Angels Die Hard – Sundowner

Description

Released on 180G PINK Vinyl by Heaven Hotel/Jezus Factory

One of Monolith Cocktail ALBUMS OF 2018 

“A holy union of late 70s Eno, Jah Wobble and Andean soaring noodling to a full-on Brainticket sonic assault.” – Monolith Cocktail

“Angels Die Hard mix together early 70s Asian Psychedelia, Afro-Beat, Krautrock, shimmering Post Punk guitars and Electronica to stunning effect” – Thee Psychedelatessen

Following the release of their second album Mood Ring, Angels Die Hard went into a deep and satisfying hibernation in South East Asia, followed by a tour of the bars, opium dens and beach clubs in the region. In their off time they went searching for the mythical Andaman Drongo bird, seeking to record it’s beautiful mating call.

 

While camping on a remote island in the Andamans, it dawned on them that the ecological impact of our Capitalist industrial civilisation reached even this idyllic place, when they saw a local sea gipsy smoking a bong made out of a Starbucks cup. This disgusted them greatly. This became a theme on their new album “Sundowner”, together with their common topics like love, making love, and the sometimes more complex sensations before and after. 

 

Also on this island was Alain, who was on a solo survival trip, on a well-deserved break from playing with Maxon Blewitt & Eriksson-Delcroix. The then three members of the Angels were impressed with his knife-making skills, muscle power, knowledge of sustainable communal living, and good looks, and that same evening they all joined a Jarawa tribal manhood initiation ritual, where Rob and Alain hit it off tremendously on drums & percussion, forming a rhythmic tandem that recalled the sound of rhinoceroses fornicating.

 

It soon became clear to all that Alain was going to join the Angels for their next record. It has to be noted that, when they discovered that Alain had only one cassette with him, with on the A-side ZZ Top and on the other side Ry Cooder, they immersed him in the music of The Petch Pin Thong Band, Thonghuad Faited, The Son Of P.M., Ike Reiko, Masami Kawahara & The Exotic Sounds, Masahiko Sato, Midori Takada, Haruomi Hosono, Glenn Branca, Boredoms, Sun Ra, Pharoah Sanders, Ennio Morricone, Hawkwind, The Stooges, Butthole Surfers, Can, Chrome, Amon Duul, Tim Hardin, AR & Machines, Kleg, Black Sabbath and The Pretty Things, and others. These were enjoyed on vinyl, played on their beloved solar-powered record player.

 

Sundower was recorded in three days in the summer of 2017 at Borrey studios, where they tried to recreate the joy, sense of wonder, but also environmental sadness they all experienced on this remote Andaman island.

 

Tracklist:

A                                              B

Tears Of The Cobra                  Gutter Glory

Stray Angel                              Acid Beach

No Apron For Emily                 Dirty Sunset

Sundowner 

Dancing Algae

 

alex van herk: synths, loops, bells, memory man • alain rylant: percussion, drums, bells, theremin • rob eelen: drums, bells, percussion • thomas noppe: guitars, bells, melodica  • guest on trumpet: sigrid van rosendaal • recorded by alain rylant & jan stoop 6-9 July 2017 at studio borrey • mixed & mastered by alain rylant • produced by angels die hard • all music by angels die hard • copyright control