Friday, February 18, 2011

Duncan Patterson's 'Alternative 4' project signs with Avantgarde Music

Duncan Patterson has been an integral part of the independent music scene since 1991, still today known and recognized as the original mastermind behind Anathema's early success and in particular as the driving composer behind the "Eternity" and "Alternative 4" albums. With his song writing he contributed in defining the doom metal sound first, and then piloted the band towards a deeper and rather advanced style which they followed and developed furtherly after Duncan's departure.

Unquiet and always daring to experiment, he then formed (and released four albums with) Antimatter together with Michael Moss, exploring several genres from deep electronica to folk acoustic, as recently documented by Antimatter's comprehensive compilation "Alternative matter".

But a creative spirit can't be kept in a cage.. thus Duncan abandoned again a project at its top peak and started another full time project called Íon, putting aside for a while the electronic trips and embracing the purity of acoustic, traditional and indigenous music but still marked with his well defined songwriting style.

In between recording and touring his own projects, he has also enjoyed taking parts to projects that were less spoken about in the indie/metal scene, like Irish alternative rock band The Aftermath or having his own music featured as movies soundtracks (the award-winning film "The sons of Eilaboun" and "Just Another Day").

Now to the most interesting part of this announcement: with his current project 'Alternative 4' Duncan has created what we can describe as a 'cinematic rock' monument, titled "The Brink", which recalls echoes of his previous work merged with classic sounding instrumentation.

Unsettling yet beautiful, The Brink is already and completely written and actually being recorded in different locations in this world and outer worlds.... The album will feature orchestral and chorals recorded in Monterrey, Mexico, as a diamond on top of a more solid and dark-rock core structure recorded in Ireland with the help of a few long-time collaborators and respected friends, like Mark Kelson (The Eternal) who will play an integral role on this release
"The Brink" will be tentatively released in Summer 2011 and will be adorned with a beautiful packaging and visuals.