CURA MACHINE – NEURO

NEURO

BACKGROUND

CURA MACHINES IS A NEW PSEUDONYM / PROJECT OF DANIEL LEA.

CURA MACHINES BLENDS TRANS-MORPHING SYNTHESIZERS, HEAVILY PROCESSED SOUND DESIGN AND SOARING AMPLIFIED BASS TEXTURES TO NEW LEVELS OF TOTAL EUPHORIC IMMERSION

WHAT THE LISTENER MIGHT ENCOUNTER ON THIS ALBUM GOES ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE SOUND OF A NEURON TRANSMITTING PAIN, BEATITUDE OR ANY ONE OF THE COUNTLESS SENSES AND IMPRESSIONS WE FEEL ON ANY ONE DAY OF LIFE. N E U R O IS THE DEBUT ALBUM BY CURA MACHINES, A NEW PROJECT BY DANIEL LEA WHOSE TRACKS ARE AT ONCE SCIENTIFIC IN THEIR CAPTURING OF THE MORPHING OF BODY CELLS AS WELL AS THE LARGER EXPANSES OF A POETIC FILMSCAPE OF THE CONTEMPORARY METROPOLIS.

THE NAME CURA MACHINES COMES FROM A SIGN LEA SAW ON A TRIP TO ANCONA, ITALY AT AN ABANDONED HOSPITAL: PRIMA E DOPO LA CURA (BEFORE AND AFTER THE CURE).

THE SOUND IN BETWEEN, OF WHAT WAS LOST OR FOUND, TRANSMUTED IN THE HEAVILY MANIPULATED AND PULSATING SYNTHESISERS, IS THE RESTORATION HERE. WITH A PHYSICALLY VISCERAL MIX BY BEN FROST AND SOARING RE-AMPED BASS TEXTURES FROM YAIR ELAZAR GLOTMAN, THE ALBUM IS LUSH WITH TRANS-MORPHING APEGGIA THAT SHUDDER, QUACK AND SOAR INTO ASHEN SPARKS.

"AN EMBODIED SOUND: THE CLOSE-UP EXHUMATION OF THE NEURAL BRAIN CASING...."

CURA MACHINES – LIVE @ MOOGFEST 2019

"TRANS-MORPHING APEGGIA THAT SHUDDER, QUACK AND SOAR INTO ASHEN SPARKS...."

SOUND STUDIOS

PROCESS

“NEURO” WAS COMPOSED ON AN ARRAY OF ANALOG SYNTHESIZERS MAINLY THE PROPHET 12, OB6, SWARMATRON, NORD LEAD, PROPHET 8 AND DECKARD’S DREAM. IT WAS THEN PROCESSED THROUGH A STACK OF ANALOG AND DIGITAL PROCESSING UNITS, GRANULAR, CONVOLUTION REVERBS AND RHYTHM SLICING DEVICES.

FURTHER PROCESSING WAS EXECUTED AT 64 SOUND IN LOS ANGELES BY RE-AMPING THROUGH A STACK OF AMPEG BASS AMPS, RECORDING THE AMBIENCE OF THE ROOM AND THE STUDIO ROCK WALLING THROUGH A VARIETY OF MICROPHONES BOTH CONDENSERS AND RIBBON. THE RE-AMPING OF THE SYNTHESIZERS BROUGHT AN ALMOST LIVE LIKE VISCERAL PRESENCE TO THE SOUND.

THE SOUND DESIGN WAS CREATED AND SCULPTED THROUGH DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING AND AUTOMATION. LAYERS OF CERTAIN SYNTHESIZERS WOULD MORPH THROUGH THE DIFFERENT PROCESSES, SOMETIMES STACKED SOMETIMES SINGULAR. THIS CREATED RANDOMIZED PATTERNS AS WELL AS HEAVY DEPTH OF TEXTURE.

YAIR ELAZAR GLOTMAN, AN ORCHESTRAL, CONTRABASS PLAYER AND COLLABORATOR OF THE LATE AND GREAT JOHANN JOHHANNSSON (MANDY SOUNDTRACK) AND WHOSE WORK EMPLOYS A RANGE OF IMPROVISATIONS AND EXTENDED TECHNIQUES WAS TASKED WITH MAKING BASS STAB SOUNDS THAT WERE RE-AMPED WITH HEAVY COMPRESSION CAUSING FEEDBACK BUILD UP ON IT’S DECAY OUT. THE OPENING OF THE ALBUM “CELL/BODY” FEATURES ABRASIVE TEXTURES OF SOARING BASS HITS FROM THE CONTRABASS WHILST THE WHALE LIKE TEXTURAL HARMONICS OF “CORDELL” WERE CREATED WITH A CALL AND RESPONSE RANDOM NOTE PROCESS THAT SOUNDS BOTH MENACING AND EMOTIONALLY CONTAINED.

BETHAN KELLOUGH A COMPOSER, SOUND ARTIST AND STRING PLAYER (TYPE RECORDS/TERRENCE MALICK) WHO SPECIALIZES IN CREATING SPATIAL IMMERSIVE SOUND WORLDS DRAWN FROM ENVIRONMENTAL SOUNDS INTERACTING WITH PLAYED VIOLIN AND VIOLA. THE RECORDINGS THROUGH SPATIAL PROCESSING WERE LAYERED INTO CONDENSED TEXTURES AND HARMONIC SOUNDSCAPES. THE RESULTS OF WHICH CAN BE HEARD ON “HEADLAMPS”

“NEURO” WAS LATER MIXED BY BEN FROST IN HIS REYKJAVIK STUDIO AND STEMMED THROUGH A NEVE DESK.FINALLY THE ALBUM WAS MASTERED BY CHRISTIAN WRIGHT (PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON SOUNDTRACKS/GRAVITY SOUNDTRACK) AT ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS

TRACKLIST

1. CELL/BODY
2. SUTURE
3. INVERSION LAYERS
4. NEURO
5. PSYCHOSIS
6. HEADLAMPS
7. PRE-DAWN BLUE
8. ZOSA

CREDITS

COMPOSED AND PRODUCED BY DANIEL LEA
MIXED BY BEN FROST

MASTERED BY CHRISTIAN WRIGHT AT ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS.

DANIEL LEA: SYNTHESIZERS, SOUND DESIGN & GUITARS

LEO ABRAHAMS: GUITARS ON 8
RUPERT CLERVAUX: DRUMS ON 2 & 8
CELSO A ESTRADA: RE-AMPING & ENGINEERING
YAIR ELAZAR GLOTMAN: CONTRA BASS ON 1 & 5 SOUND DESIGN ON 6
BETHAN KELLOUGH: STRINGS ON 6 & 8
JAMES KELLY: SYNTHESIZERS & SOUND DESIGN ON 7
JAMIE McCARTHY: BELLS ON 6, TEXTURES ON 8
KNUT JONAS SELLEVOLD: SYNTHESIZER ON 8

ARTWORK BY BEN ATKINS

ALL RECORDINGS