SINGLE: Katy Rose Bennett – Dissolution II
(A Ghoßt Assembly Remix)
RELEASED March 3rd 2023
“Fascinating stuff… a sort of folk-meets-Laurie Anderson”
Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 6
Katy Rose Bennett has been creating her earthy, intimate folk music for over 20 years, telling stories of love, despair, connection and community. She has released 7 albums to critical acclaim with plays on BBC Radio 2, 3, 6 and RTE 1. In recent years, Katy has been expanding her musical palette, writing for dance and theatre, and incorporating more experimental electronic techniques into her practice.
Her latest album, ‘Dissolution’ is constructed entirely from samples of her voice, looped, layered and sonically manipulated using Ableton Live and Valhalla software. ‘Dissolution’ is a song cycle in 5 parts, with each section representing a stage of the grieving process: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. In the piece, Katy reflects on the grief experienced due to having a disabling, long-term health condition (Functional Neurological Disorder) and the resulting sense of loss of identity and potential.
Track 2 from the album, ‘Dissolution II’, (anger) has been remixed by electronic artist Ghoßt Assembly aka Manchester-based DJ Abigail Ward (Manchester Digital Music Archive, Suffragette City), who takes the theme in a slightly mischievous direction, drawing on the 70s synth horror scores of John Carpenter coupled with propulsive Krautrock grooves and unsettling drone textures. There is a nod to Pete Shelley’s ‘Homosapien’ in the duelling synth interplay.
Tension is increased by samples of an insistent ticking clock and a call centre’s hold message. “The call was real and made in a moment of crisis”, says Abigail, “I recorded it to stop me beating my head against the wall in frustration and then found it months later. It was fun to chuck it into the remix. I also enjoyed putting my TR-808 through a cavernous tape delay – I wanted it to sound like the signal had been thrown down the Mersey Tunnel”.
Two thirds into the track, anxiety begins to ease and we find ourselves in irresistibly groovy terrain where the synths twinkle instead of snarl, mirroring the journey from rage to acceptance in Katy Rose Bennett’s original piece.
Dissolution II (A Ghoßt Assembly Remix) was mixed by underground dub techno overlord JS Zeiter and mastered by Matthew Styles.
Artwork is by Anna Duffy at Doorway Studio.
Beware the sinister groove monster!
The full ‘Dissolution’ album was a Drake Music commission.
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Abigail Ward: Instagram Twitter
Ghoßt Assembly: Instagram Twitter
Katy Rose Bennett: katyrosebennett.com InstagramTwitter Spotify Bandcamp
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