Release date: 18th July 2022 (digital album)
Dee Byrne has been curious about developing a practice as a solo performer ever since she decided to go ahead with a gig when her duo partner (from long running collaboration Deemer) couldn’t make it. Stepping into this unchartered territory, Dee discovered that the experience was simultaneously like jumping off the edge of a cliff and coming home.
Fuelled by an interest in using electronics to augment her sonic possibilities, Dee has been using effects pedals since she and Dutch sound artist Merijn Royaards started their experimental duo. But navigating saxophone and electronics in a solo situation is a world apart from the hyper interactive ongoing conversation of the duo setting. Here, one faces the edge. Comes up against the sharp relief of the moment, unrelenting, crystal clear. Here, there is nowhere to hide.
Dee’s performance at Café Oto on 11th June 2022 captured the complex juxtaposition of risk and safety. Playing a support set for Washington D.C. duo Model Home (presented by Upset the Rhythm), Dee played for an uninterrupted 27 minutes to a focused and attentive audience. The result is a diverse range of textures, moods, wild scramblings, agitated stutterings, drones, squeaks, clicks and unabashed melody. These seemingly disparate sonic explorations are held together by an overarching intention to express what wants to be expressed in the moment.
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Dee Byrne – alto saxophone & electronics
Recorded by Pedro Subtil at Cafe Oto on 11th June 2022
Mixed and mastered by Dee Byrne
Album Artwork by Cath Roberts
Luminous Label 2022 | LU016