Wispy synth chords ebb and flow as gentle, down-tempo breaks wander mysteriously through the mix. Fat analog tones disrupt the placid mood and bring a sinister edge. - Listen.com
An Early Morning Letter, Displaced is the ambient recording project of studio artist, Joseph Labrecque. Founded in 1999, this expressive undertaking combines elements of dark ambient, ethereal, and touches of atmospheric neo-classical to form a unique sound. Born from the initial concept of infusing whispered poetry within an expressive aural backdrop, this venture has surpassed its origin to become a true force in the area of independent, underground music.
In addition to the publication of A Prison of Oneself and two previous EP recordings, An Early Morning Letter, Displaced is currently preparing a new collection of material, Shudderflowers, for release later this year.
News and Announcements
An Early Morning Letter, Displaced: Shudderflowers
September 18th, 2009
Shudderflowers official release date is set for September 22nd, 2009. It may or may not be available to purchase from various retailers at that time, but here are a few you can try, after the date has passed: iTunes, CD Baby, Amazon, and eventually Verizon, Zune, Napster, and the rest…
I want to note here a few interesting facts regarding this release:
- This is the 4th formal album from An Early Morning Letter, Displaced.
- This is the second full-length collection from that same body of work.
- The synthesizer elements were all produced via software synths. My hardware synths were only used as MIDI controllers this time around.
- As was the case for the previous release, samples were taken from violin and processed into the mix. No guitar, this time.
- A reworked version of the unreleased track She’s Fallen (2001) almost made it onto the release. It ended up going in the wrong direction and was abandoned.
- The track Threadbare is originally from the abandoned Stillborn release from 2003/2004.
- Fever-Drenched and Burning was actually composed and recorded last Winter when I was suffering from intense fever!
- The beginnings of many of the lyrics for this release were composed stream-of-consciousness on Twitter.
- An alternate version of Fearless can be found as soundtrack to the short film “The Fearless Man” 2007
- This is the first release which contains vocal material that is not solely produced by myself. Alice (the bones) and Beneath White Stones feature the additional vocals of two girls, respectively; one living, one dead†. The dead girl’s voice having been recovered from an old telephone answering machine.
- Alice (the bones) also contains samples from various sources, including the Švankmajer film “Alice”.
- The original (long) verison of Alice (the bones) was written as background noise to a Hallowe’en party.
- The cover art is adapted from a painting I completed in 2004 titled “Neck Zipper” and inspired by a sweater my girlfriend (now, wife) was fond of wearing:
- This may be the last physical release I produce. Sales of A Prison of Oneself were okay, but (if the numbers are any indication $$$) people seem much more interested in digital distribution… and it is certainly less of a headache for me.
- I may try something new after this. I have an additional project called Strangling Strangers that I might start working on again. Its a lot less ambient… more coarse and noise-based.
- Samples from this, and all An Early Morning Letter, Displaced releases can be found at the Myspace Music page.
