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.
