Photo credit: Becky DiGiglio
‘Drone Carrying Dread’ video streaming now; Krüller album out 11th February via Relapse
UK/ EU tour announced for February / March 2022
Author & Punisher, the alias for visionary San Diego musician-meets-mechanical engineer Tristan Shone, returns with the melody-laden new album, Krüller, out 11th February via Relapse Records, featuring a suite of upgraded machines, a distilled vocal process and a handful of guest players including Tool’s Danny Carey and Justin Chancellor.
A taste of the eagerly-awaited record arrives with new single ‘Drone Carrying Dread,’ and the accompanying, graphically-saturated video. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/5BrAAXCbUXE
The clip was directed by Monte Legaspi and features illustrations from album cover artist Zlatko Mitev.
“’Drone Carrying Dread’ was the first song I wrote on Krüller,” explains Shone of the album that thematically was inspired by Octavia E. Butler’s Parable series. “I had just gotten home from the final tour of the Beastland album cycle and I spent a couple weeks updating my overall tones with a nice balance of sub, saw/synth and tube amp. This track was basically the one where it all clicked and I had these chords that resonated just right, shaking the entire warehouse. It’s a simple but raw progression that was ripe for the addition of melodic guitars, as well as synthesizer programming from myself and co-producer Jason Begin (Vytear). Lyrically, it’s about escape and survival, as the events that were unfolding in 2020 were prophesied by the books I was reading throughout the year.”
Shone began work on Krüller after returning from his opening slot with Tool across the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand, before being cut short due to the March 2020 lockdowns. “Melody has been and is still a part of my sound,” says Shone. “I’ve always bathed them in a lot of reverb, delay, and distortion, though. This time around, I was bothered by the wall of distortion I had created. I wanted a little more clarity. I wanted to refine the sound. I wanted to step back from my own show and analyze it a bit. I had all these competing distortions that I wanted to streamline. I like contrast and wanted the vocals to be immediately noticeable. There’s something about mixing punishing drones and rumble with a mellow thing on top that I really like on Krüller.” Shone’s digitised snarls rightfully had their place on earlier tracks like ‘Doppler,’ ‘Terrorbird,’ and ‘Nihil Strength,’ but contrasting mellow vocals atop Author & Punisher’s unparallelled heft made dynamic sense. Indeed, with Shone’s singing on songs like ‘Drone Carrying Dread,’ ‘Maiden Star,’ and the exceptional translation of Portishead hit ‘Glory Box,’ Author & Punisher have projected an air of uncertainty around the steely, often slow-motion grind.
Part of the Krüller revamp included refining the machines that have become synonymous with Author & Punisher. As a result, Shone is also launching a bespoke audio gear company called Drone Machines to coincide with the release of Krüller. The gear company launch follows nearly two decades of Author & Punisher honing in on his craft – meticulously inventing, machining, experimenting, and creating custom musical instruments for his incredible live performances and recordings.
Krüller pre-orders are available now with the 8-song, 52 minute collection available on a selection of limited-edition vinyl variants that tie into the colour palette of the album artwork, CD, cassette and digitally.
Pre-order here: https://orcd.co/authorandpunisher-kruller
Author & Punisher has announced two rounds of 2022 European tour dates with North American performances to be announced soon.
Headlining dates:
February 7 – Tallin, Estonia Sveta Bar
February 8 – Riga, Latvia Melna Piektdiena
February 9 – Vilnius, Lithuania XI 20
February 12 – Haarlem, Netherlands Complexity
February 13 – Antwerp, Belgium Kavka
February 14 – Brighton, UK Patterns
February 15 – London, UK The Underworld
February 16 – Leeds, UK Brudenell Social Club
February 17 – Glasgow, UK Stereo
February 18 – Newcastle, UK Cluny
February 19 – Birmingham, UK Castle and Falcon
February 20 – Bristol, UK Fleece
February 21 – Manchester, UK Deaf Institute
Perturbator and Health European dates follow in October 2022.
For more information:
Tristanshone.com
Facebook.com/authorandpunisher
Instagram.com/authorandpunisher
Twitter.com/authorandpunisher
Authorandpunisher.bandcamp.com
Track-listing:
1. Drone Carrying Dread
2. Incinerator
3. Centurion (feat. Justin Chancellor)
4. Maiden Star
5. Misery (feat. Danny Carey)
6. Glorybox (Portishead cover)
7. Blacksmith (featuring VYTEAR)
8. Krüller
More info on Author & Punisher:
Author & Punisher formed in January 2004 as the brainchild of mechanical engineer, artist and sculptor Tristan Shone. His innovation, and the unique way he has melded his seemingly disparate background, has been highlighted in a wide range of outlets, from Wired Magazine who dubbed him a “doom metal auteur,” to Pitchfork who noted he “literalized the idea of sound sculpture.” He has released seven full-length albums and an EP over the years: The Painted Army (2005), Warcry (2007), Drone Machines (2010), Ursus Americanus (2012), Women & Children (2013), Melk En Honing (2015), Pressure Mine EP (2017) and Beastland (2018).