CIRCUIT DES YEUX + CLAIRE ROUSAY
SUNSET POEM OUT OCTOBER 20TH
THREE SONGS FROM CDY’S -IO
REIMAGINED BY CLAIRE ROUSAY
LISTEN TO ‘SCULPTING THE EXODUS’ (REWORK) + WATCH WATCH CIRCUIT DES YEUX AND CLAIRE ROUSAY IN CONVERSATION
On Sunset Poem, experimental musician Claire Rousay reworks three songs from Circuit des Yeux’s otherworldly 2021 album, -io. Today, you can listen to her take on ‘Sculpting the Exodus’ HERE. In addition, you can watch a video of the two artists in conversation HERE. The complete EP will be out on October 20th.
In its first year on Earth, -io has continued to evolve. Though the record was written for a 25-piece orchestra, Haley Fohr’s songs have been refreshed and rearranged to suit each round of touring. This has included performances with string ensembles, a trio with bass and drums, and an expansive duo with multi-instrumentalist Whitney Johnson (Matchess).
Sunset Poem extends this process to the studio. Rousay’s work often utilizes environmental recordings to cultivate rich and evocative ambience. Here, the composer unspools three -io compositions – “Vanishing,” “Sculpting the Exodus,” and “Argument – stripping back layers of instrumentation and sheltering Fohr’s voice amid a weave of hushed electronic textures. The results reveal a newly tender, meditative, and boundless space within the songs.
From Circuit des Yeux:
“I found Claire Rousay’s music when we were all stuck inside for 2 years.
Her music kind of gave me the atmosphere of company in a solitary reality. It reminded me of the way I used to interact with music when I was a teenager. A room can become a whole ecosystem once the music is playing. Her deft ability to work with sound in a microscopic way is what makes this collaboration so successful.
It was an honor to give Claire the stems of -io. The results are beguiling and immense, like watching lead pipes slowly melt into a metallic river.”
Circuit des Yeux will tour Europe through the end of October, including performances in Copenhagen, Vienna, Lisbon, and Madrid.
A celebrated figure in Chicago’s music community, Circuit des Yeux has released acclaimed albums via De Stijl, Thrill Jockey, and Drag City and toured throughout the world. However, -io is Circuit des Yeux’s most ornate and elaborate work to date – a set of compositions that nest Fohr’s otherworldly four-octave voice amid a 24-piece string, brass, and wind ensemble. Written in the wake of personal loss and recorded in the midst of the pandemic, -io maps a geography of grief – a place where “everything is ending all the time.” While Fohr’s music has never been short on ambition, these songs are striking in their brilliance and strangeness.
Claire Rousay is currently based in Los Angeles. Her performances and recordings explore human relationships and self-perception via the minutiae of everyday life – voicemails, haptics, environmental recordings, stopwatches, whispers and conversations. Her most recent releases include collaborations a crying poem EP with More Eaze and Bloodz Boi and Never Stop Texting Me with More Eaze, as well as 2022 album everything perfect is already here.
TRACKLIST
1. Vanishing
2. Sculpting the Exodus
3. Argument
LINKS
Watch The Deep End interview – https://youtu.be/Uw2fHbqcwN4
Stream/Purchase ‘Sculpting The Exodus’ (Rework): https://cdy.ffm.to/stecr
Stream/Purchase Sunset Poem: https://cdy.ffm.to/sunsetpoem
TOUR DATES
Mon. October 3 – Stockholm, SE @ Slaktkyrkan
Tue. October 4 – Oslo, NO @ Bla
Wed. October 5 – Göteborg, SE @ FOLK
Thu. October 6 – Copenhagen, DK @ ALICE / Valby Kulturhus
Sat. October 8 – Prague, CZ @ Meetfactory
Mon. October 10 – Budapest, HU @ Turbina
Tue. October 11 – Vienna, AT @ Volkstheater
Wed. October 12 – Ljubljana @ Linhart Hall / Cankarjev dom
Thu. October 13 – Bologna, IT @ Freakout
Frid. October 14 – Grenoble, FR @ Le Ciel
Tue. October 18 – Madrid, ES @ Café Berlin
Wed. October 19 – Lisbon, PT @ Culturgest
Thu. October 20 – Braga, PT @ Gnration
Fri. October 21 – Espinho, PT @ Auditorio de Espinho
Wed. November 3 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
Fri. November 11 – Brooklyn, NY @ Pioneer Works
