Immersion share video for ‘Propulsoid’

Immersion

Brighton-based duo Immersion, made up of Wire frontman Colin Newman & Minimal Compact’s Malka Spigel, will release their new album ‘Sleepless’ on June 15th via swim~. The album can be pre-ordered now on limited vinyl and digitally. The band has also shared the new single and video for Propulsoid (which features Matt Schulz of Holy Fuck on drums). Watch the video clip for Propulsoid via YouTube.

About the song the band says, “The roots of Immersion lie in abstract techno but somehow over the years we’ve acquired the motorik of krautrock without ever consciously deciding on that direction. ‘Propulsoid’ is a kind of propulsive mythical beast, an unholy alliance of Klaus Dinge’s beats and acid squelch filtered through the ever present MS-10. We guess it’s a kind of dance music! The video was made by us in the same spirit as we make the music and write these words. It’s about speed, light & repetition.”

Immersion have announced a North American tour with Matt Schulz from Holy Fuck guesting on about half of the shows, there will also be a ‘pre-tour’ Nanocluster, a regular night the band have created, where the Immersion perform a 30 minute set, followed by a guest 30 minute set and then a collaborative 30 minute set at the end. This upcoming Nanocluster on June 8th with take place in Brighton with Ulrich Schnauss as their guest/collaborator.

‘Sleepless’ is Immersion’s latest album, a suite of ten distinctive, unpredictable instrumentals that effortlessly encapsulate a range of emotions and energies. It follows 2016’s ‘Analogue Creatures Living on An Island,’ which saw the duo return to the studio after a lengthy hiatus. The album received unanimous praise from reviewers. Wire Magazine described the album as “Genuinely lovely work” while Drowned in Sound called the release “A collection of seductive instrumentals that’s as sensual as it is hypnotic.”

‘Sleepless’ is at once a logical development from ‘Analogue Creatures Living on An Island’ and a huge leap forwards. Although the influence of German krautrock pioneers like Tangerine Dream and Popal Vuh is still detectable, Immersion have evolved their own far more personal sound. Their amalgam of fascinating textures and limpid melodies gives their compositions an irresistible appeal.

While warmly percolating analogue synths remain at the heart of Immersion’s sound, ‘Sleepless’ finds their sonic palette broadened to encompass guitars, drums and bass. There’s a guest appearance from Matt Schulz of Holy Fuck, too, and a collaboration with Gil Luz and Asi Weitz of EBM band Hexenschuss. For a duo who once titled an album Low Impact, this is most definitely Immersion in high-impact mode.

Album opener Microclimate is a bright, optimistic composition with shades of Ulrich Schnauss in its thoughtful, melodic flow. Off Grid kicks off with the infectious sound of a four-string tenor guitar, but it’s soon joined by flickering synth-lines and one of Spigel’s characteristically spacious bass-lines. In fact, Spigel’s bass work throughout the album may be the finest she’s ever committed to tape.

Just as you think you might be getting the measure of the album, the title track opens with a richly melancholic brass arrangement. But this is then eclipsed by an Eastern sounding melody and strangely circling guitar line. Like all Immersion’s best work, it’s simultaneously mysterious and emotionally engaging.

Propulsoid has the kind of urgent electro-glide that might suggest Moon Duo or Suicide, but the core melody is unmistakably Immersion. The strict yet fluid drum pattern comes courtesy of Matt Schultz of Holy Fuck, who provides the track with a strong motorik drive.

Manic Toys is another distinctly up-tempo track, which comes across as a weird deep-space hoe-down, while “Seeing is Believing: begins with dark synth tones suggesting we might be listening to the soundtrack to an early 1970s dystopian sci-fi film. But as the piece evolves, there is something of the bucolic splendour of Boards of Canada to be heard in the cycling rhythm and rich drones. The album closer Io sees several looping celebratory melodies overlaid to create a mesh of sound that is elegiac and uplifting.

‘Sleepless’ is widescreen music – lush, detailed and smartly executed. In short, Immersion have produced an album that politely but firmly demands your attention.

Immersion Tour Dates 

06.08 – Brighton, UK @ RoseHill (NANOCLUSTER with Ulrich Schnauss) (tickets)
06.16 – London, UK @ Rough Trade East – Sleepless Album Launch
06.23 – Los Angeles, CA @  Bootleg Theatre * (tickets)
06.24 – San Francisco, CA @ Cafe Du Nord (tickets)
 06.26 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir (tickets)
06.27 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza (tickets)
06.29 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court (tickets)
07.01 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge (tickets)
07.03 – Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar (tickets)
07.05 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry (tickets)
07.06 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas * (tickets)
07.07 – Detroit, MI @ Third Man Records Cass Corridor * (tickets)
07.09 – Toronto, ON @ The Drake * (tickets)
07.11 – Montreal, Quebec, Canada @ La Vitriola * (tickets)
07.13 – Allston, MA @ Great Scott * (tickets)
07.14 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade * (tickets)

with Matt Schulz of Holy Fuck on drums

‘Sleepless’ track Listing
1. Microclimate (stream)
2. Off Grid
3. MS19
4. Sleepless
5. Propulsoid (with Matt Schulz)
6. Hovertron
7. The Humming Sea
8. Manic Toys
9. Seeing is Believing (with Hexenschuss)
10. Io

Pre-order ‘Sleepless’ – swim.greedbag.com/buy/sleepless-76