Dark electronic collective Dispel present their debut album ‘Lore’. Comprised of nine tracks, this album is laced with dark electronic melodies, vocal hooks and praising spiritual quests through driving beats and oscillating keyboards. Together, they seek to create a musical narrative praising historic lore, mythology and mysticism.
Mastered at The Cage Studios in Coventry, UK by Martin Bowes of Attrition, well known for his work with Nine Inch Nails, Psychic TV and Steven Severin of Siouxsie & the Banshees, this album was produced by Mike Textbeak, a Cleopatra Records artist (as TEXTBEAK) and early DJ from the Witchhouse scene. He has worked with an impressive line-up including legendary producer John Fryer, Mark Stewart, Bestial Mouths, Peter Hope, Cyanotic, Vaselyne and Searmanas, to name but a few. An expert in underground music, he hosts the weekly CXB7 radio show on Hexx 9 Radio.
Dispel is comprised of Scott Dispel, Ravensea and Sean Gallows. Scott Dispel was a founding member of the old school hardcore band Face Value and is also currently the drummer for TEXTBEAK. A studio engineer and producer, in 2005, he was voted Cleveland’s best nightclub DJ by Scene Magazine.
This follows on the trail of unveiling singles ‘Temptation’ and ‘Modal Consequence’, both of which feature hearty front-and-center mezzo-soprano vocals by Ravensea against the background of glacial industrial rhythms. Both Dispel videos were directed, filmed and edited by Rafeeq Roberts.
“Through the canvas of darkwave electronic music, vocal hooks and fantasy driven lyrics, creating a concept album about the venerated ‘Hero’s Journey’ became our personal quest. May it aid you in yours,” says Scott Dispel.
“The ‘Hero’s Journey’ is an archetype that has been venerated since Mankind’s early beginnings. Inspired by Josepeh Cambell’s book ‘The Power of Myth’, The songs on ‘Lore’ represent the different stages of the ‘Hero’s Journey’. The fantasy driven lyrics draw on our love of mythology, mysticism and fantasy gaming. We intuitively felt there was an audience that would resonate to such Medieval themes and our hope is to inspire our fans, to ‘Attack their destinies.”
The Sacred Choral pieces were inspired by ‘Infelix ego,’ a Latin meditation composed by Girolamo Savonarola, before he was burned at the stake. Dispel’s members felt the two sacred choral pieces would help to represent the self-realization stages of the quest and reinforce the congruent nature of the enduring soul.
Dispel has unlikely roots in the early 90’s hardcore punk scene while Scott Dispel. While on tour with Face Value, a seed was planted in an underground goth-Industrial club in Berlin. Exposed to a new sound and different culture, this experience made a lasting impression. Though the raw truth of the punk scene remained, it was clear that electronic music was the next chapter and that this required a fresh approach.
Dispel’s music is also inspired by such artists as Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, Clan of Xymox, Depeche Mode, VNV Nation and Blutengle on the one hand and Delerium, The Misfits and The Cramps on the other.
After completing a degree in music and recording studio internship, Dispel’s commitment to the art of music was solidified. Feeling the local underground scene was sorely lacking and inspired by Fantasy gaming, mythology and mysticism, the foundation was set. Fate again intervened when he met Ravensea, a Berklee Vocal Performance / Music Therapy major with a powerful voice and insight into music’s transcendence of language and cultural barriers.
As of January 24, the full ‘Lore’ LP is available for download and on CD with vinyl to follow. It can be ordered via the artist’s website. and Bandcamp.
CREDITS
Ravensea – Vocals
Scott Dispel – Drums & Keyboards
Produced by Textbeak
Mastered by Martin Bowes @ The Cage Studios U.K
Recorded at Dispel Studios
All Songs written by Scott Dispel
Recorded, engineered and mixed by Scott Dispel
Music video directed, filmed and edited by Rafeeq Roberts
Make-up & Wardrobe by Jennifer Haney as ‘the Vampire Queen’
Morgan Irvine as the ‘Vampire King’
Armor & Weapons by Levie Mckenzie as ‘the Crusading Knight’
Ravensea as Herself
Scott Dispel as the Plague Doctor
Photos by Novus Obscurum
TRACK LIST
01. Spiritual Warrior
02. The Call
03. Modal Consequence
04. Abyssal Hammer
05. Gift of the Goddess (Andante in Bb)
06. Hero’s Revelation
07. Temptation
08. Atonement (Adagio in Bb)
09. The Depth of Transformation
Keep up with Dispel / Scott Dispel
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