CURA MACHINE – XENIAL

XENIAL

BACKGROUND

XENIAL BY CURA MACHINES, THE SYNTHETIC AND IMMERSIVE ALIAS OF COMPOSER DANIEL LEA WITH THREE SHATTERING PIECES THAT EXPLORE MULTIDIMENSIONAL RESONANCES AND UNCANNY ATMOSPHERES IN THE MOST STIRRING WAY.

BETWEEN THE HISTRIONIC AND THE UNEARTHLY, XENIAL IS A GHOSTLY COLLECTION OF OVERWHELMING AURAL ENVIRONMENTS EMBODIED IN THREE SOUNDTRACK-LIKE COMPOSITIONS. THE FUTURISTIC MOTIVES OF THESE EERIE LIKE SOUNDSCAPES EMERGE AS A SCI-FI NARRATIVE THAT RESONATE IN FORSAKEN SURROUNDINGS WITH MYTHICAL AMBIANCES.

THE EP MIXED BY BEN FROST EMBRACES VAST LAYERS OF CLANGING NOISES AND CYBERNETIC PERCUSSIONS DISSOLVING IN SHARP SYNTHESIZERS AND SOARING HARMONIES. DISSEMINATED TRACES OF HUMAN VOICES THAT INTEGRATES INTO A SEA OF DESOLATED SOUNDSCAPES COMPOSES A RECONDITE AND NEARLY SYMPHONIC WORK THAT HIGHLIGHTS FOR ITS INCISIVE AND INTRICATE PRODUCTION.

XENIAL FACES THE UNKNOWN WITH POIGNANT SENSATIONS. IT IS AN ENCOUNTER WITH MYSTICAL ENVIRONMENTS AND UNBOUNDED SOLITUDE OF BLEARY POSSIBILITIES.

"A GHOSTLY COLLECTION OF OVERWHELMING AURAL ENVIRONMENTS...."

CURA MACHINES – LIVE @ MOOGFEST 2019

"DISSEMINATED TRACES OF HUMAN VOICES THAT INTEGRATES INTO A SEA OF DESOLATED SOUNDSCAPES...."

PROCESS

“XENIAL” LIKE IT’S PREDECESSOR “NEURO” WAS CONCEIVED WITH LOOSELY LINKED NOTIONS OF MUTATION, CELLULAR PATHWAYS, MORPHING, TRANSFORMATION AND ALTERED STATES OF MIND.

LAYERS BUILD, RISE AND SINK BEFORE BUILDING BACK UP AGAIN, CREATING A SENSE OF ENTROPY, DESTRUCTION AND RENEWAL.

“XENIAL” WAS COMPOSED ON AN ARRAY OF ANALOG SYNTHESIZERS INCLUDING PROPHET 12, DECKARD’S DREAM, KORG MINILOGUE AND OB6. THE COMPOSITION PROCESS WENT THROUGH A SIMILAR TRAJECTORY OF HEAVY MANIPULATION, LAYERING AND PROCESSING.

A COLLECTION OF VOCAL FRAGMENTS WERE PIECED TOGETHER FROM MULTIPLE SESSIONS WITH ROBERTA JEAN (DANCE CHOREOGRAPHER/VOCALIST) THEN MANIPULATED THROUGH PITCH BENDING, REVERSING, AUTOMATION, SIDE CHAINED AND LAYERED. THE FINAL RESULT BEING SENT THROUGH AN OLD PLATE REVERB, COURTESY OF SOUND DESIGNER ROBERT KELLOUGH (DUNE/KING KONG), THE METALLIC TEXTURES OF WHICH GAVE AN ALREADY UNMOORED VOCALS AN ALMOST EXTRATERRESTRIAL PRESENCE.

“XENIAL” WAS LATER MIXED BY BEN FROST WHILE ON TOUR AND FINALLY STEMMED THROUGH A NEVE DESK IN REYKJAVIK.

FINALLY THE EP WAS MASTERED BY CHRISTIAN WRIGHT (RADIOHEAD/BJORK) AT ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS

TRACKLIST

1. IMPOSSIBLE
2. IMMUTABLE
3. XENIAL

CREDITS

COMPOSED AND PRODUCED BY DANIEL LEA
MIXED BY BEN FROST

DANIEL LEA: SYNTHESIZERS & SOUND DESIGN

ADDITIONAL PLAYERS
RUPERT CLERVAUX: DRUMS ON 2
BETHAN KELLOUGH: STRINGS AND SOUND DESIGN ON 3
YAIR ELAZAR GLOTMAN: SOUND DESIGN ON 1

MASTERED BY CHRISTIAN WRIGHT AT ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS

RELEASED BY INFINITE MACHINE / AUGUST 2021

ALL RECORDINGS