Unnatural | Patrick Graham & John Sellekaers

Artist
Patrick Graham & John Sellekaers
Released
2020

Percussionist Patrick Graham and electronic musician John Sellekaers first met in Montreal, Canada. In 2007, John proposed the idea of a collaborative project: to re-imagine and re-mix a series of Patrick’s solo percussion improvisations. But when John moved back to his native Belgium shortly thereafter, the recordings and the project were shelved… for almost twelve years.

Unnatural is a collection of enigmatic pieces that oscillate between silence and chaos, a physical sound immersion into an imaginary ritual. Recorded only using acoustic percussion sounds as raw materials, the music has great immediacy, is clear and enveloping, enabling the smallest details to find air, a testament to both Patrick’s skill at coaxing a vast palette of textures from percussion and John’s talent as sculptor of digital music.

Patrick Graham: percussion improvisations
John Sellekaers: electronic manipulations

Recorded at Studio DeTour (Montreal, QC) engineering by Dino Giancola (2007) and Happyrock International (Chelsea, QC) engineering by Ross Murray (2019)

Produced & mixed by John Sellekaers
Co-produced by Patrick Graham & Alexis Courtin
Mastered by Lawrence English at Negative Space
Artwork by Tamar Kasparian – Vegetal Chaos
Design & Layout by John Sellekaers

Released March 24, 2020, © + Ⓟ 2020 Parenthèses Records

‘The chemistry behind this combination is perfectly clear as both players remain locked towards the same focal point with neither domineering the proceedings or, indeed, throwing in detours to spaces that simply don’t work. The entire setting is one of naturalness and a refinement that belies the Unnatural title it has been given.’
Richard Johnson- Adverse Effect Magazine

‘…viscérale et imprévisible, matérialiste et immatérielle, pleine de forces tangibles et d’équilibres précaires. Captivant.’
‘…a convulsive vortex of enigmatic percussive resonances…’