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Third Culture LP

by Michael Diamond

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      £6 GBP  or more

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Limited edition 12'' black vinyl LP, full sleeve artwork, included booklet containing the short story by Áine Kim Kennedy.

    All orders are sent via Royal Mail 2nd Class (untracked). if you require a special delivery service please email us and we will sort it : )

    Includes unlimited streaming of Third Culture LP via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 10 days
    edition of 300  37 remaining

      £15 GBP or more 

     

  • Poster/Print

    A1, high-quality matt-laminated poster featuring the four album artworks by our resident artist Abigail Hodges.
    Waterproof, tear-resistant and durable material.
    ships out within 5 days
    edition of 50 

      £5 GBP

     

  • T-Shirt/Shirt + Digital Album

    Heavyweight organic cotton (330gsm) t-shirt. Extremely high quality and limited edition.
    These are oversized so order a size down if you want a normal fit.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Third Culture LP via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 10 days
    edition of 50  3 remaining

      £25 GBP or more 

     

1.
Genesis 02:12
2.
Enigma 04:33
3.
4.
Submerged 05:43
5.
Emergence 06:28
6.
Exodus 05:00
7.
Liberation 04:27

about

Vāsuki Sound launches with its first release - the concept album 'Third Culture' by Michael Diamond.

By virtue of his residency at one of the UK’s longest-running nights 'Simple', supporting the likes of Ben UFO, Batu, Ross From Friends, and Daniel Avery, Michael Diamond draws heavily from the sounds of the contemporary UK underground. At the same time, being the latest addition to Brownswood Music’s Future Bubblers family, Michael’s love for jazz and harmony is loud and clear. The consummation of these two influences is his debut concept album ‘Third Culture’ - an LP that coalesces the very best of the jazz and electronic worlds into one seamless composition spanning ethereal jazz-breaks, introspective two-step, sax-driven power ambient and world-building, story-telling electronica. Themed around the topic of cultural identity, the release marries multiple artforms - music, literature and film - into a unified body of work. We hope you will find it thought-provoking.

‘Genesis’ begins in cinematic fashion; featuring close friend and saxophonist Alex Wilson, it’s a floating cut of jazz electronica that cries out to a seemingly endless darkness. Thundering explosions of bass-pressure disrupt the emotive soundscape, signalling what is to come.

‘Enigma’ flows into the frame as gently as waves frothing onto sand. A deep mysterious groove evolves, white clouds turn to grey as the sequence swells, grows and breathes. Intended to be as much an imaginative experience as it is a sonic one, ‘Lamentations’ symbolises the outpouring of emotion inspired by the confrontation of an enigma. It begins as a sparse soundscape, alone and isolated, before expanding into a full-frequency mutated jazz two-step, synth lines crying out in anger, sadness and confusion as logic does battle with emotion.

Bubbles break the surface as we rise up gasping for air. ‘Submerged’ is designed as an underwater experience, immersing you deep in the ocean of contemplation. Meditative and pensive, its 6-bar phrasing inspires a dystopian trip through sunken kingdoms where the sea is made of tears.

This is something new, something previously unexplored. Your eyes adjust to your surroundings as ‘Emergence’ announces its arrival. Fretting atmospherics swell and build towards an anxious climax, before calm is restored. You have now broken through. Having escaped the deep sea dive of Submerged, you now ride a wave of sorrowful bliss. Simultaneously joyous and melancholic; power ambient, two-step and jazz blend beautifully on a piece of music that wouldn’t sound out of place coming from an old Nintendo console. The chords give off a Pallet Town or Legend of Zelda vibe - warm, harmonic and arcade like - before we come to arguably the most club-ready track on the album.

‘Exodus’ maintains Michael’s distinctive chords on a driving cut of emotive garage which blossoms into a jazz-soaked fuck-step - a wicked blend of UK, screwface energy, jazzed harmonic voicings and expertly deployed dynamics. The final boss awaits.

Featuring Alex Wilson once more, ‘Liberation’ represents salvation. There is a sense of freedom to the saxophone lines Wilson now delivers; the shackles of identity and culture having been loosened. Don’t get it twisted however, this is not a happy track. The journey we have just been on has taken its toll, and will continue to take its toll. It’s an oxymoronic blend of affliction and fulfilment, of freedom and what it takes to achieve freedom. An impassioned finale to the emotive world Michael has created.

‘Third Culture’ is accompanied with a literary short-story by close friend and academic Áine Kim Kennedy. Inspired by and created specifically for the album, It explores the internal battles concomitant with being third culture kids - a copy is included in each record sleeve. Director Oscar McNab pursues the same end via the medium of film (can be viewed above). All three artforms are intended to be consumed together. Through music, literature, film and art, ‘Third Culture’ delivers a message far greater than the sum of its parts.... 

credits

released June 24, 2022

Written, produced and mixed by Michael Diamond
Co-writing and saxophone on Genesis & Liberation by Alex Wilson
Accompanying short story by Áine Kim Kennedy
Film for Lamentations by Oscar McNab, Ceili McGeever, Tatyana Rutherston, Angus Steele, Henry Hooper
Artwork by Abigail Hodges
Mastered by Mike Hillier at Metropolis Studios
Distributed by Rubadub
© Vasuki Sound 2022

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Michael Diamond Oxford, UK

Jazzed electronic sounds for the attentive listeners out there.

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