The Shell That Speaks The Sea, by David Toop & Lawrence English

The Shell That Speaks The Sea

by David Toop & Lawrence English

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ccornellevers By far one of the best and most convincing albums of 2023. Beautiful cover design too.

Noosa Sound System Bring on the haunting - not scared…..Well..maybe just a little! Favorite track: Reading Bones.

Brad Rose This album was featured on the June 12, 2023 episode of Foxy Digitalis Daily: foxydigitalis.zone/2023/06/12/foxy-digitalis-daily-6-12-23-david-toop-lawrence-english/ Favorite track: Reading Bones.

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Monochrome printed and laminated sleeve, printed black inner sleeve, shrinkwarpped, standard vinyl LP.

Includes unlimited streaming of The Shell That Speaks The Sea via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$9 USD or more
Limited Edition LP Clear with Blue Swirl
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Monochrome printed and laminated sleeve, printed black inner sleeve, shrinkwarpped, special coloured LP.

Includes unlimited streaming of The Shell That Speaks The Sea via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Sold Out

1.	Abyssal Tracker 06:35	buy track
2.	Reading Bones 06:33	buy track
3.	Mouth Cave 04:18	buy track
4.	Whistling In The Dark 03:45	buy track
5.	The Chair's Story 06:11	buy track
6.	Huanghu 02:56	buy track
7.	The Tattooed Back 05:18	buy track
8.	Long Night 04:09	buy track

about

A note from Lawrence English

I first met David Toop some 20 years ago. I think we were in touch shortly before that, but our first meeting took place when I invited him to Australia to perform and to speak as part of REV, a festival held at Brisbane Powerhouse. It was a memorable meeting, I vividly remember his solo performance and the edition A Picturesque View, Ignored, documents an improvised meeting during that time.

Over the years, David and I have shared an interest in both the material and immaterial implications of sound (amongst other things). Moreover we’ve connected many times on matters which lie at the fringes of how we might choose to think about audition, our interests seeking in the affective realm that haunts, rather than describes, experience. The Shell That Speaks The Sea very much resonates from this shared fascination.

I’m not exactly sure when we first mooted this duet, but I sense its initial trace is now more than a decade ago. I tend to live by the motto of ‘right place, right time’ and I believe David likely also subscribes to this methodology. A couple of years ago, David and I reignited the duet conversation and began exchanging materials. As a jumping off point, I explored a series of field recordings that, for me at least, captured something of this affective haunting that I mentioned previously.

One such recording was of a Tawny Frogmouth at Nugum (White Rock) on the lands of the Yugarabul people. The frogmouth is an utterly elusive creature whose voice is like a modulating low frequency oscillator. They are a magical bird, and like the Potoo, have captivated David and I at various points in our lives. The recording seemed to suggest a whole way of approaching sound and, for me at least, it opened an entirely new range of sound worlds which are present in the final version of this recording.

This edition is the product of spontaneous burst of exchanges, buffered by periods of tempered silence. A patient work, charged with unexpected dynamics.

It’s with great pleasure we share this recording with you.

credits

released June 2, 2023

David Toop - Voice, digital electronics, Spanish, electric and lapsteel guitars, bowing, whistling, percussion, flutes.

Lawrence English - Electronics, field recordings, shortwave radio, bass drum, ghost flute, bamboo, stones.

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about

Lawrence English Brisbane, Australia

Lawrence English. Philosopher of listening. Room40 Honcho. Generally questioning living, dying and everything else in-between.

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