August Stars News, 21st November 2011

Firstly the new August Stars EP Invisible in the Dusk is released today. The EP contains eight tracks and runs for nearly an hour. I often feel rather odd using the term "EP" to refer to these releases given that they are usually longer than most albums; but equally they don't feel like albums either, although by definition they are; I suppose Long Form EP is perhaps the most appropriate term. Anyway I digress. There will also be a free companion download available from the August Stars bandcamp page. Details below.

Secondly, I've made my Make Mine Music discography available for download via bandcamp. Details below.

August Stars Invisible in the Dusk (MMM028)

As the CDR copies are limited to 25, all copies will be available from me directly. If you'd like one please contact me here: sebastienstars (at) gmail.com. They're £4 each including postage to the UK. If you live outside of the UK there will be a shipping charge, but I'll only charge what I pay.

The digital download is £2 and available here: http://auguststars.bandcamp.com/album/invisible-in-the-dusk

More information about the release here: http://starrystillness.blogspot.com/2011/11/august-stars-invisible-in-dusk-release.html

August Stars In and Out of the Grey or Silvery Dissolution

A companion digital download to Invisible in the Dusk featuring omitted tracks, demos, alternative versions and three tracks salvaged from the abandoned Drawn Away EP. It is available free here: http://auguststars.bandcamp.com/album/in-and-out-of-a-grey-or-silvery-dissolution

August Stars Music for Twilight (MMM019)

Pay what you like. Available here: http://auguststars.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-twilight

August Stars Midwinter (MMM030)

Pay what you like. Available here: http://auguststars.bandcamp.com/album/midwinter

Still Crescent The Railway Terminus, The October Twilight, The Circulatory System EP (MMM043)

Pay what you like. Available here: http://stillcrescent.bandcamp.com/album/the-railway-terminus-the-october-twilight-the-circulatory-system

Still Crescent Along the Fringe of Starlit Frost EP (MMM044)

Pay what you like. Available here: http://stillcrescent.bandcamp.com/album/along-the-fringe-of-starlit-frost

Lastly, I'd like to say it has been a privilege to have been part of Make Mine Music for the last six years. I'd like to thank everyone at the label for their support. I'd also like to thank everyone who has supported me by buying, selling, reviewing etc. etc. my recordings.

August Stars - In and Out of a Grey or Silvery Dissolution

August Stars In and Out of a Grey or Silvery Dissolution is a companion download to Invisible in the Dusk. Both releases take their titles from lines, or perhaps more appropriately, fragmented lines in the Ted Hughes poem "Rain". The cover art is a black and white detail of an in progress painting by Sean Madner. Sean was originally creating the artwork for the abandoned EP Drawn Away.

In and Out of a Grey or Silvery Dissolution includes the recordings omitted from Invisible in the Dusk, demos recorded during the same period, alternative versions and three tracks salvaged from the Drawn Away EP.

It will be available for free download from Monday 21st November 2011.

1. Distant Hills (1)

2. Lighthouse (Dusk)

3. Grantchester Meadows

4. Sunlit Autumn

5. Bleak December (Quiet Version)

6. Forest (2005 Version)

7. Steel Bank

8. Cambridge Street

9. On Leaving Sheffield Station

10. Low Frequency Test

11. In the Hour Before Dawn

12. The Landscape of North East Derbyshire and South Yorkshire (Alternative Version)

1 and 7 omitted from Invisible in the Dusk; 2, 3, 4 from the Drawn Away EP recorded between 2002 and 2004; 5 and 12 alternative versions of tracks on Invisible in the Dusk; 8, 9, 10, 11 demos recorded between autumn 2005 and spring 2006; 6 a re-recording of a pre-August Stars track written in the late 1990s.

August Stars - Invisible in the Dusk, Release Date.

MMM028 August Stars Invisible in the Dusk

1. Landscape of North East Derbyshire and South Yorkshire

2. Bleak December

3. Masts Against a Lowering Sky

4. Window Frost

5. Swifts in a Darkening Summer Sky

6. Crooked Spire of St Mary and All Saints

7. Sodium-Vapour Midnight

8. Distant Hills (2)

August Stars, one of many projects of musician and sound explorer Sebastien Wright, was one of the first artists to debut material on Make Mine Music. With nods to works of Brian Eno, Zoviet France and pre-Man Machine Kraftwerk, and finding kinship and inspiration in the writings of Derek Jarman, Paul Auster and J.G. Ballard, August Stars' series of long-form EPs explored a rich seam of dark ambient music long before their current vogue.

Taking its title from a line in the Ted Hughes poem "Rain", August Stars' new EP Invisible in the Dusk will be released on Monday 21st November 2011. Unlike previous releases the literary influence ends here, and nostalgia, usually a large component in the music of August Stars, only has a minor role on this EP. The recordings are, like Sebastien's earlier releases, highly autobiographical, capturing November journeys across the desolate Pennines, train rides through rainswept northern towns and the loneliness and social isolation which comes with moving to a new city. Invisible in the Dusk is very much a recording set in winter - occasionally cold, often dark in tone, and texturally oblique.

Invisible in the Dusk will be released in a strictly limited edition of 25 CDR copies with artwork by Daniel Fogarty, and digital download. The EP will be the penultimate release on Make Mine Music, the pioneering and artist-led co-operative label, which will close its doors for the final time at the end of the year after ten years of releasing music by the likes of Library Tapes, July Skies, Epic45 and Piano Magic.

starrystillness.blogspot.com

auguststars.bandcamp.com

soundcloud.com/august-stars

makeminemusic.co.uk

danielfogarty.co.uk

As stated above the EP will be available from Monday 21st November. Physical copies will be £4 each including postage to the UK. Copies sold outside of the UK will be subject to a shipping charge, however I'll only charge what I pay. I should add that the CDR copies are limited to just 25 and will be sold on a first come basis. If you'd like a copy please contact me at sebastienstars (at) gmail.com.

Digital Downloads will be available from the August Stars bandcamp page at £2 each. This will include the complete EP plus an high quality copy of the sleeve, featuring cover art by Daniel Fogarty. I designed the sleeve as a tribute of sorts to the DIY ethic. It is printer friendly and photocopiable.

There will also be a free companion download featuring tracks omitted from Invisible in the Dusk, three tracks salvaged from the abandoned Drawn Away EP, alternative versions and demos. More details about this release here and it will be available from the August Stars bandcamp page.