13/07/2022

Cult48 New Album — “From The Ashes”

The New Cult48 album “From The Ashes”

“I’ve never heard anything sound so much like Boards of Canada that isn’t Boards of Canada! – Igloomag, January 2021
(igloomag.com/reviews/cult48-underground-signals-from-an-unknown-place )

“nothing has sounded quite so BoC since BoC themselves, just adding fuel to the fire of just who is getting this beautiful sound out there. To not only emulate with such accuracy the pads and warm-feelings of Scotland’s well-loved duo, to be able to accentuate and highlight in a truly modern fashion without detracting from the feelings, is a feat in itself.” — Igloomag, July 2021
(igloomag.com/reviews/cult48-underground-signals-from-an-unknown-place)

Cult48 were shrouded in secrecy, and rumours abounded as to their identity. Some assumed it was the work of Boards of Canada.

I could have continued with the charade, but after much soul-searching following the death of my dad, and that of my good friend DJ Steve Brown, and the diagnosis and deterioration of a degenerative eye condition called CRD, I revealed in June 2022 that the majority of Cult48’s music was in fact Carbinax “in stealth mode”. The decision was made when I realised how much we toil and obsess over our art, but in the final estimation, it’s an ephemeral pursuit.
My dad was just as obsessed with his work as an artist, and a sculptor of life-size animals in bronze, and achieved a B.A. in fine arts, and eventually ran his own company, but when he got Alzheimers and didn’t know what to do with a brush or a pencil anymore, it put things into very sharp perspective.

This bubbled under the surface, as I wasn’t particularly close to my dad as a person, but the subsequent deaths of Vangelis, and Andy Fletcher of Depeche Mode ( both of whom I viewed as mentors / teachers ), followed by the death of Dave Greenfield of The Stranglers from covid, and then also Dave Smith the Father of MIDI and inventor behind such iconic synths as the Prophet 5, all heaped on top of each other in such a short space of time, and following such a surreal global pandemic, left me feeling that the hold we have on these things is so tenuous and fragile.

Of the 2 other members of Cult48 ( I could, but I choose not to reveal other member’s identity at this time, despite what they’ve done……..providing they act sensibly ), one did the artwork, maintained the facebook page, and mailed out CDs. The other member had some good “promo” ideas ( credit where credit’s due ), but musically, contributed very little,. Of the 20% they contributed, I was generally sent about 4 rough, generic “stems”. I discarded 3 of those and built the other 80% of the track, and then also mastered it.

This was the pattern, and I grew tired of doing the majority of the work, while they reaped the same cut for doing much less. With everything else going on in my mind, regarding things like mortality, a degenerative eye condition etc…..I decided I’d had enough, and revealed in June 2022 that the majority of Cult48 was mostly Carbinax “In Stealth Mode”.

I worked on a remix that sounded a little different to the typical Cult48 sound ( which later became known as “Counter Dream – Rous Point Mix” ) because it has acid in it, and we tried to discuss a “remixers” name. It was such a simple thing.
I was told “I’m busy. I don’t have time for this” and, like a child would do when they didn’t get their own way, they stormed out of the group chat and didn’t return for about 2 weeks.
These tantrums happened on a number of occasions, and I decided I’d had enough of putting my best foot forward…..making the tracks, remixing the tracks, mastering the tracks…….for someone to just take that for granted. In every band, there’s always that saturation point where enough is enough, and that particular moment was for me, the straw that broke the camel’s back. I was done at that point.

The revelation of me dispensing with the anonymity, and “De-Cloaking”saw the previous “shared” bandcamp page, that I set up, deleted by 1 of the other 2 members. They also deleted a “shared” email account that was connected to it. I have proof of all of this.

That, however, was yesterday.

This, is today.

In order for you to understand the rebirth, I had to lay the foundation, so you would understand why the album is called “From The Ashes”.
I was originally going to call it “Phoenix”, but I had already decided on the Owl as the new Cult48 logo, as it was something I suggested way back in the early days of Cult48 ( but I compromised and we ended up with the hands, which tbh, I never liked ), but having two different birds on the cover wouldn’t have worked.
Artistically, anything to do with a phoenix may have just ended up looking like a Liverpool FC football kit insignia ( no offence to Liverpool fans out there ).

The tracks on this album were considered deleted. Incinerated. They probably felt very proud of their handiwork as they tried to cover the body and hide the evidence, but here they are…….ALIVE again, resurrected, and irrepressible !!

No-one should dare tell me I don’t have the right to admit ownership of my own work.

I dedicate “From The Ashes” to the Cult48 fans. If the page hadn’t been deleted, and all the fans music along with it, I would have released music via the private sector as I was done with the “rat race”, but when they deleted not just my work, but the music the fans had bought with their hard-earned money, that right there……….was a red rag to a bull.

CULT48 will now continue. More motivated than ever. Better music. Better Website. Better logo.

Accept no imitations. The music will speak for itself.

The tracks not represented on “From The Ashes”, are omitted due to their not being “entirely” Carbinax tracks, even if I did the 80% of the work on them, and then mastered them. Unlike some people, I don’t use other people’s work without their permission. I use my own.

The majority of the tracks are from the following Cult48 releases.
From The Ashes also includes 4 new remixes, some subtle remasters, and 5 completely new tracks.

1. Catalog 1 — www.discogs.com/master/1773986-Cult-48-Catalog-1

2. 1.1 EP — www.discogs.com/master/1912902-Cult-48-11

3. Thunder My Companion Remixes — www.discogs.com/release/19091242-Cult-48-Thunder-My-Companion-Remixes

4. Underground Signals From An Unknown Place — www.discogs.com/master/2234755-Cult-48-Underground-Signals-From-An-Unknown-Place



1 Deep Calls To Deep
2 Agfa Qi
3 Arms Around The Whirl
4 Counter Dream
5 Defang
6 Emoti Sahara
7 Harbinger
8 On Diesel Verge
9 Other Side Of The Coin
10 Palmera Caminante
11 Pelican Ridge
12 Red Letter
13 The Owls Are Not What They Seem
14 The Relief Of Shade And Shadow
15 Thunder My Companion
16 Zenith
17 Counter Dream ( Rous Point Mix )
18 Defang ( Shrouded Mix 3 )
19 Spider’s Web In The Rain
20 Golden Ratio
21 Gullbatross
22Pelican Ridge ( T-Wrecks Mix )
23 Out Of Focus
24 The 48th Of Never
25 Thunder My Companion ( Phade Rhombus Mix )

“From The Ashes” AVAILABLE NOW

MAKE.

EVERY.


SECOND.


COUNT.