SEVEN HORSES FOR SEVEN KINGS

Through his output both as a sound artist and through his
eclectic Dekorder record label, Back to Comm (Marc Richter) has
established himself as a singular voice of new music. His Thrill
Jockey debut, Seven Horses For Seven Kings is Richter's most direct
and visceral work to date. It is unashamedly dark and undeniably
angry. But rather than be consumed by such emotions, Richter
employs them here as ecstatic release. Through his mastery of sound,
he achieves transcendence through noise, beauty through intensity.
A relentless sonic explorer, he approaches the studio as his
instrument, using sampling, analogue production and digital
manipulation to sculpt audio fragments into surprising new shapes.
Samples from Richter's contemporaries like German composer Nils
Frahm are bent and compounded with elements of early recorded music and medieval song, creating pieces that transcend time and
genre. Richter blurs the lines between organic instrumentation and
digital production to the extent that the two become inseparable.
Seven Horses For Seven Kings was completed during a particularly prolific period for Richter. Working on a broad range of commissions
since his last album - from writing for film and theatre works to
composing for art installations, apps and sleep music - generated
a flurry of new ideas and influences. Extensive touring would
equally come to inform a key shift in Richter's music, simulating the
raw, unpredictable energy of live performances on record. While
rhythm has been largely absent from previous Black To Comm
releases, here the music seems totally bound to it. The album's
breath-taking pace drives Richter's music to new levels of intensity.