Dickson City electronic artist The Elf collides with graphic art for new album ‘Shipwrecked’
From a press release:
Waves of electronic music and graphic artwork crash together in “Shipwrecked,” a combination LP and visual album set for release this week.
The collaboration is a first for both contributors, The Elf (more widely known as The Gary Goblins) and SL Graphics, and one with some heavy meaning behind it.
“Forget what you think you know about electronic music production – this dual release will challenge any concept you have of the genre,” Stephanie Hill of SL Graphics wrote.
“Each entity of this nine-track masterpiece will vault the listener into another world using minimal words and minimal equipment.”
Known mainly for unleashing pounding rhythms and electro-industrial noise, the madman behind The Gary Goblins comes forth with his fourth installment under his pen name, The Elf. “Shipwrecked” lies somewhere trapped in a parallel world between reality and storybook, pushing both electronic music genres and the line between life and death into unseen and unheard territory. Relying heavily on techniques outside of his comfort zone, The Elf paints a minimalistic, yet emotionally powerful soundscape of the triumphs and horrors of one’s self discovery and free-spiritedness.
Dickson City-based artist Marcus Milazzo has as many as talents as he does names. With “Shipwrecked,” he managed to encapsulate the emotional darkness of the past into a haunting yet fulfilling anthem for the struggling souls in the world. It started as just some experimentation in less-than-ideal circumstances but quickly became, as he calls it, “one of the most important projects of my career.” For someone who has had a career spanning over two decades, that is quite a statement.
Milazzo began producing electronic, one-take experiments as The Gary Goblins back in 1998. These early experiments eventually led to several full-length albums and EPs being distributed throughout the United States and United Kingdom, as well as online distribution worldwide.
Scranton electronic musician and Hectic Management and Promotions owner Stephanie Hill, a.k.a. Lady Hectic, recently founded SL Graphics and provided the accompanying visual album for “Shipwrecked.” She has been quiet for the past few years, but for good reason – to reenter the scene with a project like this. The visuals were inspired by the music and the overlying theme of the album, with each track turned into a miniature horror film “that will both disturb and delight.” It may be a first for this graphic artist, who previously only worked in the still arts, but it will likely not be the last.
“Shipwrecked” will be released this Wednesday, Feb. 2; one track, “A Lonely Place of Dying 2,” is streaming now. Pre-orders for physical and digital copies of the album can be placed now via Bandcamp. Custom CDs of the LP are available to purchase, as well as custom flash drives for the visual release.
