ISON (ex-Crippled Black Phoenix) "Stars & Embers"
News
About:
ISON (ex-Crippled Black Phoenix) "Stars & Embers"
Artist:
ISON
Place:
BRUSSELS
Date:
Thursday, 1. June 2023
NEWS - ISON (ex-Crippled Black Phoenix) "Stars & Embers"
Genre: doomgaze; shoegaze; post-rock
Statement from Daniel Änghede:
"After releasing the 'Aurora' in 2020 there was no doubts ISON would keep going. But I did not know in what form yet. When it was time to start writing the next album I felt a severe writer's block and it made me doubt my ability to continue with this project. It felt like nothing I wrote sounded good but eventually I would find the spark again and I started to get a vision for what I wanted this album to be. 'Stars & Embers' started to take form!
I used lots of analog synths and analog drum machines this time and it made the workflow very different compared to past recordings. There was less room to edit and move notes around and it forced me to trust what I recorded and it took me back to the feeling I had when I first started to record music in the early 90's. The result is to me a more organic and warm record and was once again mastered by Karl Daniel Lidén (Katatonia, Breach etc.).
When the music was written and recorded I started to think about the vocals. I reached out to Lisa Cuthbert because she sung on the previous album and I wanted a connection between 'Stars & Embers' and 'Aurora'. However, when she sent me the first draft of the song 'Horizons' I knew that she'd be perfect as the new main vocalist. Luckily she accepted. She has a deep understanding of what I am doing musically and we work very well together. Her vocal range and ability to layer her voice like an instrument is out of this world! I first met Lisa in Miami when we both were session members in Draconian on the 70 000 Tons of Metal cruise and we became instant friends.
There's still room for guest vocalists in ISON though. It adds a new dimension to the album. This time I asked my friend Mikael Stanne (Dark Tranquillity, The Halo Effect) to duet with Lisa. I haven't used a male guest vocalist since Neige of Alcest joined on the album 'Inner-Space'. Mikael contributed with beautiful lyrics for 'Peregrination' and his gothic vocals fit perfectly together with Lisa's."
