✹ Vytvoření toho, co Iggy Pop popsal Jimu Jarmuschovi jako „symfonie pro lidi, kteří nemají spoustu času“, se Sarah Lipstate objevila jako inovativní a definující hlas ve světě hudby pod názvem Noveller. Zvládnutí kytary jako svého hlavního nástroje, propagovala Lipstate transcendentní přístup ke skládání přes ovládnutí a integraci efektových pedálů a technologií. Její nečekané zvukové trasy jsou živé a filmové, s každým tónem a zvučností vypráví složité příběhy. Kytarová MASTER OF REALITY díky čtyřem záchytným bodům: pozorování, orientace, rozhodnutí, akce.
✹ Vyrůstala na přísné klavírní technice, kytaru objevila později v jejích dospívajících létech a to jí umožnilo útěk z formalismu, elegantní odemčení skryté říše své kreativity. Vezmeme~li do úvahy anti~teoretický přístup, hudba najednou už nebyla pouhou sérií poznámek, zbytků a náhodných, či vzájemně nesouvisejících postřehů, ale prostředkem intuitivního vyjádření. Její prohloubený zájem o experimentální hudbu, podporovaný objevem drzého hluku Sonic Youth, epického rozsahu Glenna Brancy, delikátních formulářů Briana Ena a no~wave disharmonií Teenage Jesus & The Jerks, kterými se jen inspirovala.
✹ Touha prozkoumat a nakrmit tuto kreativitu ji zavedla z Louisiany do Austinu, poté z Brooklynu do LA. Arrow je její první album od přechodu na okraj kaňonů v Los Angeles a vy, doufám že gurmáni — můžete slyšet destabilizující účinek, který na ni měl v hudbě. Ze své komfortní zóny v novém městě, před sebou s ukolébávající rozlohou a rozrůstající se urbanizací, vytvořila Lipstate své nové album, když o této změně ve svém životě uvažovala.
✹ Výsledný dojem je, že album překypuje sny a kontemplací, protínajících se napětím a dramaty, což jsou cesty, figurující v nadvládě nad jeho dynamickou sekvencí. Skladba jako „Effektologie“ se otevírá jako živý pohled na noční oblohu, než se temnota usadí a obalí, konečně uklidní vaši upachtěnou mysl a přinese tolik potřebný spánek. „Kaňony“ se houpají, rozpálené na úbočích se synkopovanými melodickými ozvěnami. „Pre~fabled“ vás zavede přímo do padajících oceánských vln jako zoufalá očista. Zádumčivá a truchlící „Remainder“ uzavírá toto posouzení dne a upevňuje úvahu nad tím, co by mohla přinést budoucnost.
✹ Díky své schopnosti přidat takové jedinečné zvuky a textury byla Lipstate vyhledávána jako častá spolupracovnice: nedávno psala písně s Iggy Popem a vystupovala jako členka jeho kapely na jeho celosvětovém turné. Bývalí partneři v oblasti hudebního zločinu se pohybovali od JG Thirlwella po Lee Ranalda a vystupovala jako součást kytarové armády Rhyse Chathama, 41 strun Nicka Zinnera, Hudby pro 6 kytar Ben Frosta a 100 kytarových ensemble Glenna Brancy. Cestovala také pro podporu fanoušků St. Vincent, Wire, US Girls, The Jesus Lizard a Helium.
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Album release: June 7, 2020
Record Label:Ba Da Bing!
Duration: 40:31
Tracks:
1. Rune 3:48
2. Effektology 3:48
3. Zeaxanthin 8:37
4. Pattern Recognition 2:54
5. Canyons 3:06
6. Pre~fabled 5:48
7. Thorns 6:57
8. Remainder 5:33
✹ Noveller is Sarah Lipstate
✹ Design by John Foster
✹ Photography by Priscilla C. Scott
✹ Mastered by Brian Pyle
✹ Recorded and mixed at Moon Canyon Recording, Los Angeles ★ Sarah Lipstate’s work as Noveller, the vehicle through which she explores the possibilities of instrumental, primarily electric guitar compositions, has resulted in a rich body of work, one that has elevated her to the level of similar innovators like Vini Reilly and Roy Montgomery. Arrow continues that journey, further developing her darkly beautiful work in songs that combine the tranquility of meditation with elements of tension and unease. ★ Album opener “Rune” is based around a deep, pulsing rhythm, with slowly rising tones that coalesce around a stark piano/guitar combination. From there, the songs proceed in a sequence that feels deliberate; flowing, heavily processed tones float over distant, rumbling rhythms; at times, it summons the same sense of expansive beauty and deep~set melancholy as Vangelis’s work in Blade Runner. In “Pattern Recognition,” a sweetly elegant melody is steadily subsumed and surrounded by grimmer, ghostlier tones and loops; “Canyons” opens with a melodic figure that sounds like the chiming of an android music box, over which Lipstate gradually layers rich, milky tones. And the hushed “Pre~fabled” feels like the slow drawing of breath, with its lighter lead melody and its quiet sense of awe, before an onrush of darker notes arrives at the halfway point. In that way, it’s emblematic of Arrow as a whole — a place where gripping beauty exists, but where tranquility is hardly guaranteed.
About:
✹ Creating what Iggy Pop described to Jim Jarmusch as “symphonies for people that don’t have a lot of time,” Sarah Lipstate has emerged as an innovative and defining voice in the world of music under the name Noveller. Wielding a guitar as her main instrument, Lipstate has pioneered a transcendent approach to composition through her mastery and integration of effects pedals and technology. Forming unexpected sonic routes, her songs are vivid and cinematic, telling intricate tales with each tone and swell.
✹ Raised on a strict piano technique, the discovery of the guitar late in her teens allowed for an escape from formalism and unlocked the hidden realms of her creativity. Taking an anti~theoretical approach, suddenly music was no longer a series of notes, rests, and time signatures, but a means of intuitive expression. Her deepened interest in experimental music, fueled by the discovery of the bold noise of Sonic Youth, the epic scope of Glenn Branca, the delicate formularies of Brian Eno and the no wave discordance of Teenage Jesus & The Jerks, only furthered to inspire.
✹ A yearning to explore and feed that creativity took her from Louisiana to Austin, then Brooklyn to LA. Arrow is her first album since the move to the edge of the canyons of Los Angeles, and you can hear the destabilizing effect this had on her in the music. Out of her comfort zone in a new city, with a rolling expanse in front of her and an urban sprawl over her shoulder, Lipstate built her new album as she contemplated this change in her life.
✹ The resulting record feels as if it is filled with dreamscapes and contemplation intersecting with tension and drama, a journey that plays out over it’s dynamic sequence. Tracks like “Effektology” open up like a vivid view of the night sky, before the darkness settles in and envelopes you, finally quieting your racing mind and bringing about much needed slumber. “Canyons” pings about and stings at the mountainside with its syncopated melodic echoes. “Pre~fabled” walks you straight into the crashing ocean waves like a desperate cleansing. A mournful “Remainder” closes the proceedings, steadying itself for what the future might hold.
✹ With her ability to add such unique sounds and textures, Lipstate has been sought out as a frequent collaborator, recently writing songs with Iggy Pop and performing as a member of his band on his worldwide tour. Past partners in crime have ranged from JG Thirlwell to Lee Ranaldo and she has performed as part of Rhys Chatham’s Guitar Army, Nick Zinner’s “41 Strings”, Ben Frost’s “Music for 6 Guitars”, and Glenn Branca’s 100 guitar ensemble. She has also toured in support of big fans in St. Vincent, Wire, U.S. Girls, The Jesus Lizard and Helium.
✹ Those prized abilities have also led her to her being a leader in the conversation around the gear that has unlocked the full range of her abilities. As she began posting videos of her explorations to social media, a dedicated and inquisitive audience emerged and continues to grow, as she appeared in magazines and documentaries. With Arrow, Lipstate has emerged with an album that is sure to delight and challenge all of her followers, as that fanbase widens further.
★ Sarah Lipstate’s work as Noveller, the vehicle through which she explores the possibilities of instrumental, primarily electric guitar compositions, has resulted in a rich body of work, one that has elevated her to the level of similar innovators like Vini Reilly and Roy Montgomery. Arrow continues that journey, further developing her darkly beautiful work in songs that combine the tranquility of meditation with elements of tension and unease.
★ Album opener “Rune” is based around a deep, pulsing rhythm, with slowly rising tones that coalesce around a stark piano/guitar combination. From there, the songs proceed in a sequence that feels deliberate; flowing, heavily processed tones float over distant, rumbling rhythms; at times, it summons the same sense of expansive beauty and deep~set melancholy as Vangelis’s work in Blade Runner. In “Pattern Recognition,” a sweetly elegant melody is steadily subsumed and surrounded by grimmer, ghostlier tones and loops; “Canyons” opens with a melodic figure that sounds like the chiming of an android music box, over which Lipstate gradually layers rich, milky tones. And the hushed “Pre~fabled” feels like the slow drawing of breath, with its lighter lead melody and its quiet sense of awe, before an onrush of darker notes arrives at the halfway point. In that way, it’s emblematic of Arrow as a whole — a place where gripping beauty exists, but where tranquility is hardly guaranteed.