Atomos
A Winged Victory For The Sullen finally reveal their second full-length album entitled Atomos, which besides familiar piano, string and drone sounds also sees the duo introduce flurries of electronics, harp and modular synthesisers. In 2011 A Winged Victory For The Sullen introduced themselves to the world with a self-titled album, showcasing their unique collaboration of ambient guitar drone from Stars Of The Lid member Adam Bryanbaum Wiltzie and sparse piano tunes by contemporary classical composer Dustin O’Halloran, winning them fans around the world. Wayne McGregor, founder of Random Dance Company and resident choreographer at the Royal Ballet, was one of these fans and chose to play the album repeatedly during practices with his core group of dancers. After noticing the group's reaction with the music, he contacted Adam and Dustin to see if they could write the score for his new oeuvre. The duo were given complete artistic freedom and they treated the score with the same care and attention as their debut album. They recorded more than sixty minutes of music over a four-month period during the summer of 2013 across studios in Brussels, Berlin and Reykjavik, with the help of their long time collaborative sound engineer Francesco Donadello. During the recording process they realised, that this would become their official second studio album. McGregor provided them with the inspiration to expand their sound palette into more electronic territory, whilst keeping their signature chamber sound, resulting in a very unique record.
A Winged Victory for the Sullen is a collaboration between Stars of the Lid's Adam Wiltzie and pianist Dustin O'Halloran. Their score for Wayne McGregor's ATOMOS recasts the elegant sound of their 2011 debut for McGregor's purposes, with pensive melancholy shading into physical menace.
The classical-ambient duo return with a staggeringly-nuanced second record that throws out the rulebook for both of their favoured genres.
Between the release of their self-titled 2011 debut and the recording of this, their second album, Adam Wiltzie and Dustin O'Halloran's studio work as a Winged Victory for the Sullen was limited to appearances on compilations released by Erased Tapes and Ghostly International.
A Winged Victory for the Sullen’s self-titled debut predetermined its melancholic mood via evocative track titles (Requiem for the Static King, Steep Hills of Vicodin Tears, All Farewells Are Sudden).
Album review: A Winged Victory For The Sullen - Atomos. A slow-burning, deeply resonant collection…
A Winged Victory for the Sullen - Atomos review: Dancing about architecture.