OK. I’ll knock out a quick review of the new Mårble record Elixir of Immortality. No problem. I’ve got the press and a nice email from Manu (half of Nummer and the guys behind new label Natural Selections) so it should write itself.

https://soundcloud.com/naturalselectionsrecords/marble-on-lyl-radio-31012018

This is actually the second time I’ve sat down to write something about Elixir of Immortality and failed. It’s been on my mind since Brian Not Brian sent it over a while back with a message ‘Marble - next level!’ I’ve listened to it many times, to the point where it’s begun to occupy a special space on my drive, yet I wouldn’t say that I know it. I guess that I’ve been avoiding writing about it until now because Elixir of Immortality is a tough itch to scratch and has left me pretty much wordless.

Like those heavy Chi recordings that (re)surfaced on Astral Industries a couple of few years back, O Yuki Conjugate at their breeziest or ECM-new era Jon Hassell - there’s space and detail in every track. Animal voices and teaming nature, homespun textures, acoustic instruments, saxophone rises up to leave the grid. At that, I’m pretty much out of comparisons because this thing is a deep, rewarding listen from the patient, returning waves of Golden Bells right through to the break of Hanging Gardens. Brian, who wrote the press to accompany the release, cleverly gets out of the whole thing by basically not writing about it and I’m going to do the same. Mårble - Elixir of Immortatlity is out very soon on Natural Selections . Buy it.

All tracks recorded in St Petersburg between 2015 & 2017.
Production: Anton Glebov, with the help of Slavik Ipatov (Saxophone & Flutes) and Mikhail Gavrilov (Guitar & Synths)

Original cover painting by Guillermo Vega Rivera and graphic concept by Guillaume de Ubéda at Atelier Superplus.