Nightports w/ Matthew Bourne - Dulcitone 1804 [CD]

The Leaf Label

£10.69

Format: CD
Catalogue No.: BAY139CD
Barcode: 843190013920
Release Date: 24 May 2024
Genre: Electronic/Jazz

Nightports is based on a simple but unbreakable rule of restriction: only sounds produced by the featured musician can be used. Nothing else. These sounds can be transformed, distorted, translated, processed and reprocessed, stretched, cut, ordered and reordered without limitation.

Dulcitone 1804 is the fourth collaborative album by musician-producers Adam Martin and Mark Slater to be released on The Leaf Label, following a trilogy of albums with Matthew Bourne (2018), The Comet Is Coming drummer Betamax (2020) and double bassist Tom Herbert (2022). Nightports are reunited with pianist and composer Matthew Bourne, this time exploring a rare 19th century keyboard instrument called a dulcitone.

The dulcitone produces sound when felt-covered hammers hit a series of tuning forks, causing them to vibrate - a precursor to the now iconic Fender Rhodes, which took the same concept but was designed for electric amplification. It was invented by Thomas Machell in Glasgow in around 1860 and produced in small quantities for about 40 years. Dulcitone 1804 was produced on instrument number 1804, and is believed to be the first album made entirely on the dulcitone.

The album came about almost by accident, when Martin and Slater were at Bourne’s studio working on another project and spotted a small, unassuming instrument against the wall. “As Matthew does with all instruments he plays, the first sounds he made with the dulcitone were immediately beautiful,” Martin explains. “Somewhere between a celeste and a piano, it has a clear, bell-like quality that’s evocative of a strange other world. Something old and distant.”

● Dulcitone 1804 will be released in a limited edition of 500 CDs with artwork by Split design
● The material will make its live debut at the beautiful Howard Assembly Room in Leeds on June 9th as part of the Brudenell Piano Sessions
● Support at radio from Mary Anne Hobbs, Giles Peterson and Stuart Maconie at BBC 6 Music, and BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction and Unclassified
● For fans of: Pantha Du Prince & The Bell Laboratory, Nils Frahm, Hauschka, Laraaji, Colleen andLaurie Spiegel
● UK promotion will be handled in house <publicity@theleaflabel.com>

Live:
Sunday 9th June : Howard Assembly Room, Leeds, UK

CD/digital: 1. Measurement 2. Machell 3. Unveil 4. Wolf 5. Plads 6. Faele 7. Apricity 8 Linearity 9. Fux 10. Fork 11. Traction

On Nightports w/ Tom Herbert:
“The LP series chops/splicing a guest’s improvs peaks with the Polar Bear bassist” 4/5 Mojo

“Gorgeous” Mary Anne Hobbs, BBC 6 Music
"Nightports bring an extra sonic dimension to the notion of a solo recording with their treatment of a series of spontaneous improvs by each musician” Jazzwise

On Nightports w/ Betamax:
“Nightports w/ Betamax is one of those endlessly satisfying albums” the Quietus
“An upbeat and surprisingly cohesive piece that succeeds in amplifying the characteristics of Betamax’s distinctive playing” Electronic Sound

On Nightports w/ Matthew Bourne:
“The diverse histories and physical idiosyncrasies of those pianos brings other textures, colours and touches of unpredictability to the overall picture. This promising project has started well” The Wire

“The end result is a unique collision of tradition and technology, flipping between serenity, confusion, and excitement” 4/5 All Music

“The duo operate on the fringes of acoustic and electronic music, manipulating and synthesizing both to devastating effect” The Vinyl Factory