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The Book of Dusts

by Emmanuel Witzthum

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about

We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Emmanuel Witzthum to the record label. Inspired by old notebooks, antiquarian editions, calligraphic writing, and piles of books dressed in spiderwebs of dust, 'The Book of Dusts' spreads outwards slowly, like splinters of ice on a windowpane, recalling the icy fingers of winter....

We have gone all out on this 2 x CD project which includes deluxe GF Smith 540gsm 4-panel Bagdad Brown letter-press/blind debossed covers with a Gravure emboss finish. The design also includes antique (circa: 1890 -1925) numbered glass slides, 5 x A6 poetry prints written by Emmanuel Witzthum, vintage hand written notes/letters, old ephemera photos. All rests inside hand stitched fabric pouches along with a 40 minute bonus CD from e+i (Emmanuel Witzthum & Craig Tattersall). Truly beautiful!

The books come to life. The pages are open, spread out like open palms. Invitations to another world, beckoning. And with the artist’s poetry, the limited edition prints of which are found in the packaging, the music comes full circle, returning once again to the words, their gushing syllables and sweet songs.

Made by hand,

Letter-pressed 4-panel oversized covers
Printed on GF Smith 540gsm embossed gravure card
2 x Glass mastered CD's
5 x A6 poetry prints written by Emmanuel Witzthum (Tintoretto Gesso card)
1 x antique (circa: 1890 -1925) numbered glass slide
1 x vintage hand written note /letter (circa: 1840 -1940)
1 x vintage / ephemera photo (circa: 1880 -1950)
All rests inside hand stitched / printed fabric pouches
Scent
Hand numbered
Download code

Made with love...

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Emmanuel Witzthum presents The Book of Dusts. Inspired by old notebooks, antiquarian editions, calligraphic writing, and piles of books dressed in spiderwebs of dust, Witzthum’s music spreads outwards slowly, like splinters of ice on a windowpane, recalling the icy fingers of winter. The books are dusty, sitting in an abandoned attic, and the strings have an ancient texture, too. It’s possible to inhale the musty fragrance of a forgotten page through their small stanzas and neat phrasings, but they recall a painful longing, too. It borders the unrequited. The strings, as they ascend and descend along the ribcage of the instrument’s body, create swirling patterns, working a graceful and elegant calligraphy both in the air and in the form of music, which, as it turns out, is rather beautiful indeed.

Delicacy is the word here, and the strings offer up a lean melody: no fat on the bones, but neither are they skeletal or malnourished. Instead, they evoke the bare branch of a tree in the depths of December. When warmth seems so far away, but there’s still something beautiful to behold. Something priceless, even. Witzthum is able to capture something of winter, some important essence and emotion – loneliness or the ache of nostalgia or of a beloved time forever erased, like snow falling on top of snow – and it oozes out of the music, creating something of lasting importance. Don’t ever forget, it says.

Like that lone tree, the tone is a stark offering, but it’s still able to sway, and it still produces a copious amount of fruit. There’s still so much emotional depth, gathering at the edges of its leather-bound harmonies, quality dripping like ink over a gilted page, in spite of or because of its minimal framework, one will have to individually judge. The music’s written in a fine, spidery font. The Book of Dusts will draw listeners into its literary haven.

The bonus CD, from Witzthum himself, Craig Tattersall and the guise of E & I, is just as wonderful. Flowers, both major and minor, moves into a widescreen aspect ratio, an expanding ambient canvas unfolding before the eyes with a series of bright petals masked as gently-smudged hues. The books come to life. The pages are open, spread out like open palms. Invitations to another world, beckoning. And with the artist’s poetry, the limited edition prints of which are found in the packaging, the music comes full circle, returning once again to the words, their gushing syllables and sweet songs.

credits

released July 15, 2019

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The Book of Dusts
Emmanuel Witzthum - viola, electronics, vocals

Flowers by e+i
Emmanuel Witzthum - viola, electronics, vocals
craig tattersall - analogue and digital processing

Mastering by Ian Hawgood
Album design by Daniel Crossley
Cover design by Ian Hazeldine

Thank you: Craig, Daniel, Rainer

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Facture Bristol, UK

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