Mercy Choir — News — Twin Lakes Records

Myty Konkeror had been on its longest hiatus since it inception until last month when the three of us decided to get together over the holidays for our first jam in over two years. We went into the studio with no plan other than playing what felt good and true and rediscovering the feeling that made playing together so compelling in the first place. We thought things would be more interesting if we used instruments we never incorporated into MK's sound: electric mandolin, banjo, acoustic guitar, and an array of effects pedals. We're really excited about the results, which were three completely improvised jams that represent a new direction for us. So much so, we'll be releasing these songs under a new moniker--More Klementines. And we'll be performing these songs (or ones like 'em) for the first time in front of an audience on March 4th at the Wobbling Roof Revue in New Haven, CT at Never Ending Books. This variety concert series was expertly curated by Mercy Choir/Rivener's Paul Belbusti and Lys Guillorn and will be held every Friday night in March at 8:00, and it's sure to be a blast. Hope to see you there! --Kiefer

Listen to More Klementines below.

We are beyond psyched to announce the latest addition to Twin Lakes -- Rivener, a new project started by our label co-founder Michael Kiefer and the hyper-prolific Mercy Choir mastermind Paul Belbusti. According to Kiefer, since his main musical outlet Myty Konkeror had been relatively inactive over the past year, he was itching to do something new and different: "I was looking to do something totally free-form with no rules...something improvisational, sort of in the rockist tradition that could be noisy at times, or calm and subdued, but with less emphasis on the harshness of noise and maybe with more psychedelic or no wave elements. As these ideas were starting to percolate and I started thinking about collaborators, Paul had just put out this amazing album under his Mercy Choir moniker called Gguitar, which was mostly improvised guitar pieces. I knew right away that he was the guy."

Unbeknownst to him, right around the same time, Belbusti had placed a Craigslist ad looking for someone to form an improv duo, citing pretty much all the same influences that were inspiring Kiefer at the time. The stars had aligned, and the two began practicing almost immediately.

Their first release, Fires in Repose, consists of three pieces captured during only their second jam session: shape-shifting explorations of no wave, noise, and psych with elements rooted in the rockist tradition. Rivener stretches, bends, and breathes new meaning into these influences, conjuring stormy, cosmic clouds of sound. It will be available on limited edition cassette and CD-R (50 each), as well as digital, just in time for their next gig, which features a killer lineup including MV & EE, The Mountain Movers, and Spectre Folk (feat. members of Magik Markers, Sonic Youth, and Pavement). Details below.