Study for Pylons, Electromagnetism & Abandoned Piano

Celebrating its 3 year anniversary, Difficult Art and Music presents a double-album of forward-thinking experimental composition. Inspired equally by the classical composers of the Avant-Garde – the likes of Ligeti, Kagel, Young and Cage – alongside the more expressive end of contemporary electronic music, DAAM has spent the last 3 years championing the awkward, the academic, and the overlooked. Founded by the audio-visual artist Distant Animals (who has released work on labels such as Hallow Ground, Cruel Nature, and Waxing Crescent), the labels anniversary compilation brings together material drawn from their back catalogue, including rarities from limited releases and the sub club. Alongside this, an album of brand new materials showcases the diverse work of the artists affiliated with the label.

Featuring the like of Asynchronous Drone Orchestra founder Chelidon Frame, the punk-ambient artist Nobuka, and Johny Lamb (the experimental alter-ego of the Cornish folk musician Thirty Pounds of Bone), ‘I Only Like Difficult Art (and Music)’ offers a rare glimpse into a network of international, conceptual artists working outside the normal confines of genre. From textural-manipulations of traditional Cornish folk music to studies of electromagnetism in abandoned pianos, minimal modular techno to sonic reimaginings of Satre and M. R. James via algorithmic ensembles, DAAM proudly fly’s the flag for the more unusual end of modern composition.

Featuring nearly 2 hours of music across two discs, the album juxtaposes nuanced long-form drone and ambient works against irreverent collage, classical minimalism and aggressive modular synthesis. With a history of not only releasing music but also books, sculptures, scores and art pieces, the label specialises in work that is wilfully academic and inter-disciplinary. ‘I Only Like Difficult Art (and Music)’ demonstrates this approach with aplomb: an album that arrives complete with a fold-out poster and a label manifesto / thesis alongside the music.