The Leaf Label

May 25th, 2022

Szun Waves – Earth Patterns

Szun Waves are back to usher in a ‘New Universe’. The trio – comprised of producer Luke Abbott, saxophonist Jack Wyllie (Portico Quartet) and drummer Laurence Pike (Triosk/PVT/Liars) have reconvened for sumptuous new album Earth Patterns.

Album sessions took place at the tail end of their 2019 European tour, locking themselves away in the studio for three days of improvisation. They emerged with hours of music, some inspired by their live shows, most born fresh in the studio itself, ready to be moulded into the group’s third album in five years. With additional production from electronic savant James Holden and producer/engineer David Pye, they’ve emerged with the most fully-formed Szun Waves record to date.

“I think the record we’ve ended up with is an emotional outpouring,” Abbott says. “There’s a fluidity to it that feels like we tapped into something quite raw. The last record felt like drifting in space but I see this new record as a journey from the outer reaches of the universe down onto the earth, like a macrocosm to microcosm arc,” he explains.

Dom Harwood’s video for lead track ‘New Universe’ is a brilliant distillation of what Szun Waves are – a marrying of the organic and the strange: spectral and widescreen. Indeed, Harwood has worked on all aspects of the visual identity for this era of the band, including the beautiful artwork that embodies the rich, detailed approach of Earth Patterns as a whole.

Earth Patterns will be released digitally and on CD, as well as three separate vinyl variants on August 19th. The black vinyl and limited brown smoke vinyl editions include a spot varnished cover, printed inner sleeves and a download code – pre-order on Bandcamp now. The Dinked Edition, available from a select group of UK retailers, is pressed on orange vinyl with black splatter, and limited to 500 copies, adding a screenprinted PVC outer sleeve and a 16-page photobook containing images by Dom Harwood, numbered in the Fibonacci sequence.