The Black Dog - Fragments

Dust Science Recordings

£12.58

Genre: Electronic/Ambient/IDM
Format: CD
Catalogue No.: DUSTCD087
B/C: 4250101420375
Release Date: 6th November 2020

Fragments was a completely new way of working for us. We’ve always worked with an internal brief, creating documents, pictures and videos, simply because keeping an idea on track with three individuals can be difficult. It's easy for someone to be edged out of the creative process when the focus is not clearly defined.

It’s a formula we’ve used since the early 2000s, but things have changed a lot since then, particularly when we decided to dip our collective toes into supporter memberships with Patreon. It made us think about what we could do directly for our supporters rather than just the next album or project. At first, the whole thing felt odd and uncomfortable, but we decided that we’d try a few things and ask for feedback.

"Fragments" was initially a way for us to see how we could include others in an ongoing creative process. There was no over-arching concept, no defined characteristics or purpose, just the promise that there would be at least one new track for members to download every month. Consequently, we never knew what was coming next, so the old, very focused working method was irrelevant. It was difficult for us to let individual tracks go without knowing what was coming next, but this also made the project more interesting.

And then C19 hit and we were forced to continue the project remotely from our home studios. As difficult as the disruption was, it was during this period that we realised we could re-organise and remaster the individual tracks into a coherent album, capturing a specific moment in time and drawing a line under the first phase of the project.

Like our "Allegory" EPs, we’ve tried to keep everything stripped back. We used to hide many subtle elements within the layers, but not so much this time.

Fragments is our journey through many changes, both self-imposed and those imposed upon us, and it ultimately led us to create things differently. We hope you like it..

Tracklisting:
01 Hex Collapse 02 [B] What Did They Ask 03 Porn Shop 04 Crashed Core 05 Black Smoke 06 [B] A Small Book Of Truth 07 [B] Like A Coastal Shelf 08 Slung 09 EMP1951 10 [B] Dust in the Wind 11 No JuJu 12 Ghiahead 13 SoYo Solitude 14 Cup Noodle 15 Constructivist 16 [B] She Said It Would Happen 17 Amberly House