LOSCIL - SEAS IS ISLAND (VINYL 2xLP) | NEW

Label: Kranky – KRANK191
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Repress
Country: US
Released:Dec 6, 2025
Genre:Electronic
Style: Ambient, Modern Classical, Drone

A1        Ahull
Vibraphone – Josh Lindstrom
6:38
A2        In Threes
Electric Piano [Rhodes] – Jason Zumpano
5:57
A3        Bleeding Ink
Voice – Ashley Pitre
6:38
B1        Sea Island Murders
Piano – Kelly Wyse
8:26
B2        Iona
Electric Piano [Rhodes] – Jason Zumpano
8:34
C1        Holding Pattern
Electric Piano [Rhodes] – Jason Zumpano
6:11
C2        Catalina 1943
Violin – Elaine Reynolds
6:34
C3        Angle Of Loll
Vibraphone – Josh Lindstrom
5:51
D1        Sturgeon Bank    6:00
D2        En Masse
Piano – Kelly Wyse
Voice – Ashley Pitre
5:23
D3        Angle Of List    6:45

Copyright © – Scott Morgan (2)
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Kranky
Mastered At – Chicago Mastering Service
Lacquer Cut At – Chicago Mastering Service
Design – Craig McCaffrey
Mastered By, Lacquer Cut By – Jason Ward
Recorded in
Vancouver, Seattle, Mission and Manchester, 2014

Bleeding Ink
originally commissioned by Aakash Odedra / Damien Jalet

Tracks are numbered sequentially on the release
Barcode: 796441819119

*BACK IN PRINT!!! Sea Island is a collection of new material composed and recorded over the past two years. While many of these compositions were performed live extensively prior to recording, others were constructed in the studio and are being heard for the first time here. Musically, the album represents a range of compositional approaches. Murky, densely textured depths of sound are explored with subtle pulses and pings woven within, contrasted with composed or improvised moments of acoustic instrumentation making a move into the foreground. Certain tracks on Sea Island such as album opener "Ahul"l make rhythm their focus by exploring subtle polyrhythms and investigating colliding moments of repetition and variation. Though staunchly electronic at it's core, instruments such as vibraphone and piano make appearances, and layers of live musicality, improvisation and detail appear in the looped and layered beds of manipulated sound recordings. A varied cast of players appear in the Loscil "ensemble", some familiar collaborators from the past such as JASON ZUMPANO on Rhodes and JOSH LINDSTROM on vibraphone, and others new to the mix such as FILEDHEAD's ELAINE REYNOLDS, who provides layered violin on "Catalina 1943," and ASHLEY PITRE contributing vocals on "Bleeding Ink." Seattle pianist KELLY WYSE, who collaborated with Loscil on his 2013 edition of piano-centric reworks Intervalo, performs on the tracks "Sea Island Murders" and "En Masse."

Loscil's Scott Morgan operates at such a consistently high level that the cohesion between his albums makes them even more immersive. Sea Island feels like an evolution of the sounds and ideas he explored on his previous full-length, 2012's excellent Sketches from New Brighton, and the short-form releases that followed it, the piano-driven Intervalo and his split EP with the British ambient group Fieldhead. Morgan sets an introspective, dark, but not oppressive mood similar to that of Sketches with tracks like the misty "In Threes," and, as always, uses small shifts to achieve seismic results; the way "Holding Pattern" warms up its chilly, flute-like tones and electric piano is almost imperceptible from moment to moment. He explores fragmented melodies in similar fashion, shrinking them to sonar-like beeps on "Angle of Loll" and letting them flow on "Sturgeon Bank." Underscoring the connection Sea Island has to Morgan's recent work, the album features collaborations with Intervalo pianist Kelly Wyse and Fieldhead violinist Elaine Reynolds as well as returning vibraphonist Josh Lindstrom and keyboardist Jason Zumpano. Morgan's pieces allow them to shine as much as he does: album opener "Ahull" showcases Lindstrom's spiraling lines, which recall Cliff Martinez's haunting Solaris score; Reynolds' playing is subsumed into glowing tones on "Catalina 1943"; and Wyse's poignant performance on "En Masse" is a reminder of what made Intervalo so special. Another standout, "Bleeding Ink," uses Ashley Pitre's wordless vocals to add a unique intimacy as well as a respite from the album's more ominous moments. Elsewhere, Morgan employs the last vestiges of his dub techno roots to give Sea Island structure and momentum; "Sea Island Murders" begins with gasps of melody and a subtly pulsing beat that bottoms out midway through the song, like the conclusion of a chase; "Iona" takes the opposite tack, initially floating on bell-like tones before a windswept beat overtakes it. Techniques like these ensure that Sea Island's generous length offers a deep dive into Loscil's world that remains compelling from start to finish. ~ Heather Phares

• Condition: NEW
• Format: Vinyl
• Internal ID: 796441819119
• Format Detail: 2LP
• Genre: ROCK
• Catalog Number: KRANK191
• Format Type: 2xLP
• Released: 2014-11-18