John Dwyer, Kyp Malone, and More Team Up on “Moon-Drenched”

John Dwyer/Kyp Malone + More, the same crew who created the boundary-punching improvisation record Bent Arcana, has made a trajectory shift…and picked up multi-instrumentalist Ben Boye along the way.

Moon-Drenched keeps a heavy-lidded late-night perspective on things, as it “eases from liminal twilight and snaking street groove, to fizzing off into the ether in pursuit of lunar prism beams,” according to the group. “The more rhythmically dialed bits here have a lysergic halo of strangeness to them, and the wispy bits between are spun of iridescent gossamer. It sounds like a frizzled message from a future just filthy with guitar hoots echoing off of neon-splattered high rises, oil-slicked waterways, and skittering digital beasts.”

We  spoke with John Dwyer on the process of creating the album:

Coming off of Bent Arcana, how was this project different? What was the improvisational energy like this time around?
It’s from the same session, I made two LPs from 5 days of improvisation. I will say this one is a bit more guitar-centric…and perhaps a bit stranger overall.

Where was Moon-Drenched recorded?
At my studio, Stu-Stu-Studio in Los Angeles.

What was the production process like for these seven songs?

Live and then edited and mixed by me, all in one room

How did you hook up with Kyp Malone and the others, what was the process in recording with him and the rest of the band?

Kyp and I have known each other since we were probably 23 or so. He was game when I just hit him up, thinking he would a good fit…he’s always been a fantastic improviser. The rest of the band were all folks I felt pretty much the same about; good improvisers, and good ears…and thought why not? It was recorded live; we would run ideas a few times and pick the cream of the crop.

Was there a different approach that the band had in mind when Moon-Drenched was being recorded?

Nope, just improvisation and leaving breathing room for one another. Ten or eleven fools are a lot of cooks in the kitchen, so it made sense!

Do you plan to make more improv records, and how does it differ from the artistic vision of OSEES records?

Surely I will. Osees, although we do improvise in the studio and live, are essentially a rock band, so we are a bit more one foot on the earth and working from basic song structure archetypes

What can we expect next from Mr. Dwyer?
I’m ready to fucking tour, so let’s get the world back on track so we can hang out with each other

Moon-Drenched features John Dwyer, Ryan Sawyer, Peter Kerlin, Tom Dolas, Brad Caulkins, Kyp Malone, Marcos Rodriguez, Ben Boye, Joce Soubiran, Laena Myers-Ionita, & Andres Renteriais.

The album is out May 28th, 2021.

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