Grieve by Drekka

Drekka's debut full-length, "Grieve", was release on August 24th, 1996.

This was the day of my friend Phil Perry's funeral and the first copy was buried with him.

Phil was one of the earliest and most enthusiastic supporters of my initial attempts towards making music, always honest and constructive when I was failing and always encouraging when I was making progress.

Today, on the 25th anniversary of its release, I am unsure how I feel. I have created a body of work from this project which I think Phil would have been very proud of. And I am certainly proud of it.

At the same time I feel conflicted about how I feel in regards to the 'state of things', as it were. During this twenty-five years since its release, music and art has been both marginalized and commodified to the point of almost total devaluation.

The world is moving ever more quickly towards the inevitable chaos that plague and disorder brings. Lack of touring and community engagement has begun numbing me to an almost mental stand still.

And yet, as I listen to this album today and prepare it for this digital re-issue... I am extremely proud of it and of the path life has taken me. As oblique and opaque as my life has been, I am reminded that the important thing is the work... and the work is powerful.

I only wish that I could have shared more evenings with Phil over the years - and Kirstin, for that matter - listening and talking the hours away.

Stay safe, keep your loved ones close, and take every opportunity to tell them how much they mean to you.

Be well, be kind, drink tea.
Mkl. / Drekka. 24 VIII 2021.



FROM THE ORIGINAL PRESS RELEASE :

Drekka is Icelandic for "to drink" or "to imbibe"... to take into oneself, to drink sound.

A reflection of the sounds around, filtered in the mind, embellished with memories and visions, distorted, deconstructed, transmuted, and retransmitted.

To grieve is not to wallow and weep... it is to step inside and think and remember and smile... and perhaps still weep.

When I was young,
I could knock off three branches at a time,
sometimes four

Now I choose
to sit and stare... a minute
to sit and stare... an hour
to sit and stare... another moment

- M.Anderson, 1996



two of the earliest Drekka reviews:

"While working with similar ideas, Drekka chooses a completely different approach to their work by preserving all of their wrought, emotional fragility in open-ended ambiance. Similarities to the Hafler Trio and Flying Saucer Attack abound, yet each stroke of genius performed by Drekka is owned by an original vision of beauty. Unlike anything achieved in such quantities in underground music, each of Drekka's recordings are subtle reminders of the vastness of the artistic mind, incapable of silence."

- Erik Kowalski, Milk Magazine, Jan 1997


"Drekka is Mike Anderson's own project, and the pieces on 'Grieve' are the first Drekka recordings, from Summer 1996. The material is powerfully atmospheric, sneaking up on you softly rather than hitting you all at once. The vocals haunt each song, buried somewhat strategically beneath the mix, as over top experimental and trippy folk soundscapes prevail. My first impression of this material was subtle and intelligent. It continues to impress me more and more with each listen, and I feel that this would be a good starting point for those who would like to check out Drekka for the first time.”

- Jon de Rosa, Brighter Records newsletter, Feb 1998

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BLUESANCT DISCOGRAPHY:
http://bluesanct.com/archive/bsmdisc.html

Started in 1995, Bluesanct has over 100 releases from artists all over the world on Bluesanct and sister label, Orphanology.

We are excited to re-issue the many out-of-print titles here on Bandcamp.


BLUESANCT IS NOT ACCEPTING DEMO SUBMISSIONS AT THIS TIME


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