We’ve been holed up at Sam’s studio this weekend recording the studio follow-up to Granolithic, with a working title of Three Fountains. The result of the sessions is a very different record from Granolithic – it certainly feels more focused, more varied, and for the first time there are guitars along with the tubas, organ and percussion.
Another break with existing ORE convention is that there are a couple of cover versions, both of which will be familiar to those of you who have seen us in concert a number of times. We’re paying our dues to two men who have been a massive influence on us, namely Dylan Carlson and Mark Hollis – the covers are Ouroboros is Broken by Earth, and I Believe in You by Talk Talk. In view of the latter it’s no coincidence that all of the improvised material on the album is the very first recorded take.
Aside from a medieval French tune, C’est La Fin, there are four original pieces, two of which are completely new; Beyond Tree and Stone from our first EP, and Morton from the live album Gullet are present in radically reworked forms.
We’re very excited about sharing this album – even at a rough mix stage we’re confident it’s the best thing we’ve done. Onwards!