Veldune by Veldune

"The lure of the highway is primal. Composed though it may be of modern material traversed by contemporary machinery, the road into the unknown predates the motorway by centuries. What lies beyond its horizon? A carnal encounter? Death? The self-titled debut LP by Veldune exists in the hallucinogenic blur of a heat haze just above a strip of concrete that may lead to either.

Conceived by vocalist Jamie Myers (Hammers of Misfortune) and guitarist Kevin Hufnagel (Dysrhythmia, Gorguts, Vaura), the music evokes dusk wind, beach bonfire rituals, roadside motels, and a sense of ecstatic flight. Whether a spirit out of body or a speeding car, it is the sound of beautiful and thrilling disorientation.
Veldune began in 2019 as a creative vessel for Myers and Hufnagel, after having established a strong songwriting rapport together over their years together in Sabbath Assembly. Their desire for a fresh start after the dissolution of Sabbath Assembly sparked the exploration of musical paths neither had fully pursued previously. Initially inspired by the twangy, sultry sounds of Chris Isaak and Concrete Blonde (to name a few), Veldune expands upon that template musically while conjuring an intoxicating mixture of emotional vulnerability and fearless sensuality.

After the songs were fully written, the lineup was then completed with the addition of bassist Johnny DeBlase (also formerly of Sabbath Assembly) and drummer Jeff Eber (Dysrhythmia) in 2020. Both added their own unique touches to the material, creating subtle rhythmic and harmonic shifts of a sort not usually present in the desert noir genre. Juxtaposed with Hufnagel's forays into psychedelic, even jazz-tinted lead playing, the group's sound coalesced into a soundtrack for the end times that's alluring enough to make the listener eager for the end times. In the Fall of 2021 the quartet entered Menegroth: The Thousand Caves studio in Woodhaven, NY with producer/engineer Colin Marston to record their first full length.

"We're face to face/don't let me breathe once more/just pull me in" Myers intones in the album's opening track, "The Night Is For Dreamers" setting the tone for an experience that revels in liminal spaces and romanticizes total abandon. Cinematic widescreen images captured with sound - of spaces between passionate intensity and pure oblivion; between nowhereness and somewhereness. Each successive track beckons into another secret scene of desire and dissolution, channeling our experience of the dying modern world into a primeval rapture." - Joshua Strawn

Tracklist

1.	The Night Is for Dreamers	4:05

2.	Willow Sways	5:41

3.	This Time Around	4:22

4.	Chasing Down the Sun	4:39

5.	The Road Ahead	5:30

6.	A Glimpse of Being	4:31

7.	Yearling Thunder	4:57

8.	The Final Bow	5:04

Credits

released September 2, 2022

Jamie Myers - vox
Kevin Hufnagel - guitar/synth
Johnny DeBlase - bass
Jeff Eber - drums

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Colin Marston at Menegroth: The Thousand Caves Woodhaven, NY Oct-Dec 2021

Artwork: Bryan Olson

"As it turns out, Veldune is an act you’d want to catch at The Bang Bang Bar, where sex and danger roil as thick and heady as body heat and alcohol vapors and the guitar action is as high and gleaming as the patrons. Who among us is unable to recall the captivating vision of Julee Cruise under those lights, as we felt some crucial barrier between the spirit and the flesh give way? It caused a whole generation to moan, “Oh, I’m having a Twin Peaks experience.” Listeners are liable to have that type of visceral reaction to Myers’ performance on this record, not because she sounds like Cruise but because she wields a similar mesmeric command with her voice, which has not a little White Witch sultriness to it." - Veil of Sound

"Veldune’s first recording is something that should be consumed exclusively at night, preferably after midnight ticks by and enters the early morning. That’s where these emotions are at their apex and bleed into your soul, which is the perfect time to absorb such impulses. If you’re on the open road, it’s an even better setting as it’s just you and the journey dealing with your own darkness together." - Meat Mead Metal

Nightfloat Recordings 012

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