c\/em\u003e, haunted by glimmers of lost possibilities, is set from words by Thomas Ashe. \u003cem\u003eTurtledove\u003c\/em\u003e's heady evocation of the blissful madness of love sets the words of an anonymous 17th-century ballad.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAbove all, the album is a testament to Drake's love of John Clare, \"The Northamptonshire Peasant Poet\". Clare wrote as the centuries-old process of enclosure, in which wild and common land was appropriated commercially, was accelerating. His works, rather than representing simple sentimentality, are passionate love poems to the landscape and cries from a soul reeling from the creeping unfamiliarity devouring it. This sense of the tension between passion and ill-ease has its most potent expression in \u003cem\u003eGreen Shadows\u003c\/em\u003e. The brooding, slow-tempo energy of Steve's drums drive a horizon-wide lament, alternately lulled by Treana's vocal textures and made restless by James' plaintive hurdy-gurdy and the emotive pull of Dean's slide guitar.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe present moment is also a time of enclosure, both metaphorically, as our lives, memories and emotions are drawn into the commercial space of social media, and literally as land and water are swallowed by vast data centre developments. \u003cem\u003eMoulded By Industry\u003c\/em\u003e celebrates a regained sense of being in the moment in the landscape, in life and in love.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe album closes with the utterly delightful single \u003cem\u003eLove In The Universe\u003c\/em\u003e. The kind of song that could make a cynic use the word \"joyous\" without irony, this Harry Nilsson-esque romp reassures us, with a wink, that \"in an infinite universe everything has its place ... even the human race\".\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ONOMATOPOEIA RECORDS","offers":[{"title":"Black Vinyl LP","offer_id":58781979214169,"sku":"SDZ-49965","price":25.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":58781979246937,"sku":"SDZ-49966","price":13.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0588\/3455\/0945\/files\/CAR_20260806_1200_110135_725_p_download_20260806110100_1_001.jpg?v=1786018518","url":"https:\/\/spindizzyrecords.com\/products\/william-d-drake-moulded-by-industry","provider":"Spindizzy Dublin","version":"1.0","type":"link"}