Jason Lescalleet and Graham Lambkin: Air Supply CD Release

Sat 15 Jan, 2011, 8pm

Graham Lambkin and Jason Lescalleet released The Breadwinner (Erstwhile) in early 2008. This concert marks the release of their second album, Air Supply. They describe their music as “musical settings for common environments and domestic situations,” and almost all of their source material is taken from field recordings made around Lescalleet’s house. Air Supply is a departure from The Breadwinner, but retains the malevolent undercurrents of their previous album.

Jason Lescalleet has gradually and painstakingly built a compelling discography over the past decade. He uses reel-to-reel tape decks to explore the textures of low fidelity analog sounds and the natural phenomena of old tape and obsolete technology. His skill lies as much in reworking, assembling and mastering the material available as in creating it in the first place. He has worked with Ron Lessard, Joe Colley and Phill Niblock, and has released discs on Mattresslessness, Electronic Music and The Pilgrim.

Graham Lambkin was a part of the band The Shadow Ring, formed in England when he was 19. He moved to the U.S. in 1998, and in 2003 released I’m Some Songs with The Shadow Ring. Over the last few years, Lambkin has primarily worked under his own name, releasing two solo records (Salmon Run and Softly Softly Copy Copy), and two hardcover books featuring his writing and drawings (Dumb Answer to Miracles and Dripping Junk). His own Kye label releases both his own work and that of artists like Moniek Darge and Vanessa Rossetto.

The material for Air Supply was mostly recorded in and around Lescalleet's house in Maine in early 2010. The duo wanted to make a leap away from the territory they'd explored on The Breadwinner and the subsequent handful of live concerts, and the results both build on their earlier work and stand in sharp contrast. Air Supply showcases a wide range of material and styles, but the malevolent undercurrents remain present throughout, creating a paradoxically luxuriant yet stifling atmosphere and setting up a soundworld that feels essential for one's ongoing survival. The gorgeous drawings throughout the package are by Lambkin.