We began working on our third album (with a working title of Kalte 3) in the fall of 2010, and the recording sessions we had for it were definitely influenced by our experiences playing live. We continued to use the mapping technique we had developed for “Glaciations”, and we also broadened our idea of creating a musical space, moving from between the ears of the listener to filling an actual physical environment with sound. It seems like a very simple shift, but in practice we found it to be a significantly different way of thinking that greatly informed what we were doing.
In addition to thinking about filling physical spaces with sound, Kalte 3 was also inspired by the weather, being our first release that was actually recorded in the winter. So much of what we had been doing with Kalte drew from ideas of cold Antarctic temperatures and deep undersea pressures, but the truth was that we had recorded both of our first two albums in the heat of the summer, where our only actual connection to cold Antarctic temperatures was the air conditioner at Deane’s place. Actually recording in the winter added a level of verisimilitude to what we were doing that pushed our sound to a new level. Long nights and bitter cold did a lot to influence the sounds that we collected to work with, resulting in some of our most fully realized work to date.
Making new music is always a great time, but recording Kalte 3 was particularly enjoyable for us in that we were very comfortable with our vision for Kalte, with our sound aesthetic, and with the processes that we were using. It was a great place for us to be musically, and listening back to what we were doing we can hear that perfect realization of circumstances.
We finished recording in mid January of 2011, and decided to name the album “Fissures”, which refers to the lines found in ice or rock as the result of breaking or cracks. It was a simple choice to make as the idea of new forms and patterns revealed in solid objects seemed to run parallel to our discovery of greater depths within our music.
“Fissures” was released in March 2011 on the Petcord net-label with the artwork designed by label owner Synflict. It’s a really beautiful cover that fully captured our vision at the time, and we’re most grateful to Synflict for his support.
Following the release of “Fissures”, we started thinking about what we wanted to do to let people know about it. Join us tomorrow and we’ll tell you a bit more about that…
For the entire month of October while we celebrate #10yearsofKalte, if you buy a copy of “The Lanthanide Series” through Bandcamp you can send us your email at info@kaltemusic.com and we’ll send you a free copy of our latest release, “Covalencies“!