GUO - GUO4 - Vinyl + 12page booklet + Hi def audio

Release Date: 20th September 2019
Catalogue Number: STUMM444

12” vinyl gatefold sleeve + 12 page 12” booklet, includes code for high definition audio download.

GUO4 is:

       a trio with Crystabel Riley on drums

with

       ekphrasis text by Fran Edgerley [Assemble]

and

       ekphrasis film by Peter Strickland

GUO - a multidisciplinary duo formed of Daniel Blumberg and Seymour Wright - announce GUO4, a new release on Mute available on vinyl and digitally on 20 September 2019. 

On GUO4, their first release for Mute and the latest in an ongoing series, the pair have collaborated with Crystabel Riley (drums), Fran Edgerley [Assemble] (text) and Peter Strickland (film).

Peter Strickland's film has just been announced to premiere at the 76th Venice Film Festival on 6 September. Watch a teaser for the film - a confrontation between two swimmers in a locker room - here: https://youtu.be/f031c56f_5E

Strickland explains, “The framing of traditionally macho scenarios in a homoerotic context takes its cues from the covert porn of Bob Mizer.  The combination of muscle and beat-up lockers somehow evoked the music in my mind.”

The name ‘GUO’ itself is ancient Chinese for a metal vessel, or cooking pot, and the resulting work layers alto saxophone, electric guitar, feedback and metal distortion alongside the distinctly-voiced 'ekphrasis' response from a range of collaborators operating across different mediums.

The album was mixed by Marta Salogni. It also features original etchings by GUO and stills from the film.

Previous releases have included ekphrasis by the English musician, author and professor, David Toop (GUO1) and the American filmmaker (Childhood of a Leader & VOX LUX) Brady Corbet (GUO2).

GUO will be performing live at Hamburg Deichtorhallen on 4 August and Berlin Urban Spree on 5 August.

Daniel Blumberg is an artist and musician from London. He is currently exhibiting at the Deichtorhallen in Hamburg (alongside Mark Leckey, Daniel Richter, Andreas Gursky, Wolfgang Tillmans, Albert Oehlen, and Sarah Morris.) and recently had a solo show at Union Gallery in London. Blumberg’s debut album on Mute, Minus, was made with violinist Billy Steiger, double bassist Tom Wheatley and drummer Jim White (Dirty Three, Xylouris White). He has composed music for BFI / Curzon’s season gleaning Truths Agnés Varda. 

Seymour Wright is a musician and writer, currently working in London. Wright’s work is about the creative, situated friction of learning, ideas, people and the saxophone – music, history and technique ­– actual and potential. As well as working closely with Riley (@xcrswx) and Blumberg, his recent collaborations have included projects with footwork founder RPBoo and drummer Paul Abbott (as the XT duo), cellist Ute Kanngiesser, poet Evie Ward, violinist Billy Steiger and writer Nathaniel Mackey.

Crystabel Riley is a drummer (Maria and The Mirrors, @xcrswx) and make-up artist and writer (contributing to Beauty Papers, Dazed Beauty, TEN Magazine). She works on patterns on skin – human and drum.

Fran Edgerley, who produced a written ekphrasis to GUO4. is an architectural designer and co-founder of the Turner-Prize winning collective Assemble. One of their early projects was the design and construction of the Cafe OTO project space. An ongoing relationship with the space and its community has led to a series of collaborations spanning exhibitions, drawings, performance and maintenance works. She has previously self-published essays and a
collection of poetry.

Peter Strickland started making short films in the early '90s. His first feature film was the Transylvanian tragedy, 'Katalin Varga' followed by the Milano-Dorking sonic anguish of 'Berberian Sound Studio' and the dominant / submissive romance, 'The Duke of Burgundy'. Several radio plays along with a concert film for Björk co-directed with Nick Fenton were made in the last few years along with a series of pop videos including GUO4, all produced by Dora Nedeczky of Mindwax. His most recent film is the Thames Valley retail nightmare, 'In Fabric'.

‘Caustic, scratchy fire music’ – The Wire

‘Glorious slabs of noise’ - Victor Schonfield

‘Untamed beauty’ - Walton Ford 

Side A.

1. GUO4

Side B.

1. GUO4