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Whale Fall's It Will Become Itself is a lush, cinematic and fully improvised post-rock record that draws from Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Grails, Tortoise and Mogwai.
"One of the seminal post- releases of 2020." - Heavy Blog Is Heavy
"As listeners, we are fortunate that Whale Fall created this rarity, It Will Become Itself." - Echoes And Dust
Based in Los Angeles, California, Whale Fall is an instrumental post-rock group featuring traditional rock instrumentation interfused with more pastoral strokes of piano, cello, brass, and occasional analog synth.
"We inadvertently recorded this album, titled It Will Become Itself, the evening of June 4, 2018, during one of the rare times all five of us were in Los Angeles. We had a few basic ideas we wanted to try out and, per our usual procedure, launched into a mutual improvisation, which we recorded as nothing more than a reference for further composition and arranging. After the session we all agreed that this was a particularly good take and would be valuable for a future project.
While going through the archives several months later, we rediscovered the nearly-forgotten recording from that night. We were surprised at what we heard: here was an entire record in embryonic form, recorded in a single 38-minute take. The consonance and connection of the playing caught our attention. Absent the self-consciousness that goes along with recording an album or even playing a show, we had cut loose and just let things flow. The musical negotiations gave rise to some unexpected and beautiful moments. The imperfections added rather than taking away.
We decided to take this roughly recorded session and apply some polish. Gradually, over the course of a year, we shaped the finished album out of this single take. A couple of the very talented musicians we have collaborated with in the past came through with some stunning improvisations of their own. Finally, we added a short piano piece that had also been recorded spontaneously without intention of release. As the title track, “It Will Become Itself” can be considered both a prelude and prologue to the two longer improvised album sides. The resulting album is intended as a single continuous piece of music in five movements. The title arose during a conversation with a friend about the creative process and seemed an apt description of how the album came to be.
This far less methodical approach to composition was a departure from the more structured recording studio sessions of our previous records, and a fortuitous chance to continue pursuing new creative pathways and song forms. There was no roadmap for this album, and we were willing to accept the imperfections that come along with spontaneity. The music recorded that June night was only a moment in time, but we’re excited to share what we’ve been able to distill from it."
credits
released April 24, 2020
Personnel
Aaron Farinelli: Drums & Percussion
Ali Vazin: Electric Guitar
Dave Pomeranz: Electric Guitar
Erik Tokle: Bass & Electric Guitars, Ambient Moog
J. Matt Greenberg: Keyboards, Cornet, Flugelhorn
Featuring
Artyom Manukyan: Cello
Daniel Rotem: Tenor Saxophone & Flute
Performed by Whale Fall, June 4, 2018, Los Angeles, CA
Produced by Erik Tokle & Whale Fall
Engineered by Erik Tokle & Aaron Farinelli
Mixed by Erik Tokle at Ghost Factory
Mastered by Pete Lymon at Infrasonic Sound
Cover Design by Whale Fall
supported by 18 fans who also own “It Will Become Itself”
I like the stylistic dialogue between this and Yamadori, which appear to me as an expansive study on contrasts, while Years Under Glass is like a subtle, nuanced etching examining harmony and balance, denser and more spiritually distinctive, and the album artwork captures that aptly. It's amazing how it plays with genre tropes, with an amount of this spontaneous, intuitive dynamics and rhythmic power most of the bands don't possess. Thank you for your art guys! Much love from Ukraine :) Terrence Falconer
supported by 16 fans who also own “It Will Become Itself”
Think I've just found my new favourite band! Really digs deep and connects with an ancient otherworldly vibe. They have obviously put a lot of effort into this. Takes some unusual turns, but is heavy as f*** throughout. Like Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve, but properly wiggable. Richard Thomas
supported by 16 fans who also own “It Will Become Itself”
Hashshashin's music is a bold fusion of sound and style, excitingly blending power with finesse to create sounds from another world. Urgent compositions possessing thunderous speed are swiftly countered by moody passages where darkness lies – each track attracts with unique attributes. Michael Reilly
The Australian instrumental band juxtapose classical pianos and ambient swells with uncompromising, proggy post-metal. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 9, 2023