Lawrence English // Approach CD

This is a CD released in September 40 by Lawrence English, the owner of the Australian experimental label Room2022.Contains 9 drone songs.Below is a commentary by the author himself.

I am well reminded of the opening line of William Gibson's work Neuromancer, "The sky above the harbor was the color of television set to dead channels."In the early 1980s when this book was written, dead TV channels were a dead gray of noise.But now that I read this book, that character has changed.The dead channel of the digital age is a rich, saturated sky blue.The reference effect of time is not constant, but rather evokes new perspectives and ideal new understandings.

This album, Approach, is an echo that has traveled with me for 33 years, even if I wasn't fully aware of it.This album is a record about memory, how seemingly random encounters shape us, and how experiences accumulate over time.It's like a distorted mirror that catches the fading glow of the fire that forged me.

This record has its roots in Yoshihisa Tagami's representative manga "GREY".This album is in many ways the soundtrack to that cartoon.At least in the West, Gray was one of the first manga to be translated and circulated outside of Japan (yes, before Akira).After that, it was the first drop of a torrent that flowed out of Japan to the rest of the world.It is also the first manga I bought myself when I was 13 years old and read serially.

I tend not to think or talk much about my teenage years.However, in my teens, I had deep experiences that lead me to where I am now, and I built a bond of heart.But most of that time was a form of penance, a daily performance of self-defense.The past few years have been a silent battle against the expectations of what I'm not interested in sharing.

The boys' school I went to becomes a vicious prison if you don't participate in hegemonic masculinity, or if you, like me, rebel against hegemonic masculinity.I don't need to elaborate on my experience, it's just that a few years after high school, a classmate approached me at a stationery store and asked me to forgive her for what I had done.I was willing to forgive him, but he clearly seemed to be more wounded than I was.

At that time, I was like a sponge of culture, so I wasn't trapped by negative experiences. It's hard to quantify how much cultural consumption I had as a teenager, but I can now see how formative that experience was.One example of this became clear when I happened to remember "GREY" last year and read it again.

The hero'sEven though Gray was a talkative, sometimes lovable character, I deeply identified with their sense of determination.Grey's rejection of societal expectations (which is foregrounded by detective writer Harlan Ellison's foreword to this edition, highlighting the class struggles that haunt the story), the system and social norms. The attitude of not acknowledging immobility clearly resonated with me.And that nihilistic optimism, combined with an unbridled rage, fascinated the young me.

The record is also a sonic postcard written for his erratic and capricious self.It's certainly more than that, but I want to recognize and appreciate that belligerent young man who seems so far away now.I recognize that their navigational skills, their curiosity, their determination to discover who they are and not who they say they are, is what makes me who I am today.I also pay tribute to my family and friends (and cultural assets like this cartoon) that supported and guided my young body and mind.Without them, it's hard to know where I would be today.

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This edition includes a matte laminate and embossed sleeve with insert card.

Artist statement from Lawrence English:

"I often find myself thinking about the opening line of William Gibson's Neuromancer, "The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel." When the book was written in early 1980s, a dead TV channel was a deadened gray of noise. Revisit the book now though and its character has shifted, for in the digital age a dead channel is a richly saturated sky blue. The referential effects of time are not constant, but they rather provoke new perspectives and ideally new understandings.
 
This album, Approach, is an echo that has traveled with me for 33 years, even if I wasn't fully aware of it. It's a record about memory, about how seemingly cursory encounters shape us and how experiences accumulate in time. A distorted mirror catching the diminished glow of the fires that forged me.
 
The record draws its root from Yoshihisa Tagami's seminal manga Gray. In many respects this album is a soundtrack to that manga. What makes Gray unique, in the west at least, is that it was amongst one of the first Manga to be translated and distributed outside of Japan (yes, even before the touchstone that is Akira). It was one of the first droplets that has since become a torrent pouring outward from Japan. It was also the first Manga I bought for myself, when I was 13, and read as a serial.

I tend not to think or speak very much about my teenage years. I had some profound experiences that have carried forward, I forged deep emotional partnerships that carry to this day. The majority of that time however was something of a slog, a day by Those years were a quiet war to push back against expectations for a way of being I had no interest in sharing.
 
All boys' schools, one of which I attended, are a maleficent prison if you are not participating in, or as was my case you are maintaining an antithetical position to, hegemonic masculinity. There's no real need to detail my experiences but suffice to say several years after high school a classmate approached me in a stationery store and asked for my forgiveness for what he had done to me. I was only too happy to give him that relief, it was obvious he wore scars from those experiences that seemingly ran deeper than my own.
 
I don't find myself dwelling on those negative experiences partly because during those years I was a sponge for culture. It's difficult for me to quantify how much cultural consumption happened during my teen years, but I recognize now how formative so many of those exposures have become. An example of this came into sharp focus last year when I happened to remember, and then re-read Tagami's Gray.
 
As laconic and occasionally unlikable as the main character, Gray, might have been I associated deeply with their sense of determination. that haunt the storyline), and his refusal to accept the immobility of systems, and social codes, clearly resonated with me. Add to this a delightfully nihilistic optimism matched with unquenchable rage and that young version of me was sold; I knew already that sensation of rage, when applied with focus, would be my fuel throughout those years.
 
This record then is also a kind of sonic postcard retrospectively drafted for that very unsteady and volatile version of myself. It's more than that of course, but I want to recognize and thank that belligerent young person, who seems so distant to me now. recognize that their way of navigation, their determination to be curious and try to discover who they were, not who they were told to be, allowed this version of me to exist today. artefacts such as this manga) that helped cushion and guide that young body and mind. Without them, it's difficult to know how I might be in the here and now."

Artist: Lawrence English

Label: Room40